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W O R K S I S S U E D B Y
715m fi akluy t 5 0m m.
EARLY VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
RU SSIA AND PERSIA.
N‘
o . LXXI I .
PORTRAIT OF THE TSAR IVAN (IV.)VAS ILIVITCH .
Red/wed to a bou t one-four”: of Me siz e of the origina l wood eng ra ving in
possession of Sena tor Roz/inst}.
EARLY
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
RU SSIA AND PERSIA
A N TH O N Y’
J E N K I N S O N
AND OTHER ENGLISHMEN .
W I TH.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE F IRST INTERCOURSE OF THE ENGLISH WITHRUSSIA AN D CENTRAL ASIA BY WAY OF THE CASP IAN SEA .
(Ehite’
u fig
E D E L MA R MOR GA N ,
MEMBER OF THE HAKLUY’I‘SOCIETY
AND
C1 11 C O O T E ,
OF TH E BRITI SH MUSEUM .
VOL. I .
LON D ON
PRINTED FOR THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
M .D CCC .LXI XVI .
C O U N C I L
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
Com m R. YULE, C .B . , Pm m m .
K n ox-Gl y n n . Sn HENRY RAWLIN SON, K C .B . , Yncn-Pxn n nn .
W . A. TYSSEN AI HERST , m , K P .
WALTER DE GRAY BIRCH, m , 17
.8 .A.
Ru n-Anm u . LINDEBAY BRINB.
E. H. BUNBURY, Esq .
Tn : Bu t. or DUCIE, F .R. S .
Eu BARROW ELLIS K C .8.L
AUGUSTU S W . YRANKS , Esq .
ALBERT GRAY , Esq .
EDWARD HA ILSTONE , Esq .
In n -Gu n n Sn J . HENRY LEFROY, C .B. , K CM .G.
B . H . HAJOK , Esq " P . S .A.
Cm XABKHAM, RS .
3. DKLXAB HOBGAN , Esq .
Anm u . Sn ERAS IIU S OLD IAXNKY ,
Lou ARTHUR RUSSELLTn) Lon STANLEY or Am m u .
La in -GB . Sn HENRY THUILLIER, P .R .8 .
CLE EEXTS R. MARKHAM, C .D . , R E S , Ha l on )! Sm xr.
And as to uchyng Master Jenkynson, wha t trau ay les, paynes,and daungers h e ha th susteyned and hardely escaped, and wh a tdiligence and art h e hath vsed in the searching of strange coun
tryas, and in the description of those his viagies, it were bu t invay ne for m e to wny te m u ch vu to y ou , vnto wh om the sam e is
bette r knowen then to m e —Preface to Cortes’ Arte of N a m :
ga tion, transla te dby RICHARD EDEN. London, 1 5 61 .
D ED I CATI ON
COLONEL HENRY YULE,C .B.
,R .E .
,ETO.
,
PRES IDENT OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
DEAR COLONEL YULE,
Let m e th ank you for the h onour you h ave donem e in accepting th e dedica tion of th is volum e . I regret th a tit is unworthy of so worthy a friend and counsel lor as y ou
h ave been to m e. I am conscious th at I h ave fa llen far
sh ort of the m odel I h ad set m y self to follow , y et I ven tureto h ope th a t th is endeavour to throw som e ligh t on th e early
geography of Russia and th e adjacent countries m ay m eet
w ith y our approva l . Som e m en tion will be found in th e
following pages of th e early rela tions between th a t countryand England . Th ese are only incidentally touch ed upon as
far as th ey concern Jenkinson and oth er Englishm en in
Russia . Bu t even th ese few reprints of early docum en tsm ay be instructive and interesting a t th e present day , wh enth e two na tions
,wh o began th eir intercourse in so friendly a
way in th e far north,stand fa ce to face in Cen tra l Asia
a lm ost as foes, ready a t any m om ent to engage in a contestto wh ich none wh o wish well to th e cause of civilisa tion andprogress can look forward without dread .
I am,dear Colonel Yule ,Very fa ithful ly y ours,
E . DELMAR MORGAN .
P R E FA C E .
A FEW words of personal explana tion are necessary . Wh enth is work was undertaken,
it was a new and difficul t task to
one wh o h ad done so little in litera ture, and wh o h ad been
preceded by such learned geographers a s th e editors of
prev ious volum es of th is Society . I t was, therefore , with
m uch sa tisfaction th a t I m ade th e acqua in tance of so able a
coadjutor as Mr. Coote, wh o consented a t m y request to
sh are th e editoria l labours. As the work slowly advanced ,h owever, h e found th a t h is oth er engagem ents would not
a llow of h is bestowing m u ch tim e on it,and h e fina lly asked
to be released a l together from h is engagem en t, particularlyas differences of opinion on v arious points connected withth e notes and editing m ade th em selves fel t . Unwilling th a th e sh ould be deprived Of any credit du e to h iswork , I beggedh im to let h is nam e stand w ith m ine on the title page, wh ileI finish ed th e book . Th e introduction is
,therefore, du e to
m y pen ,and I am responsible for any of its sh ortcom ings.
I take th is Opportunity of acknowledging m y indebtednessto th e Marquis of Sa lisbury ,
wh o kindly allowed me to consul t th e MSS . in his collection ; and to h is secretary , Mr.
Gunton ,who transcribed one Of th ese for m e ; to Lord
Tollem ache , for his courtesy in giving m e access to theHelm ingh am Ha ll Library , and for th e obliging loan of a
MS. Of Jenkinson’
s journey to Persia ; to Mr. N ich olson,
librarian of the Bodleian ; to th e la te Mr. Bradshaw,librarian
PREFACE
of the Cam bridge Universi ty Library , for Obta ining transcriptions of docu m ents ; to Mr. Selby and theofficials at the
Record Office , for their obliging help in m y search es ; to th e
a u th orities a t the British Museum ,for a llowing ph otograph s
to be taken of two m aps reproduced in th is volum e, and tothe assistan ts in the Reading Room and Map Departm ent ,for their readiness a t a ll tim es to find the books, etc.
,I
required ; to Mr. Cecil G. S. Folj am be,M.P .
,for kindl y answer
ing queries with reference to the Jenkinson fam ily—th isacknowledgm ent m ust be coupled w ith the expression Of
regret th a t no connection cou ld be tra ced between his fam ilyand tha t of th e traveller, confirm a tory of a tradition preserved in the form er ; to the Rev . Robert Ba illie
,rector of
Sywell , for h is kind assistance in search ing the registers inh is church and m aking inquiries ; to th e Rev . CavendishN eely , son of the rector of Ash ton to th e Rev . A. R . N ewby ,
rector of Teigh ; to Mr. Lionel Bonar, la te secretary Of the
Russia Com pany ; to Mr. John Wa tney , secretary of th e
Mercers’
Com pany , and others.
TABLE OF CONTENTS .
Dedica tion ,Prefa ce, List of I l lustra tions , Tab le of Contents
I ntroductionSupplem entary N otesThe m anner of the entring of Solym an the Grea t Turke with h is
arm ie in to Aleppo in Syria noted by Ma ster AnthonieI enkinson , present a t tha t tim e
Th e sa fe conduct or priu ilege , giu en by Sultan Solym an th e
Grea t Turke, to Master Anthony Ienkinson , a t Aleppo inSyria
,in the y eere 1 5 53
Instructions giuen to the Masters andMariners to be obseru ed ina nd about th is Fleets
,passing th is y eere 1 5 5 7 , towards t h e
Bay of S . N ichola s in RussiaThe first voyage m ade by Master Anthony I enkinson from th e
C it ie of London , toward the land of Ru ssia,begonne th e
twelfth day of Maye,in th e y eere 1 5 5 7
The voyage of M. Anth ony I enkinson ,m ade from the cit ie of
Mosco in Russia , to the citie of Boghar in Bactria , in the yere1 5 58
The la titudes of certa ine principal ] pla ces in Russia and otherRegions
C erta ine notes ga thered by Rich ard IOhnson (wh ich was a t
Boghar with Ma ster Anthony I enkinson)of th e reports OfRu sses andother stra ungers, of th e way es of Russia to Ca thayaand Of diners and straunge people
Here follow certa ine countrey s of the Sam oeds wh ich dwel l vponthe riner Ob
,and vpon th e sea coasts beyond the sam e
The rela tion of C haggi Mem et . a P ersia m erchant , toBaptisteRam usius
A letter Of Ma ster Anthonie I enkinson vpon his returns fromBoghar written in the Mosco th e 1 8. of Septem ber 1 5 5 9
PAGE
X I I CONTENTS .
The QueenesMa iesties letters to the Em perour of Russia . requesting license a nd sa fe conduct for Ma ster Anthony Ienkinson
The QueenesMaiest ies letters to t he Grea t Soph ie of Persia , sentbyMasterAnthony Ienkinson
A rem em brance ginsu by vs theGou ernours , Consuls, andAssistantsof t he Com panie of Marchants trading into Ru ssia , t he eigh tday of May 1 5 6 1 . to our trustie friends Anthonie Jenkin8011
A com pendious andbriefe declara tion of th e iourney ofM. Anthonie
Ienkinson from t he fam ous cit ie of London into t he la nde of
P ersia Being beganne the foureteenth day of May , Ann .
1 5 6 1
A copie of the priuiledges ginen by Obdolowcan , King of H irosh is ,to the Com panie of English Merchants Aducnturersobta ined by M. Anthonie Ienkinson Apri l 1 4 . Anno1 5 63
Anthony Jenkinson’s petition to the Queen
Docum ents relating to Jenkinson’
s service off the coast of Scotlandin the Queen’s ship the Ayde
Renewa l of petitions by Jenkinson and Sir H . Gilbert relating todiscovery towards Cathay
Certa ine reasons a lledged for the proouing of a passage by theN orthea st with m y seuera l answeres then vsed to thesam e
Anthony Ienkinson,Instructions sent by the m erchants aduen
turera into Ru ssia to the Em peror thereAn thony Icnkinson to SirW. CecilA very briefs rem em brance of a voyage m ade by M. Anthony
Ienkinson from London to Moseouia in t he y eere
1 5 66
The way discouered by vs,Thom as Southam and Iohn Sparke
from the towne of Colm ogro vu to the oitis of NouogrodeThe Merchant Adventurers of England, &c . ,
to their Agents inRussia . London, 1 8th Apri l 1 5 6 7
The note and st ints of one y eares apparell for an apprentyse in
Russia or Persia, &c.
The Priu ileges granted by the Em perourof Russia to the Englishm erchants of tha t com pany : obteined the 22 . of Septem ber
,
anno 1 5 6 7 , by M. Anthony Ienkinson
CONTENTS .
A m essage vu to the qu eu es excellent Ma iest ie from th ’Em peror
his highnes of Moscou ia,to be doone in secret t vnto her h ighnes
by m e h er gra ces seru ant , A. Ienkinson
Instru ctions for Tho . Ra ndolph,esqu ier, being sent in Am
bassad to the Em peror Of RussiaThe Am bassage of the right worsh ipfu ll M. Thom as Ra ndolfe
,
esquire , to the Em perou rof Russia , in th e y eere 1 5 68. Brieflywritten by h im selfs
A com m ission giu en by vs, Th . Randolph and Th . Bannister,
etc.
,vn to Jam es Bassendine
,Jam es Woodcocks a nd Rich .
Browne for search ing of th e sea and border of the coastfrom the riu er Pechora to t he Eastwardes Ann . 1 5 88
the first of AugustN ecessarie notes to be obseru ed and followed in your discou erie
[By William Burrough ]Thom as Randolph to SirW . C eci lThom as Bannister Geoffrey Ducket to SirW . CecilThom as Bannister Geoffrey D ucket to th e Muscovy C o .
A Copie of t he priu iledges gra unted by the righ t h igh and
m igh t ie Prince, t he E m perou r of Russia , &c . : vuto t he righ tworsh ipfu l felowsh ip Of English Marchants in the yeere
of our Lord God 1 5 69
T he greate ca u ses of offence giu en to th e English Am ba ssador,Th om as Ra ndolph
The Tsar Ivan to Queen Elizabeth ,20th June 1 5 69
MaisterThom as Bannester andMa ister Duckett to th e Counsa il
The Am bassadors [Savin ’s] Request to the R ight Honorab leMa ister Secretarie
Serten instroksy ons geven m e [Anthony Jenkinson]E liz abeth to Ivan , 1 8th Ma y 1 5 7 0
Th e Coppie of the Qu eens Maies t ies Letter to th e Em perou r of
Russia , Ma ii 1 5 7 0
The Coppie of th e Moscou it ts Lettre in English , brough t byD anyell Sy lu ester, 24 . Octobris 1 5 7 0
E liz abeth to Ivan ,May or June 1 5 7 1
Ivan to Eliz abeth , August 1 5 7 1
X III
X I V CONTENTS
El izabeth to Ivan ,20th October 1 5 7 2
A note of the proceeding of M. Anthonis Ienkinson,Am bassadour
from the Queenes m ost excellent Maiest ie to the Em perour ofRussia from the tim e of his arriual in Russia
,being th e
26 . of Inly 1 5 7 1 , vntill h is departure from thence, the 23. of
Inly 1 5 7 2Anthony Ienkinson to Lord Burgh ley, 8. August 1 5 7 1The burning of Moscow, by John StowThe na m es of such countries as I , Anth onis I enkinson,
hauetranelledvnto from the second of October 1 5 46
,a t wh ich tim e
I m ade m y first voiage out of England, vntill the y eere of our
Lord 1 5 7 2, when I returned la st out of RussiaInstru ct ions ginsu to Master D . Rogers and Ma ster I enkinson ,
being sent to Em bden to trea te with the Kings of Denm arkscom m issioners
The order of HerMa iesties proceedings from tym s to tym s w ithye Kinge of Denm arke
,touch ing the N orway nau igat ion
AP PEN D IX.
1 . The voyage wherein Osepp Napea , the Moscouite Am bassadour
,returned hom e into his Cou ntrey , with his enterta in
m ent at his arriua l a t Colm ogro ; and a large description of
the m anners of the Countreyn . The second voyage into Persia m ade by Thom a s Alcoche,wh ich was alayne there, and by Richard Cheinie, seru ant tothe worsh ipfull com panie of Moscouie m erchants in An .
1 5 63. Writ ten by the sa id R ichard Cheiniem . The th irds voyage into Persia , begun in t he y eere 1 5 65 ,
by Richard Iohnson,Alexa nder Kitch in, and Arthur
Edwards. A letter of Arthur Edwards to MasterThom as
N ich ols, concerning the preparation of their voyage intoPersia
IV . An other letter of the sa id Master Arthur Edwards, writtenthe 26 . of April 1 5 66 . in Sham akie, in Media , to the rightworsh ipfull Sir Thom as Lodge, touch ing the successe of
Richard Iohnson in the thirde voyage into Persia
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .
VOL. I .
PO RTR AIT or ru n TSA R IVAN (Iv)VAS S ILIVITC H (Reduced byphotography f rom the origina l wood engra ving in the possession
of Sena tor Rovinsky) T0 face title
S EAL or THE RUSSI A COMP ANY (reproduced by photography)ARMS or ANTHONY JE N K IN SON (af ter a MS . in the H a rleian Col
lection a t the British Museum)
FACS IM ILF‘. or Ma r or RUSS IA BY ANTHONY JENK INSON (reproduced by photography f rom the one in Ortelius
'Atlas in the
British hfusem n)
SKETC H MAP,snowiNG ANTHONY JENK INSON ’S ROUTE
VO I I I .
SKETCH MAP , snowm o Tm : ROUTE or SOUTH AM AND SPARK E
C HART or NORTH ERN NAV IGAT ION , BY WILLIAM BU R ROUGH
(photographed f rom the origina l MS . in the Roya l Libra ry ,
British Al useum)
FACS IM I LE AUTOGRAP H LETTER or ANTHONY JENK INSON TO
W I LLIAM C ROI L, LOR D BU RGHLEY (photographed f rom the
origina l IVS . a t the S ta te P aper Ofice)
E R R A T A .
P . 26,note line 1
,for twenty
-sir , read thirty -sir.
P . 30, note 5 , la st line but one, for Viscooa tof , read Viscora tg .
P . 31 , note 2 , l ine 1 , for Uta m ish Glurei, read Uta m r’
sh C hirei.P . 45 , text, fourth line from below, for sa m e laden, read som e la den .
P . 5 4,note 3
,ninth line from end
,for B urroughs, read B urrough .
P . 85 , note 2 , fifth l ine from end,forH ussey , read Ha sse.
P . 86,note , sixth l ine from end
,for Ta m a sp ,
read Ta hm a sp .
P . 98, fifth line from bottom of text,for Ca spia n sea s
,read Ca sp ia n
P . 100,note
,for K hom ogori, read K holm ogori,
P . 104, note 4 , la st l ine but one, for Torotigin, read Towtigin.
P . 127 , note 1 , first l ine,for Cha tira , read Cha llira .
P . 135 , th ird l ine of note , for governm ent of Shem a kha or Ba ku ,
read governm ent of Shem a kha , af terwa rds Ba ku .
P . 136 , fourth l ine from end of note 3,for Lawrence, Chapm a n,
read Lawrence Chapm a n.
P . 149,note 3, forp . 1 28, read p . 138.
P . 1 50, l ine 1 of note 1 , for Robert Cheinie, read R icha rd Cheinie.
P . 1 6 7 , note 1 , l ine 6 for Cha rles XI , read Cha rles IX .
P . 220, note 4, forA lcock’
s letter,read Cheinie’s letter.
P . 235 , l ine 8 of text , for sha ll [not] com e, read sha ll com e .
P . 425,note for K a z a m -bek, read K a z em -beh .
I NTROD U CTION
THERE are few subjects m ore interesting to the
student of history , t o the pol itician , and t o the
m erchant , than the first Opening of an intercou rse
betw een two nations. That betw een England and
Ru ssia dates back m ore than three centu ries, a nd
m ay alm ost be said to have begun w ith the appear
ance , in the sixteenth centu ry ,of Anthony Jen
kinson, am bassador of Qu een Eliz abeth,and agent
of the Ru ssia or Muscovy Com pany betw een the
y ears 1 5 5 7 - 7 2 .
Before giving a sketch Of h is travels and services
as they have been preserved t o u s by Haklu y t and
in State docu m ents,let u s briefly glance at th e still
earl ier voy ages of Richard Ch ancellor. To Chancelloru ndoubtedly belongs the credit of lay ing the Fou nda
tion of that com m erce which becam e of su ch vast
im portance t o both England and Ru ssia,and h as
attained in ou r day so great a developm ent . The
story of h is discovery of the White Sea , though
Often told,is y et so fu ll
‘
Of rom antic interest,a nd so
w orthy t o rank in the annals Of h is cou ntry , that it
w ill bea r repea ting . After being parted from Sir
Hugh Willoughby in a storm off the coast Of Nor
w ay ,he directed h is cou rse in h is ship
,the Edwa rd
Bona ventu re,t o Vardo
,th e rendez vou s appointed in
b
i i INTRODUCTION .
case of a separation . Here he waited several day s,in the hope of being j o ined by h is com panions, bu t
disappointed in this,he again set sail , determ ined
t o carry ou t t o the best of h is ability h is instru o
tions, and
h elde on h is course towardes th a t vnknowen part of th eworld
,and sailed so farre th a t h ee cam e a t last to th e place
wh ere h e found no nigh t a t all,bu t a con tinu all l igh t and
brigh tnesss of th e Sunne sh ining clearly vpon th e huge a nd
m igh ty Sea (B a ht , 1 5 89 , p .
At length he en tered the White Sea, then called
the Bay Of St . Nichola s, and anchored at the l ittle
port Of Nenoksa,near the m ou th of the Dw ina . He
learnt from som e natives tha t the country he h ad
rea ched w a s cal led Ru ssia,or Mu scovy ,
and that
Ivan Va ssilivit ch wa s their king .
And th e ba rbarous Russes a sked l ikewise of our m en
wh ence th ey were and wh a t th ey cam e for : wh ereuntoanswerwas m ade
,th a t th ey were Englishm en sent into those
coastes from th e m ost excellen t K ing Edward the sixt.”
(Ha lal,
1 5 89, p. 284)
Chancellor proceeded t o Mosco,where he wa s w ell
receivedby the Tsar, who dism issedh im the follow ing
y ear w ith retu rn let ters t o King Edwa rd,inform ing
h im that h is su bjects m ight safely visit Ru ssia a nd
freely trade there . Edward VI h ad died before
Chancellor retu rned t o England,bu t his su ccessor
,
Qu een Mary , show ed a desire t o prom ote this new
fou nd t rade w ith Ru ssia . In th e first a nd second
y ears of her reign (1 5 5 5 a charter w a s granted t othe Merchant Adventu rers
,henceforward known a s
INTRODUCTION . ii i
the Mu scovy or Ru ssia Com pany , by which w ere
secu red t o them in their corporate capacity a ll the
rights and privileges they h ad acqu ired,or m ight in
th e fu tu re acqu ire , by their enterprise and dis
coveries. That y ea r a second expedition wa s sent
t o Ru ssia , u nder the sam e Richard Chancellor,accom panied by two agents, George Killingwortha nd Richard Gray ,
w ith fu ll instru ctions t o treatw ith the Tsar’s cou nsellors for the establ ishm ent of
a trade in h is dom inions ; they w ere , m oreover, not
t o lose sight of the original obj ect of their first
voy age ,“ that y ou vss a ll way es and m eanes pos
sible t o learns how m en m ay passe from Ru ssia
either by land or by sea t o Ca th a ia . Com plete
su ccess rewarded these efforts. The Englishm enw ere received in the m ost graci ou s w ay by the Tsar ,conferences w ere held at Mosco betw een them and
certa in officers and m erchants of th e Tsar , and
a rrangem ents concluded for a com m ercial intercou rse
on the m ost fa vou rable term s. The Engl ish
w ere t o have the m onopoly of trade in the White
Sea,
and establish their factories or hou ses Of
bu siness a t K holm ogori, Vologhda ,and elsewhere .
And thu s m ay w e continu e three or fou re
y eeres w rites Kill ingw orth t o the Com pany ,
and in this space w e sha ll know the cou ntrey a nd
the m erchants,and which w ay t o sau e ou rselu es
best,a nd where t o plant ou r hou ses, and where t o
seeke for w a res” (Ha lal,1 5 89
,p .
Chancellor set sail for Engla nd on the 2oth Ju ly1 5 5 6 ,
w ith fou r ships,including the tw o that w ere
5 2
iv INTRODUCTION .
m issing in the first voy age , and afterwards recovered,
the Bona Spera nza and Bona Confidentia . In h is
own ship,the Edwa rd Bona ventu re
,he took Osep
Napea,the first Ru ssian am bassador t o the Engl ish
cou rt,w ith h is su ite , andvalu able fu rs and m erchan
dise t o the am ou nt of (nowThe voy age hom e proved disastrou s. Two of the
ships,the Bona Spera nza and Bona Confldentia ,
were never heard Of again ; the Edwa rdBona ventu re,after being fou r m onths at sea ,
at length arrived off
the coast of Scotland,only to be w recked in Novem
her,in Pitsligo Bay ,
w ith the loss of m any Of the
crew,seven Ru ssians
,and the gallant Chancellor
him self, Osep Napea being one of the few su rvivors.
Though so m any brave m en had perished,the
arrival of the first Ru ssian am bassador cau sedgeneral
rej oicing.
About th is tim e (1 5 5 6 - 7)cam e to London an am bassadorto th e Queens from th e Em peror of Ca th aie, Mu scou ia
,and
Ru sseland, wh o was h onorablie recoined a t Totenh am by th e
m erch ants of London, h au ing trade in th ose countries,riding
in veluet coa tes and ch aines of gold , wh o bare a ll his costsand Ch arges from th e tim e of h is cu trie in to England out ofScotland , for th ith er by tem pest Of wea th er h e was driu en ,
a nd there forced to land . The Lord Montacute, w ith the
Queens pensioners, m et h im a t Islington townes end and a t
Sm ith field barres th e lord m a ior and a lderm en in scarlet
receiu ed h im and conu eiedh im through th e oitis vu to m a isterD im m ocks h owse in Fanchu rch street, wh ere h e lodgedvntil th e twelfe of Maie
,a l l wh ich tim e h e wanted no resort .
And a fter h is am bassage done to th e Qu eens h e departedagsime with three [four] faire sh ips from Gra vesend vu to h iscountrie, wh en he h ad rem a ined h ere two m oneths and
m ore .
”—Holinshcd’
s Chronicle, p . 1 132 .
vi INTRODUCTION .
stru ct ions were given tha t the other three shou ld
keep her com pany . Having already tried the
Ru ssian trade , the Com pany now m ade their first
large shipm ent of cloth and other English com m odi
ties, su ch as cotton stu ffs,pew ter
,suga r , et c .
,and
sent art iz ans t o set up a rope -w a lk at K h olm ogori.
They also sent ten y ou ng m en a s apprentices t o
learn the trade,and acqu ire a knowledge of the
cou ntry .
1 C sep Napea w as fu rnished w ith letters
from Philip and Mary t o Ivan IV ,on the su bject of
h is m issi on, in which they express the hope that
there w ou ld be a perpetu al am ity betw een the two
nations, and that he w ou ld declare the fu ll par
t icu lars of the com m ercial treaty it w a s proposed t o
conclude .
2
The fleet set sail from Gravesend on the 1 2th
May , bu t , delay ed by accidents a nd contrary w inds,did not sight the coast of Norway till th e 2 5 th of
June , when they discovered Helge land ly ing nor th
east Of them . On the 2 7 th they were Off the
Lofoden Islands. Continu ing their voy age w ithou t
fu rther m ishap , they rou nded the North Cape on
th e 2nd Ju ly , and the follow ing day tou ched at
Vardo. Hence their cou rse lay sou th - east,close
a n entry concerning i t. Th is sh ip was origina lly intended for theRoya l N avy
,but was lent by the King to Alderm an Barnes a nd
SirWillia m Gerrard for th eir venture to the coa st Of Guinea,for
wh ich sh e sa iled from Portsm outh on the 1 2th Augu st 1 5 5 3.
The enterprise to Gu inea fa iled,owing to Capta in Wyndha m ’s
m isconduct .H a hl .
,1 5 99
,i,p . 299 .
9 Ca l . S . For. Ma ry , 1 5 5 7 , N o . 5 9 5 .
INTRODUCTION . vii
along the coast Of Lapland,or Lappia ,
a s ou r au thor
calls it , passing Varanger fiord,or
,a s it wa s then
known , Dom m esh a ff,la nd Arz ina
,or NOk uy ef bay ,
where the gallant Sir Hugh Willoughby and h is
crews h ad perished in the W inter of 1 5 53- 4 . Theydoubled Svia toi Noss
,that rem arkable prom ontory
t o which the early navigators m ade offerings Of
bu tter,m ea le
,and other victu als” , and which
Stephen Bu rrough nam edCape Ga lla nt and stand
ing over t o the opposite shore of the entrance t o
the White Sea, safely anchored in St . Nicholasroad on the 1 2th Ju ly , having sailed from London
,
according t o their reckoning , 7 5 0 leagu es, or
m iles.
The Ru ssian am bassador and the. Englishm en
who h ad com e t o serve t he Em peror a t once landed,
a nd,after a ll their things w ere on shore
,proceeded
by boats up the Dw ina . Jenkinson rem ained to
superintend the discha rging of the ships,their re
loading and departu re for England. Then he also
sta rt ed for K holm ogori, thence t o Vologhda by
water, and from the latter place t o Mosco by land.
Before follow ing him in h is travels into Asia,it
seem s necessa ry t o say som ething of the state of
Ru ssia at this tim e , a nd of it s ru ler , Ivan Vassili
vit ch IV ,su rnam ed Grosny ,
or the Terrible .
From 1 235 t o 1 4 7 8 Ru ssia groaned u nder the
1 Dom m esh aff,probab ly so na m ed a fter King Dum m er
, wh oserule extended to th is part of t h e coa st . Cf . St iickenberg, Hydro
graphie, bd. ii,p. 3. Th is deriva tion , h owever, m ay be com pared
wi th th a t given below, p . 1 9 .
viii INTRODU CTION .
Tartar y oke . Wild hordes of Mongols, u nder Batu ,
Tim u r, and Yedigh ei, swept across its level plains,
bu rning and destroy ing every vestige of civilisation ,and stam ping ou t that love of self-governm ent
which w as characteristic of early Ru ssian society .
For nearly three centu ries Tartar Khans received
tribu te at Sarai,their capital on the lower Volga,
from the Ru ssian princes ; and though desperate
attem pts w ere m ade to shake off the y oke of the
Oppressors— a s when Dm itri , su rnam ed Donskoi (of
the Don), fought and defeated the host of Mam ai
on the field Of K u likOf—the chains which held thepeople down were only riveted m ore closely . Their
relief wa s only accom pl ished towards the close of the
1 5 th centu ry ,when dissensions a mong the Tartars
them selves h ad prepared the way for the l iberati on
of Ru ssia . This wa s accom plished by Ivan I II
(1 46 2 su rnam ed “ the Great” . He u nited
the variou s principal ities into which Ru ssia was
divided, into one State,the Grand Du chy of Mosco ;
pu t an end t o the dissensions Of the princes,and in
this way gave Ru ssia strength t o shake Off the
Ta rtar . Ivan I I I introdu ced the arts Of civilisation
into h is country ,and brought architects from Italy
t o em bellish h is capital . The walls a nd towers of
the Krem lin attest at the present day the earlyinflu ence of Italian art in the ancient city of the
Tsars. The w ise and firm policy of Ivan I I I wa s
continu ed by h is son and su ccessor,Vassili I I I
(1 505 and his grandson Ivan IV (1 533During the reign of the form er
,Herberstein tw ice
INTRODUCTION . ix
visited Moscovy as am bassador from the Em peror
of Germ any ,and wrote h is interesting book , Reru m
Moscovita rum Com /m enta rn ,
1m any editions of which
appeared in the l 6 th centu ry .
In 1 5 46 , Ivan IV was crowned at Mosco, takingthe title of Tsar, first borne by Ivan I II , as w ell a s
that of Grand Duke . His m arriage w ith Anastasia
Zakh arin , solem nised shortly afterwards, prom ised t o
inaugu rate a period Of peace and prosperity for
Ru ssia. Our enem ies”,w rote the annal ists,
“ infidel
Tsars and im piou s K ings, dared no longer trouble
the peace of Ru ssia , and Ivan raised him self to the
highest rank am ong them .
”2 In 1 5 5 2 , one y ear
before the opening of intercou rse w ith England,
the Tartar fortress of Kaz an fell ; and this event ,followed two y ears later by the captu re of Astra
khan,m ade the Volga throughou t its entire cou rse
a Ru ssian river. The im m ediate consequence Of
these victories was to secu re the eastern frontiers
of Ru ssia,and t o enable the Tsar t o tu rn h is arm s
against the Western States of Poland,Livonia
,and
Sweden . Against these enem ies of Ru ssia his su ccess
wa s only tem porary ,for the nu m bers and bravery
Of h is soldiers cou ld not prevail against their supe
rior discipline and artillery . At first, however, in
h is cam paign against Sweden , he carried the war into
the enem y’
s cou ntry ,and com pelled Gu stavu s Vasa
1 See N otes upon Ru ssia,edited by Major (Hakl . Dr.
Ham el is probab ly righ t in h is conjecture tha t an I ta l ian translation of Herberstein
’
s work,publ ish ed a t Ven ice in 1 5 5 0, h ad been
a ccessible to Seba stian Cabot —Engla nd a nd Ru ssia , p. 1 13.
2 K ara m sin, viii, 6 4.
X INTRODUCTION .
t o su e for peace . H is arm ies devastated L ivonia,
and laid it s flou rishing cities in ashes,hu m bl ing
the pride and breaking the power of the Teu tonic
Knights. In 1 5 5 8 the fall of Narva Opened the
m u ch coveted w ay t o the Balt ic, and gave Ru ssia
her first port on the West . Ivan w a s now at the
height of h is power . He h ad conqu ered a ll h is
enem ies,rem odelled the internal adm inistration Of
h is em pire , introdu ced printing , and established the
S trelz i,the first standing arm y in Ru ssia . Bu t a
rem arkable change cam e over h im abou t this tim e,
connected in som e way w ith the death of h is w ife,
attribu tedby h im t o poison . He disgraced Sy lvester
a nd Ada sh efl'
, the w ise cou nsellors u nder whose
influ ence he h ad ru led so well , and abandoned h im
self to his pa ssions. These , a s a recent au thor (Cou nt
Yu ri Tolsto i)h a s rem arked,
“ inscribed h is reign in
blood in the annals Of Ru ssia .
” “ I t is vain,
”
say s
this w riter ,“t o assign periods t o his execu tions in
one continu al torrent of blood they deluged the last
twenty y ears of h is reign , som etim es relaxing,bu t
never interru pting their storm y cou rse .
” l H is victim s
w ere am ong the best and m ost distingu ished of h is
subjects ; am ong them were m any wh o h ad servedh im long and fa ithfu lly in peace a nd war. He sparedneither y oung nor Old
, neither m a n nor w om an .
Three centu ries have not effa ced from the m em oryOf the Ru ssian people t he revolting cru elties Of thism onster Many a re the lay s
”
,say s Mr. Morfill
,in
h is S la vonic Litera ture (p .
“ treating of Ivan th e
E ngla nd a nd Ru ssia ,p. xix.
INTRODUCTION . x i
Terrible , and the instru m ent of h iscru elties, Ma liu t a
Sku rla t ov it ch ,w h o sto od in the sam e rela t ion t o h im
a s Tristan l ’Herm it e did t o Lou is IX of France,being
h is intim a te associate and the instigator of m anyOf h is cru elties.
”
Follow ing the exam ple of Henry VI I I , Ivan had
six W ives. By the first,Ana stasia
,he h ad three
sons and three da ughters, only one of whom su r
v iv ed h im ,v iz .
,Feodor
,h is su ccessor . In 1 5 6 1 he
m arried Mary ,the daughter Of Prince Tem gruk of
Circa ssia,by whom he h ad a son
,who only lived
five w eeks. Mary died in Septem ber 1 5 6 9 , and on
the 28th October 1 5 7 1 h e m arried Ma rtha Sabakina,
daughter of a m erchant in Novgorod,chosen for
h er beau ty ou t of two thou sand y ou ng girls col
lect ed from a ll parts of the em pire . She died Of
consu m ption on the 1 3th Novem ber of the sam e
y ear. In 1 5 7 2 he m arried Anna K olt ovskoy ,a nd
repudia ted her in 1 5 7 7 , placing her in a m onastery .
His fifth w ife w as Anna Vassilch ikof,wh o died very
so on . Her pla ce wa s taken by a w idow of the nam e
Of Vassilissa Melent ief,distingu ished for her bea u ty ,
t o l ive w ith whom he did not go through a rel igiou s
cerem ony ,bu t m erely contented him self w ith a
benediction from h is confessor. H is sixth w ife w a s
Ma ry ,daughter of Feodor Nagai , a dignita ry of th e
Cou rt . She w a s the m other of the u nfortu nate
Dm itri , innocent cau se of innu m erable w oes t o
Ru ssia .
I t is generally know n tha t Ivan solicited the
hand of Qu een Eliz abeth, and it is m ost l ikely tha t
INTRODUCTION .
h is first overtu res in thisdirection were m ade through
Jenkinson . Of this there is no positive proof, though
it is not im probable that the secret m essage en
tru sted t o h im by the Tsar in 1 5 6 7 h ad reference t o
a m arriage ; Randolph , Bannister, and Du cket , intheir letters t o Cecil and the Mu scovy Com pany ,
hint that this m ay have been the case , and that
the Em peror w a s angry at having received no
answ er . In 1 5 81 , Ivan sent Pissem sky t o England
t o treat of a m arriage w ith Lady Mary Hastings,niece of the Qu een and this w a s the su bject of h is
secret conferences w ith Sir Jerom e Bowes inIvan died on the 1 8th March 1 5 84 , having reigned
fifty- one y ears . In person he w as ta ll and spare ,
w ith broad shou lders, and a som ewhat stooping gait .
As a y oung m an he was good- looking , w ith a high
nose and bril liant com plexion , bu t in advanced l ife
h is aspect w as sinister and feroci ou s t o the last
degree . Ivan lived t o see a ll h is earl ier conqu ests
taken from h im,except Kaz an and Astrakhan .
Esthonia,w ith Revel and other towns, w ere sur
rendered to Denm ark , Sw eden retook Narva, w ith
Ivangorod, the Ru ssian fortress, facing it on the
Opposite bank of the Naro va . Livonia was ceded t o
Stephen Bathory ,King of Poland, together w ith
Polotsk, brilliantly captu red by the Ru ssian arm s in1 5 63. Pskof, how ever, having w ithstood a cele
bra ted siege, rem ained t o Ru ssia . In Eastern
The Queen ’s letter,declin ing the ofier
,is stil l to be seen ,
preserved in a ca sket in one of the room s Of the Old pa la ceR ussia n Art
,by Alfred Ma skel l, p . 236 .
x iv INTRODUCTION .
service in com m u nicating w ith the variou s tribes of
Asiatics whose langu age ha s an affinity t o the
Tartar.
Descending the Moskva t o its conflu ence w ith the
Oka at Kolom na,he continu ed his j ou rney down
this river,passing the towns of Riaz an
,K a ssim of
,
a nd Mu rom,fam ou s even in those day s for their
history . On the eleventh day he cam e t o N ijnyNovgorod,
now reached in abou t eleven hou rs by rail
from Mosco,and here he m ade a ha lt of eight day s,
t o wait the arriva l Of a newly‘appointed governor Of
Astrakhan,w ith whom he w a s t o continu e the j ou r
ney . This officer h ad 5 00 large boats w ith h im ,laden
w ith soldiers andwar m u nitions,and in h is com pany
Jenkinson passed in sa fety those parts Of the
Volga inhabited by w arl ik e tribes of Finnish and
Tartar race,whose allegiance wa s not t o be depended
u pon . On the 2 9th May ou r traveller arrived at
Ka z an then in cou rse of reconstru ction . I t s w o oden
fortifications w ere being dem olished,a nd repla ced by
walls,of stone
,and Jenkinson w a s favou rably im
pressed w ith it s appearance . He wa s the first
Englishm an t o visit this c ity , where he abode fift een
day s, depa rting only on the 1 3th Ju ne . The next
day he passed the m ou th Of the Kam a,and pu rsu ed
h is j ou rney down th e lower Volga through a cou ntryinhabited by Naga i Ta rtars, wh o h ad la tely m ade
peace w ith Ru ssia . Of the ir m a nners a nd cu stom s
h e gives som e interesting pa rticu lars, which m ight
serve t o describe the K irghiz Of the present day ,
from whom the N agay ans differed only in the con
stru ction a nd m ode of carry ing the ir tents.
INTRODUCTION . XV
On the 1 4th Ju ly Jenkinson a rrived at Astrakhan,
ha ving passed on the sam e day the old town of thisnam e
,five m iles above the new town . He fou nd
Astrakhan in a deplorable sta te , ow ing t o a fam ine ,follow ed shortly afterwards by the plagu e . Heaps
Of dead N agay a ns lay u nbu ried over the island on
which Astrakhan is bu ilt , a nd m any of the su rvivors
w ere Offered a s slaves. Jenkinson cou ld have bought
a thou sand from their own fa thers or m others for a
loaf of bread a piece bu t he adds that he h ad m ore
need of provisions than of a ny su ch m erchandise .
He appears,how ever
,t o ha ve becom e the possessor Of
a Ta rtar girl ,“Au ra Soltana” ,
whom he,on h is retu rn ,
presented t o the Qu een (infra ,p . Astrakhan
w a s the farthest possession of Ru ssia towards the
Caspian , in those day s. Here the au thority of the
Tsar ended,and the travellers h ad t o rely entirely on
their own resou rces in prosecu ting their j ou rney .
Having pu rchased a boat a nd equ ipped her , the three
Engl ishm en started on their voy age on the 6 th
Augu st , in the com pany of som e Tarta rs andPersians.
Th e intricate naviga tion of the Volga delta pu t their
seam anship t o a severe test , a nd on the 1 0th theyentered the Caspian
,the first Englishm en t o enter
tha t inland sea, a nd t o sou nd and eXplore it s basin .
“ I t is cu riou s t o see”
, say sAlexander v on Hu m boldt
in h is w ork on Centra l Asia ,1“ tha t this sam e nation ,
which in the vast ocea n h a s rendered su ch great a nd
m em orable . services t o a stronom ica l science , shou ld
a lso ha ve been excited by interests of com m erce t o
survey the coasts Of a great ba sin Of Central Asia .
”
1 Asie Centra le,ii,p . 232 .
xvi INTRODUCTION .
The m eans which w ere em ploy ed by Jenkinson ,
and after h im by Christopher Bu rrough , Bru ce ,Hanway ,
and others, w ere doubtless of a very im per
fect kind,bu t t o their intrepidity Eu rope owed a
nu m ber of nau tical and topographical Observations,which threw fresh light on a part of the earth ’s
su rface concerning which com plete ignorance pre
vailed. Jenkinson’
s su rvey did not extend bey ond
the north ern coasts of the Caspian neither, on h is
j ou rney t o Bokhara nor on that t o Persia , three
y ears later , did he navigate the sou thern porti on
Of this sea ; h is m ap, therefore , publ ished in 1 5 6 1 ,
and based only on his own Observations, m ade
du ring h is first voy age , gives a w idely different.
idea of the extent and configu ration of its coasts
t o their delineation on m odern m aps. Never
theless,a s regards the northern coasts
,where they
cam e u nder h is personal observation , he is generallycorrect . He speaks of “the blu e sea ”
, a s it is stil l
cal led,a w ide bay t o the north - east of the Volga
delta ; of the Yaik , afterwards known a s the Uralriver
,debou ching into the Caspian a nd of the town
Of Sera ich ik , situated on it , visited by Ibn Batu taand several Of the m ediaeval travellers on their w ayt o U rgendj . I t w as while ly ing at anchor off the
m ou th of th e Yaik that Jenkinson,who wa s very il l
at th e tim e , ran considerable risk of falling into the
hands of a party of thirty w ell -arm ed robbers, wh oboarded h is vessel u nder the pretence of searchingfor K afirs or infidels. Fortunately for ou r English
travellers, a Tartar m ollah stood by them , a nd by
INTRODUCTION . xv ii
hard swearing prevailed u pon the rovers t o depart .
From the Yaik they sailed the direction Of
the coast , till they w ere off the now desiccated
entrance t o the Em ba , then sou th,t o get into deeper
water,crossing the w ide bu t shallow Mert vi Ku ltuk
gu lf, and approaching the northern shore of Man
gishlak peninsu la, where a ridge Of hills,ru nning
alm ost t o Cape Tiuk Karagan , lends a holder ch a
ra cter t o the coast . Here a storm overto ok them ,
and com pelled them t o land,not precisely where
they shou ld have done , bu t on the opposite side of
Koshak bay t o that Onwhich the port of Mangish lak
was situ ated. On the 3rd Septem ber,nearly one
m onth from the date Of their leaving Astrakhan ,they landed and prepared for their j ou rney t o
Vez ir .
Ou r traveller’s experiences w ere henceforward of
an a ltogether novel kind. He was am ong the w ild,
predatory inhabitants Of the steppe , the Tu rkom ans,wh o l ived then , a s they have done ever since , byrapine and plu nder . They owned no allegiance t o
king or khan,respected no law or Ob ligation of any
kind,and even disregarded ties Of kinship and
fam ily . Jenkinson fou nd it qu ite im possible t o
have a ny deal ings w ith them . Their prom ises w ere
never kept,and hardly a day passed w ithou t he a nd
h is com panions being m olested,till he wa s glad t o
pay them their own price for cam els and provisions,besides som e presents t o their prince or governor,and be qu it of them . At length , on the 1 4th
Septem ber , th e caravan,nu m bering one thou sand
c
xviii INTRODUCTION.
cam els, started. After travell ing five day s, theycam e t o the dom inions Of another prince
,Tim u r
Su ltan,brother t o Hadjim ,
reigning Khan of Kh iva .
His au thority extended t o Mangishlak ,and h is
people stopped and plu ndered the caravan . Jenkin
son,however
,rode in person t o Tim u r Su ltan , a nd
'
represented h is case so forcibly ,that he fa red better
than the others,receiving a horse w ort h abou t hal f
the valu e of the confiscated m erchandise , and good
entertainm ent. Had he not done this, he w ou ld,in
a ll probability ,have been robbed and spoiled of a ll
he possessed. Twenty day s’ travel in the desert
brought them t o what Jenkinson to ok t o be a gu lf
Of the Ca spian,bu t what really w a s Lake Sari
Kam ish , a s m odern discoveries and su rvey s have
shown . Here they refreshed them selves w ith it s
w a t er,wh ich wa s sweet— for it dou btless receivedthen ,
a s it occasi ona lly does now, som e of the su rplu s dis
charge of the Oxu s— and proceeded three day s’
m a rch t o Vez ir, or, a s it is rendered in the text,
Selliz ure , a t that tim e capital of Kw arez m,the
m odern Khanat of Khiva . Hadj im Khan wa s thenthe reigning sovereign of this cou ntry ,
and Jen
kinson wa s brought before h im and w ell received.
At a second interview he wa s qu esti oned a good deal
abou t the Em peror of Ru ssia,of whom Hadj im
’
s
father , Ogot a i Khan , h ad dou btless heard throughthe Nogai Mirz a, Kassai , a s the latter inform s Iva n
IV , in 1 5 5 3, that he h ad intim ate relations both
with the Tsar of Bokhara a nd w ith Agota i, Tsar Of
INTRODUCTION . xix
Urgendj’
; y et the earliest direct relations of these
potentates w ith the Em peror of Ru ssia w ere du e t o
the enterprise Of an Engl ish m erchant— a fa ct ,perhaps
,lost sight of in the acu te stages of the
Central Asian qu esti on .
On the 1 4th October Jenkinson and h is com
panions left Vez ir,of which barely a t race rem ains
at the present day , so com pletely desolate h a s the
place becom e since the Oxu s ceased t o flow that w ay ,
and on the second day arrived at the Old city Of
U rgendj— the Ku nia U rgendj of m odern m aps. He
fou nd it in ru ins,ow ing to the constant civil wars
waged by the Khans Of the hou ses of Ogot a i and
Enj uga. Abu lgh a z i, the historian of the Mongo l
a nd Tu rkish princes, m entions that Hadjim Khana nd h is brothers besieged Urgendj a nd reto ok it
from Ish Su ltan,brother of Dost Khan , in the 9 6 5 t h
y ear of the Hej ira, or 1 5 5 8 A .D . ,
2 therefore, shortlybefore Jenkinson’
s arrival . The ru ins of U rgendjhave been seen by a m odern Ru ssian traveller,Ba ron K a u lbars
,wh o say s a fine V iew of them m ay
be obta ined from the earthern ram parts of Ak -Kala .
3
Jenkinson rem ained a m onth at U rgendj , bu t fou ndthe trade there insignificant , so harassed h ad th e
people been by wars. The cou ntry ,t oo ,
w a s infested
by bands of m arauders,led by petty Chiefs ; for a s
soon as one h ad been w orsted in ba ttle he w ou ld flee
t o the steppe , and m aintain him self and h is follow ers
in a precariou s w ay by attacking and plu ndering1 Vesselofskg, p . 1 09 .
2 I bid.,p . 1 10.
3 Zapisky , I mp .Russk. Geogr. Obsch . Gen . Geogr.,vol . ix, p . 409 .
C 2
XX INTRODUCTION .
passing caravans. Every m an rode arm edw ith how ,
arrows, and sw ord; their pu rsu itsw ere rearing cattle ;their pastim e
,hawking ; they carriedno m oney ,
bu t
su ppl ied their wants by barter ; their chief drink w a s
m are’s m ilk,the well-known ku m iss ; and their fo od,
h orseflesh . Su ch is the pictu re drawn for u s by
Jenkinson of the inhabitants of Central Asia, and
it m ight alm ost apply t o these people at the present
day ,so little change h as there been du ring three
centu ries of native ru le .
From U rgendj Jenkinson travelled 1 00 m iles up
the desiccated bed of the old arm of the Oxu s,which
form erly flow ed near U rgendj , a nd then crossed a
great river . t o which he , or h is transcriber , gave the
nam e Of Ardole,and t o which he ascribed a cou rse of
m iles t o the northward and then 5 00 m iles
u ndergrou nd t o the lake of Kitai (Cathay). Herehe evidently tru sted t o hearsay inform ation , and
endeavou red t o reconcile it w ith the erroneou s
geography of h is tim e .
1 The passage in qu estion , and
h is other allu si ons t o the hydrography of this part of
the Ara lO -Caspian basin,have been fu lly discu ssed
bu t since the elaborate su rvey s m ade by Ru ssian
officers, m u ch new light ha s been thrown on the su b
jcet,and we therefore give in a note Baron K a u lbars
’
rem arks.
1 Derived perh aps from m yth ologica l ideas concerning th e riversof Asia , such as are to be found in Marignolli
’s Recollections of
Tra vel, or from Edri si,wh ere th is auth or speak s of th e disappea r
ance of t he Waksh -ah,one of th e head tributaries of the Oxus .
Cf . Ca tha y (Hakl . Soc), p . 350 ; Hum boldt , Asie Centra le,n,230.
xxii INTRODUCTION .
the Oxu s cou ntries enj oy ed a greater degree of pros
perity than they have done since , a ndwhose m em oryis still cherished by the inhabitants of Tu rkest a n .
l
Our traveller’s accou nt Of h im is not altogether
favou rable,a s he w ent t o th e wars w ithou t pay ing
h is debts nevertheless,Jenkinson considered h im
self fortu nate in receiving part of what wa s ow ed
h im and being despatched. Foregoing h is intentionOf retu rning through Persia , Jenkinson departed from
Bokhara on the 8th March 1 5 5 9,w ith a caravan
of 600 cam els . In seventeen day s he crossed the
intervening desert , arriving at U rgendj on the 2 5 t h
of the sam e m onth,in the com pany Of two am ba s
sadors, sent by the Khans of Bokhara a nd Balkht o the Em peror of Ru ssia . At Urgendj fou r m ore
am bassadors from it sKhan j oined h is party ,Jenkin
son u ndertaking that they shou ld be w ell treated
in Ru ssia,and su ffered t o depart . On the 23rd
April they w ere once m ore on th e shore of the
Ca spian,w here they fou nd their barqu e , bu t neither
anchor,cable
,nor sail in her . To rem edy these
deficiencies they set t o w ork and spun a cable Of
som e hem p they brought w ith them ,m ade a sail Of
cotton cloth,a nd w ere devising an anchor Of a
w ooden cart-wheel , when a barqu e opportu nelyarrived from Astrakhan w ith a spare anchor
,which
Jenkinson pu rchased. Having rigged their vessel to
the best of their ability ,t h e three Englishm en , w ith
six am bassadors, and twenty -fiv e Ru ssian slaves,liberated from captivity through the instru m entality
See D e Moscou en Ba clria ne, Bonva llot , p. 248.
INTRODUCTION . xxiii
Of Jenkinson , set sail,and after narrowly escaping
shipw reck , or a w orse fate , arrived in sa fety at
Astrakhan on the 28th May . Here they rem a ined
till the l 0t h of Ju ne , engaged in preparations - for
their boat j ou rney up the Volga .
Jenk inson breaks off h is narrative at this point
t o say som ething of the Caspian and the cou ntries
bordering u pon it ; he also gives the resu lt Of h is
Observations on the trade of Persia,a nd its Chief
towns. He fou nd that h is English cloth cou ld not
com pete w ith m erchandise of a sim ilar kind im ported
by w ay of the Levant a nd Sy ria ; while , ow ing t o
the few ships, the want of port s a nd m art towns,
the poverty of the people , and th e ice , no trade of
a ny im portance cou ld be done on the Caspian .
On the l oth Ju ne , w ith an escort Of 1 00 gu nners
t o protect him,as well a s the Khivan a nd Bokh aria n
am bassadors,Jenkinson departed from Astrakhan .
I t took them six w eeks t o ascend the Volga t o Kaz an,and the whole of this tim e they had no opportu nity of
revictu al l ing ,for there w ere no habitations between
these towns. Very different is the low er Volga at
the present day ,w ith m any large and flou rishing
towns on its banks, cou ntless steam ers,lighters, and
craft of every kind ply ing it s waters. Nothingw ou ld probably better m ark the lapse of tim e than
the contrast betw een Jenkinson ’
s Volga a nd th e
Volga of ou r day . On the 7 th Augu st they departed
Ka z an , and proceededby wa ter as far a sMu rom,
nu ing the j ou rney by land t o Mosco,where
they arrived on the 2ud Septem ber , after an absence
INTRODUCTION .
of a y ear, five m onths, and nine day s. Jenkinson
had an audience of the Tsar, t o whom he presented
a y ak’
s tail and a Tartar dru m ; he al so brought
before h im the six am bassadors com m itted t o h is
charge , and the twenty -five Ru ssian liberated slaves.
The Tsar received h im w ell,invited him t o dinner,
a nd asked him variou s qu estions relating t o h is
travels. From the 2md Septem ber t o the 1 7 th
February our traveller abode at Mosco , chieflyengaged in the Com pany
’
s affairs. Then havingleave from the Em peror t o depart
,he proceeded
t o Vologhda ,where he waited the Opening of the
navigation , arriving safely at Kh olm ogori on the
9 t h May 1 5 6 0. Hence he retu rned t o England byship w it-h Henry Lane .
H is reception in England on his retu rn from
Central Asia wa s not what a traveller in these day s
w ou ld expect a s h is due , h ad he overcom e the sam e
difficu lties and done a s m u ch for the benefit of h is
cou ntry and for science , as Jenkinson . There w ere
no scientific societi es t o w elcom e our hero (for herohe u ndoubtedly wa s)and do h im honou r. He had
penetrated w ith u nda unted cou rage and persever
a nce into lands till then u nknown,and he h ad won
for England the first place in overland explorationstowards Cathay . Bu t though h is w ork was val u edby the m erchants, h is narrative of what he saw and
did (m odestly as it was told)earned for h im no
special reward ordistinction . Nevertheless,the Mer
chant Adventu rers decided t o send h im ou t aga in
in 1 5 6 1 ; and they accordingly organised another
INTRODUCTION XXV
expedition to the trans-Caspian cou ntries, with Jenkinson
,now a m em ber of their Society , a s their
representative , to try and open com m ercia l inter
cou rse w ith Persia. He wa s instru cted t o proceed
t o Mosco , present the Qu een’
s letters t o the Tsar,
a nd su ch gifts a s he m ight consider su itable,and
ask for letters of safe condu ct through h is dom inions.
If it shou ld appear desirable,he w a s t o treat for a
fixed tariff on the transit of their m erchandise t o
a nd from Persia and other cou ntries. As t o the
sale or barter of their ware , fu ll discretion was given
h im,and he was al so t o select su ch of the Com
pany’
s servants or apprentices t o accom pany h im a s
he m ight find necessary ,taking one , at a ll events
,
on whom he cou ld depend in case of any thing hap
pening t o him self. On arriving in Persia, he w as
t o present the Qu een ’s letters t o the Shah,or Great
Sophi”,as this potentate wa s u su ally sty led in
E u rope , and obtain,if possible , letters of privilege
for a free trade into h is dom inions. I f he shou ld
find it im possible t o pass into Persia in the su m
m er of 1 5 6 2 , he m ight either condu ct a n expedi
tion t o search for the north- east passage by Nova
Zem bla ,or wait for the chance of entering Persia
in 1 5 63,u nless in the m eanwhile an opportu nity
shou ld present itself of disposing of the Com pany’
s
cloth in Ru ssia . As a last resou rce , he m ight carryh is m erchandise through Poland t o Constantinople ,or elsewhere . I t w a s also suggested that Richard
Johnson,Jenkinson
’
s form er com panion t o Bokhara,
m ight em ploy h is tim e t o advantage in exploring
IN TROD UCT ION .
the coasts of the Arctic Sea to the east of K h olm o
gori , and be at Mosco in tim e t o start w ith Jenkin
son for Persia.
On the 1 4th May 1 5 6 1 ou r traveller em barked
at Gravesend in the Swa llow,and on the 2 6 th Ju ly
follow ing arrived at Kh olm ogori. Hence he pro
ceeded overland t o Vologhda ,passing through the
old Ru ssian province of Vago , a nd accom pl ishingthis pa rt of h is j ou rney in thirteen day s, instead of
five w eeks,the tim e u sual ly taken to reach it by
water,in boats towed up the Dw ina . On the 20th
Augu st he arrived at Mosco , where he sought an
interview w ith the Em peror . Som e tim e,however
,
elapsed before this wa s granted,the Tsar being
then engaged in celebrating h is second nuptials.
Ou r traveller , t oo ,m et w ith som e opposition from
the Secretary , Ivan Mikh a ilof Viscova ty ,who h ad
on other occa s ions befriended the Engl ish .
So little su ccess did Jenkinson m eet w ith,that he
w a s on th e point of taking his departu re for England,
h a vm g disposed of the Com pany’
s cloth a nd other
m erchandise , and h adn ct u a lly received h is passport
a nd paid for the post -horses to convey h im on h is
hom eward j ou rney ,when Osep Napea, w ith whom
he h ad m ade the voy age t o Ru ssia in 1 5 5 7 , ca lled,
a nd persu aded h im t o rem ain till the m atter had
been reconsidered. Jenkinson followed his advice,
a nd three day s a fterwards received the desired per
m issi on t o travel t o Persia , w ith the prom ise of
letters of recom m endation t o the foreign princes
through whose territory he m ight pass. N ot only
INTRODUCTION . XXV l l
w as this favou r shown h im,bu t he wa s also charged
by the Tsar w ith im portant com ons,
1 probablyreferring t o the relations of Ru ss1a W ith the Ciroa ssian princes who h ad taken the oath of allegiance ,and asked to be led against the Tu rk . Whatever
these “ im portant m atters” were , ou r. traveller isdiscreetly silent abou t them though he appears t ohave acqu itted him self t o the com plete satisfaction
of Ivan ,wh o
,t o show his gratitude , granted m ore
am ple privileges t o the English than they h ad y etenj oy ed.
On the 1 5 th of March Jenkinson dined w ith
the Em peror, in the com pany of an am bassador of
Persia,w ith whom he travelled t o Astrakhan
,where
they arrived on the l 0th Ju ne,in go od health . Here
they parted com pany , the Persian a m bassador set
ting ou t in h is own barqu e , while Jenkinson ,who h ad
letters to the Governor of Astrakhan,prepared t o
follow h im . The northern part of the Caspian w a s
frequ ented by pirates, a nd rendered unsafe for m er
chant vessels (only a few y ears lat er, Du ckett ,retu rning from Persia , w a s attacked and plundered
of m ost of h is goods); it w as therefore necessa rythat Jenkinson shou ld have a convoy t o take h im
past the dangerou s places. Tw o brigantines w ith
fifty gu nners”
(or strelitsi)w ere placed at hisservice for this pu rpose , and em ba rking on the 1 5 th
Ju ly 1 5 6 2 , he once m ore sailed into the Caspian,
a nd taking a sou th -w esterly cou rse,threaded h is
way through the nu m erou s islands ly ing off t he
K a ra m sin,viii
,p . 25 2 .
xxviii IN TRODUCTION .
Volga delta, sighting on the second day the coast
of Tu m en , the cou ntry of Tem gruk ,father- in - law
of Ivan . In their anxiety t o avoid pirates, Jenkin
son a nd h is party sailed forty m iles ou t of their
cou rse,and ran u pon a sand-bank ou t of sight of
land,where t hey m ight a ll have perished. Having
escaped this peril , they w ere overt aken by a violent
storm off the coast of Ku m yk , and obliged t o lie
t o for seven day s. Their vessel had becom e leaky ,
a nd they had lost an anchor bu t they rode ou t the
gale w ith the rem aining one, and kept her afloat
by pu m ping . The rem ainder of their voy age theyaccom pl ished w ithou t fu rther m ishap . On the 1 st
Augu st Jenkinson landed at Derbend,at that t irne
a possession of Persia . This city had not till then
been visited by any Englishm an , although the
Italian travellers of the 1 5 th and l 6 th centu riesh ad passed through it , a nd Contarini stay ed there
several m onths in 1 4 7 5 Jenkinson notices its
singu lar position between the m ou ntains and the
sea ,and speaks of its castle and the celebrated wall
of Al exander . From Derbend he continu ed h is
voy age along the coast for eighty m iles t o Shabran ,
where he discharged his barqu e and prepared for h isj ou rney inland.
News ha ving been received from the King of
Shirvan that Jenkinson m ight repair to h is cou rt,
ou r traveller started on the 1 2th Augu st , and
arrived at Shem akha on the 1 8th . He then rode
twenty m iles into the m ountains,where he fou nd
1 See his Tra vels, published by the Hakluy t Society , p. 1 47 .
XXX I NTRODUCTION .
Soly m an , and soon after threw Baja z et into prison .
Shah Tahm a sp,however
, still declined t o give h im
u p al ive , bu t at length accepted a bribe t o all owh im t o be killed. A special m essenger , Hassan
Agha , a eu nu ch of the cou rt,the “ am bassador” of
ou r text,w a s sent from Constantinople
,a nd h ad a n
interview w ith Baja z et , whom at first he did not
recognise, and it w a s only after he h ad been washed
and shaved that he knew h is play m ate of form er
y ears. Baja z et’
s identity having been established,
Hassan Agha received o rders t o pu t h im t o death ,which he did u nder circu m stances of great cru elty ,
h is sons, down t o an infant of two y ears, sharingtheir father’s fate . 1
The fate of Baja z et created m u ch interest in
Eu rope,pa rtly no dou bt from sy m pathy towards
the w retched m an , bu t chiefly for it s po litical influ
ence , a s it w a s fea red tha t the Su ltan , ha ving su c
ceeded in extingu ishing what m ight have becom e a
form idable conspira cy ,wou ld be m ore haughty a nd
difficu lt t o treat w ith than ever . In Persia,a s w e
learn from Jenkinson,it u nited for the tim e rel igiou s
differences,and cau sed great rej oicing a m ong Mu
h am m adans of a ll creeds.
Seeing that he cou ld m ake no progress in h is
negotia tions, and having passed the w inter at
1 In a note to the recent Engl ish edi tion of De Bu sbecq’
s letters,
from wh ich t he above particula rs are borrowed , the da te a ss ignedt o the dea th of Baja z et is the 25 th Septem ber 1 5 6 1 . Jenkin son ,
h owever,who arrived in K a z vin in October 1 5 6 2
,says tha t it
h a ppened a few day s before h is a rriva l . (Of . Life a nd Letters ofOgier Ghiselin de Busbecq . London
,1 881 , vol. i, p.
I NTRODUCTION .
Kaz vin,Jenkinson now prepared t o depart . He w as
fortu na te in being allow ed t o do this in safety ,for
it seem ed probable at one tim e that the Shah w ou ld
serve h im in the sam e w ay as he h ad done Baja z et ,a nd send h is head a present t o the Su ltan . On the
20th March he set ou t on h is hom eward j ou rney ,
arriving on the 3oth at Ardebil , a nd on the 1 5 th
April at Jevat , where he h ad another interview
w ith Abdu llah Khan,from whom h e obtained
letters of safe condu ct , and privileges for the Engl ish m erch ants. Proceeding t o Shem akha, be there
received a m essage from Sim on , King of Georgia,pray ing that assistance m ight be sent him
,for
,
situ ated a s he w a s betw een two pow erfu l Mu h am
m adan Sta tes,Tu rkey a nd Persia
,he fou nd him self
continu ally involved in their wars, th e consequ encesof which w ere disastrou s t o h is cou ntry . Jenkinson
did h is best t o open com m u nications w ith h im, by
sending Edward Clarke t o Arash,on the road t o
Tifiis,w ith orders t o enter Georgia ,
a nd if possible
see the K ing . Clarke,how ever
,w a s stopped a t the
frontier,and rej oined Jenkinson at Shem akha
,the
two em barking together t o retu rn t o Ru ssia on the
2 1 st April 1 5 63. Good fortu ne seem s never t o have
deserted ou r traveller be safely pa ssed a ll dangers
by land and sea ,a nd on the 3oth May fou nd him self
once m ore at Astrakhan . Here he wa s providedw ith
the sa m e escort a s before,1 00gu nners or strelitzi
,
rea ching Ka z an on the 1 5 t h Ju ly and Mosco on the
20th Augu st , w ith a ll h is goods a nd valu ables,both
for the Tsar’s accou nt a s w ell a s for the Com pany .
Xxx l l IN TRODUCTION .
For the Tsar he brought preciou s stones andwrought
silks of variou s colou rs and kinds ; for the Com pany ,
raw silk and dy e—stu ffs, besides other m erchandise ,
a ll of which w ere laden in the Com pany’
s ships,and despatched t o England the sam e y ear .
Jenkinson stay ed the w inter at Mosco , despatchingEdward Clarke overland t o England w ith advices.
He in the m eantim e prepared a second expedition
t o Persia,which he com m itted t o the charge of
Alcock,Wren , and Cheinie .
A short accou nt of this voy age is preserved in
Haklu y t’
s collection , w ritten by Ch einie . From thisit appears that he and Alcock started from Yaroslav l on the l oth May 1 5 63 (1 5 6 4 and arrived
at Astrakhan on the 24t h Ju ly . On the 2nd of
Augu st they departed from Astrakhan , entered the
Caspian on the 4th,a nd arrived at th eir port in
Media (probably Bilbil)on the 1 1 t h of the sam e
m onth . On the 2 1 st they w ere at Shem akha , where
they w ere w ell entertained by Abdu llah Kha n . On
the 20th October Alcock startedfor Kaz vin , leavingCheinie behind at Shem akha t o collect debts
,in
which , however , the latter appears t o have been
u nsu ccessfu l . Upon Al cock’
s retu rn from Kaz vin,
Cheinie w ent t o m eet h im at Jev a t . Alcock now
pressed the K ing for pay m ent of debts ow ed by h isdukes Bu t the King w as displeased at the death
of a Muham m adan,cau sedby a Ru ssia n m erchant , and
Alcock , finding tha t m atters w ere looking seriou s,de
sired Cheinie t o depart for Shem akha w ith a ll su ch
goods as he (Alcock)had bought at Kaz vin . Cheinie
INTRODUCTION . xxxiii
reached Shem akha in safety ,bu t
,on the th ird day
after h is arrival,learned that Alcock h ad been
m u rdered on h is way t o j o in h im . Seeing that he
w a s alone,and that the Ru ssian m erchants were
hastening t o leave the cou ntry , fearing the conse
qu ences of their cou ntry m an’
s im prudent a ct , Ch einie
also m ade a ll the haste he cou ld,and sent h is m er
ch andise t o the seaside . He him self continu ed t o
reside at Shem akha six w eeks longer, and after
m u ch trou ble su cceeded in recovering roubles
of the debts. Cheinie throws ou t su ndry im pu ta
tions against Glover’
s honesty ,and concludes by a
pitifu l appeal t o the Com pany t o see h im righted,
for he had su ffered m u ch in their service , and h ad
sown the seed while others h ad reaped the harvest .
The su cceeding fou r voy ages t o Persia, from Hak
lu y t’
s collection , are given in the Appendix . Arthu r
Edwards describes the third voy ag e in three letterst o the Ru ssia Com pany . The first of these is datedfrom Yaroslaf, on the 1 5 t h May 1 5 6 5 , and iefers t o
the preparations for the j ou rney ,the appointm ent
of Johnson , form erly com panion of Jenk inson , a s
chief, and the fitting ou t of a sm all barqu e , m adea fter the English sty le , for the naviga tion of the
Caspian . In a second letter,w ritten from Shem akha
on the 2 6 th April 1 5 6 6 , Edwards relates their departu re from Astrakhan and arrival at Niz abad
,on
the coast of Shirvan (now included in the Ru ssian
governm ent of Baku , bu t long since abandoned a s
a port, ow ing t o it s inconvenience for shipping).d
xxxiv INTRODUCTION .
Having landed their go ods, and hau led their vessel
into a place of secu rity , Edwards, Johnson , and
K itchin set ou t for Shem akha,where they arrived
on the 1 l th Septem ber,and six day s afterwards
w ere adm itted t o the presence of the goodAbdu llah
Khan,wh o h ad received Jenkinson and Alcock so
hospitably . To h im they presented som e rich gifts,—a tim ber of sables, a nest of silver-gil t cu ps, three
walru s-tu sks,scarlet cloth
, et c. These w ere graci
ou sly received,and the Englishm en were prom ised
protection, and asked t o m ake known their w ishes
in writing. Bu t before they had done this Abdu llah
Khan died, and the Engl ish lost in h im a good friend.
From that tim e trou bles and m isfortu nes cam e
thickly u pon them . Losses from death a nd sickness,bad debts, attacks by pirates on the Caspian , and
robbers on land, together w ith the distu rbed state
of the cou ntry consequ ent on the wars between
Tu rkey and Persia, rendered vain a ll attem pts of
the agents t o establ ish a trade for the Com pany in
Persia, and final ly led t o their abandonm ent,—not ,
how ever,before six expeditions h ad been sent ou t .
The first and second have already been m entioned
w e w ill now continu e ou r accou nt of th e third.
Edwards reached Kaz vin,and fou nd the Shah w ell
disposed towards the Engl ish , and desirou s of trad
ing w ith them . Privileges w ere obtained, exem ptingth e Engl ish from paym ent of a ll cu stom s and tolls,and allowing them free access t o a ll parts of Persia
and the adj o ining cou ntries ju stice wa s t o be done
them,and their debts paid, et c. Yet , notw ithstand
I N TRODUCTI ON . XXXV
ing that these articles w ere supplem ented on a subsequ ent occasion by fu rther grants, the trade didnot prosper, and it w a s fou nd that bu t l ittle respect
w a s paid to’
the Shah’s a u thority in the ou tly ingprovinces. Edwards heard tha t the silk indu stryin Ghilan was in a flou rishing state , and that al u m
cou ld be bought at a price t o m ake it worth while
exporting t o England. He recom m ended that com
m unica t ions shou ld be Opened direct w ith a port on
the coast of Ghilan (probably Lahijan), seven or
eight day s’
sail from Astrakhan , and was sangu ine
of arranging for qu ick retu rns thence by inland
navigation through Ru ssia t o the White Sea .
The record of the fou rth voy age is told by Law
rence Chapm an , whose letter is dated from Kaz vin ,April 28, 1 5 6 9 . His tale differs w idely from that
of h is chief,Edwards. Chapm an su cceeded in bar
tering som e of the cloth in Tabriz for spices ; bu t a
sale m ade by him t o a m erchant in Georgia wa sthrown on his hands, and he h ad no redress, though
h is bu y er was a Christian . He fou nd it im possible
t o com pete w ith the Venetians, Tu rks, and Arm e
h ians, who held the Levantine trade in their Own
hands. At Kaz vin , he fou nd no sale for the Engl ish com m odities and he rem arks u pon the m anifold
dangers and discom forts of travell ing in Persia,which led h im to prefer , a s he qu aintly pu ts it, t o
continu e‘
a begger in England du ring l ife , than t orem a ine a rich m erchant in this cou ntry (Persia)
”
Chapm an travelled into Ghilan, a nd visited the
chief towns of that rich bu t pestilential cou ntry .
d 2
xxxvi INTRODUCTION .
He fou nd,how ever
,m any Tu rks there , who gave
h im the disingenu ou s advice of try ing Al eppo a s a
m arket for English go ods. Som e fu rther notes on
t his fou rth voy age are added by RichardWilles,from inform ation Su pplied by Edwards, whose inter
view w ith the Shah is described a t som e length .
A fifth voy age wa s sent t o Persia in 1 5 6 9 , u nder
th e com m and of Thom as Bannister, u pon whose
death Geoffrey Du ckett took cha rge . Their partyconsisted of the two agents ju st m entioned
,Lionel
Plu m tree, som e tw elve Engl ishm en
, and forty Ru s
sians. They em barked at Yarosla f, in a barqu e of
7 0 tons bu rden , nam ed the Thom a s Bona venture,
probably bu ilt expressly for the Persia n trade . On
their voy age down the Volga they w ere attacked bythe Nagay Tart ars,who w ere in leagu e w ith the Krim s
then abou t t o invade Ru ssia,and only su cceeded in
beating off their assa ilants after tw o hou rs’ hard
fighting ,in which the Engl ish plied their cal ivers
(m u skets)so w ell , that 1 20 of the Tartars w ere re
ported t o have been placedhers ole com ba t,bu t 36 ou t
Of 4 1 m en were killed andw ou ndedon their own side .
l
At Astrakhan they w ere w itnesses of a great invasi on
of Tu rks and Tartars, sent by Su ltan Selim I I t o
take Astrakhan , or at a ll events establish the Ottom an pow er in Sou thern Ru ssia, —a design com
plet ely fru strated by the stubborn defence of the
sm all Ru ssian garrison in tha t town , a s w ell a s bythe divided cou nsels am ong the besiegers them
1 Bannister to Cecil, Ca l . S . P .
,For. Eliz . , 1 5 69- 7 1 , N o. 813.
xxxviii IN TRODUCT ION .
considered their coin , obtained in an honou rablew ay ,
w ou ld be m ore acceptable t o the prophet thanh is
,which wa s gotten by dishonest m eans.
After spending six m onths in Kaz vin , Bannisterdeparted for Tabriz
,where he fou nd Du ckett, com
plet ely restored t o health . Soon afterwardsBannisterproceeded t o Shem akha
,and thence t o Arrash ,
where
he fell a victim t o the m alaria for which that placeis notoriou s even at the present day . Here , t oo ,died Lawrence Chapm an and five m ore Engl ishm en . These losses, together w ith the robbery and
m u rder Of two other Engl ishm en sent by Du ckett
t o bring h im intell igence of h is colleagu e, happeningw ithin the short space of tim e of five w eeks, w ere
a severe blow t o the Persian enterprise . Du ckett ,how ever
,u pon whom the whole responsibil ity now
fell , show ed him self equ a l t o the em ergency . F inding that the governor of Shem akha w ou ld not all ow
h im t o rem ove the m erchandise,which h ad been
seiz ed u pon the death of Bannister, w ithou t expressorder from the Shah , he j ou rney ed t o Ka z vin t o
obta in the requ isite au thority from this sovereign ,a nd having obtained this, retu rned t o Shem akha
,
and then m ade preparations for a j ou rney t o Kashan .
This he su ccessfu lly accom plished, passing on h is
w ay , bu t only briefly alluding t o , the im posing re
m ains Of Persepol is, the capital of Xerxes. I t is
interesting t o com pare h is description of Kashanw ith those of m odern travellers, andfind the accou ntsagreeing in the m a in . Persia of E liz abethan tim esoffers bu t few points of contrast w ith Persia of the
Victorian era .
I N TRODUCTION . xxxix
Retu rning once m ore t o Shem akha,Du ckett
passed som e fu rther tim e in variou s places, bu y ingraw silk and other m erchandise , and at length ,on the 8th May 1 5 7 3, set sail for Astrakhan .
His adventu res, however , w ere by no m eans at anend
,for after beating abou t the Caspian for tw enty
day s, he wa s set u pon by Cossack pirates, t o the
nu m ber of 1 5 0. After a gall ant resistance and som edesperate fighting,
in which fou rteen of the piratesw ere kil led and thirty w ou nded,
the Engl ish , a ll of
whom w ere w ounded,w ere com pelled t o m ak e term s
and su rrender their ship . The Cossacks sw ore on
their cru cifixes t o respect their l ives,a nd tu rned them
a ll adrift in a boat w ith a su pply of horse flesh and
sw ine’s flesh , bu t no other victuals or relief. In
this plight the English m ade the best of their w ayt o Astrakhan
,where Du ckett at once m ade known
their conditi on t o the captain (governor)of this
town . He im m edia tely despatch ed h is son ,w ith
forty boats and five hu ndred m en,in pu rsu it Of the
pirates. This force,by good lu ck , cam e up w ith them ,
and m ight have effected a n easy captu re , h ad theynot foolishly warned the enem y of their a pproa ch
by sou nding their dru m s. This gave the Cossacks
tim e t o cu t their cables and go off into deep water,where the boats cou ld not follow them . Subse
qu ently ,however
,m any of them w ere captu red,
and
w orth Of goods recovered. The Engl ishm enhaving regained their strength a t Astrakhan , pro
ceeded up the Volga ,bu t w ere caught in the ice in
October, and their boats cu t in su nder, cau sing the
loss of m u ch that they h ad saved. With the re
x l INTRODUCTION .
m a inder they m ade their way overland t o Vologhda ,
and thence sent it t o St . Nicholas. Meanwhile ,Du ckett , Plu m tree , and Ria ll w ent t o Mosco , where
the Tsar took pity on them and bought som e of
their goods. After spending the w inter in Mosco ,they departed for St . Nicholas
,and em barked in
Augu st 1 5 7 4 for England,arriving in London in
the m onth of October, after a storm y passage of
nine w eeks. Thu s ended this u nfortu na te voy age ,which at one tim e h ad prom ised so w ell for the
Com pany .
Th e sixth a nd last attem pt of the Moscovy Com
pany t o establ ish a trade w ith Persia through
Ru ssia w as in 1 5 7 9 - 81 . The fou r principal factors
sent ou t from Englandw ere Arthu r Edwards,William
Tu rnbu ll , Matthew Ta lboy s, andPeter Garrard. The
narra tive of their do ings is preserved in a letterw ritten by Christopher Bu rrough t o h is u ncle
,W il
liam Bu rrough , who w ill be frequ ently m entioned
in the follow ing pages.
1 Upon t heir arrival at
Astrakhan , they learnt that great trou bles h ad
com e u pon Persia , —the Tu rks, w ith their allies theK rim Ta rtars, having conqu ered Media, or Shirv an .
Under these circu m stances,and a s the season w as
already far advanced,the English decided t o pa ss
the w inter in Astrakhan . They appear t o have kept
a chronicle of the chief events which happeneddu ring their stay here . Thu s, m ention is m ade of
a total eclipse of the m oon on the 31 st Janu ary1 5 80; of a great fire a t the Tartar y u rt , abou t three
1 See pp. 25 4,25 6 .
IN TRODUCTION . x li
quarters of a m ile from Astrakhan ; and other re
m arkable phenom ena and events. In the spring of
the y ear news reached Astrakhan that the Qu een
of Persia (w ife Of the blind King Khodabendeh ,
son of Shah Tahm asp, who h ad died in 1 5 7 6)h adattacked and defeated the Tu rks in Shirvan bu t
that Derbend was stil l held by the Tu rks. A con
su lta t ion of the factors w as now held, and they
determ ined on prosecu ting their voy age , leavingArthu r Edwards w ith half their goods atAstrakhan .
On the 1 st Of May , accordingly , they w eighed anchor
and departed, experiencing great difficu lty in floa t
ing their large ship over the shallows which obstru ct
the navigation of the Volga delta. I t w as not til l
the 1 5 th May that they w ere clear of the shoals,and on the 1 7 th they bore off t o sea and reloaded
their ship ,—for they had been obliged t o l ighten herin order t o pass
/ t h e shal lows. On the 2 7 th theysaw land abOiI t th ree leagu es from them ,
and,sail ing
betw ee i i‘
som e rocks called Barm ak tash and the
coast , passed their port of Bilbil , where they shou ld
have pu t in bu t cou ld not , probably becau se their
ship drew t oo m u ch water. Sailing al ong the coast
they cam e t o Bildigh ,in the north -west corner of
the peninsul a of Apsheron , only one day’
s j ou rneyon fo ot from Baku . Here they anchored, and spoke
w ith som e natives,wh o confirm ed the reports which
h ad reached them at Astrakhan Derbend was gar
risoned by Tu rks, com m anded by a Tu rkish pasha ;Shem akha w as destroy ed,
and bu t few inhabitants
left in it . Under these circu m stances it w ou ld have
xl ii INTRODUCTION .
been a hopeless task t o t ry and enter Persia w ith
their goods, so they determ ined t o open com m u nica
tions, if possible, w ith the Tu rkish pasha . With
this obj ect in view,they sent a m essenger t o Baku ,
wh o brought back w ord the follow ing day that the
captain (governor)of Baku h ad received h im w ell ,a nd w ou ld him self visit them . Preparations w ere
m ade for the reception of this officer , who arrived
w ith an escort of thirty soldiers, clad in shirts of
m ail,w ith gau ntlets of silver and steel , fair t o
behold. The factors received h im in a tent theyh ad erected on shore
,and
,after an interchange of
friendly salu tations, gave h im som e rich presents,which w ere gratefu lly accepted. They then re
qu ested that they m ight’
be allowed t o go t o Der
bend. This wa s acceded t o ; andas the road thither
w as dangerou s, the officer said he w ou ld first send
t o that city and notify the pasha of their a rrival,
specify ing the goods they h ad brought , and what
they proposed t o take in exchange . Bu t he askedfor a hostage , a s, in case they went away ,
he m ight
lose h is head. Peter Garrard offered him self a s
hostage , and he wa s accom panied by an interpreter
for the Persian langu age , and by Christopher Bu r
rough , who spoke Ru ssian . They w ere taken t o avillage abou t ten m iles from the seaside
,where
they w ere well treated. The follow ing m orning,
Tu rnbu ll , Ta lboy s, and Thom as Hudson , m aster of
the ship, j o ined them , and they a ll w ent t o Baku,
a nd from thence t o Derbend, travelling thither notby the ordinary roads, for they w ere dangerou s, bu t
IN TRODUCTION .
through w oods. They w ere w ell received by Osm an
Pasha at Derbend,and given leave t o trade . By
h is invita tion they brought their ship from Bildigh
and anchored her Opposite Derbend,where they
u nloaded her ; bu t finding no great sal e for theirwares, they sent som e in a sm all boat t o Baku . Here
,
t oo,l ittle cou ld be done
,and an attem pt t o open com
m u nica t ionsw ith Shem akha nearly provedfat al t o oneof the party . The factors
,in the m eantim e
,learn
ing that the leaky condition of their barqu e m ade it
doubtfu l if sh e w ou ld carry them back t o Astrakhan ,pu rchased a vessel called a bu ss
,of thirty -five tons
bu rden, of an Arm enian . This vessel w a s ly ing Off an
island near Bildigh , and they wrote t o those of their
com pany at Baku t o rece ive and load her w ith
su ch goods a s they cou ld bu y there . Hardl y was
this done when a storm arose,cables and hawsers
w ere broken, and their new ly pu rchased vessel driven
ashore and da shed t o pieces on the rocks. Al l on
board and part of the cargo were saved,bu t a chest
of gold bu llion a nd several bal es of cloth were lost.
Abou t this tim e,the pasha at Derbend, having
received treasu re t o pay h is soldiers, changed h is
m anner towards the factors, wh o w ere suddenlyordered t o leave the town .
By the 3rd October they w ere ready t o set sail
for Astrakhan , when they received news of the ship
w reck of their bu ss at Bildigh ,and that their com
panions whom they h ad intended t o leave behind
w ere on their w ay t o j o in them . This detained them
som e day s longer on the coast and by the tim e a ll
xliv INTRODUCTION .
h ad j o ined the ship , including two Spaniards taken
prisonersby the Tu rks, the season w as far advanced.
Contrary w inds.
and storm y w eather aga in delay edthem
, so that , before reaching the fou r islands (the
CheteriBugm'
of the Ru ssians), their vesselw asca u gh t
in the ice , and drifted helplessly t o and fro . Mean
while they were redu ced t o great straits for want of
provisions, and fam ine w as sta ring them in the face ,when the m u ch -needed help arrived from Astra
khan,m easu res having been taken by the governor
of that town t o rescu e them . At length they al l
arrived there in safety , after go ing through m anyhardships, accidents, and adventu res. They rem ained
the w inter at Astrakhan , experiencing kind t reat
m ent from the governor and a ll the Oflicia ls. In the
following spring they set ou t on their voy age up the
Volga, tak ing w ith them the goods they h ad pu r
chased in Shirva n . That su m m er they em barked for
England,arriving in London in Septem ber 1 5 81 .
Thu s ended the sixth and last a ttem pt of the
Mu scovy Com pany t o establ ish a trade w ith Persia
through Ru ssia .
On the 9 th Ju ly 1 5 6 4 Jenkinson em barked for
England on board the Swa llow, the sam e vessel in
which he h ad sailed for Ru ssia, a nd a rrived safely in
London on the 28th Septem ber, after an absence of
m ore than three y ears.
He h ad ventu red h is l ife freely for h is em ploy ers,and h ad satisfaction in finding that h is services wereappreciated,
for in the next charter of privileges h is
xlvi I N TRODUCTION
East andWest Indies wa s w ithin their grasp . Three
fou rths of the u nknown w orld h ad by these m eans
been discovered. One - fou rth y et rem ained ; the
northern parts of Am erica, where Engl ishm en , led
by I tal ians, h ad first set fo ot and the fam ou s regi on
of Cathay , towards which they h ad been strivingsince Willoughby sailed in 1 5 53 into the Arctic Sea .
Several y ears h ad elapsed since the last efforts h ad
been m ade , du ring which , thanks t o the Ru ssian
trade,English navigators were being trained in
northern voy ages, and it w a s tim e t o renew the
attem pts,and not allow the lau rels of Arctic enter
prise t o be snatched from their grasp . Su ch were
the argu m ents u sed by Jenkinson , in a petition
addressed t o the Qu een , dated the 31 st May 1 5 6 5 .
His own j ou rney s, and the inform ation collected byhim self and others, convinced h im of the possibil ityof navigating the Polar Seas and opening the passage
from w est t o east , provided that the right tim e of
y ear w ere chosen , and every prepa ration m ade t o en
su re su ccess. He offered him self t o take the lead, and
w as ready t o ventu re l ife and fortune in the service
of h is cou ntry . To enter into the m erits of the rival
schem es of Cathay an enterprise, a s they w ere discu ssed by Jenkinson ,
Gilbert , and others, w ou ld bebey ond ou r pu rpose , and w e m u st now allude t o h isservices on the coast of Scotland in the au tu m n of
1 5 6 5 , in the interval between h is retu rn from Persia
a nd h is third j ou rney t o Ru ssia . The accou nt isderived from docum ents preserved at the StatePaper Office .
INTRODUCTION .
The narrow seas between the British Isles and theContinent swarm ed w ith privateers, who were the
terror of peaceable m erchantm en .
English m erch ants and Engl ish gentlem en says Lindsay ,in h is Mercha nt Shipping (vol . ii, p . whose esta tes laycontiguous to th e sea coast , or on th e creeks and navigablerivers, fitted out vessels as traders, undervague and questionable com m issions, and sent th em forth h ea vily arm ed toplunder on th e h igh seas wh a tever sh ips
,including not u n
frequently th ose of th eir own countrym en,th ey m igh t con
sider worthy of th eir prey .
”
The Spanish shipping w as the chief Object of
attack, bu t France fared equ ally badly ,even after
the declaration of peace w ith that cou ntry ; and
frequ ent com plaints w ere m ade by Phil ip of Spain,
Catherine de Medicis,and her son Charles IX,
at
the losses su stained by their subjects. El iz abeth
becam e at length herself alarm ed at the lawlessnessof these so - call ed privateers
,and took m easu res t o
su ppress them . One of the vessels com m issionedfor this pu rpose
,the Agde, of 200 tons bu rden
,
carry ing eighteen gu ns, left Qu eenborough on the1 7 t h Septem ber
, u nder Jenkinson ’
s com m and.
Besides h is orders t o stop pirates he h ad secret
instru ctions t o prevent Bothw ell and other Scottishlords from landing in Scotland and
,dou btless w ith
this object In V l eW,he sail ed at once t o the Firth of
Forth . On arriving at Berw ick , however, he learnedtha t Bothwell had al ready effected a landing ,
and he
therefore fell ba ck u pon h is com m ission t o sweep the
sea of rovers. In pu rsu ance of this he captu red th e
vessel of one CharlesWilson , wh o w a s sail ing u nder
xlviii INTRODUCTION .
let ters of m arqu e granted by the King of Sweden ,
andhadprobably been engaged in piracy . Happening,
however, to arrive off Berw ick at the critical tim e of
the distu rbances in Scotland consequ ent u pon Mary’
s
m arriag e w ith Darnley ,Wilson w as em ploy ed by the
Ea rl of Bedford,Governor of Berw ick, t o wait for
Bothwell , whom he m issed, bu t captu red the Earl of
Su therland ; and having rendered this service , was
desired t o hold h is ship in readiness t o transport
the Countess of Moray ,whose hu sband h ad taken a
leading part in the conspiracy against Mary ,t o a
place of sa fety , as she was shortly expecting her con
finem ent . Bedfordhadgiven Wilson h is l icence , andwarned Jenkinson not to interfere w ith him . Never
t heless, Jenk inson apprehended Wilson u nder hiswarrant , and took h is ship t o England. On learningthis, the Earl of Bedford wrote w rathfu lly t o theLords of the Privy Council , m aking serious chargesaga inst our traveller , designating him as that vilem a n who h ad so tra iterou sly sought t o deface h im
”
,
and com plaining that never wa s any so abu sed bya villa in as he had been by Jenkinson
”
. Whether
this outbreak of anger seriously affected Jenkinson’
s
chara cter does not appear, for nothing fu rther is
recorded of h is service in the Aycle.
Not m any m onths after,the Ru ssia Com pany ,
having received a new charter from Qu een Eliz abeth , again requ ired his services, and m em orialisedthe Queen that he shou ld be sent on another m issiont o the Tsar , to intercede in their behalf in the following m atter .
I NTRODUCT ION . xl ix
Raphael Barberini , an Ital ian of high birth and
good conhect ions,
'
h ad entered Ru ssia, and by h is
abil ities and ta lents h ad m ade so fa vou rable an
im pressi on on the Tsa r a s t o obta in fa cil ities of trade
and other privileges for him self a nd h is cou ntry m en .
The English Com pany bel ieved this t o be inju riou s
t o their interests, and were therefore anxious that
Jenkinson shou ld u se every endeavou r t o obtain h is
dism issal . This com m ission w a s rendered the m ore
difficu lt ow ing t o the circu m stance of Barberinihaving been strongly recom m ended t o the Tsar bythe Qu een herself
,a s one who
,though an I t a lian ,
wa s,
for certain reasons,very dear t o her . Jenkinson w as
directed t o say that Barberini h ad obtained h is cre
dent ial s u nder false pretences,andwas therefore not
t o be tru sted. He w as,m oreover
, t o pray for a con
t inu ance of past fa vou rs, and especially that the
m onopoly of the White Sea trade,hitherto enj oy ed
by Engl ish m erchants,m ight not be interfered w ith
by any other foreigners.
Jenkinson sailed from London on the 4th May
1 5 6 6, in the H a rry , a ship belonging t o the Com
pany ,and arrived at St . N icholas on the l 0th Ju ly .
Travelling overland by post , he reached Mosco on
the 23rd Augu st , and on the l st Septem ber was
received in audience by th e Em peror, t o whom hedel ivered the Qu een ’s letters a nd presents. He wa saga in su ccessfu l in Obtaining a ll that was requ ired.
A new charter wa s granted by the Tsar t o the
Com pany , extending their privileges, a nd confirm ingt o them the m onopoly of the White Sea trade.
IN TRODUCTION .
N ot only were strangers forbidden to trade t o any
of the ports or estuaries in the north , bu t even
Engl ishm en not belong ing t o the Com pany w ere
excluded from participa ting in the traffic ; while
Barberini left Ru ssia t o fight a s a com m on soldier
u nder the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, and
two y ears later wa s am bassador from Rom e t o
t he Qu een of England— a cu riou s instance of the
vicissitudes of fortune in those day s.
Of Jenkinson ’s third voy age t o Ru ssia only“ a
very brief rem em brance”is preserved in Haklu y t .
This is preceded (p . 1 89)by a letter from Jenkinsont o Sir Wil liam Cecil
,dated from Kholm ogori, the
2 6 th June 1 5 5 6 and is fo llowed by a letter from
the Governors of th e Ru ssia Com pany t o the ir
agents, transcribed from a MS . a t the BritishMu seu m (p . In writing t o Cecil , our traveller
gives th e latest news that h ad reached h im sinceh is arrival in Russia . Hostilit ies w ith Poland hadbeen Su spended
,and King Sigism ond h ad sent h is
a m bassador t o trea t for peace1 w ith Ivan,whose rela
tions w ith Sweden were a lso unsettled at this tim e .
Eric XVI, a w eak and unprincipled m onarch,had
taken possession of Revel , w ith Esthonia , and wa s
desirous of keeping it in spite of the opposition
l Karam sin gives the nam e of th is envoy,Yuri Bonikowsky , and
says tha t he was thrown into prison by the Tsa r in reta lia tion for
insults offered by Sigism ond to t he Russia n boy ards, and onlyreleased a fter seven m onth s , when he was told to take ba ck the
m essage tha t the Tsar was now rea dy to m ake peace . (K (1 ?
sin , ix, pp. 1 44
I N TRODUCTION . li
of Denm ark . To conciliate the Tsar,he entered
into an infam ou s trea ty t o su rrender t o him h is
sister - in - law , Catherine , sister of Sigism ond,the vir
tu ons and beau tifu l w ife of John , Duke of F inland.
The Sw edes,however
,w ou ld not al low this treaty
t o be ratified,a nd shortly afterwards m u rdered
Eric.
1 Jenkinson also alludes to the variou s cru elties
practised by the Tsar on his boy ards a nd su bj ects,
and som e of the particu lars he gives are confirm ed
by EdwardWebbe , a boy only twelve y ears of age ,
who accom panied h im as personal attendant .
The j ou rney of Sou tham and Sparke from Khol
m ogori t o Novgorod,through Karelia (p . helps
t o fill the gap cau sed by the m eagreness of Jenkin
son’s narrative . Sparke,whose nam e occu rs in t he
first list of the m em bers of the Mu scovy Com pany ,
a fterwards u ndertook a j ou rney t o Persia in
and,having safely retu rned from that cou ntry ,
m et
w ith h is end at the bu rning of Mosco in 1 5 7 1 .
These two Englishm en started from K holm ogori
abou t the 2oth Ju ly ,in a lodia or barqu e , a nd
descending the Dw ina, anchored Off the m onasteryof St . Micha el the Archangel . The follow ing daythey dropped down the river t o St . Nicholas, and
,
coasting along the sou th shore,passed Una bay ,
afterwards m em orable for having afforded sheltert o Peter the Great when caught in a storm . On
the 3oth Ju ly they reached the island m onasteryOf Solovetsky ,
where they Obtained from the m onksletters of recom m endation and a gu ide . I t is w orthy
K a ra m sz'
n,ix
,1 5 4.
2 I nfra ,p. 408.
e 2
l ii INTRODUCTION .
of rem ark that their visit t o Solovetsky occu rred
abou t the tim e of the appo intm ent of Philip, its
abbot,to th e prim acy of the Ru sso-Greek Chu rch .
On the l st Augu st they took their departu re from
the m onastery , and laid the ir cou rse for Soroka bay ,
into which the Vyg discharges. Ascending this
river in light boats, which they had occasionally t o
drag overland t o avoid falls and rapids, they reached
Voitsk ,a place celebrated towards the end of the
eighteenth centu ry for having y ielded the first gold
discovered in Ru ssia . From Lake Voit sk theycrossed by land t o Lake Vyg,
where,after arrang
ing for boats and m en t o condu ct them in sa fetyt o Povenets, on Lake Onega , their gu ide left them .
They reached this town on the l 0th Augu st , findingthat by the rou te they had com e no m erchandisecou ld be transported e ither in sum m er or w inter
,
bu t that a second rou te from Povenets t o Su m awas practicable in w inter. From Lake Onega tothe Baltic there are no obstacles to navigation , a ndhere they m u st have found their j ou rney easy and
agreeable . They sailed down Lake Onega , enteredthe river Svir, wh ich flows ou t of it
, and followedits course t o Lake Ladoga . Crossing a bay of thislake to the m ou th of the Volkhof
,they found them
selves ou the o ld trade rou te of the people of Nov
gorod,where they bartered w ith the m erchants of
the Ha usa Leagu e ; a nd the places m entioned bythem on the Volkhof had been connected w ith the
earliest direct intercou rse of Russians w ith the westof Eu rope . They arrived at Novgorod on the 30th
liv INTRODUCTION .
to Russia)by land , and be there by the fine of Ianu arie
or before. Bu t as we be vncertaine whe ther he be returnedor not , so we know not wha t he ha th done nor wh a t benefi tsm ay arise h ereafter of h is trau aile . Therefore in this wee
rem it i t to his and y our good discretions. (Hakl ,
1 5 99, i ,
Frequ ent m ention , t oo , is m ade of Jenkinson , in
their lette r dated in 1 5 6 7 (Text , pp . 206 wh ere
he is referred t o as a person of great experience ,t o whom fu ll au thority h ad been given t o arrange
variou s m atters connected w ith their bu siness esta
blishm ents his advice was to be followed, theyw rite
,as he “ know ith ou r m indes in a ll things
”
.
He had been instru cted to Obtain leave for the English to w ork iron , which was granted t o them in a
later charter ; and h e gave them good hope of a profitable trade in spices, drugs, and silks w ith Persia.
He was t o be suppliedw ith su ch m oney as he requ iredfor the a tch iv ing of ou r su t es and other a ffaires
t here ,”
andw ith an interpreter,Ra lph Ru tter—show
ing that he had not m astered the Ru ssian language .
There is a lso m enti on m ade of a special com m ission
having been given h im ,of which no trace has been
fou nd.
Dr . Ham el thinks it likely that Jenkinson visitedEngland in the w inter of 1 5 6 6 - 7 , to look after theTsar
’
s com m issions ; and this supposition appearst o be borne ou t by the arrival in Ru ssia, in the
su m m er of 1 5 6 7 , of Dr . Reynolds ; Thom as Carver,an a pothecary ; Hu m phrey Lock ,
an engineer ; a ndo ther professional m en
,for t he Tsar’s service ; it is
I N TRODUCT ION . lv
also partly confirm ed by the incidenta l allu si ons t o
h im in the Governors’
letter. Writing to the Qu een
in Septem ber 1 5 6 7 , Ivan thanks her for accedingt o h is requ ests, a nd for her letter by Anthony Jen
kinson . Thisletter, dated 1 8th May 1 5 6 7 , appears
t o have been seen by Ham el ,l though w e have not
com e across it, a nd leads t o the presu m ption that
Jenkinson w ent overland t o England in the w inter
of 1 5 6 6 , conferred w ith Cecil and others abou t th e
affairs of the Tsar and the Ru ssia Com pany ,and
retu rned the follow ing spring t o Ru ssia, perhaps bysh ip , w ith the Engl ishm en ju st nam ed.
So closely connected w ith ou r traveller are the
affa irs of the Ru ssia Com pany ,that it w il l not be
ou t of place here t o give a slight sketch of them .
Taking their origin in an association known as the
Merchant Adventu rers, form ed by Sebastian Cabot ,t o stim u late com m ercial enterprise in England, and
follow the exam ple of Spain and Portuga l in eX~
tending their trade to distant cou ntries,the Mu s
covy , or Ru ssia Com pany ,as it becam e generally
known,received their first charter of inaugu ration
in the sam e y ear that Rich ard Chancellor
laid the fou ndation of the English trade w ith
Ru ssia .
3 In a State Paper Of that y ear there is a
list of 207 noblem en , knights, alderm en , et c.,form ing
the Ru ssia,or Mu scovy Com pany ,
4and am ong the
1 Engla nd a nd Russia,p. 1 7 7 .
2 1 and 2 Ph il ip andMary . (Ha kl , 1 5 89 , pp. 3043 1 1 nd ,
pp. 302 -4.
4 Ca l . S . P . ,Dom . Mary , add. vol . viii, N o . 39, p. 439 . Cf .
MS . Lansal . 1 41 , fols . 343, 35 2 .
lvi INTRODUCTION .
nam es are those of SirWilliam Cecil , Sir Richard
Sackville , the Gresham s,Sir George Barnes, and
others. Their constitu tion differed bu t little from
that of corporations Of the present day ,except that
they h ad extensive privileges. They m ight take
possession of territory ly ing t o the northward, north
eastwards, and north -westwards ; they m ight hoist
th e Engl ish flag on lands new ly discovered by them
and,in consideration of their su ccessfu l opening of
Sea l of the Russia Com pany .
intercou rse w ith Ru ssia, they were granted the
exclu sive right of trading w ith that cou ntry , as we ll
as any other they m ight afterwards discover.Their first Governor was Sebastian Cabot
, ap
pointed for the term of h is life ; fou r consu lsl and
Howell says :“The m arch ants of Russia were incorpora ted
by Edward 6 . and confirm ed by Queene Elizabeth they haue a lso afa ir Coa t with th is m otto, ‘G
'
od be our good gu ide (Lendinopo/is,
p. The na m es of the firs t four consulswere SirGeorge Barnes ,
INTRODUCTI ON . lvii
twenty - fou r assistants, elected every y ear from“th e
m ost sad,discreet e , and honest persons of the saide
fellowship form ed the board of directi on . A'
fixed
fee,pay able on adm issi on , secu red to any person wh o
m ight w ish t o j oin the freedom Of the association ;bu t the risks were divided into shares
,each m em ber
participating according t o the am ou nt of h is con
1 They h ad the right of im posing fines
a nd penalties for any infringem ent of their statu tes,
tribu tion .
and these becam e enforceable by law .
I t is not ou r pu rpose t o w rite an exhau stive h is
tory of the Ru ssia Com pany ,bu t m erely glance at
it s affairs in the early peri od of it s existence . Con
sidering the im portant part taken by com m erce in
ou r first intercou rse w ith Ru ssia , som e m ention
m u st be m ade of it , in order t o enable the reader t o
follow the proceedings of Jenkinson and the other
travellers whose narra t ives'
are given in the text .
Com m erce entered largely into our first relations
w ith Ru ssia . It w a s t o find new m arkets for Engl ish com m odities that Willoughby
’
s ships sailed
Sir Wil lia m Garret (Gerrard), Alderm en of London ; AnthonyHussey
,and John Sou thcot .
1 In la ter tim es , wh en th e Com pany lost its m onopoly of theRussian trade
,and th is was thrown Open to a ll
,the paym ent of a
fee on adm ission con stituted th e wh ole Obliga tion of its m em bers .Th eir funds , ch iefly ra ised by a sm a l l t ax on art icles of Russianproduce im ported into England , were th en devoted entirely to t hem a intenance of ch apels a ccording to the rites of th e English Episcopa l Church a t St . Petersburg and Mosco
,and in defraying t he
sa laries of t h e British consular agents . These , too, h a ve la telybeen ta ken Off th eir h ands
,so tha t the Com pany exists now m erely
by virtue of its funds a ccum ula ted in form er y ears .
lviii I N TRODUCTI ON .
from ou r shores ; Ch ancellor’
s accidental discoveryof Ru ssia led im m ediately to the form ation of the
Ru ssia Com pany ; whil e the j ou rney s of Jenkinson ,
Sou tham , a nd Sparke , a nd other Englishm en , w ere
chiefly directed towards the Opening of new rou tes
by which trade m ight pass.
It w a s originally intended that the benefits
arising from this intercou rse shou ld be m u tu al . 1
Russian m erchants were t o have the sam e privileges
a nd protection in England that Englishm en w ere
t o enj oy in Ru ssia. Bu t circu m stances forbade this
ever taking effect . The Ru ssian m erchant was a
m an of no edu cation . He was a m ajik, or boor,
a lm ost beneath the contem pt of the m ilitary caste ,of which Ru ssia was, and still is, com posed. The
English m erchant, on the other hand, belonged t o
the highest classes in the land, and was in everyway superior t o the Ru ssian . Bu t even if thisobstacle t o a free interchange h ad not existed
,there
w ere other cau ses t o prevent the Ru ssian m erchant
from engaging in com m erce on equ al term s w ith th eEnglish . Ru ssians owned no ships fit t o sail acrossthe seas on long voy ages the ir only vesselsw ere the
two -m asted lodia,u sed in the coasting trade , which
carried large square sails for sa il ing before the w ind,
a nd twenty oars. Ru ssians had no taste for a seafa ring life , a nd understood nothing abou t na u tica lscience ; hence they cou ld only export m erchandise
Ph ilip and Mary to Ivan (Ca l . S . For. , 1 5 5 7 , N o .
Cf . Ca l . Cecil MSS . p . 1 46,N o. 5 47 .
INTRODUCTION . lix
in foreign vessels, and these w ere chiefly Engl ish in
the early y ears of the White Sea trade .
These circu m stances appear in the first letter
w ritten by the Governors of the Ru ssia Com panyt o their agents in Russia, sent w ith the John Eva n
gellst in 1 5 5 7
Take h eede howe y ou h au e to doe with h im (N apea)orwith any su ch
,and m ake y our bargaines pla ine and set th em
downe in writing. For th ey (the Russians)bee subtillpeople and doe not alwa ies speaks the tru eth
,and th inke
oth er m en to bee like th em selu es. Therefore we would h auenone of them to send any goods in our sh ippes a t any tim e
nor none to com e for passengersfvnlesse th e Em perour doem ake a bargains with y ou as a foresa id , for h is owns person .
”
(H a lel 1 5 99,i,
Hence the Ru ssians,deterred from being on an
equ al fo oting w ith the Engl ish , rem ained in their
own cou ntry ,where they entertained these foreign
gu ests1of the Tsar in a befitting m anner. They
helped them t o establish factories, and supplied
them w ith the produ cts of their own cou ntry ,re
ceiv ing in exchange Engl ish goods or m oney .
Bu t if the Ru ssian people derived no benefit from
the Engl ish trade, their sovereign u ndou btedly did.
I t su pplied h im w ith warlike stores and ordnance,of
which he stoodgreatly in need, t o m ake head aga inst
h is enem ies, Poland and Sweden on the w est , and
the not less form idable Khan of the Crim ea on the
sou th . I t w as the only m eans of access he h ad t o
the a rts Of Western Eu rope , shu t ou t as Ru ssia
1 Korabelniy e gosti strictly speaking, nava l guests .
1x I N TRODUCTION .
then was from the seaboard of the Baltic by j ealou senem ies. I t
,m oreover , afforded h im a m eans of
escape shou ld h is ou traged subj ects tu rn against
their oppressor and drive h im from the throne .
Lastly , com m erce w ith England secu red for h im an
ally ,— rather a lukewarm one , it
“
m u st be adm itted,
bu t nevertheless one who m ight at al l events refu se
t o j o in a leagu e of the Western Pow ers against him .
These considerations gave the Tsar a personal in
t erest in the Engl ish trade , and indu ced h im t o
renew over and over again privileges, the enj oy m ent
of which , u naccom panied as they w ere by reciprocal
advantages t o h is own people, w ere very one—sided.
Engl ishm en w ere favou red in every way : their
hou ses and lands w ere included in the Opritchnina ,
or reserved portion , as distingu ished from the Zem
sln’
na,
1or national portion ,
—two arbitrary divisionsinto which the Tsar , in one of h is ferociou s excesses
,
divided Ru ssia . They paid no cu stom s or tolls of
any kind. They had l iberty t o pass through Ru ssia
and trade w ith Persia, Media, Bokhara, and other
cou ntries, w ithou t let or hindrance from the Tsar’s
Officers, reserving only su ch wares a s were necessaryfor the Im perial trea su ry ,
a nd w ith the obligation
t o sell and barter for the Tsar in Persia, et c . Theym ight sell wholesale in any part of the cou ntry , or,
if they chose , retail their wares at their hou se in
Mosco bu t they m ight not buy ,sell , or ba rter on
com m issi on for any Ru ssian m erchant . These,and
other privileges, placed the English nation on a
1 See text,pp. 26 9 , 27 0.
lxii I NTRODU CTION .
cellor t o the English agents in 1 5 5 5 , y ou shall dobest t o have y ou r hou se at Colm ogro ,
which is bu t
1 00 m iles (versts)from the right discharge of the
ships, and a ll our m archants shall bring a ll ou r
m archandise t o Colm ogro t o y ou .
” 1
The establ ishm ent of the Engl ish at K holm ogori,
and their annu al voy ages t o th e Dw ina, gave an
entirely new direction t o the trade . Instead of
being carried t o Novgorod,the m erchandise cou ld be
sold on the spot,warehou sed til l spring,
and, w ith
the opening of navigation , sent down the river in
l ighters t o be loaded on the ships at St . Nicholas.
K holm ogori, therefore , wa s the chief depot or fa c
tory of the Ru ssia Com pany . Here w ere the resi
dences of their agents, servants,
“
and apprentices,their warehou ses, Offices
,,ropewa lk
,et c . Colm o
gro”
, say s Randolph , wh o visited it in 1 5 6 8,
“ is a grea te towne bu ilded a ll of wood,not wa lled
,bu t
sca ttered h ouse from h ouse In th is towne th e
Englishm en h aue landes of th eir owne giu en them by th e
Em perour, and fa ire h ouses with Offices for th eir com m oditie
very m any . (Text, p .
Next in im portance to Kholm ogori cam eVologhda ,
a t the head of an u pper tribu tary of th e Dw ina,
versts (abou t 7 00 m iles)from Kholm ogori, and
u nited w ith it by a navigable water-way . Here th e
Engl ish h ad another hou se where they m ight buya nd lay up wares for their ships in the event of the
Ru ssians not bringing enough t o Kholm ogori the
[I a /cl , 1 5 99 , i , p. 26 4.
I N TRODUCT I ON .
district rou nd Vologhda produ cing hem p and flax in
abu ndance .
I f our m erch ants do desire to know th e m eetest place of
Russia for th e standing h ouse, in m y opinion I take it to beVologhda ,
wh ich is a grea t towne standing in th e h eart ofRussia
,with m any grea t and good towns about it . Th ere is
grea t plen tie of com e,victua ls, and of al l such wares as are
ra ised in Rusland,but specia lly flaxe, h em pe, ta l low , and
bacon ; there is a lso grea t store of wexe, but it com m eth fromth e Mosko .” (H a lal
,1 5 99 , i , p .
Lastly ,the Com pany h ad their hou se in Mosco ,
given them by the Tsa r, on the Varvarka ,in the
I u shkof cou rty ard,near the chu rch of St . Maxim
,
a lm ost adj oining one inhabited by Nikita Rom anof,
grandfa ther of Mikhail Feodorov it ch ,first Tsar of
the presentdy nasty . Mosco was not a go od place of
trade . Cha rges of l iving there w ere high , carriage
from St . Nicholas Engl ish m iles)w a s expensive
, and the Moscov it es bore the repu tation of
being sharp in their deal ings. Bu t it was indis
pensable that the Com pany shou ld have it s repre
sen t a t iv e at the Cou rt , not only t o provide the
Em peror , wh o w a s him self a trader in wax and
sables, w ith a ll su ch wares a s he m ight requ ire , bu t
t o keep a watchfu l ey e on the m ovem ents of
foreigners, and protect the interests Of Engl ish m er
chants. Moreover, letters cou ld be sent ov erland
from Mosco , rid Sm olensk and Poland, t o advise
the Com pany in London of the state of their affairs,
a nd what qu antity and kind of goods shou ld be
sh ipped in the follow ing spring . Letters of im port
a nce a nd secrecy sent this w a y ,
w ere in cipher .
lxiv INTRODUCT ION .
In the y ea r 1 5 5 7 the Russia Com pany sent its firstlarge shipm ent Of English cloths.
You shall receiue ou t of the sa id good sh ips th esek inds of wares following, a ll m arkedwith the general m arks
of the Com pany as followeth : 25 . fardels, containing 207 .
sorting clothes, one fine violet in gra ins and one skarlet , and
40. cottons for wrappers m ore, 500. pieces of Ham p
shire kersies, tha t is, 400. wa tch ets, 43. blewes, 53. reds, 1 5 .
greenes, 5 . ginger colours, and 2. y elowes, wh ich cost the firstpenny the piece ; 3. peckes containing 2 1 . cottonsa t the packe More, 9 . barrels of Pewter of
Thom as Hasels m aking , etc. (Ha /cl , 1 5 99 , i,
Their cargoes also consisted of sugar, tin , lead,
copper, brim stone , etc.
Som e idea of the prices real ised for these waresm ay be form ed by the letter of Christopher Hudson ,an active agent of the Com pany du ring
’
seven y earsin Mosco , Yaroslavl , N ij ny Novgorod, and other
places ; he say s it was not an u ncom m on thing tosell for dou ble the cost price , or a profit of two hu ndred per cent .
1
Th e experts from Russia at this tim e were wax ,
tallow , train oil , flax , a sm all quantity of linen yarn ,a few fu rs,—v iz m artens
,m inivers, and m inkes
,
ca bles, a nd ropes. Bu lky articles, such as hem p a ndfeathers, w ou ld not bea r the high freight the Company were com pelled t o pay per t on. As for
sables and rich fu rs, they be not every m an ’sm oney
”
, write the Go vernors in 1 5 5 7 and in a subsequ ent letter t o their agents in 1 5 6 7 , they sta te
that there had been a proclam ation in EnglandSee Ha m el
,p . 1 26 .
IN TRODUCT ION . lxv
against wearing fu rs, a nd therefore they w ou ld have
no m ore sent them .
Ru ssian produ ce was sold in London at the follow
ing prices : flax a t 283. and w ax ,£3 1 33. 4d.
t o £4,and tallow
,1 83. the cw t . ; ox hides, 33. 4d.
,
and elk hides, 63. 8d. apiece ; train oil , £ 1 0 th e t on ;
y arn , 1 1d. the lh . ; tarred ropes, 1 83 and hem p , 1 23.
t he cw t . In order t o have a correct idea of their
corresponding val u es at the present tim e , the above
prices shou ld be m u ltiplied by six .
Notw ithstanding th e fa ir au spices u nder which
the Ru ssia Com pany started,its high patronage at
hom e,the fa vou r shown it by the Tsar , and the
activity of som e Of it s agents, like other privileged
and fa vou red bodies,it w a s not free from abu ses,
a nd these nearly brought a bou t its ru in . Stringent
instru ctions w ere sent ou t t o th e agents for the
regu la tion of their establishm ents,a nd the efficient
control of the sta ff of salaried servants or clerks,a nd a pprentices.
Also we doe send y ou in these sh ips ten y oung m en th a tbe bound Prentises to th e Com pany ,
wh om we will y ou toappoynt eu ery of th em as y ou sh a l l th ere finde m ost apt andw eete som e to keeps accom pts, som e to bu y a nd sell by y ourorder a nd com m ission
,a nd som e to send abroad into th e
notable cities of th e cou n trey for vnderstanding and knowledge. And we will y ou send vs adu ertisem ent from tim e totim e as well of th e dem eanours of ou rPren ticeswh ich we doesend now ,
as a lso of such oth er as be a lready th ere with y ou .
And if y ou finde any of them rem isse,negligen t , or o th erwise
m isuse th em selu es,and w ill not be ruled
,th a t then y ou doe
send h im h om e , and the cause wh y . (H alal 1 5 99,i,
f
lxvi I NTRODUCT ION .
Frequ ent com pla ints seem t o have been m ade on
this score . In 1 5 6 7 the Governors w rite that the
cha rges of hou sekeeping w ere double a s m u ch a s
they h ad been w ont t o be , and this cau sed them t o
judge a riot ou snes,rem isnes, and idlenes of ou r
serv u nt es”
; they desired,therefore
,Master Jenkin
son a nd the agents t o m ake a fruga l] proportion of
fa re per m an in every hou se , a nd a com andem en t t o
be giu en not t o exceed et c . They u nderstood that
the ir servants a nd stipendia ries w ere a ccu stom ed t o
give wine and m eat t o com ers and goers t o'
the ir
hou ses ; this wa s t o be discontinu ed,for they knew it
t o be th e cu stom of the cou ntry not t o w elcom e
th w ine ,“ except we hau e brought vp this corru p
tion”,they add ;
“ therefore,if this typling be not
7)left we w ill send no m ore wy ne . Va riou s other
charges w ere brou ght against the ir em ploy és of a
m ore seriou s kind “ if they do not a m ende, ship
them hom e . And
I t is notorious wh a t excesss of apparel l and v tter countenance is vsed by our seru u ntes ; th ey ride and goe likelordes ; therefore we desire y ou to reduce th em to th e vu i
form it ie of apparell herewith prescribed if it be againstthe m anner of tha t coun trie
,we will m ake i t th e m anner
ra ther tha n forbeare our m oney with losse to cloth e th em in
velue ts or silkes, or m a inta ine th em to ride wh en we goe
a foote . We will h aue none of our prentises to ride in’
y e
townes in any wise, and th erefore lett the h orses and m ares
be solde (Text , p .
Bu t these were not the only abu ses which em bar
ra ssed the Com pany . Their agents w ere not alway s
loy al and trustw orthy ; they even intrigu ed w ith
I N TROD UCTION . lxvii
the Du tch t o overthrow the m onopoly ,and act u ally
indu ced the Tsar t o grant them separate privileges.
To su ch a pass had a ffa irs been brought by the pecu
la t ions anddishonesty of Glover and h is confederates,that Bannister and Du ckett w rite t o Cecil , in 1 5 6 8 :“ I f m y Lord Im bassador (Randolph)and we had
not com e the holle t rayde h ad bene v t t erly ou er
t hrowen”
(Text , p . The jealou sy excited
a m ong the States of Eu rope , as w ell as the hostilityshown by Englishm en not belonging t o the Com
pany ,w ere fru itfu l cau ses Of trou ble
,a nd h ad it not
been for the firm su pport given by the Tsa r , and h is
predilection for a n English m arriage , it is probable
tha t the privileges w ou ld have been taken away .
This,at a ll events
,is the opinion of Christopher
Bu rrough , who w rote h is views on the Ru ssian trade
in 1 5 871 Bu rrough recom m ends abolishing the
m onopoly a nd encou raging every one t o trade for
him self, a fter t he m anner of the m erchant adven
t u rers ; he w as also in favou r of closing the establish m ent s at Mosco a nd other inland cities
, and con
centra t ing the bu siness a t the m ou th of th e Dw ina,
so a s t o pu t an end t o the evils a nd corru ptions which
h ad grown up. Am ong h is other suggestions w a s
one, afterwards carried into practice
,v iz .
,that of
"
having a“preacher” clergy m an— t o keep the
y ounger m em bers straight .
We have spoken of the first agents of the Com
pany ,bu t w e m u st not om it m ention of the Bu r
rough brothers, Stephen a nd William . Stephen,
1 See Supplem entary N ote .
lxviii INTRODUCTION .
father of Christopher,j u st referred t o
,sailed w ith
Chancellor in his first voy age a s m a ster of h is
ship,th e Edwa rd Bondven ture , and,
therefore , ranks
am ong the discoverers of the northern coasts of
Ru ssia ; he , t oo, explored the White Sea , Lapland,
a nd Va iga ts. William w as also on board the
Edwa rd Bona ven tu re in 1 5 53, serving u nder h is
brother a s seam an , a nd afterwards rendered con
spicu ou s services t o the Com pany a s captain of their
fleets. I t wa s by h im that Jenkinson sent Cecil , in
1 5 6 6 , a present of“a strange beast called a Loy sch e
”
,
an elk ; and he received the high com m enda
tions of Randolph in 1 5 6 8.
“To the Ma ster
Willia m of Borrowe ,I a m m ost beholdinge .
(Text , p . Will iam Bu rrough is the au thor,am ong other w orks, of a m ap,
which is reprodu ced
in this volu m e,show ing the know ledge of the Eng
lish,in his day , of the coa sts of the White Sea .
Neither shou ld R obert Best be passed over in thissketch
,the “
strong and w illing Englishm an”
,wh o
oflered to enter the lists a s cham pion of the English
ca u se in a tria l at law,described by Henry Lane .
His services a s interpreter were u sefu l t o Napea,
when shipw recked off the Scottish coast, and t o
Jenkinson in Ru ssia.
The hou se of the Ru ssia Com pany wa s in SeethingLane .
l Here they held their conferences a nd
pla nned their expeditions t o the north,north-east
,
a nd north-west , —for they claim ed, a nd for a long
Sir Francis Wa lsingh a m ,t he celebra ted diplom a tis t in El iz a
beth ’s tim e,had h is residence in Seeth ing La ne .
lxx IN TRODUCTI ON .
act u a lly com m issi oned by Her Majesty ,whilst h e
a t the sam e tim e represented the Com pany . Beforeth e despatch of an envoy ,
it w as u su al for t he
Com pa ny t o draw up a m em orandu m of the points
on which it w as pa rticu la rly desirable that he
shou ld treat . This was su bm itted t o Cecil , and
served a s a gu ide for the final instru ctions.
Qu een Eliz abeth herself paid great attention t o
the affairs of the Ru ssia Com pany ,am ong the m em
bers of which w ere som e of h er highest dignita ries
a nd noblem en . Indeed,the preference shown by
her for m ercantile affairs over what he deem ed t o
be far w eightier m atters of state,m ade the Tsar
exceedingly angry ,and he took no pains t o conceal
it . Having w ithdrawn the privileges of the Engl ish
,he w rote t o the Qu een
And wee had th ough t th a t y ou h ad beene ruler ouer
y our lande, and h ad sough t h onnor to y ou r self and profii ttto y our countrie , and th erefore wee did pretend thosew eigh tie afi
'
a ires between y ou and vs. Bu t now wee perceiu e
th a t there be oth er m en th a t doe rule, and not m en bu tbowers a nd m arch a unts
,th e wich seeke not th e weal th a nd
honnor of our m a iesties,bu t th ey seeke their owne proflitt
o f m archandiz e .
”
(Infia,p .
Th e Tsa r’
s grea t grievances w ere , tha t the Qu een
h ad not a vailed herself of h is offers of friendship,
a nd h ad not com plied w ith h is requ ests for a secret
t rea ty ,com m u nica ted through Jenkinson . He h ad
offered her perpetu al friendship a nd kinship ; h ew ished h er t o enter into an offensive a nd defensive
leagu e aga inst a ll enem ies ; a nd t o j oin h im in
I N TRODUCTION . lxxi
m aking w ar against the King of Poland, wh o h ad
shown h is j ea lou sy of the Engl ish intercou rse w ith
Ru ssia . He h ad asked her for Shipw rights and
m ariners,
m aisters w ich can m ake sh ippes a nd
say le them and t o allow a ll kinds of artillery and
war m u nition t o be exported from England for h is
u se . Bu t what he requ ired her t o swear t o per
form was,that shou ld either sovereign be obl iged t o
leave h is or h er kingdom ,the other w ou ld afford
protection and hospital ity . Finally ,he desired tha t
her answer m ight be sent by som e person of high
rank,not later than St . Peter’s D ay ,
the 2 9 th Ju ne ,in the ensu ing y ear . I t w a s not ea sy for Eliz abeth
t o com ply w ith these requ ests, however m u ch sh e
m ight desire t o reta in the Tsar’
s good graces, for
the sake of her m erchants. She cou ld not,even if
sh e felt it,show distru st towards her people , whom
she believed t o be loy al ly disposed towards herself,by entering into a ny su ch obl igation neither wou ld
her treat ies w ith other Pow ers— treaties which sh e
h ad inherited from her predecessors on the throne—a llow her t o contra ct an Offensive and defensive
alliance w ith the Tsar of Ru ssia . In Randolph’s
instru ctions h e is desired t o confine him self t o
general expressions Of good-w ill and a s t o the secret
treaty , t o say that the Qu een thought Jenkinson
m u st have m isu nderstood h is m ea ning ,for that a ll
she had hea rd of h is sta te led her t o bel ieve Iva nt o be a pow erfu l a nd w ise prince . Nevertheless,Ra ndolph wa s desired t o sou nd h im on th e su bj ect ,a nd learn h is m ind.
lxxii I N TRODUCT ION .
The Tsar expected Jenkinson,t o whom he had
secretly and confidentially explained h is views, t o
retu rn the follow ing y ear w ith the“
great a m ba s
sador” he h ad desired shou ld be sent . Bu t no
tidings of ou r traveller reached h im ,and h is disap
point m ent knew no bou nds. Manley andMiddleton ,t wo m essengers sent overla nd on the Com pany
’
s
bu siness,w ere searched for papers and qu estioned.
Bu t they knew nothing of Jenkinson’s m ovem ents,and cou ld give the Tsar no satisfa ctory answ er ,having been only told t o say that in the spring o f the
y ear a special am bassador w ou ld com e . The reason
a ssigned by the Qu een , in a la ter letter, for not hav
ing sent Jenkinson in 1 5 6 8, wa s that h is services
w ere at that time being u sed against her enem ies,E '
a m ad vos ha ctenns non rem issim ns qu od ej ns
opera adversus hostes terra m a riqne nteba m nr and
Jenkinson him self sta tes,at h is interview w ith the
Tsa r on the 23rd March 1 5 7 1—2 , that the cau se Of
h is not being sent wa s that he wa s im ploy ed in
seru ice vpon the Seas against the Qu eenes enem ies”
There is nothing in the Sta te papers t o show in
what pa rticu la r service he w a s em ploy ed,-u nless
,
indeed,h e wa s engaged in h is old ship the Agde,
or in the Swa llow,fighting the Spania rds ; for an
engagem ent is recorded t o have taken place in .
1 5 6 8 between three of the Qu een’s ships,the
Swa llow,the Agde, a nd the P ha niac, w ith a ba rqu e ,
t h e An telope , a nd fou rteen Spanish hu lks, eight of
which w ere captu red and brought into the Tha m es
by Adm ira l Holst ock .
l Bu t wh a tever the cau se ,Il ol insh ed
’
s Chronic/e, p. 1 2 1 1 .
‘
I N TRODUCT ION . lxxii i
Jenkinson did not go t o Ru ssia in 1 5 6 8, and the
negotia tions pa ssed into the hands of Thom a s Ran
dolph,
1 a skilfu l diplom atist , though inexperiencedin Ru ssian affa irs.
Randolph w a s w ell versed in the arts of diplom acy . He h ad been Qu een Eliz abeth ’
s confident ia lagent for several y ears at the cou rt of Mary of
Scotland, and h ad shown great skill in m ainta iningh is position there
,in spite of the part h e h ad been
called u pon t o play . The im prisonm ent of Ma ry ,
and the ascendency gained by the reform ed partyof Scottish nobles, no longer rendered Randolph
’
s
presence necessa ry in Scotland,a nd he w as
,there
fore,ava ilable for other service . Ra ndolph
,wh o held
the office of Master of the Qu een ’s posts,a title in
those day s probably honorary ,w as accom panied t o
Ru ssia by George Tu rberville ,2 h is secretary ,
a nd
two m erchants, Thom a s Bannister a nd George
Du ckett , wh o w ere t o advise h im on a ll m atters
concerning th e Ru ssia Com pany ,whose affairs w ere
then in a critica l position ow ing t o th e disloy alty of
the ir agents, Glover , Ru tter, Bennet, a nd Chappell .They em ba rked on board th e H a rry ,
a t Ha rw ich,
on the 22nd Ju ne , and landed at St . Nicholas, after
a prosperou s voy age , on the 23rd Ju ly . Randolph
1 R andolph wa s born a t Badlesm ere,in Kent . He studied a t
Chris tchurch , Oxford , and becam e Principa l of Pem broke College.
Many of h is letters,rela ting ch iefly to the affa irs of Scotland
,are
preserved in th e Sta te Paper Office.
2 Turbervil le wrote h is im pression s of Russia in verse.-See
N otes upon R u ssia,ed it ed by Mr. Major for the Hakluy t Society,
vol . i , pp. cxl ix- clvi .
lxxiv I NTRODUCTION
paid a visit t o the m onastery ,and describes h is
entertainm ent by the m onks, whose intem pera te
habits a nd su perstition he condem ns. A j ou rney byboat of five w eeks brought him t o Vologhda ,
whence
he posted t o Mosco (5 00m iles), crossing the Volga a tYaroslavl
,where he saw a ba rqu e of tw enty - seven tons
bu rden,bu ilt by the English for their new ly opened
trade t o Persia . The em bassy reached Mosco abou t
the end of Septem ber bu t here they w ere m ade t o
feel the displeasu re of the Tsar . Though lodged in a
hou se bu ilt specia lly for am bassadors,they w ere
allowed neither t o go ou t nor t o receive V isitors, a nd
no com plaint or pray er obtained them any relaxa
tion in the strictness of their im prisonm ent . Th e
Tsar,in excu sing t o Eliz abeth h is discou rteou s treat
m ent of Randolph , attribu tes it t o the am bassador’
s
own stu bbornness,for refu sing t o enter u pon the
su bj ect of h is m issi on w ith h is counsellors before he
h ad seen h im ; bu t Cou nt Tolstoi , in h is review of
the ea rly intercou rse betw een England and Ru ssia ,explains it by the anxiety of Ivan t o conceal from
Randolph the real state of Mosco , which w a s alm ost
daily the scene of h is terrible execu tions. At
length Randolph received w ord tha t the Tsar w ou ldreceive h im on the 20th Febru a ry ; and on this da yt h e two prista fs, or officers appointed t o attend upon
them,appeared in gorgeou s apparel , a nd m ou nted
their ow n horses to condu ct the a m ba ssador to t h epa lace . Bu t h e w a s obliged t o hire a horse
,while
h is retinu e h ad t o subm it t o t he indignity of following on foot .
I N TRODUCTION . lxxv
Yet another insu lt w a s in store for Randolph . In
a large ha ll , passed through by h im before reachingthe audience - cham ber , sa t a nu m ber of grave - look
ing personages, su m ptu ou sly clad, wh o took no
n otice of h is salu te . This affront , how ever, th e
proud Englishm an w ou ld not brook , so he covered
h is head a nd walked up t o the place where the Tsar
awaited h im . Every one expected t o see the m onarch
break ou t into a paroxy sm of rage at so audaciou s an
a ct,bu t , on the contra ry , he rece ived Randolph w ith
kindness,a nd assu red h im of h is friendship for the
Qu een . From this tim e Randolph h ad nothing t o
com pla in of in the w ay he w a s trea ted : a m agnifi
cent repast w a s sent t o h is lodging,h is a llowance
w a s increased,and he w a s received at priva te audi
ences by the Tsar, wh o conversed w ith him freely on
the subject of h is em bassy ,and com m ended t o h is
ca re one of h is noblem en,Andrew Savin
,whom he
appointed as h is am bassador t o England.
The correspondence of Bannister and Du ckett
shows h ow high an opinion they entertained of t he
Ru ssian trade , and what it s fu tu re m ight becou ld they only establ ish it on a sou nd footing and
pla ce the m a nagem ent in tru stw orthy hands. For
the traitors h ad not only u nderm ined the confidenceof the Tsar in the integrity of the Com pany ,
and
procu red for them selves precisely the sam e privilegesthat h ad form erly been gra nted t o it , bu t they h adj oined the ir riva ls, t h e Du tch , who were try ing t o ga ina n a scendency over the Engl ish m erchants, in whichthey eventu a lly su cceeded.
1I t is cu riou s t o find an
1 Cf . Lindsay ’ s H istory of Ill ere/za n t S/zipp ing, iii, p . 1 6 4.
lxxvi I N TRODUCTION .
all u sion in this correspondence t o an idea entertained
by the Tsa r , of having an English body -
gu ard abou t'
h is person , though nothing fu rther appears t o have
been done in this m atter . l
Randolph’s m ission resu lted in the renewal of
the privileges previou sly granted t o the Com pany .
Their m onopoly w a s restored ; they were allow ed
t o trade in a ll parts of Ru ssia,a nd pass through
it t o Persia,Cathay , and other cou ntries cu stom s
free,w ithou t pay m ent of toll or a ny other im posi
tion,the only reservation being their obligation
t o bring their finest wares t o the Tsar’s trea su ry ,
in order that a selection m ight be m ade of wha t
w a s needed for h is u se,and t o u ndertake the sale
or barter of any go ods for h im . The possession of
their hou ses and factories in Mosco and elsewhere
wa s confirm ed t o them , a nd these w ere taken ou t of
the Zem s/iina,or na tiona l part
,and placed u nder the
ju risdiction of the Opritchnina , or reserved portion
proving that the Tsar regarded the intercou rse w ith
England a s pecu l iarly h is own affair,a part from the
na tion . Va riou s other privileges w ere granted t o
them,including the right of coining m oney at
Mosco,Novgorod,
and Pskof. N0 English m erchant
w a s t o be allow ed t o trade w ith Narva or Ivangorodw ithou t the Qu een ’
s leave,u nder penalty of forfeit
ing h is ship bu t other foreigners m ight freely com e
t o Livonia .
1 Bu t the fa l se Dm itri,who usurped the throne upon th e dea th
of Boris Godunof, is sa id to have h ad a foreign body-guard , som e
of whom were English soldiers . (Purch a s , His P ilgrim es,ed. 1 625
,
v ol . i ii,p.
lxxvii i I N TRODUCT ION .
Ru ssia w ith h im and w ith the Qu een ’s great a m
ba ssador, t o exchange ra t ifica t ions.
Savin retu rned to Ru ssia,in the su m m er of 1 5 7 0,
w ithou t Jenkinson , absent at th a t tim e (Tolsto ithinks pu rposely)from London . With h im w ent
Dan iel Sy lvester, wh o h ad been h is interpreter in
England,a nd wh o wa s now entru sted w ith a letter
for the Tsar (dated a t Ham pton Cou rt , May 1 8,
1 5 7 0)and the dra ft of a treaty ,in which the Qu een
prom ised t o afford Ivan prot ecti on and hospitality if
he shou ld be driven ou t of h is dom inions.
Savin ’s em bassy h ad not been a su ccess : he had
fa il ed t o obta in wha t the Tsar wanted; and t o excu se
him self, he com plained of the w ay he h ad been
received in England. These ill—fou nded com plaints
he com m itted t o w riting,and by these m eans pro
du ced a bad feeling against the Engl ish . Ivan w a s
fu riou s, a nd h ad no longer any com m and over h im
self. In h is letter,dated th e 24t h October 1 5 7 0,
he
tau nts the Qu een w ith her m aidenly estate”
a nd
being ru led by“boorish m erchants” . He concludes
by say ingseeinge it is so ,
wee doo sett aside th ose a f‘
fa ires ; and
th ose bourish e m arch aun ts th a t h aue beene th e occasionth a t th e pretended wel th es and h onors of ourMa iesties h a thnot com e to passe , bu t seeke th eir owne weal th es
,th ey sh a ll
see wh a t tra ffiqu e th ey sh a ll h aue h ere And th e priniledge th a t wee gaue to y our m arch aunts wee will ginecom m aundem ent th a t noth ing sh a lbe donne by it . And a ll
th ose priu iledges wich wee h aue gluon aforetim e be from th isda ie of none effect.”
This letter wa s brought t o England by Daniel Sy lves
IN TRODUCTION . lxxix
ter in the w inter of 1 5 7 0,and confirm ed the report
that h ad reached the Ru ssia Com pany ,that not
only h ad their privileges been annu lled, bu t tha t a ll
the ir property h ad been seiz ed. In consequ ence of
this, R obert Best w a s despatched t o Ru ssia,through
Sweden,w ith a letter from the Qu een
, dated the
24th Jannary 1 5 7 1 . Eliz abeth assu red the Tsar in
it that Savin cou ld not have been trea ted m ore
honou rably ,a nd requ ested that perm ission m ight be
given t o her su bj ects t o trade a s before .
The sta te of Ru ssia m u st have been frightfu l at
this tim e . Th e plagu e , t o which a llu si on h as been
m ade,h ad been follow ed by a fa m ine , and the
people were redu ced t o su ch stra its tha t theyh ad recou rse t o hu m a n flesh t o satisfy the crav
ings of hunger . I t w a s in consequ ence of these
reports of a fam ine tha t the Ru ssia Com panydecided t o sh ip corn t o Ru ssia in 1 5 7 1 , probablythe only instance of the im portation of this article
of food. To crown a ll these ca lam ities,the Krim
Ta rtars,u nder their Khan
,Devlet Gh irei, invaded
Ru ssia and bu rnt Mosco . Jenkinson,wh o pro
ceeded t o Ru ssia in the su m m er of 1 5 7 1 , m entionsthese events in a letter t o Cecil , da ted from Kholm ogori , the 8th Augu st of the sam e y ear.
1 The
Qu een,in her letter dated in May or Ju ne
,u nder
stands that the Tsar is dissatisfied,and therefore
1 Th is letter h as been reproduced in f a csim ile, by perm ission of
th e Officia l s a t t he R ecord Office,to wh ose courtesy in a ssisting
h im in these research es th e writer takes th i s opportun ity of
return ing h is th ank s .
lxxx INTRODUCT ION
sh e sends her Orator and seru ant , dea r t o and
belou ed by v s, Anthony Ienkinson”
,who had been
em ploy ed in the greatest a nd m ost secret affa irs. He
w ou ld explain a ll things, andtell the Tsar m ost tru lythat no m erchants gou ern ou r cou ntry , bu t w e
ru le it ou rselues in m anner befitting a Virgin Qu een ,appointed by the great and good God.
”And sh e
concludes by asking that the privileges m ay be
restored t o her subj ects,a nd that the Tsar w ill
show them the sam e regard a s he h ad done for the
last twenty y ears.
On the 2 6 th Ju ly 1 5 7 1 Jenkinson arrived a t St .
Nicholas w ith the two ships, th e Swa llow and the
H a rry ,a nd on landing at Rose Isla nd, im m ediately
sent away h is interpreter , Daniel Sy lvester, t o
Mosco,t o inform the Tsa r of h is com ing ,
a nd to know
h is pleasu re . At R ose Isla nd he h ea rd from the
Com pany’
s agent Nichola s‘
Proctor,that the Tsar
w a s m u ch displeasedw ith h im ,and that he h ad said
tha t if Jenkinson ventu red into h is cou ntry again , he
shou ld lose h is head. N ot a little dism ay ed by this
discou raging news, Jenkinson debated w ith him self
whether he shou ldgo forwardor retu rn hom e w ith the
sh ips. Feeling innocent of a ny ju st ca u se of offence ,a nd desirou s of being tried,
in order t o silence the
enem ieswho h adspreadu ntru e andslanderou s reports
tha t he w a s the cau se of the Em peror’s displea su re
towards the m erchants,though the Tsa r
’
s letter
brought by Daniel Sy lvester disproved the ir asserti on
,Jenkinson nevertheless decided on pla cing h is
l ife in the pow er of th e ty rant , and proceeding w ith
lxxxii I N TRODUCT ION .
hou se w a s appointed for h im,and an allowance of pro
visions bu t he wa s so strictly guarded tha t he w a s
prevented from holding com m u nication w ith any of
the Engl ish .
1 On the 1 4th March he w a s su m m oned
t o cou rt,bu t
,when w ithin three m iles of Alex
a ndrofsky Sloboda ,2 a m essenger wa s sent t o the
officer in charge of h im t o retu rn t o Pereslavl , a nd
aw a it there h is Majesty’
s pleasu re . This sudden
change seem ed t o h im m ost inau spiciou s, particu la rlya s it wa s generally known that the Tsar h ad been
very u nsu ccessfu l in h is affa irs. On the 2oth March ,however
,he wa s again sent for
,and on the 23rd
wa s adm itted t o an audience of the Tsar , when he
kissed hands and presented the Qu een’s letters a nd
gifts, and m ade h is oration . He also presented som e
sm al l gifts from him self,—a silver ba sin and ew er
,
a looking-
glass, a nd a bu nch Of ostrich feathers.
The Tsa r then dism issed every one from the ro om ,
a nd spoke t o Jenkinson a lone . He recited the
variou s incidents which had occu rred since An
th ony’
s last visit t o Ru ssia,including Rando lph
’
s
em bassy ,alleging that the Qu een h ad broken her
agreem ent m ade through Randolph for a trea tyt o be concluded between them . Jenkinson then
answ ered fu lly the variou s points of the Tsar’s
speech,explaining why he had not been sent w ith
th e em bassy of Randolph , whose condu ct in refu singt o treat w ith the Tsar’s councillors before seeing
1 Th is i s th e only m ention of English m en being a t Peresla vl .2 Alexandrof
,now t he ch ief town of the governm en t Of Vlad i
I NTRODUCT I ON . lxxxiii
the Tsar him self he defended. As t o the alleged
agreem ent w ith Randolph , the latter h ad denied
having entered into a ny Obliga tion , saving w ith the
a pproval of the Qu een , a nd h ad ju stified him self t o
Sa vin in England. Therefore , continu ed Jenkinson ,
either Savin had fa lsely inform ed the Tsar, or there
h ad been a m isu nderstanding,ow ing t o the fa u lt of
the interpreter . He referred the Tsar t o the Qu een’s
letter,sent by Robert Best , for a tru e statem ent of
t h e w ay h is am bassador , Savin , had been received
a nd sa id that the Qu een su pposed that the Tsa r’
s
m ind h ad been prejudiced by Savin’
s false reports,and the evil doings of the traitorou s English agents ;for he assu red h im that the m erchants of England
w ere alway s ready t o serve h im in peace or in wa r,a nd had brought h im ,
by way of Narva , su ch com
m odit ies as w ere not allowed t o be exported t o any
other cou ntry in the w orld. He spoke of the losses
su sta ined by the Ru ssia Com pany ,recalled t o h is
m em ory the defeat of the Polish freebooters by their
ships in 1 5 7 0, and requ ested h im t o restore their
privileges a nd al low them to trade a s hereto fore .
He also begged that Ralph Ru tter, and other dis
honest agents, who w ere try ing t o sow dissensi on
between the two cou rts,m ight be del ivered t o h im ,
t o be sent hom e . All this the Tsar prom ised t o
consider after he had read the Qu een’s letters ;bu t that , a s it w a s now Passion Week
,a tim e
devoted t o pray er a nd fasting ,he m u st reserve
h is reply ; m ore over,he w as shortly t o proceed
t o Novgorod, abou t h is a ffa irs w ith Sw eden,a nd
9 2
lxxxiv IN TRODUCT ION .
cou ld not give Jenkinson an im m ediate answer .
Thereu pon a dinner,ready dressed,
wa s sent t o
Jenkinson ’
s lodgings, and th e next day he received
the Tsar’s com m ands t o depart im m ediately for
Tver,and await h is arrival .
0
Jenkinson reached Tver onthe 28th March bu t it
wa s not til lMay 8th that he received the Tsar s com
m ands t o repair t o‘
Staritsa,a town abou t fifty m iles
from Tver. At Staritsa he h ad an interview , on the
1 2th May ,w ith the Chief Secretary ,
wh o told h im
that the Tsar’s orders w ere that he shou ld com m u ni
cate , in w riting,any requ ests h e m ight have t o m ake
on behalf of the m erchants. This,after a long con
ference,Jenkinson did
,and handed t o the Secretary
sixteen articles. From these , it is evident that them ercha nts h ad been hardly dealt w ith du ring the
tim e they w ere u nder th e Tsar’s displeasu re .Ju stice had not been done them ; debts du e t o
them h ad not been paid ; Bannister and Du ckett
h ad not been allow ed t o prosecu te their j ou rneybey ondAstrakhan a nd cu stom s h ad been levied on
the m erchandise of the Com pany im ported fromPersia, notw ithstanding their privilege of free
transit . These , and several other m atters, w ere
the su bstance of Jenkinson ’
s articles. On the
follow ing day ,13th May , Jenkinson had a second
interview of the Tsar , who told him that he w a snow w ell sa tisfied that the chief cau se of h is offence
lay in th e failu re of Sa vin ’s em bassy t o accom pl ish
h is w ishes, and th e m iscondu ct of th e Com pany’
s
factors. As t o h is princely secret affa ires”, he
lxxxvi IN TRODUCTION ;
h is services h ad been of t he greatest u se t o h is
Qu een and cou ntry . He h ad,bv conciliating the
go od-w il l of the Tsar and h is people , and by nu
swerving honesty a nd tenacity Of pu rpose , gained
respect for the Engl ish nam e . He h ad vindicated
h is character from the aspersions thrown on it
by som e of h is cou ntry m en . His slanderers w ere
silenced ; h is t riu m ph w a s com plete . For fifteen
y ears he h ad devoted m ost Of h is tim e t o the inter
cou rse betw een England a nd Ru ssia . From May
1 5 5 7 , when he first sailed t o Ru ssia in t he P rim
rose, t o Septem ber 1 5 7 2 , when he retu rned t o
England from h is last m ission t o that cou ntry ,he
h ad been,with two intervals, - one in 1 5 6 5
,when h e
w a s em ploy ed on the Ayde for a few m onths,and
the secondfrom 1 5 6 7 t o 1 5 7 1 , du ring which w e nearlylose sight of h im ,
-continu ally engaged,in a pu bl ic
a nd private capacity ,in fostering go od rela tions a nd
peacefu l intercou rse betw een th e two cou ntries. He
h ad sown th e seed for fu tu re generations t o rea p
the benefits.
“And thu s”,he concludes
,
“ beingw ea rie , a nd grow ing Old
,I a m content t o take m y
rest in m ine owne hou se,chiefly com forting m y
se lfe in tha t m y seru ice hath bene honou rablya ccepted and rewarded of h erMa iesty ,
a nd t he rest
by whom I hau e been em ploied.
”
We m u st now take leave Of Jenkinson in h ispublic capa city ,
and present t o the reader th e fewdetails wh ich w e have gleaned of h is priva te l ife .
These rela te alm ost entirely t o h is la ter y ea rs, for
there is noth ing t o throw light on h is ea rlier history ,
IN TRODUCT ION . lxxxvii
bey ond the few particu la rs he him self gives of h is
travels in Eu rope a nd the East , previou s t o h is first
voy age t o Ru ssia . In h is interview w ith the Shah
he describes him self thu s “vn t o whom I answ ered
that I wa s of the fam ou s cit ie of London,w ithin
the noble rea lm e of England”
(Text , p . In
the grant of arm s (infra)he is described as citiz en
of London”,and in the H era ld
’
s Visita tion (ib.)a scitiz en and m ercer
The m aterials for h is life are , it m u st be confessed,
som ewhat scanty . Su ch notices of h im a s are t o be
found in biographical dictionaries refer m ostly t o
h is travels,a nd bu t few tou ch u pon his personal
history . Where they do ,they are generally at
fau lt . Thu s,in Ersch ’
s E ncyclop edia1 Jenkinson is
described as com ing from a Yorkshire fa m ily . In
another w ork2 he is represented a s the ancestor of
that branch of the Jenkinson fam ily which settled
at Wa lcot,near Charlbu ry ,
in Oxfordshire,
a nd
which included am ong its m em bers the fam ou s
Lord Liverpool,Prim e Minister pf England from
1 81 2 According t o this au thority , ou r traveller ,a fter retu rning t o England, settled in L ondon in thedecline of h is life , and w ith the considerable fortu ne
he h ad acqu ired,pu rchased an estate in hou ses
,
besides the fa m ily m ansion and estate in Oxford
shire .
1 Algem eine Ency clopedia Ersch and Grueber.
9 The Ancient Fa m ily of Ca rly le. London,1 822.
3 The presen t representa tive of th i s fa m ily is Sir George Jenkinson
,Bart. of Hawkesbury
,Gloucestersh ire .
lxxxviii I N TRODUCT I ON .
The discovery of Anthony Jenkinson’
s w ill , h ow
ever,a t the W ills Office
,Som erset Hou se
,w a s t h e
first im portant clu e t o h is personal history ,and h a s
thrown a new l ight u pon it , dispelling m u ch of the
obscu rity by which it had hitherto been su rrou nded.
In this docu m ent (dated in 1 6 1 0)he is described of
Ashton , in Northam ptonshire , and m ention is m ade
in it of Sywell , in the sam e cou nty . A search in
the Sy well parish registers discl osed som e fu rther
facts relating t o h im . Here are recorded th e
baptism s and bu rials of som e of h is children a nd
grandchildren, affording su fficient pro ofs of h is
having resided at Syw ell for som e y ears du ring the
latter part of h is l ife .
Of h is parentage and birth we have been u nable
t o discover any trace . The registers at St . Botolph’
s,
Aldersgate Street , where h is hou se w a s situ ate,do
not go fu rther back tha n the y ear 1 6 6 6 and those
of St . Alph age’
s,which are a s old a s 1 5 38, andwhere
Sir Row land Hayward, a governor of the Ru ssia
Com pany in Jenkinson’
s tim e,wa s bu ried
,
1 have been
searched in vain . I t wa s the cu stom in those tim es
t o sendy ou ng m en intending t o follow the profession
of a m ercha nt t o the Levant,t o prepa re for a m er
can t ile career, and it is probable that Chancellor a nd
Gray both passed their apprenticeship there .
2 Jen
kinson ’s ea rlier travels,begu n in 1 5 46 , w ere u nder
taken w ith tha t Obj ect . In 1 5 5 5 he w a s adm itted
a m em ber of the Mercers’ Com pany by redem p tion
Rem em bra ncia , City of London, p . 37 , note 3.
2 See Arber’s F irst T/zree English Books on Am erica,p. xvu .
XC IN TRODUCT ION .
cou sin of Sir Thom a s,by whom Marsh is referred t o
in h is correspondence as m y cou sin Marsh” .
1 John
Marsh , or Merebe , cam e of an old Northam ptonshire
fa m ily ,m entioned in Rym er
’
s Feedera . He pro
bably su cceeded Mr . Hu ssey a s governor of the
Merchant Adventu rers, a nd h is nam e occu rs am ongothers at the foot of the docu m ent, testify ing t o the
ha ndsom e reception given t o the first Ru ssian am
ba ssador in Engla nd in He was a fterwards
governor of the com pany of m erchants trading t o
th e Netherlands, a nd h e is referred t o in the State
papers in connection w ith affa irs in tha t cou ntry .
The y ea r 1 5 6 8, which was probably that of Jem
kinson ’
s m arriage , w a s a lso m arked by the grant of
a rm s conferred u pon h im,a copy of which is given
below (infra ,p . c). This docu m ent
,after a pre
a m ble setting forth tha t the bearing of a rm s
wa s a chief and u su a l w ay of perpetu a ting the
m em ory of the brave deeds a nd deserts of su ch
a s have done go od service t o their prihce and
country , a nd advanced th e com m on w eal and after
reciting that Anthony Jenkinson w a s am ongst the
nu m ber of these , for“ he hath not fea ryd t o adven
tu re a nd ha z a rd h is life,and t o w eare h is body
w ith long a nd pay nfu ll t ra vey ll into dy v ers and
su ndry contrey s”
, et c . ,proceeds : “ In considera
cion of which h is said t ra vey ll , tending alway s t o
the honor of h is prince and cou nt rey (a p[er]fectproof of h is vertu e and prowesse), and for a perpetu a l]
1 Cf. Life a nd Tim es of b'
ir T. Gresha m ,vol . 1 1
,p . 64 .
2[f a /CL, 1 5 9 9 , vol . i , p . 290.
IN TRODUCT ION . xci
declaration of the wort hy nesse of the said AnthonyIenkinson ,
we, the kings of a rm es, et c .
,have a ssigned,
gy ven ,a nd grau nt yd vu to the sayde Anthony Ien
ky u son these arm es and crea st follow ing .
”
From h is fa ther- in - law Jenkinson acqu ired by pu r
chase the estate of Sy well , in Northam ptonshire ,
where h e resided for several y ears du ring the latter
pa rt of h is life .
In th e th irty - fourth y ear of Henry VIII th e m anor,
grange , and advowson of Sywel l , la te parcel of th e possessionsof St . Andrew’
s Priory ,were gran ted to Joh n Mershe,
1a nd by
h im a fterwards sold to An thony Jenkinson , Esq ,wh o ,
in the
twentie th y ear of Eliz abeth levied a fine of them .
”2
Jenkinson’s hou se,before he settled at Sy w ell ,
w as in Aldersga te Street , as appears from the Close
R olls. The first of these rela t ing t o h im is a m ort
gage , by one Alexander Richw ort h,of som e property
in Yorkshire , in the tw elfth y ea r of Eliz abeth
In the u su a l proviso Of redem ption inserted at th e
end of this deed,the m ortgagor has t o pa y
“vnt o the
said Anthony Jenkinson the som e of one hu ndred
pou nds of lawfu ll m oney of England,on t h e tenth
daie of Nou em ber next com ’
y ng after the da te hereof,a t the nowe dwelling hou se of the sa id An thony Jen
hynson,set a nd being a t Aldersga te S trete , in the
suburbes (yfthe ey tie of London,
betweene the h ou res
of one and fou re of the clocke in the a ft ernoone .
”3
1 The na m e of Marsh is well known a t t h e presen t day in
Hol cot,an adj oin ing parish to Sywel l .
2 Bridge’s N ortha m p ton ,
by Wh a l ley , vol . i i, p. 1 47 .
3 Close Rolls,1 2 E liz .
xci i IN TRODUCT ION .
Aldersga te Street in the subu rbs m eant w ithou t
the city wall , a part which wa s then , or soon after
wards becam e , a fashionable qu arter.
A w ork on old London , by William Newton ,la c
com panied by a plan , shows plainly the condition of
this part of the city abou t Jenkinson’
s tim e . The
Alders gate , the oldest entrance,
sto od on the
north side ; from it ran Aldersgate Street , in a
northerly direction , term inating at Aldersgate
Ba rs. The whole of the street,which wa s w ithou t
the city w all,a nd therefore in the su bu rbs
,w a s
flanked on either side by fine hou ses,having
gardens or orchards at the back . Near the gate
wa s Little Britain , so nam ed after the Dukes of
Brittany ,wh o once lodged there . This wa s form erly
a clu ster of narrow lanes and cou rts, partly belonging t o Cloth Fair . 2 I t is im possible t o say where
the hou se of our traveller sto od ; bu t the whole
neighbou rhood teem s w ith m em ories of the earlyMerchant Adventu rers.
The y ear of Jenkinson ’
s rem oval t o Sywell ca n
only be approxim ately fixed be tw een 1 5 7 0 a nd 1 5 7 8,
or, rather, between 1 5 7 2—when he retu rned from
h is la st voy age t o Ru ssia—and 1 5 7 8. After this h e
m ade no m ore dista nt j ou rney s, a nd wa s content,a s
he him self say s in su m m a rising h is travels, t o take
h is rest in h is own hou se . That he w a s residing a t
Syw ell in 1 5 7 8 is proved by a Close Roll of tha t y ea r
1 London in the Olden Tim e,185 5
,p. 7 5 .
Sec Wa sh ington Irving’s Sketch -Boole.
IN TRODUCT I ON .
m entioned by Bridges,1 rem ains of which are occa
siona lly tu rned up in ploughing an adj o ining field.
An exam ination of the registers at Sywell resu lted
in the discovery of several entries concerning ou r
traveller . The first of these occu rs in 1 5 7 9 , and
reads a s follows
Judeth JenkensOne , th e dough ter of M“ Anth ony Jen~
kensOne , Esqu ier, Ja ne Jenkensonne, h is dough ter, a lsowar baptized th e ffirste day of October 1 5 7 9 .
This evidently refers t o tw o ,probably tw in , da u gh
ters,who died in infa ncy ,
a nd w ere bu ried on the
2 1 st October of the sam e y ear .
The next entry is the baptism of a son“An thony Jenkensonne , th e sonne Oe ‘ An th ony Jen
kensofie,esqu ier, was bapty z ed th e xi day of March e, Ano
DO6) 1 5 80.
He,t oo ,
died in infancy ,though h is bu rial is not in
the register ; bu t two y ears later another son w a s
born,also nam ed Anthony ,
show ing the endeavou r
t o perpetu a te a na m e which h ad becom e fam ou s.
The record is a s follows
An th ony Jenkensonne, th e sonne of M“Anthony Jenkensofie, was bapty z ed th e xx day of July e, Ano D or
'
n 1 5 82 .
There are no fu rther entries of ou r traveller ’sch ildren in the Sywell registers ; bu t the baptism s .
of three grandchildren appear there—two sons and
a daughter of Henry Jenkinson—nam ely ,Henry ,
baptised in 1 5 93; William ,in 1 5 9 6 and Ma ry ,
in
1 5 9 8,
- a ll three m enti oned in their grandfather’
s
w i ll .1 H ist . of N ortha m pton , 1 1 , 1 47 .
I NTRODUCT ION . XCV
Another glim pse of our traveller at Sywell is
obtained in a Close Roll of the y ear when he
pu rchased the w ood and u nderw o od called Gorton
Groy le, adjoining h is estate .
A few m ore particu lars concerning Jenkinson’
s
public l ife are afforded by the State papers. In
1 5 7 6 he is appointed one of three com m issi oners
(th e other tw o being Sir William Winter a nd
Micha el Lock)t o consider u pon a ll m atters requ isite
for the fu rnitu re a nd despatch of Mr . Frobisher on a
second voy age t o Cathay .
2 Jenkinson ’
s nam e,a s wel l
a s those of Thom as Randolph , Lord Bu rghley ,and
Sir FrancisWalsingha m ,appear am ong the ventu rers
in Frobish er’s second a nd third voy ages t o Cathay ,
in 1 5 7 6 a nd In 1 5 7 7 he is sent w ith Danie l
Rogers on a specia l'
m ission t o Em bden,t o trea t
w ith the King of Denm ark’
s com m issi oners on the
right of England t o navigate the northern seas
bey ondNorwa y . This K ing ,like th e other poten
tates of Eu rope , wa s exceedingly j ea lou s a nd dis
pleased a t the new ly opened English trade w ith
Ru ssia , a nd denied their right t o sail past the
coasts of Norway ,which then belonged t o the
Crown of Denm ark , on their w ay t o the White Sea .
He also sought t o im pose tolls on English ships
passing through the Sou nd t o the Baltic,on their
w ay t o Na rva, fou nding h is claim s on an old treaty
1 C lose R oll,25 Eliz .
,pt . 9 .
2 Ca l. S . P . ,E . Ind.
,1 5 13- 1 6 1 6
,p. xiii.
3 Ca l . S . R , Co] . E . Ind.,pp. 18
,24
,29 ; F ro lrisher
’
s Three
Voy ages (Hakl . Soc), pp. 348,35 2 .
IN TRODUCTION .
m ade between form er kings of the two cou ntries.
He w ished t o interpret this treaty according to the
strict and l iteral m eaning of the w ords, which
appear t o have excluded the Engl ish from sailingtheir ships betw een Iceland and Helgeland.
The Qu een replied tha t no su ch prohibition w a s
eve r intended by that or any other treaty ,and
pray ed the K ing t o appoint com m issioners t o m eet
hers and discu ss the whole m atter. The com m is
sioners m et,bu t cou ld com e t o no agreem ent , and
the m atter rem ained in su spense three or fou r y ears,till another conference wa s arranged,
when a fresh
treaty w a s concluded,by which the K ing agreed t o
su ffer the traffic t o continu e , receiving,in considera
tion of this concessi on , the annu al su m of one
hu ndred rose-nobles,pay able t o h im at Elsinore .
In 1 5 7 8 we find Jenkinson associated w ith Ran
do lph on the com m ission appointed t o report on
the ore brought to England in Frobish er’
s ships,1
which had been assay ed at Mu scovy Hou se . Thisis the last occasi on that any m ention of h im is
m ade in the State papers, bu t the recollecti on of
h is go od deeds long su rvived his retirem ent from
active life thu s, w e find h im referred to in a noticeof the trade t o the Levant . 2
The last a ct of h is life,when he was no longer
able t o w rit e h is nam e,w as the m aking of h is w ill .
In this docu m ent,dated 13th Novem ber 1 6 1 0
,he
1 Ca l . S . P . , Col . E . Ind.,N o . 89 .
2 Ha hl . , 1 5 99 , ii , p. 136 .
xcviii I N TRODUCTION .
h is h ea l th . To h is grandson, Henry Jenkinson , th e sum of
is to be pa id on h is a tta ining th e age of twenty -one to
th is grandson three parts of th e pla te and h ou seh old stuff Ofwh a tsoever it consist are left and h e is appointed residuarylega tee . To anoth er grandson, William Jenkinson
,th ere is
a bequest of £400,and “
m y lesser bason and ewer of silver” .
To h is grand - daugh ter, Mary Jenkinson ,th e su m of £5 00
is directed to be pa id,and to h er is given th e fourth part of
th e pla te and househ old effects on h er a t ta ining th e age of
twen ty - one,or with in one y ear of h er m arriage.
Then there are legacies to th e testa tor’
s daugh ters, AlicePrice, Mary Hobson,
Lucy Wilson ,and K a th erine N ewport ,
each of whom receives £5 . TO N ich olas Price,h is grandson
and godson, £50 are directed to be pa id ; and to h is grandda ugh ter, Susan Price, £ 100 on h er a t ta ining twen ty - one
,or
on the day of h erm arriage. Then fol low gifts to h is servan tsThom as Greenwood
, £20, and th e bed and bedding h e now
l ieth in” to Th om as Tham e a gold ring, or 403. to bu y one
better to h is l iking”
.
Th ere are a lso legacies to testa tor’
s niece,Dorothy Jenkin
son,£5 O to SirPh ilip Sh erard
,K nigh t, m y a corne cu pp of
pla te” ,wh ich is a lso excepted from th e form er gift of pla te ;
to h im a lso is given m y best crowby”
;1and to Lady Isabella
Sh erard , h is w ife, “m y duble blewe ch est to th e poor,
wh a t sh all be though t m eete by m yne execu tor” . His foursons- in - law and his daugh ters are. to receive m ourning garm ents for th em selves and one servan t apiece . Th ere are
som e furth er bequests—to th e ch ildren of Edward Bluek of
Sywell , £ 10 apiece ; £1 00 to h is neph ew,Za ch ary Jenkinson ,
w ho is appointed sole execu tor ; a nd £ 10 to h is son -in- law,
Thom as Price, who, wi th Sir Ph il ip Sh erard , are ordainedsupervisors.
Anthony Jenkinson w a s bu ried at Tighe, in Ru t
la ndsh ire,the seat of h is friend,
Sir Philip Sherard,
on the 2 6 th Febru ary 1 6 1 0 w ithin fou r m onths1 Probably “ coroby a ch est —Cf . pp. 206 , 45 9 .
I N TRODUCTION .
after the date of h is w ill . His son Henry only su r
vived h im a short tim e , and wa s also bu ried at
Tighe . Henry Jenkinson , the grandson , follow ed
seven y ears later , and w a s bu ried by the side of h is
father and grandfather on the 23rd Janu ary 1 6 18
having left no children .
Tighe , or Teigh , a s it is com m only spelt now ,is a
sm all village in Oakham Union , in the hu ndred of
Alstoe,in Ru tlandshire
,near the border of Leicester
shire . The chu rch is a plain bu ilding,dedicated
t o the Holy Trinity . I t consists only of a nave ,w ith a squ are em battled tow er at the w est end.
The chancel was knocked down y ears ago ,and m any
of the gravestones have been u sed for paving pur
poses,so that if a ny m onu m ent existed t o the
Jenkinson fam ily . it h as long since disappeared ?
The further history of this fam ily is not , strictlySpeaking,
w ithin the l im its of thisw ork, bu t a fam ily
tree (infra ,p . cvii)w ill serve t o show the im m e
diate descendants of the traveller. There m u st be,
no doubt, representatives Of h is fam ily , for if the
m ale issu e be extinct , those on the fem ale side
probably su rvive .
1 The Tigh e registers , wh ich da te from 1 5 5 0,conta in severa l
entries of th e fam ily besides th ose m ent ioned above—th e m ar
ria g e of W il liam Jenkinson wi th Ann Barowe on th e 6 th N ovember 1 6 1 5 th e bapt ism of two sons of William Jenkinson
,
na m ed Ph ilip and Edward,in 1 6 1 7 a nd 1 6 2 1 ; th e buria l of
Dorothy Jenkinson in 1 623,and Za ch ary her husband
,rector of
Tigh e and executor of An th ony,in 1 630 th e m arriage of Mary
Jenkinson with Gilbert Fisher on the 28th May 1 6 1 4 .
c I NTROD UCTION .
IENKINSON ?
To al l and singular, a swell nobles andgen tlem en as oth ers,to whom th ese presentes sh a ll com e
,be seene, h eard , readd,
or u nd’
rstand. Sir Gilbart Deth icke,Knigh t , a lias Garter
principall K inge of Arm es,Robert Cooke
,Esquire
,a lias
Clarencieu lx K inge of Arm es,of the South partes
,andWill ’m
flower, Esquire, a lias N orroy K inge of Arm es, of th e N orthpartes of England, Sendith greetinge in o
r Lord godEverlastinge .
For asm u ch e as anncient ly from th e beginninge th e
va liannt and vertu ou se actes of excellent personnes h aue bey[been] cofiiended to th e worlde and postery te with sundrym onum entes and rem em brances of th eir good deaserts
Em ongst the wh ich the ch iefist and m ost u su al l h a th ben th ebearinge of signes in Sh ieldes ca lled Arm es, beinge noneoth er th inge th an Evidences and Dem onstracOns of prowesse
and valoir, diversly distribu tyd accordinge to th e qu aly tesand descartes of th e personnes m eritinge th e sam e. To th e
entent th a t such as h aue done comendable s’vice to th eir
prinnce or cou ntrey , eith er in Warre or Peace, a t h om e or
abrode, any Way es addinge to the advanncem ent of th e
Cor‘
hon Wea le, th e fruy tes of th eir industry and travey ll ,
beinge in very deed th e true and p’
fect tokens of a righ t nobledisposition : m ay therfore receyve due h onor in th eir ly ves,and a lso dery ve a nd con tinew the sam e su ccessyvely in th eirpostery te for ever. Em ongst th e wh ich N om ber Anth onyI enkinson , Citez en of London, being one
,wh o for th e s
’viceof h is prinnce , Wea le of h is cou ntrey , and forknowledg sake,one of th e greatist I ewells gy ven by god to m ankynd, h a th
1 MS . Ashm . 844, 3 see a lso MS . Ha rl. 1 463,fO. 286 ; on the
sam e fo. z
Anth ony Jenky nson .
—Judit h , da . of John Ma rsh e of London ,
T E sq .
1
Alice , da u gh ter.
cii I N TRODUCTION .
princes, a sau fcondu ct from th e grea te Turk,a letter of
comendacion from Astm icana [Hadjim Kh an] , king of
Tartaria,and letters test im onia ll of h is being a t Jh eru salem
,
being a ll evident tokens of h is Vertue, h onesty , andWisdom .
And retourning hom ewa rds, p assed thou rough dyvers other
contreys, over long heer to be rehersed. In consideracion of
wh ich h is sa id travey ll, tending alway s to th e h onor of h isprince Countrey (a p
’
fect proof of h is vertue andproWesse)and for a perpetu a ll declara tion of th e Worth ynesse of the
sayd Anthony Ienkinson, We, th e kings of Arm es a fore
sayda , by power a u thory te to vs com it tyd by letters pa tentes
undr the grea te Sca le of Englande , togither w“1 the assent
and consent of the h igh andm igh ty Th om asDuk of N orfolk,
Erle Maresh a ll of Englande, h ave assigned , gyven ,and
grau ntyd vu to th e sayde Anthony I enkynson th ese Arm es
and Creast followeng : Th a t is to say , the field a zure, a feceWave argent in ch ief three starres gold upon a h elm e on a
torce argent and a zur, a Sea h orse, corh only ca lled a
N eptunes h orse, gold and a zur m antelyd gueu lles doublyd
argen t , as m ore playnly apperith depictyd in th is m argen t .Wh ich Arm es and Creast , and every part and parcel] thereof,We, th e sa id Garter Clerencieu lx and N orroy K inges of
Arm es, do by these presentes ra tify , con fyrm e, gyve, and
INTRODUCTION . ciii
graunt vnto the saydAnth ony Ienk inson,and to h is pos
tery te for ever. And h e th e sam e Arm es and Creaste to vee,
beare, and sh ew at a l l tym es,and for ever h erea fter, a t h is
l iberty and pleasure, w ith out th e im pedym ent,lett
,or in
terruption of any person or p’
sons.
In Witnesse wh ereof, we , th e say d K ings of Arm es,h a ue
signed th ese presen ts Wt b our h ands, and sett th er vnto
our Severa ll Sea ls of Arm es, the 14 day of February ,in th e
y ear of our Lord god a thousand fiv hundryd sixty eigh t .
Extra cted from the Principa l Registry of the P roba te,
Divorce, a nd Adm ira lty Division of the H igh Cou rt
of Justice.
In th e Preroga tive Court of Canterbury .
In th e N am e of God Am en. the th irteenth day of
N ovem ber in th e y ere of or Lord God according to the com
pu tacBn of the Church of England one thousand six h undredand tenne I Anthony Jenkinson of Ash ton in th e County of
N ortham pton Esquire being of sufficient h ea lth e andm em ory e
(th anckes be given to God)do m ake and declare th is m y
Testam ent and last Will in m anner and form e as foloweth
First and principa lly I com m itt a nd com m end m y Soul andbody to Allm igh ty God m y Maker and to Jesus Christ m y
Saviour and Redeem er trusting assuredly th a t through H ism eritts dea the and passion only and by noe other m eanes Ish a ll obtayne full and free rem y ssion of all m y symmes aswell
origina l l as actu al l and after th is m orta ll l ife ended to raignewith bym in eternall ioy es in the Kingdom e of Heaven ItemI give and bequ eath e unto m y sonne Henry Jenkinson an
y erelie portion pention orAnnu itie ou t of th e u se or rent ofm oney th a t is to say e y f m y say ed sonne Henry rem ayne as
nowe h e is in weak sta te of m ynde and body e Th en m y willis th a t to h is m aynten
’
nce h e sh a ll h ave bu t thirtie poundes bythe y eare payed to his m aynten
’
nce a t twoo severa ll tym es in
civ I N TRODUCT ION .
th e y eare by even portions th a t is to say e a t th e Annution of th e Blessed Virgin com m only ca lled Oure Lady eone fifteene pounds and a t th e Feast of Mich aellAngell oth er fifteene poundes bu t y f it m ay please
m y say ed sonne H enry sh al l be res
fection of m ynde and m em ory e th
th a t annua lly h e sh a ll h ave fiftie
tim es and after such m anner as isportions I tem I give and bequ eath e to Henry e Jenkinsm y graund ch ilde th e sum e of twoe th ousand pou ndesgood a nd lawfu ll Englishe m oney to be pay ed unto h im a t
th e age of twentie one y eares y f h e then be l iving I tem Igive un to Henry Jenkinson m y grand ch ilde a fore sa id threepartes of all m y pla te (m y lesser bason and ewer excepted)to be delivered a lso to him the tym e before m encfined I temI give and bequ ea th unto m y say ed grand ch ilde Henry
Jenkinson three partes of a ll m y h ouseh old wh a tsoever stu ffeor m a tter it is appearing wh en Inventary shall be m adethereof I tem I give a nd bequ ea th e unto William Jenkinson
m y grand ch ilde fower h undred pounds of good and lawfu l l
Engl ishe m oney to be pay d unto bym a t th e age of one and
twenty y eares y f h e be th en living Item I give and bequea thunto th e say edWilliam Jenkinson m y lesserbason andewer of
silver to be del ivered a t the sam e tim e afore say ed I tem Igive and bequea th u n to Mary Jenkinson m y grand ch ilde thefull som m e offive hundred pou ndesofgood andlawfu ll Engl ishm oney e to be pay ed unto her a t one and twentie y eres of ageorw ithin one y ere a fterh er m arriage wh ich sh a ll first h appena fter m y decease Item I give to m y say ed grand ch ildeMary
Jenkinson the fourth parte of m y pla te (the pla te given tom y grand ch ilde Wil liam Jenkinson excepted) Item I giveto the fore say ed Ma ry the fourth parte of a l l m y h ouseh olda fore nam ed and to be delivered as above is m en tioned prov ided a llwaies th a t to avoide conten tion concerning th e
deviding of pla te m y wil l is th a t m y Exec" sh all a t h is dis
cretion devide and deliver as well the pla te as h ouseh oldstu fl
'
e above m entioncd and being so parted th ey sha l l be
cv i I NTRODU CTION .
the say ed m oney and goodes unbequ ea thed I give to m ygrand ch ilde Henry Jenkinson I tem I bequea th and give tom y neiph u e Zach ary e one h undred pou ndes of good and
lawfu ll m oney of England th e wh ich Zach ary Jenkinson Im ake ful l and sole Execu tor of th ism y last Will and Testam ent And I ym pose th is ch ardge upon bym h onestly and
duly to be perform ed as h e will awnswere the sam e a t th e
dreadfu ll day e of Ju dgm ent before Al lm igh ty God I tem Igive tenne poundes to m y sonne in lawe Th om as Price And
of th is Will I ordeyne the Righ t Worsh ipfu ll Sr Ph ilipp
Sherard K nigh te and m y sonne in lawe Th om as PriceSupervisors In Witnesse wh ereof I h ave set to th is m y l astWil l andTestam ent m y h ande and sea le th is th irteenth day eof N ovem ber and y ere of O“ Lord as above writ ten ANTHONYJENKINSON h is m arke—who for palsey was not able to wry teh is nam e—Wi tnesses whose nam es ar publish ed—FrauncysN abbs—JOhn Basse—Am brose Wool fe h is m arke.
Proba tum fuit testam en tum suprascriptu m apu d Londoncoram Magistro Edm undo Pope legum D octore Surroga tovenerabilis viri D om ini JOh annis Benet m ilitis legum etiamD octoris Curie Preroga tive Cantu ariens
’ Magistri cu stodis
sive Com ’
issarij legitim e constitu ti Octavo die m ensis MartijAnno D om ini iuxta cursum et com pu tacoem Ecclie Anglicane Millesim o sexcentesim 0 decim o Juram ento Zach arieJenkinson Execu toris in eodem testam ento nom ina t Cu i
Com’
issa fu it Adm inistraco bonorum Ju rium et credi torumdicti defuncti de bene et fideliter Adm inistrand
’
Ac ad
Sancta Dei Evangelia jura t .
Cv l lINTRODUCTION .
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wa
s
cviii INTRODUCTION .
MEANS OF DECAY OF THE RUSSE TRADE.
l
[BY CHRISTOPHER BURROUGH .]
I . The desier the Ba ss h a th to draw a grea ter trade to the
port of St . Nichola s, beeing th e better surer way to ven th is own com m odities to bring in forrein th en th e oth erway es by th e N arve and Riga , th a t ar[e] m any tim es stoppedvp by reason of the warres with th e Polonian Sweden .
Th is m aketh th em discontent with our English m arch an tsand th eir trade th ear, wh ich ,
beeing very sm all (viz . ,but of
5 or 6 sa il a year), keepeth oth er from trading th a t way .
Whereas th ey ar[e] m ade assured by French ,N eth erlandish ,
oth er English m arch ants, th a t they sh all h ave grea t nu mbers flourish ing tra de a t th at port
,to th e enh aunsing of
th eir com m odities th e Em perours custom s, if th ey willcast Of[f] th e Englh ish com pany and th eir priviledged trade.
II . The keeping of their trade cfe stap le a t Mosko, wh earby
grow th ese inconveniences : 1 . A grea t expense by theirtrava il carriages, to fro by land from th e
'
seaside toMosko , wh ich is varsts or m iles. 2 . An expense of
h ouskeeping a t five places,v iz .
,a t Mosko
,Yaru slau e,
Vologda ,Col m ogro, St . N ich olas. 3. Their com m odities
ar[e] ever ready a t h and for th e Em peror h is N obilitie ,
ly eng with in th e ey e and reach of the Court . By th is m eansm uch is taken vpon trust by th e Em perour and his N Obilitie
(wh ich m ay not bee denied th em), and soe it becom ethdespera te debt . 4 . Th eirwhole stock is still in danger tobee pulled sea z ed on vpon every pretence, pickedm a tter by th e Em peror h is Officers ; wh ich cannot beh elped as long as the trade is h elld a t Mosko
,considering
th e na ture of y e Russ, wh ich cannot forbear to spoile Sc
fleece strangers now a nd th en (as h ee doeth h is own people),if hee suppose they ga in by h is countrey . Th is h a th cau sed
a l l o ther m arch ants strangers to give over th a t trade, savetwo only , whearof the one also (beeing a N etherlander)
1 m s. Lansd. 5 2, N O . 2 7 .
CX I NTRODUCTION .
their fa ctours thear . vpon y‘com m on charge, who besydes
their inl and tra de (buy ing a t one part of th e cou ntrey
selling a t th e oth er as if th ey wear Russ m arch ants,to y °
grea t dislyke Of th e Russ)bring in a sh ip over com odities
in fflem ish bot tom s a t St . N icolas, Riga , and N arve ; wh ichh indreth m uch e th e com m on trade profit of the Com
pany .
Mea ns toplease ye Russe Em perourfor y
’m a rchants
beeha lf .
1 . I f the Queen seem willing to ioign with h im for draw
ing a grea ter trade to y 6 port of St ' N icolas,from th e oth er
way es of N arve Riga . 2 . I f h irH ighnes Letters, trea ties,presents sent to h im bee so ordered as th a t th ey seem ,
indeed, to coom from h ir self hir good a ffection, not
from the m arch ants, as h ee is perswaded still th ey doo,th earfore, reiecteth them l ittle regardeth th e trea ties doonin h ir nam e, by cause (as h ee say eth), th ey coom from th e
Mou sicks [Mujiks, i.e. ,boors] . 3. I f h ir Maiestie (wh en
occasion doeth requ ier)offer h ir self ready to m edia t[e]beetwixt h im th e Polonian Sweden , wh om e the Russeever feareth by cau se h ee is ever invaded by th em ,
not
th ey by h im ,and th earfore is glad to procure h is peace by
a ny m eanswith th em th e ra th erby cau se h ee never wantethan enim ie on the oth er side, viz ., th e Tartar.
REMEDYEs.
The rem edy for this is to give the Russ soom better content
m ent by enla rging y" English trade a t y
e
port of S“N icolas
,
so m uch a s m a y be.
—Th is m ay be doon by refourm ing th e
trade a fter y°m anner of y e Adven turers, viz . Every m an to
trade for h im self vnder a governours deputy , th a t is to a tten dfollow th eir bu sines on th other side . 2 . Th e num ber of
y° Russe com pany to bee enlarged, y oung m en su ffred totrade as well as th e rest . This m anner of tra ding a fter y
e
order of y° Adventurers, drawing a grea ter trade to the
port Of S“ N icolas, is lyke to prove m u ch better for th e
IN TRODUCT ION . cxi
genera llitie of th e Com pany ,for com on weal th
, ye Qu eenes
cou stom s th en th a t wh ich now is,wh ear a ll tra de togeth er
in one com m on stock . I f it bee Obiected th a t y e Russecou ntrey wil l bear no such enlargem ent of trade
,nor ven t
grea ter qu antitie of our English com m odities th en now it
doeth (wh ich is bu t Engl ish cloth ers a y ear, with soomproportiona te qu antitie of tin
,lead, brim stone
,it is
a nswered,by th e Opinion of good experience, th a t th e trade
by St N icolas h a th been stinted of la te, restra ined of
pourpose by very practise for th e benefit of soom fiew,th at
yesay ed tra ed will vtter far greater qu an tities th an now it
doth,wh a tsoever is pretended
,if y
° way by S‘ N icolaswear ons [once] wel l inured frequented in m anner (asbefore is noted), specially when troubles grow on the N arve
side.
II. The rem edy to draw their trade (fa stap le from Mosko do
other inla ndparts to y‘seaside
,whea r they sha ll be f a rther of
from y“ey e é? rea ch of y
" Court—Th is will avoyd y ° seasuresdoon Vpon every pretence ca v illa tion takings vp Vpon
trust by the Em perour h is N obles,wh ich is th e speciall
m eans th a t vndoeth ou r m arch ants trade, th e ra th er wh ene very m an dealeth severa lly for h im self with h is own stock,wh ich will not bee so ready for y e Russ to com m and as whenal l was in th e h and and ordering of one agen t . 2 . By th ism eans allso the inland priva tfe] tra des practised by certein
of the Com pany to y 6 hurt of y e Genera llitie will bee prevented, wh en they ar[e] restra inedal l to one rem ote place fromth e inland parts. 3. Th e ch arge of h ou skeeping h ouseren ts a t these 5 severa ll places will bee cu tt of[f] . 4 . The
ch arge and trouble of trava iling to and fro w ith their comm odities carriages (viz . ,
m iles w ith in land)will beeeased . 5 . Th e Russe com m odities (th a t our m arch ants tradefor), will be easier prov ided towards th e sea coast th en inth e inland parts. And as tou tchyng th e lykelyh ood of
obteining th e Em perours favour for yerem oving th eir trade
from Mosko towards th e seaside, th ear ar[e] these reasons toinduce it . 1 . Th e pollicie Of th e Russ to rem ove strangers
cxii INTRODUCTION .
ou t of ye inland parts, specia lly from Mosko (y e Em perors
sea t), towards y e ou t parts of yecou n trey for bringing in
novel ties breeding conceipts in th eir peoples h eads by th eirbeeh aviour reports of the governm ents fash ions Of oth ercountries. To th is pourpose th e Em perours counsel l con
su lted at m y beeing th ear, conferred with m ee abowt th e
rem oving of our m arch ants trade from Mosko to Arch angel l,th a t lyeth 30 m iles from y
e port of S“N icolas, vpon th e
river Dwyna , to feell h ow it would be taken if it wear forcedby y
6 Em perour. 2 . Th e desier the Russ h a th to draw tradeto th e port of St N icolas, for th e reasons m enconed beefore.
3. The necessitie of our English com m odities will draw theRusse m arch ants to follow th e Mart or Staple
,wh earsoeu er
it bee, specially a t S°° N ich olas, for y e com m odities of th a t
port . .4 . Th e wh ole inland trade will th en bee the Russem arch ants ; wh ereas before ou r English m arch ants th atkept residence a t Mosko, and oth er inland parts, h ad tradew ith in land, del t with Bough arians, Media ns
,Turks
,&c.
,
as well as th e na tives, wh ich the Russe m arch ants verym uch envy ed 81: m islyked. 5 . Th e Em perour his cou nsel ls
lykinge will force th e m arch an ts to frequ ent th a t trade,though th em sel ves sh ould m islyke it.III . Rem edy for this, viz . : 1 . By rem oving th eir trade from
Mosko, by severa ll trading (noted beefore)whear everym an fol loweth his bu sines by h im self or h is fa ctor. Herebyth eir servants illdealing w ill bee prevented, and if the
servan t prove ill vnthriftie, it h urteth bu t h is m aster.
2 . I f th ey continew th eir trade as they doe, by com m onservan ts
,to a llow them better wages, to give th em m ore
contentm ent by perm itting th em to h ave a pecu liu m to acert ein stint
,to trade with it for bet tering th eir own
esta tes. Th is will give th eir servants bet ter con tentm en t
wh en th ey see soom cure h ad of th em , th eir own esta te tom end as well as the Com panies. 3. To h ave a preach erthear resident w ith th em ,
th a t th ey m ay learn know God,
a nd so their dueties towards th eir Ma isters ; wh ich willeasier bee grau nted if th e trade bee rem oved towards the
IN TRODUCTION .
extent by the accou nts brought hom e by the m ediae
v a l travellers. Erroneou s notions h ad not been dis
pelled. Cathay w as still believed t o be a cou ntrydistinct from China , situ ate in the extrem e north
east of Asia . The Oxu s andJaxart es were su pposed
t o flow into the Caspian Sea , and the axis of this
sea was represented on m aps greater from east t o
w est than from n orth t o sou th . The Aral Sea wa s
u nknown . The river Don w a s represented on som e
m aps as bifu rcating from the Volga,1while the
northern coasts of Eu rope and Asia w ere generallybel ieved t o be shrouded in im penetrable gloom . The
first voy ages of the Engl ish t o the White Sea threw
a ray of light into regi ons which , a s far a sWestern
Eu rope wa s concerned,h ad been hitherto in dark
ness. They acqu ainted the w orld w ith the north
ern rou te t o Ru ssia,a cou ntry according t o their
accou nts highly produ ctive , abu ndantly watered,
w ith nu m erou s large towns, and an indu striou s
popu lation , wh o w ere not averse t o enter into rela
tions w ith foreigners. Jenkinson ’
s travels by landand w ater grea tly extended this know ledge : hew a s the first t o describe from personal observation
eastern part s of Ru ssia,a t that tim e only recently
annexed by Ivan ; th e first t o descend the Volga
since it h ad becom e a Ru ssian river,a great high
w ay between east and w est ; the first Englishm ant o navigate the inland waters of the Caspian ; t orecognise that it really wa s a landlocked sea and had
no com m u nication w ith Northern or Indian Ocean,
Cf. Asie Cen tra le, Hum boldt, I I, p. 292 .
IN TRODUCT ION . CX V
rem oving prevalent errors, by assigning t o it tru er
proportions than hitherto the first t o describe w ith
som e approach t o accu racy the variou s cou ntries
bordering on its coasts,and t o enu m erate som e of
the rivers falling into it . All this, new t o English
m en and t o Eu rope,a rou sed great interest in those
cou ntries. People began t o be aware of a w orld
ou tside their ken , a nd cosm ogra phers t o constru ct
charts containing som e Of the inform ation thu s
obtained.
As far a s the Caspian,Jenkinson ’
s geography ,
based on what he had seen , was fairly accu rate bu t
when he Spoke of the rivers of Central Asia, and
attem pted t o reconcile what he heardw ith erroneou s
notions,derived
,a s w e have seen , from anci ent
au thors, he w as led into confu si on . When he de
scended the cl iff of the U st Urt , on h is road t o
U rgendj , and lo oked down u pon the wa t erspread of
lakes Sa ry Kam ish , spreading over a far w ider areathan they do at present , he concluded tha t he saw
a gu lf of that sea ,for he knew of none other ; and
when he passedthe channel of the Oxu s near U rgendj ,and lea rned that this river had alm ost ceased t o
flow along it s form er bed,he cou ld only su ppose
that it s ou tflow h ad been in the Caspian . He then
crossed a la rge river— the Am u daria of ou r day ,
nam ed by him Ardok l—a nd a s he knew of no Aral1 Joh n Ba lak
,writing to Gerard Merca tor in 1 5 81
,says : Th ey
ca l l tha t riu erArdok wh ich fa lleth into th e lake of K it tay (Ca thay),wh ich they ca l l Parah a
,wh ereupon bordereth th a t m igh t ie and
l arge na tion wh ich th ey ca l l Carrah Colm ak,wh ich i s none other
tha n th e na tion Of Ca th ay . ”—H a lol . , ed. 1 5 9 9 , i , 5 1 2 .
INTRODUCTION .
Sea which shou ld receive it s waters, he connected it
by a chain of lakes and u ndergrou nd flow1w ith the
Northern Ocean,leaving for the tim e sober facts,
a nd entering the regi on of fable,in order t o explain
what m u st have appeared t o h im u naccou ntable .
Pu rchas,the su ccessor of Haklu y t , treats h is rem arks
a s a joke Into this gu lfe the riner Oxu sdid som e
tim es fa ll,bu t is now interceptedby the riner Ardock
,
which runneth towa rd the north ; a nd (a s it w e re
loath t o view so cold a cl im e and barbarou s inhabit
ants)after he hath runne w ith sw ift race a thou sandm iles (a s it w ere)in flight , he hideth h im selfe u nder
grou nd for the space of five hu ndred m iles, and then
l ooking Vp and seeing l ittle am endm ent , drownet h
him self in the lake of K ith ay .
”2 These passages of
Jenkinson ’
s narrative have excited th e m ost learned
criticism,from h is tim e alm ost t o the present day
hardly a geographer of em inence bu t h a s not tried
t o explain them . They have been repeatedly cited
in proof of a form er discharge of the Oxu s into the
Caspian , and they have Su pplied a never - endingthem e of discu ssion . Eastern w riters have been
studied a nd com paredw ith th e better known Greek
a nd Rom an au thors. Hu m boldt a nd Ritter,Eich
w ald, Zim m erm ann , and m any others, have throw n
into it their erudition and research, bu t t o very little
pu rpose .
1 Underground flow does apparently take pla ce in t he desicca tedregion south of th e Ara l
,th ough not to th e sa m e extent as Jen
k inson suggests—Cf . K a u lbar’
s Z ap ishi I m p . Ru ss. Geogr. Obsch .
Gen . Ceogr.
,vol
,ix
,pp. 4 1 2 -41 5 .
2 P u rcha s,2md cd .
, 1 6 1 4, book iv, ch . i i, p. 34 7 .
cxviii IN TRODUCT ION .
Antw erp , In this way Jenkinson’
s erroneou s
ideas on the hydrography of Central Asia w ere per
petu a t ed, and it wa s not till Peter the Great gave
a fresh im pu lse t o the study of Western Centra l
Asia by the su rvey s he ordered t o be m ade of the
coasts Of the Caspian , a nd the expeditions he planned
against Khiva , that m ore definite inform ation w a s
Obtained for the correction of m aps of this region .
This m a y be proved by a com parison of the m aps
pu bl ishedat the beginning of the eighteenth centu ry ,
a nd those of the fou rth decade of that centu ry ;taking,
for instance , the m aps of th e w orld in the
first and second editi ons of Harris's collection of
travels. The form er though prepared by so
w ell -known a ca rtographer a s Mohl , shows the olderroneou s shape of the Ca spian
,w ith the rivers
Jaxart es and Oxu s flow ing into it on th e ea st thelatter
,dated 1 7 35 , represents this sea nearly in
accordance with m odern notions,and the Aral lake
sm aller than its actu al siz e , bu t in approxim ately1 Gerard Merca tor
, however, wh o rank s next to Ortel ius as a
cosm ographer of the sixteenth century , only m ade a partia l u se of
Jenkinson’
s m ap and Observa tions . Bu t wh ere h e and h is fellowworker Hondiu s disregarded th em a ltogeth er, th ey fel l into gra vererrors . Th i s m ay be seen on study ing t he m aps of Asia , Persia ,a nd Tartary
,publ ish ed in an English ed ition of their a tla s in 1 636 .
Their Ca spian Sea is a ltogeth er wrong in shape and proportions.
In to i t,from th e ea st
,flows th e Ch escl
,corresponding w ith the
Jaxartes and th e Abia (Am u). On th e oth er h a nd th ey reta inJenkinson ’s Sur (Sy r)as the upper course of th e Obi, pla cing i t,h owever
,fa rth er to th e ea stward . Onc con sequence of these
errors i s to bring Sam arkand and th e cou ntry m arked Zaga thay”
c lose to th e Ca spian,a nd to lessen t he dis tance to Ch ina , by tha t
t im e identified wi th Ca tha y .
IN TRODUCT I ON .
its tru e position . Yet even down t o the m iddle of
the present centu ry , geographers laid great stress on
the long gu lf or fiord penetrating eastward from the
Caspian Sea, a s shown on Jenkinson ’
s m ap,assu m ing
that in h is tim e there h ad been an expansi on of the
K arabuga z or Scy thian Gu lf to w ithin a few m arches
of Urgendj .
1
Jenkinson then , w ith a ll h is m istakes, a nd w e
readily adm it them ,rendered great services t o geo
graphy . He bridges over the lapse of y ears between
the travels of Rubruqu is andMarco Polo in the thir
t eent h centu ry ,and those of English and Ru ssians
in the eighteenth centu ry,a long period of u ncer
tainty and vagu eness in the accou nts of Central
Asia . I f h is endeavou rs t o restore the great inland
trade rou te t o the East w ere u nsu ccessfu l , he at
least h as the m erit of having tried h is best, and
shown that phy sica l changes, affecting not only the
cou ntry , bu t it s inhabitants, w ere rendering it im
practicable . Perhaps the end of the nineteenth cen
tu ry , w ith the a id of m odern engineering ,which
knows no bou nds t o it s peacefu l conqu ests, m ay see
realised the hopes of those w ho follow ed w ith the
keenest interest h is footsteps across Asia in the
sixteenth centu ry .
Let u s now exam ine h is m ap ; for the w riter
begs respectfu lly t o differ w ith the opinion pu t forw ard in the D ictiona ry of N a tiona l Biography , a t t ri
bu ting it s au thorship t o William Bu rrough . To
1 Of . Zim m erm ann,D enlcschrift, etc.
, wh ere th is part of Jenkinson’ s m ap is reproduced .
CXX IN TRODUCT ION .
this w orthy let a ll du e honou r be given for h is su r
vey s and m ap of the coasts of the White Sea, also
reprodu ced in this w ork,w ithou t detracting,
how
ever,from the m erits of Anthony Jenkinson .
I t h as been rem arked‘
by a m odern w riter1 that
ou r kn ow ledge of Eastern Eu rope dates from the
publ ication of Herberst ein’
s w ork on Ru ssia. The
m ap accom pany ing the first Latin edition,pu blished
in Vienna in 1 5 49,w a s engraved on w ood by Hirsch
vogel , of Nu rnbu rg ; an Ital ian editi on appeared the
follow ing y ear at Venice, w ith a m ap by Giacom o
Gastaldo,a Piedm ontese
,who w orked for Ortel iu s
,
whose atlas,already referred t o
,contained
,am ong
others,Jenkinson ’
s,reprodu ced in facsim ile by ph o
t ography for this volu m e . These are am ong t h e
earliest m aps of R ussia,bu t not the first . That by
Antoniu sWied,or Bied
,a s Herberstein calls h im in
h is preface,wa s probably pu blished abou t the y ear
while another,by Ba ptista Agn ese , dates a s
fa r back a s th e y ear 1 a ndw a s probably designed
for the pu rpose of illustra ting a little w ork on Ru ssia
by Pau lu s Jovins, appearing in a first edition at
R om e the sam e y ear, bu t w ithou t the m ap. Se
bastian Mu nster introdu ced a m ap of part of
Pcsch el , Geschich te der Erdku nde, ed. 1,pp. 286 , 373.
2 Dr. Mich ow, in h is essay on t h e oldes t m aps of Ru ssia,com es
to th e conclusion th a t Wied’
s m ap was publ ish ed between 1 5 37and 1 5 40. Michow
,in Mittheil . d. Geogr. Ges
,in H a m bu rg, h eft
i,pp . 1 1 6 , seqq .
,1 886 . But see infra .
3 A Russian,probably ei ther Va sil i Vlassy or Dem etriu s Gera s
sim of,displayed a m ap a t Augsburg in 1 5 25 , to dem onstra te a
sh ort route to Ca thay —Ha m el,p . 1 1 5 .
CXX l l I NTRODUCT ION .
Magnu s I m pera torRu ssice D u ncMoscou ice et c . At
the bottom of the m ap is a scale of English m iles,
Ru ssian versts, and Spanish leagu es. The first thingt o be noticed is, that the dista nces, according t o the
scale , betw een the north and sou th are fairly correct ,m ore so than on any of the Older m aps already m en
t ioned a fact du e , dou btless, t o the observations for
latitude,taken by the Engl ish wherever they w ent .
Measu red by the scale , Kholm ogori is m iles
from Astrakhan , in a straight line , and this is not far
ou t nor is the breadth from east t o w est,9 00 m iles
from Kaz an t o the Baltic, very inaccu rate , though ,ow ing t o the want of longitudes, discrepancies were
t o be expected.
On the north , Ru ssia is bou nded by the Marc
Septentrionale,no longer the Oceanu s Sit icu s (Scy
thieu s)of Agnese , or the Mare Glaciale of Herber
stein . Ou t Of this sea a passage , or so- called“t hroat leads into the Bay of St . Nicholas of the
sixteenth centu ry navigators, the White Sea of th e
present day ,u nnam ed on the m ap. This sea is t oo
sm all in proportion t o the m ap,and the gu lfs Of
Onega and Kanda laks are om itted. The river Onega
debou ches at Solofki (Solovet sky)in la t . two
degrees t oo fa r north , an error attribu table t o thewant of observations here .
Taking the places in their order along the coast,
the northernm ost is W ardhou s (Va rdO), the w ellknown Norwegian fort a nd haven sou th- east of this
is K hegore (Riba t ch i, or Fishers peninsu la), w ithDom sh a ff (Varanger fiord)intervening . The next
I N TRODUCT I ON . cxxiii
headland is S . Maria ness (St . Mary’
s point), w itht he river Kola discharging into the sea t o the sou th
of it ; then follow Kildm a Ostrou a (K ildyn Island),w ith Ins. S . Petri (St . Peter
’
s Island)off the coa st ,Cape Soberbere (Teriberskoi), Arsena fl . (the river
Arz ina), m em orable a s the scene of Willoughby’
s
tragic death , Insu lae S . Georgii (St . Goerge’
s Islands),ly ing Off the coast . Iu ana ost .
,also m arked Ins. S .
IOis (JOh annis), com es next . Th en follow Cape
Com fort a nd Cape Gallant, two headl ands, show n
m ore distinctly on Bu rrough’
s m ap,the second better
known as Sviatoi noss, the Sw et eness of the narra
tive Lom bosh ok (Lu m bovsky bay), Corpu s Xt i
point (Gorodet sky point), Baia S . Albani (St . Alban’
s
bay), and Cape Ra ce (Cape Orlof), form ing,w ith a
headland on the Opposite coast , the entrance t o th e
White Sea. In the narrative (text , p . Jen
kinson evidently is m istaken in speaking of Cape
Grace a s the entrance t o the White Sea . His lati
tude of Cape Grace (6 6°
shou ld refer t o Cape
R a ce,correctly placed on Bu rrough
’
s m ap,bu t on
Jenkinson ’
s u pwards of a degree t oo far north . On
Bu rrou gh’
s m ap the m ou th of the Ponoy is shown inits right positi on , sou th of Ca pe Race (Orlof). Here ,on both m aps
,is the large island of Morz ou et z
(Morjovet z); on Jenkinson’
s it is t oo near t o the
Lapland coa st , whilst on Bu rrough’
s it is correctlyplaced Off the entrance t o the Gu lf Of Mez en . Ins.
S . Cru cis— Crosse Island of the text, the Sosnovetsof m odern m aps—is another island in the “throat” of
t h e Wh ite Sea ,near the sou th coast of Lapland.
cxxiv IN TRODUCT ION .
Continu ing along the coast from Cape S . Gratiae
(Grace), or Point Krasni (red)of Ru ssian charts,t h e
next nam e is Pou loge N .,corresponding w ith Pow
] ogne fl . on Bu rrough’
s m ap,identified w ith the
river P ou longa ,a sm all stream falling into the sea .
Sou th of it is Pelit sa H. (the river Pia lit sa). Niconesko N .
,on Bu rrough
’
s m ap N iconem sko noz e
(Nikodim skoi point)com es next . . Sou th -w est of
this,where the coast of Lapland tu rns in a westerly
direction , is the m ou th of th e Strelna, a nam e still
preserved on m odern m aps Tetrene N . (Tetrina), apoint on the coast ; Ch ia u on fl .
, Cha u on on Bu rrough’
s
m ap (the river Chavanga), and Varz iga fl . (the
Varz uga).So far the m aps of Jenkinson and Bu rrough are
correct , allowance being m ade for the rough m ethods
of su rvey ing and m ap- m aking then in u se . Bey ond
this point , however , the coast is incorrectly ou tl ined,
the gu lfs of K a nda laks and Onega being altogether
om itted. These w ere ou t of the track of vessels
sailing t o St . Nicholas, a nd h ad not y et been visited
by the English . Solofki (Solovet ski), the islandm onastery ,
is on Jenkinson ’
s m ap in la t . on
Bu rrough’
s,it s position abou t a degree farther sou th
is m ore correct . Entering the bay of St . Nicholas
(Gu lf of Archangel), Owna (Una)w ith its bay arefou nd on both m aps, N ewno
‘
x (Nenoksa)on Bu r
rough’
s only . Next is St . Nichola s, at the estu a ryof the Dw ina ; a nd abou t sixty m iles up this river
Colm ogro (K h olm ogori). Facing St . Nicholas, on
th e right of th e estu ary ,is th e m onastery of St.
cxxvi I N TRODUCTION .
m iles separates them , and it is said that a canalu nites these rivers.
1
On the right bank of the Mez en,near it s m ou th
,
is Lam pas, the great m art in those day s for the Sam o
y edes and other northern nations. Near Lam pas,
on Jenkinson ’
s m ap,is Sloboda (su bu rb), probably
occupied by foreigners arriving from the sou th t otrade w ith the people of the cou ntry in fu rs, et c .
The next point is Cape S . I o is,Cape St . John on
Bu rrough’
s m ap, now Cape K anu sh in,the sou th
w estern extrem ity Of Kanin peninsu la . This penin
su la is represented on both m aps a s an island,the
fact being that in the narrow isthm u s connecting it
w ith the m ainland,two rivers
,the Ch lJ and Chesha,
the form er flow ing into the White Sea, the latt er
into the Arctic Ocean,are so nearly u nited in
their u pper cou rses that boats have som etim es passed
from the White Sea into the Gu lf of Ch eshska ia in
order t o avoid the long circu m navigation of Kaninpeninsu la. At it s north -w estern extrem ity is Cape
Kanin,m arkedCaninoz on Jenkinson ’
s,andCa ny noz e
on Bu rrough’
s m ap. On both m aps this peninsu la is
t oo w ide by one - ha lf from east t o w est in its broadest
part,a nd the isthm u s is not shown . East of Ca pe
Kanin on Jenkinson ’
s m ap is the nam e Morz ou et s,
on Bu rrough’
s Morgeou ets, proba bly referring t o
Cape Makov a ia . Ch eshska ia bay is shown,bu t
not nam ed on eith er of ou r m aps, bu t on Bu rrough’
s
it s eastern shou lder, Su ati noz e (Cape Sviatoi)isnam ed. Off this bay is the la rge u ninhabited,
and
1 Sem eono art . K u loi cf. H erberstein ,in Hakl . Soc.
,1 1,p . 38.
IN TRODUCT ION . CxxV l l
apparently u ninhabitable , island of Colgoieu e (K ol
gu ev). The m ainland opposite bears the nam e of
Gondora,also known a s Kondia
, so nam ed after the
river Konda,an afflu ent of the Irtish . According
t o Spru ner - Menke,Kondia shou ld lie sou th of
Yugria . East of Gondora , on Jenkinson ’
s m ap,is
shown the river Pechora (Bu rrough’
s only shows
its m ou th), flow ing alm ost du e north through lakePu st ez ora (Pu st oz ero),v isit edby agents of the Ru ssiaCom pany
1 in the early y ears of the su cceeding
(seventeenth)centu ry . Bey ond this river lies a
range of hills nam ed on Jenkinson ’
s m ap Orbis
zona m on tes,the Bolshoi K a m en (great rock)
of Ru ssian coasters. From their position on Jen
kinson’s m ap,they are evidently the Pai—Khoi
(Sa m oy ed for rocky ru nning parallel w ith
the Ka ra Sea t o Yugorsky Shar or Va iga t s straits,and are therefore distinct from the Ural Mou ntains, represented on Gasta ldo
’
s, Herberst ein’
s, and
other old m aps as the girdle of the earth,cingu
lus terree . Thirty m iles of tu ndra,plain
, and lake
separate these tw o ranges ; y et it is som ewhat re
m a rkable tha t Jenkinson shou ld have a ltogether
Om itted the Ural . On either side of these m ou n
tains he places Obdora (Obdoria), the cou ntry near
the m ou th of the Obi,subjugated by the Mu scovites
at the end of the fifteenth centu ry ,and included
am ong the titles of the Tsar from the m iddle of the
sixteenth centu ry (text , p . The island of
Va iga t s and the sou thern end of Nova Zem bla are
Cf . P urcha s, ed. 1 6 1 4, pp . 431
,433.
cxxvii i I N TRODUCTION .
shown on both m aps,dou btless from Stephen Bur
rough’
s su rvey in 1 5 5 6 , while Herberstein a ndWied
altogether ignore this regi on .
The Oba (Obi)form ed the eastern l im it of knownterritory at the end Of the sixteenth centu ry ,
and it
w a s not till the y ear 1 5 81 that Yerm ak , the Cossack ,reached the banks of it s chief tribu tary ,
the Irtish,
a nd fou nded at Sibir a new em pire for the Tsar.
All bey ond the Obi w a s conjectu ral,and it is there
fore not su rprising that the cartogra phers of that
period shou ld have represented this river in an
exaggeratedway . Wied. Gastaldo,andHerberstein
place its sou rces in the K it ay sko la cu s (Aral Sea).Jenkinson also m akes it flow ou t of this lake
,a nd
leads h is m iracu lou s Ardok into it . On Herber
stein’s m ap Kha nba likh ,the capital of China
,l ies
on the bank of K it a isko la cu s,the nam e K it a isco
(Kith ay an or Cathay an)having dou btless led h imt o su ppose that Cathay or China began there
Ou m ba lick regia in Ky ta y . Jenkinson ,m ore cor
rect ly inform ed,fills in the space t o th e east of the
Aral and Obi w ith pictu res a nd legends illu strative
of the l ife Of the nom ad tribes. Yet even he repeatsthe story of the Zla ta Ba ba
,the golden h ag wor
shipped by the inhabitants of Joughoria (Yugria)inthe extrem e north . He represents the figu re m u ch
in the sa m e w ay a sWied— a w om an standing on a
pedesta l h olding an infant in her arm s,w ith another
by her side (Wied shows only one ch il d), a nd tw o
m en w orshipping before her . The legend ru ns thu s“ Zla ta Ba ba , it est a u rea vetu la a b Obdoria nis et
CXXX INTRODUCT ION .
Herberstein represents her childless, w ith awand in-her left hand
,a nd w ith the righ t ou tstretched. I II
h is com m entaries,how ever
,he speaks Of both
children , and that one of these w a s believed t o be
her grandson .
1 Wied represents her w ith only one
child in arm s,and attended by fou r w orshippers.
Sebastian Mu nster om its a ny m ention of her ; and
h as, instead, a colu m n w ith the figu re of an anim al
a t the t op,and one w orsh ipper below
,referring t o
the S tolp (S tolb, a pillar)legend,perhaps connected
w ith t h e “ tow er of Alexander”,m entioned in the
Mesa la lc d l Absa r.
2 Stone idols are not u ncom m on
in variou s parts of Central Asia at the present day ,
a s the w riter can testify ,having com e across tw o in
1 880, one at the pu bl ic garden in Verny ,the other
at the post station of Alty n Im m el (golden saddle),on the road t o Ku ldja .
Another of the pictu res on Jenkinson ’
s m ap repre
sents two figu res kneel ing before a sort of flaga ttached t o a pole
,w ith the foll ow ing legend
“H orum regionu m incolcc Solem,vel ru bru m
'
p a n
nu m p ertica su sp ensum adora nt . I n ca stris vita m
du cunt ; a c olim a nim a tiu m (a nim a liu m)serp entiu m ,
verm inu m qu e ca rne vescuntu r a c proprio idiom a te
vtuntu r.
”
Above are the w ords Baida” (l) Col
m ack”
Wied h as, in the sam e place,K a lm u cky
horda w ith tents and two m en , one on horseback ;a nd the note
,H i longu m cap illitium gesta nt
”
,an
allu sion t o the long hair w orn by Kalm uks, even at
N otes upon Ru ssia , Ha kl . Soc . ,1 1,p. 41 .
2 Yule ’s Ma rco P olo,2nd edi tion
,ii,p . 485 .
I NTRODUCT ION .
the present day , in Tu rkestan . The allu si on t o sun
w orship is probably som e m istake of Jenkinson ’
s,
for the Kalm uks are Buddhists by religion , w ithstrong tendencies t o Lam aism ,
except their northern
kinsm en,the Bu riats, am ong whom there are t races
of Sham anism .
A region so rem ote and u nknown a s the banks
of the Obi was a fertile grou nd for the m ost im pos
sible stories or travellers’ tales. Of these,Jenkin
son gives u s a specim en in the follow ing legend“H rec sa cca hom inum iu m entorum ca m elorum p ecorum
qu e cetera rum gu e reru m form a s ref eren tia ,H orda
p opu li gregis p a scen tis a rm en ta qu e fu it : Qu ae stu
p enda gu a cla m m eta m orphosi, rep en te in sa xa rigu it ,
prioriform a nu lla inp a rts dim inu ta . E u enit hocpro
digiu m a nnis circiter 300 retro elapsis.
”D id Jen
kinson bel ieve,or expect h is readers t o bel ieve , so
m iracu lou s a story ? If so,he w a s m ore gu llible
than w e cou ld have su pposed. I t is im possible t o
say . Bu t whatever m ay have been the origin , it is a
pity that he shou ld have repeated on h is m ap, a s
fact , what cou ld be nothing bu t fict ion .
1
1 Possibly th is legend m ay h ave prom pted one of h is biogra phersto com pare h im with Mendez P into and Sir John Ma ndeville(See G
’orton ’
s Biographica l D ictiona ry). Purch a s a l ludes to it int h e fol lowing way :
“Ma ster Jenkinson m entioneth a N a tion l ining a m ong t he
Tartars ca lled Kings ; wh ich are a l so Gentiles, a s are a l so t heK irgcssen (of wh om wee h aue spoken)and t he Colm a ckes
,wh ich
worsh ip t h e sunne,as th ey doe a l so a redde cloth
,fa stened to t h e
toppe of a Pole,a nd ca te serpentes , worm es
,a nd oth er fi lth .
N eere to wh ich h e placet h (in h is Ma ppe Of Russia)certa ineS ta tues or P il lars of Stone
,wh ich som etim es were Hoords of m en
h 2
Cxxx l l I N TRODU CTION .
Below this,again , is Cossa ck ia ,
the cou ntry of the
Kaz aks,or K irghiz ,
a people now spread over va st
tracts, from the Ural t o the Altai , a nd from WesternSiberia t o th e Am u . They are described in th e
narrative (p . 90)a sMu ham m adans,bu t in the legend
on the m ap an allu sion is m ade t o the ir heathen
rites,thu s K irgcssigens ca teru a tim deget , id est in
hordis,ha betgue ritum hu iu sm odi ; cu m rem diu ina m
ipsorum sa cerdos p eragit , sa ngu inem la c et fim u m
iu m en toru m a ccip it , a c terrce m iscet,inquc va s qu od
da m inf undit , eogu e a rborem sca ndit, a tque concione
ha bita in pop u lum sp a rgit, a tque hcec a spersio pro
D ec ha betur et colitur. Cu m qu is diem [dies] inter
illos obit loco sepu ltu rce a rboribu s suspenda n t .”
I t wa s not till the m iddle Of the sixteenth centu rythat the Kirghiz were converted t o Mu ham m ad
a nism,their Khan
,Ku chu m
,having first adopted
this fa ith ; and being extrem ely su perstitiou s and
m u ch given t o sorcery ,they indu lged in a ll k inds
of cu riou s practices.
1 That in the legend m ay have
been one,though it no longer su rvives ; m oreover
,
it w ou ld be difficu lt t o find trees strong enough
to bea r the w e ight of a m an ’s body ,a s figu red on
the m ap, in the steppe where their cam ping -
grou nds
a re situ a te . The cu stom,how ever
,of exposing the
dead appears still t o prevail,the w riter him self
ha ving seen the bodies of two K irghiz on bu shes on
and Bea sts feeding, tran sform ed by diu ine power (if i t be not
hum ane errou r)into th is stonie substa nce, retay ning th eir pristinesh ape .
”—P urch a s,1 6 1 4
,p. 426 .
1 Levch ine,D escription des Hordes et des S teppes des K irghiz
K a za lrs,p. 330 seq .
cxxxiv INTRODUCT ION ,
(Balkh), the ancient Ba ctria, stands on the m ap
ea st of the hypothetical river Ougu s. I t sh ou ld be
sou th of the Am u and between this river and the
Paropam isus range . To t he east of it Ca scara
(Kashgar), w ith th e legend :“ Ca sca ra
,hinc triginta
dieru m itinere orientem versus incip iu nt term ini im
peri i Ca tha y an Ab his lim itibu s ad Ca m ba lu
tria m m ensium iter interia cet.”
According t o Hadj i Mahom et , it wa s eighty- eight
day s (text , p . 1 07)from Kashgar t o Su ccu ir (Su h
chau), on t heChinese frontier , by the northern rou tethrough Aksu ,
Ku cha , Karashah r, Tu rfan , andHam i .
Jenkinson,in th e text (p . allows nine m onths
for the j ourney from Bokhara t o Cathay . Dedu ctingone m onth for the m arch t o Kashgar , this w ou ld
leave eight m onths t o Ca m ba lu (Peking), instead of
fou r,allowed by h is m ap. Richard Johnson ’s notes,
however, agree w ith the m ap (pp . 1 01 The
next place isK irsh i (Karshi), on the Ougu s Oxu s),placed sou th sou th - ea st of Bokhara
,in abou t it s
tru e relative position,the hydrography being a ll
w rong,a s already sta ted. North of Bokhara
, on
the fictitiou s Am ow ,is Ghudou Kudu k Maz ar
see Walker’s m ap), Cosin Wan Ghaz i), and Kyrm ina (K erm ina), on the Zarafshan lastly ,
Carakol
(Kara K u l), on the left bank of th e Oxu s, insteadof on the right . At the fo ot of the m ap are thePa rapom isi m ontes, where , according t o the text
(p . the Oxu s should take it s rise .
In Persia the follow ing towns are m a rked on t h e
m ap : Corosa n m agna (probably Herat), Mesh ent
IN TRODUCT ION . CXXXV
(Meshed), Ardwen (Ardebil), Teubres (Tabriz), andCa sbi (Kaz vin). The people of this cou ntry are
represented w earing long flow ing robes, and high
peaked hats arm ed w ith sw ord a nd bow a nd
arrows. The anim als are the one - hu m ped cam el or
drom edary ,the two -hu m ped species, now com m on in
Tu rkestan,being consp icu ou s by it s absence from
the m ap. Media (Shirvan)is placed sou th -east of
the Ca spian instead of sou th-w est , the towns Sha
m agi (Shem akha), Dirben (Derbent), Ba ckow (Baku),a nd Sha ueren (Shahran)being a ll ou t of place . I t
shou ld,how ever
,be observed that the m ap is dated
1 5 6 2 ,before h is retu rn from h is second j ou rney ,
a nd
therefore the sou thern coasts of the Ca spian a nd
cou n tries bordering On them are del ineated entirelyfrom hearsay inform ation , collected on h is first
j ou rney .
Th e region of Tu rkm en (Tu rkom ania)includes thelow er Ougu s (Oxu s), w ith the towns of Marc (Merv)a ndCora san parva (l), sou th of this river. . TO the last
nam ed there is the follow ing note A rege P ersico
a diu u a ntibu s Ta rta ris 1 5 5 8 eccpugna ta fu it .” North
of it is Cant (Kait of the text), Vrgence (U rgendj),Sh ay su re ,
the Selliz u re of the text (p . w ith th e
follow ing legend :“A Ma ngu sla Sha ysu ra m u squ e
20 dieru m iter ha bent,sine vllis sedibu s cum su m m a
a gu ce . p enu ria . A Sha ysura u squ e Bogha r p a r
itineris in teru a llu m la trociniisl
inj estu m”
,expla ined
by h is narra tive (pp . 6 8 North of th e Ca spian ,the rivers Yem (Em ba), Ya ick a nd Volga fa ll into
this sea . Abou t sixty m iles from the m ou th of the
cxxxvi INTRODUCT ION .
Ya ik stands the city of Sh a ra ch ik (Sara ich ik), th ehead-
qu a rters of the Noga i Tartars. Wied places
Sera ich ik on the right bank of the Yaik , Herber
stein near the estuary of the Volga ; indeed, this
pa rt Of Jenk inson ’
s m ap is m ore correct than any of
the older m aps. Higher up the Yaik is Shakash ik ,
a place w e a re u nable t o identify . On the right
bank of the Yaik occu rs the na m e of Bagth iar,
ha ving perh a ps a connection w ith the tribe of Bakhtiari
,now inh abiting Khu z istan , in Persia, of whom
m odern tra vellers,Baron de Bode ,Raw linson ,Lay a rd,
a nd Abbott,have w ritten .
l The Bakhtiari weretransplanted by Nadir Shah t o the Tu rkom an
frontier .
Two islands, Boghna t a and Aou rgh an (Ak -K u r
ghan), near the northern coast of the Caspian , are
m entioned in the text (p . On the w est coa st
a re Tu m ensko (p . t oo far sou th , and Sh a lca u e
(Sham khal). Stara and N ona Astracan (Old and
N ew Astrakhan), the latter on an island,are shown
on the m ap. Betw een the Casp ia n and Sea of
Az of are the Ch irka ssi Pet igorski, the Circassians
of th e five hills (pia t, five, and gora ,
a m ou ntain),from the five lofty m ou nta ins which overlo ok their
country . These Circassians w ere su bdu ed by Ivan
in 1 5 5 5,and their king
’
sdaughter becam e h is secondw ife (text , p . The broad lands of Tartary
1 See Journa l , R . G. S .,vol s . ix
,xi ii
,xvi
,xxv . The la teM. N . de
K h a nikof rem arks on th e uncerta in ty of the origin of th e Bakht ia ris
, som e of whose tribes appear to h ave been of Turk ish descent ,wh ile others were of Ira nia n and Sem itic origin .
—_L
’ethnographie
(1c la l’erse
,p . 1 10.
cxxxviii I N TRODUCTION .
and lastly ,the Sam ar fl . (river Sam ara), flow ing from
t h e Ural Mou ntains (text , p . Neither Wied’
s
nor Herberst ein’
s m aps show any tribu taries of t h e
Volga betw een it s delta and the Kam a. Jenkin
son’s inform ation here is therefore both new and
correct . On the right bank is the nam e of a people ,the Mordu a (Mordva of the text , p . in m u ch th e
sa m e position as that occu piedby them at the present
day . Above these are the Cerem ise Gorni (hill Ch erem issi
,i. s.
,inhabiting the right high bank of th e
Volga); andabove Kaz an , on the left low bank of thesam e river
,the Cerem ise Lowgov oi (Ch erem issi of the
low la nd— luga ,a m eadow). Wied om its them alto
gether on h is m ap,bu t Herberstein h as Cz er‘
em issa
Popu li,above Kaz an . These Ch erem issiw ere a great
w orry t o Ivan long after the fall of Kaz an and th etransfer t o h im of their allegiance . The Cam a
(Kam a)flows in from the north - ea st and j o ins the
Volga at it s great bend t o the sou th the Viatka,a
right tribu tary of the Kam a, flow ing near the town
of Via t sko (Viatka), in the cou ntry of Va ch in (p .
Ca z ane gorode (the city of Kaz an)stands at theconflu ence of a sm all river
,the Kazanka , flow ing
ou t of a lake . In W ied’
s m ap it bears it s Tarta r
nam e,K a ssanorda . Higher up the Volga are
Su ia t sko (Swa sko Of the text,p . Sch abogsh a r
(Ch eboksari, p . Va sil i gorod (p . N isnou o
gorod (Nijni Novgorod,p . a ll 011 the right ba nk .
Here the Volga is j oined by it s tribu tary ,the Oka ;
bu t this nam e is reserved on Jenkinson ’
s m ap for its
u pper cou rse, th e lower be ing nam ed Mosko fl .
,a
IN TRODUCT ION . cxxxix
tribu tary flow ing past the city of Mosco . Ascendingthe Oka
,the first afflu ent on its left is the Desm a
(K lia z m a)higher up is the town of Mu ron,on the
left bank,and Ca ssim gorode (text , p . Mest z ora
(Mesch ersk)of Wied’
s m ap,and Ca sim ow gorod of
Herberst ein’
s. Above this,on the sam e bank , are
Tereckhou e (text , p . andProna , on a right tribu
tary ,dou btless the Prona.
Retu rning t o the m ain river,the next place is
P eresla u e (Riaz an , p . and above it Tereu et isko
(Perevitsky ,p . At the fork of the Moskva and
Oka stands the town Of Kolom (K olom na), th eCollom of the text (p . and a bove it , on both
banks of the Moskva,the m etropol itan city of Mosco .
Moisa isky (Moja isk), also on theMoskva , w est sou thw est Of Mosco
,was a place of im portance in the
sixteenth centu ry . I t w as here that Ivan bu ilt a
strong fortress a s a protection t o Mosco in
Here,t oo
,he som etim es received foreign am bas
sadors. North of Mosco is Troit sky ,w ith a cross
over the stam p t o show that it is a m ona stery (seeAppendix
,pp . 36 9 seq), and north of it again Peras
lau e (P erey a sla f Za lessky ,p . near its lake .
Retu rning t o the Volga , the first place above
N ijny NovgorodisBa laghna (Balakhna), on the rightbank . TO this town Ivan I I I
,on subdu ing N ov
gorod In 1 4 7 9 , transferred som e of it s Citiz ens.
Higher up, and on the sam e side of the river, a reIou ria u ich (Yu riev it ch), K m y sh m a (Kineshm a), leftby Ivan I II in h is w ill to Prince Belsky and Plessa
1Cf. H erberstein , i i, 20.
I N TRODU CT ION .
(Pless), the scene of a great battle betw een the
Ru ssians a nd Ta rtars in 1 5 40. Above this,stand
Costrom e (Kostrom a)and Yeara sla u e (Ya rosla f, p .
both fam ou s for their flax trade,the latter m u ch
frequ entedby th e Engl ish m erchants in the sixteenth
centu ry ,w ho bu ilt here their vessels for navigating
the Caspian . Above Yarosla f the Volga is j oinedbythe Sheksna and the Mologa , erroneou sly u nited on
the m ap. These tw o rivers are navigable , and form
part of the elaborate canal sy stem s u niting the Volga
w ith the Gu lf of Finland. The Sheksna,u nnam ed
,
is represented on the m ap flow ing ou t of Lake Bia t laoz era (Bieloz ero ,
white lake) on Herberst ein’
s m ap,
Albu s La cu s a nd on Wied’
s,
“Belii Jesera hec est
a mp lum m a re H u c temp ers belli D u es Moscou ie?
tra nsfert thesa uru m su u m”
. W ied’
s statem ent is con
firm ed by Herberstein , wh o rem arks that the citydoes not stand in the lake itself
,bu t is su rrou nded
on a ll sides by m arshes so that it seem s im pregnable .
1
Ou tside t h e elbow form ed by the Volga, above its
conflu ence w ith the Mologa, Jenkinson places the
m y thica l town of K holopia on W ied’
s m ap,Holobe ;
a nd on Herberst ein’
s, Ch lopigorod. Herberstein
rela tes a n am u sing anecdot e concerning this pla ce ,2
a nd say s tha t it w a s a grea t m art tow n in the fif
t eenth and sixteenth centu ries, resorted t o bv Tu rks,Tarta rs
,and divers people from rem ote regions ;
bu t not a trace of it is left at the present day .
1 Herberstein ,1 1, 31 .
I bid.
,1 1,2 7 , 32 .
cxlii I NTRODUCT ION .
the nam e given by Jenkinson t o h is fictitiou s lake,
is m entioned by Herberstein a s a fortified citytw enty -fou r m iles du e w est from Mosco .
1
The Don,orTana is
,wa s regarded in the m iddle of
the sixteenth centu ry a s the eastern lim it of Eu rope .
Jenkinson placed its sou rce in the Rez anskoi oz ero
(lake of Rez an , p . and m ade it flow through two
m ore lakes,P logo oz ero and Ina-n oz ero
,the
last of these being its tru e sou rce . Agnese show s
the cou rse of the Don w ith it s great easterly bend
very well , bu t Wied and Herberstein both insert the
two apocry phal lakes, and connect this river w ith
the Oka. Jenkinson shows only one tribu tary of
the Don, the Sosna . Herberstein h as
,besides
,the
Minor Tana is v el Donecz (Donets). At the estu aryof th e Don
,in the Palu sMeot is (Sea of Az of), stands
the town of Asou (Az of), on the Older m aps Tana .
Once a Greek, and afterwards a Gen oese
,colony ,
Az of had been a flou rishing place Of trade, and
the sta rting - point of caravans bou nd for Ca thay .
In the sixteenth centu ry it wa s a possessi on Of the
Tu rks. W ied’
s m ap h a s“Asseie Tu rea p essidet
”
, and
it w a s here they planned their expedition against
Astrakhan in 1 5 6 9 (text , p . The Bory sth enes,or Neper (Dnieper), rises, according t o the m ap,
in
Volock la cu s,
flows pa st Sm olensk , through the
borderlands of Ru ssia,Pola nd, a ndLithu a nia ,
receiv
ing a left tribu ta ry ,the Sos (Soj), and afterwa rds
t h e Desna . The oldRu ssian town of Starodu b stands
in the angle form edby the Dnieper andDesna . On1 [I erberstein
,i i,22 .
I NTRODUCTION . cxlii i
the right bank of the form er is K iou (Kieff), “a Cit iestately a nd bea u t ifu ll , having in it three hu ndred
chu rches and m ore”,before Batu Kha n a nd h is
Tarta rs destroy ed it in Wied and Mu nster
place the city right across the river . To the w est
of t he Dnieper is the legend“ H cec p a rs Litu a niaz
I mp era tori R ussia; su bdita est referring t o Ivan ’s
conqu ests in the earl ier y ears of h is reign (p .
On the Western Dw ina the only place m arked
is Vitebsk ; bu t this part of the m ap,a s already
stated,is the w eakest . Neither Polotsk
,Du nabu rg ,
nor Riga , are shown . Sinu s Finlandicu s (Gu lf
of Finla nd)l ies north and sou th,instead of east
a nd west ; a s a consequ ence of this error , the rivers
ru nning into it have a w esterly cou rse,nea rly parallel
with the Dw ina . Lakes Pskof and Peipu s are
both om itted, while Lake Ladoga is divided into tw osm all lakes, Radiskoff (Ladoga)and Ou rsh ock (Oreshok , th e old nam e of Sch ltisselbu rg), from the latterof which issu es the Volgh a fl . (Neva). W ied’
s
errors have evidently been adopted w ith ou t corree
tion by Jenkinson ,w ho h ad not seen this cou ntry
when he m ade h is m ap. Herberstein is m ore
a ccu rate . He gives t o Lake Ladoga it s rela tive siz eshows the Neva flow ing ou t of it bu t confu ses t he
Gu lf of F inland w ith the Baltic , na m ing the tw o
collectively Sinu s Liv onicu s ct Ru th enicu s, th e
bou ndary of the Ru th eni or Moscov it es.
In the region abou t P skof and Novgorod,on
Jenkinson’
s m ap, the Velika fl . (river Veliki)1 P u rcha s
,ed. cit
,p . 404 .
I N TRODUCT ION
takes its rise near p ocki (p ot chka), flowsn orth - east t o Voronets (Voronet ch),—tw o townscelebra ted in the w ars of R u ssia in the six
t eenth centu ry w ith Lithu ania and Poland,— then
north -w est t o Pskou e (Pskof), referred t o in the
ea rly English narratives and docu m ents a s P lesco,
P la sco,a nd Vopsko . Kebela
,on W ied’
s m ap K o
bela,is the m odern K ublovsk . Opposite it , a river
flow ing from the sou th j o ins the Vel iki (Narova),having no existence in fact , w ith eight town stam ps,fou r on e ither side
,w ithou t nam es. These appear on
W ied’
s m ap a s“4 ca stra Mosceu ita ru m and“ 4 ca stra
Liuenierum”
,on a river , a lso nam eless, and probably
represent th e positions of the arm ed forces of Mu s
covy and Livonia , near Dorpat , before the ou tbreakof hostil ities in ‘
1 5 5 5 , the date of pu blication of
W ied’
s m ap.
1 At the m ou th of th e Ve liki (Narova)a re th e towns of Rougodine (Rugodin)v el Na rne(Na rva), the form er being the nam e for Narva in thethirteenth centu ry anna ls, a nd fa cing it on the right
bank,Iu an gorode (Ivangorod), occu py ing the site of
the ancient C ity of Rugodin ,bu rnt by the N ov
gorodia ns in
Next com e N ovoga rdia (Novgorod), the district ,w ith it s city, N ou ogorod Vel ica (Vel iki , i. e .
,t h e
Great), described by Chancellor in 1 5 5 5,correctly
placed at the ou tflow of a river,u nnam ed(the Volk
1 Th is would seem to sh ow th a t th e da te 1 5 5 5 on t he m ap, in
both of the lower corners,w as rea l ly th e year of i ts production
,
a nd not a slip,as Dr. Mich ow th inks . Cf . a n te
,p . cxx.
2S em eenof , art . Ivangorod” .
INTROD UCT ION .
present day ,near St . Petersbu rg . In the n orth
w estern corner of the m ap the cou ntries of Carelia ,
v isited a few y ears later by Sou tham and Spa rke
(p . Lappia and Biarm ia, are na m ed. Eastward
again is Cargopolia ,the province
,w ith its chief town ,
Cargapow l (Kargopol), on the Onega ,at the ou tflow
of this river from a lake u nnam ed (Lacha). Ka rgopol
is one of the oldest Ru ssian settlem ents in the north ,a nd though it h a s now sunk into insignificance , it s
history is by no m eans devoid of interest . I t w a s
t o Ka rgopol that Prince Dm itry Shem iaka a nd
Prince Joha n Moja isky fled from Va ssili Va ssiliv it ch
the Bl ind,in 1 44 7 . In the early part of the sixteenth
centu ry Kargopol wa s a n im portant place of trade,
h ad its l ieu tenant -governor and other high Officials,a nd received the privilege of trading in salt . In
1 5 6 5 , when Ivan div ided Ru ssia into a national and
reserved portion,h e selected Kargopol a s h is parti
cu la r property .
l The cou rse of the Onega from LakeLadoga through the Bielo oz ero into Lake La cha isim agina ry ,
a s this river only begins a t th e last -nam ed
lake , a nd the Onega lake , u nconnected w ith the
river , is not shown at a ll . I t shou ld,however
,be
borne in m ind tha t the Engl ish h ad not y et visitedthis region , a nd that the inform ation contained in
earl ier m aps wa s vagu e in the extrem e .
Wied h a s a string Of lakes connected by riversnear the White Sea ; three Of these are nam ed
Vigez ero (Vyg oz ero), Vodloiez ero (Vodlo oz ero), a ndOnega ,
a nd the la st-nam ed is connected by a river1 S em eonof , art . K argopol
I N TRODUCTI ON .
(the Svir)w ith Lake Ladoga . In the ba sin of th e
Dw ina,how ever
,where the Engl ish m erchants and
agents passed and repassed,ou r au thor’s m ap is m ore
accu rate . Here theVologda flows past the town of th e
sa m e nam e t o j oin the Sugh ana (Suh ona). This lastna m ed river leaves Coubensko la cu s(Lake K ubensky ,
p . 2 5 , n ote), h a s on it s right bank Su chko ,on the
left Totm a , then the follow ing , a ll situ ate on the
right bank—Brou sensko ,Bobronesko and Strelna .
At the conflu ence of the l ug fl . (Yug)w ith theSu hona is the great m art town of Vst iug (Usting ,
text,p . Below it th e Dw ina
,ow ing it s nam e
(diva , two)t o the tw o rivers ju st m ent ioned,con
tinnes it s cou rse t o the White Sea,receiving on the
right theVoichegda (Vy chegda),flow ing from Perm ia ,
a regi on occu pied on the m ap by a pictu re of tw o
bears,and a town of the nam e Of Perm evelick
P erm e Vel iki), not t o be identified,how ever
,w ith
the city of Perm on the Kam a,for this w a s only
fou nded in 1 5 6 8. Below the Vy ch egda the Dwina
is j o ined by another right tribu tary , the Toim a , and
below this aga in by a left affl u ent , nam eless (theVaga), w ith the town of Sh enkoria (Shenku rsk)onit s u pper cou rse . This province is nam ed on t h e
m ap Mesch ora , a na m e one w ou ld hardly have ex
pect ed t o find so fa r north , a s it is identical w ith
that of a race of Tu rco -F innish origin ,now inhabit
ing sou th - ea stern pa rts of Ru ssia , including part ofthe Governm ent of R ia z a n , North of Mesch ora the
Dw ina enters the province na m ed after it, a nd flows
past Yem sa , Colm ogro , and Pinega .
cxlvii i I N TRODUCT I ON .
Su m m ing up the m erits and dem erits of Jenk in
son ’
s m,
ap,th e best parts a re the n orthern and central ,
the districts on the Volga, White Sea , and Caspian .
Here the topography is fairly correct, and the
distances, when m easu redby the scale , not fa rw rong.
The w est a nd north -w est are fau lty ,a nd are evi
dent ly borrow ed from Wied. Ow ing t o the want
of longitudes, the Caspian Sea is extended too fa r t o
the w est,part of it is alm ost du e sou th of the White
Sea ,a nd th e Gu lf of F inland is also t oo far w est .
The m a teria ls u sed by Jenkinson , besides h is own
su rvey s a nd observations, probably com prised those
of Stephen a ndWilliam Bu rrough a nd other con
tem porary Engl ishm en . Bu t on the whole,h is m ap
m ay be considered an original produ ction far in
advance of a ny that had up t o that tim e appeared.
I t w a s included in the great a tlas of Orteliu s,and
part of it w a s Copied by Peter Va n der Aa,in h is
Aa nm erkenswa a rdigste zee en La ndreisyen (Leyden ,a ccom panied by an Im aginary pictu re Of
Jenkinson ’
s landing on the east coast of the Ca sp ian .
Som e idea m ay be form ed of the estim ation in
which Jenkinson w a s held by h is ow n cou ntry m en
from the extract already given of R ichard Eden ’spreface t o h is translation of Cortez ’
Arte of N a viga
tion,and from the follow ing rhy m ing verse , taken
from an old w ork,entitled Albion ’
s E ngla nd,by
Wil lia m Wa rner, London , 1 602
IN TROD U CTION .
Their na ith er vse of Coyne, or Com e (for Tillage none is th earc)
Such warriors and Horse Archers as they line not whom they feareTheir crosse - leg ea ting on t he ground, P lu ra litie of winesIn Turkem a n (So the whole is sa id), and m ore of their rude liu cs.
And how the March ants trau a iling by Ca ra u a n , th a t isGrea t Drones of laden Cam els
,Mea te andWa ter Often m is
And how for vs did I enkinson in B a ctra Mart beginLet passe to pa sse to it for vs h e did in Persia win ;Rem em bring th is, tha t in Returne from B a ctra diners KingsSent in h is cha rge their Lega tes , wh om to Ilf osce sa fe h e brings ,Th ence did h e sayle for E ngla nd, Hence forMosco ba cke aga ine ,And, with ou r Queene E liza beth her letters , did Obta ineThe Mesiclcs letters to th e Kings by whom he then should pasFor P ersia n Traffique, and for th is h e thence im ‘barked was.
N ew in Hy rca na , Shyrua n, orMedia (a l l as one),Suppose our I enkinson before King Obdolowca ns Throne.
T hough sum ptuou s C it t ies h e possest , yea t, for the Sum m ers bea te ,On a iresom e Mou nt a ines held h e th en h is Court
,wi th P lea sures grea t
Of silke and gold im broyderie h is Tents , h is Robes incha c’
t
With P earles and pret ious Stones , and Looks Ma iestie h im grac’t .
On C a rpets rich they trode, rich traines on h im’
a ttendance gaue,W ith eixe score C oncubines, tha t seem ’d so m any Queenes for braue.
Before his fa ire P au illion was of water cleere a Fount,
D rinke for h im selfe and his (for m ost of wa ter they a ccount).Scarce C leop a tra s Anthony wa s feasted with m ore cheere
Of varied Mea t es and spice Conceits’
t h an I enkinson was heere
In form a l] Hawking, Hunting, Chace, not the cam e Tristram neere .
Such was th is King for sta tely, such for a ffable and k inde,Th ere and abroad so lou’d and feard a s like was rare to finde .
Yea t,notwith standing such h is Wea lth
,h is Signorie, and Sta te,
He of th e P ersia n Sophie held h is Land, subdued la teBut in su ch friendship
,as the Sha ugh (the Soph ie so is sa ide)
Would y eeld to Obdolowca n in wh a t so h e should perswadeWh ich well in I enhinsen’
s beh a lfe bu t sh ortly a fter m ade.
Him often questioned th is King of vs and E ureps strength ,And him
,with Gifts and Priuiledge forMart
,dism ist a t length .
Silks raw and wrou gh t, Spices , and Drugs, and m ore-els worth theMa rt
OurMarch ants fetch from thence theare our Marchandiz e cOuert .
Th ings wisely thus dispa tched th ere, with m en for his defence,
And letters from tha t King vu to the Sha ugh, he trau cld thence.
In tranell th ith erwards he grieves, in wonder, to beholdTh e down -Fa ls of those stately Townes and Ca stels which
,of old
,
Whilst P ersia held the Monarch ie, were fam ous ouer a ll
N orA lexa nder wonne of these one Peece w ith labour sm a ll .
I N TRODUCT ION . cli
The m igh tie C it ties Ta uris and P ersipo lis he pa stTwo ru in
’
d Ga tes , sundred t welu e m iles, y et exta nt of this la st.
The Gy ants Wonders on th e Hill of Qu iqu ifis heard he tolde,
And of the y earely Obit which th eirMaides to Cha nna h oldeTh is w as indeed a wonder
,for th is Virgin so wa s bent
To Cha st itie tha t,by selfe-dea th
,th e Marrage did preuent .
Here fil a ndeu il,perh aps
,had bin and tooke occa sion heere
To feare least E lenor in like m igh t im ita te too neereEven o es in Loue discourage Lone, froo es resum eth cheere.
Of h im,therefore
,wh ilst I enkinson rests a t h is Iornies end,
With Obdo lowca ns Sonne,tha t on th e Soph ie did a ttend .
Chap ter lx vii'
i
'
.
At Ca shen h ild the Sha zrgh his Court, who thirt ie y eeres and oddI l ad not been seene a broad
,thereof by Prophesie forbodd.
Like Maiest ie he kept,a s those grea t Monarchs did before,
The Jll a cedons, subdewed them : of Wiues h e h ad like store,
Besides m ost bew tious C oncubines not lesse th an fifteene scoreAnd y earely of th e fa irest Ma ides a ndWiu es doth m ake new ch oy ce,When m uch the Friends and Hu sbands of those chosen do reioy ce .
Him blesseth he to whom doth be one of his Relicts giu e ,Yea t P ersia n S ha ughs esteem e t h em selu es the h oliest Kings tha t lia e .
For wh en a Christian (whom they ca ll an Infidel , becauseHe not beleeu es in flf a hom et
,norM
'
orteza lies Lawes)Is ca l’d to a udience
,lea st th e sam e proph a ine wh eare he doth stand ,
Must dofie h is shooes, a nd to a nd fro tread on new - sifted sa nd .
O ur Sou eraignes Letters to t he Sha ugh so I enkinson presents ,Wh o
,being askt h is arrant
,sa id t hose Letters like contents
,
Bu t new -m ade Pea ce with Turkie h im of new - sough t Trade preu ents.
The Tu rkish Marchants fearing least their Trafiiqu e m igh t decrea se,Had by tha t B a sha m ard h isMart th a t th en had m ade tha t P ea ce.
The Sha ugh did a lso question h is Beleefe, and quarrel itSo
,well appa id is Jenkinson if well away h e git .
Wh om,with our letters to th e Turks t he Sha ugh to send was bent,
Had not the Hyrca ns llh zrzey P osts vnt o h is Fath er sent ;And Obdolowca ns Letters then disswaded tha t inten t
,
When ,with 8. Present for h im selfe
,h e Th ence to Hgrea n went .
And th eare did h im the h eart- trew King m ost kindly in tert a y ne ,And th ence dism isse with Giftes
,wh en he no longer would rem a yne .
N or onely his Am ba ssadors vnto h is care com m ends,
Bu t m om ent of th a t Am bassie which h e to Mosco sends.Th ere now su ppose them well ariu ’
d,a nd bringing gra tefu ll newes
Of wa igh t ie Messages wh ea rin the flf osiek h im did vse .
I NTRODU CTION .
Conu enient tim e h e nerethclesse for P ers ian Trade a ttends,
Wh ich Arthur Edwa rds, th ither sent, succesfully theare ends .Th is Edwa rds
,and a m any here vnnam
’d,deseru ed well
I n these Im ploy m ents but of All weare tedious a l to tell,
For,sau ing of D iscou erers
,we purpose not to dwell
,
E ls woul d we here renine,but tha t through H a irlu ts P en th ey line
(To him ,your Fa m es sweet Tru m petor, Yee E ng l ish Garla nds gius),
A Ca ta logue of N a m es,tha t in this North and Northea st C lim es
Have m ore obseru ’d and m ore deseru ’
d tha n perish sh a ll with tim es.N or be m y Fa th er here forgot : for h e, a m ongst t he rest
,
D eseru eth in th is Genera l l rem em brance with th e best .And h ere
,from out those ch urlish Seas
,with I enkinson we sayle
To London, t heare , a n aged Man,to tell th is y ou th fu ll Ta ile
How he had past All E urope, seene a ll Leua nt I la nde, a ndGreece, Turkis, Afiriek, I ndia , Sur, Aggp t, th e h olie Land,And a ll t he foresa id Lands
,in a l l im ployde and int erta inde
O f Em perors a nd Kings, as if him selfe a King h ad ra ign’d.
Rest m ay thy honorable Bones, good old.Man in sweet P ea ceN or ha ue t hy P hoenix-Ashes since beene ba rren of increaseBu t late had we a Fowle like rare
,vs
’
d oft ner Sea than ShoreOfte swam hee into golden Strands , but now will so no m ore
,
For,though h e were a dy u ing Fowle , to Heaven did h e sore.
I n Engla nd, not Ara bia,now t he P hoenix Birdes be bread
,
And eu erm ore sha l l t heare reuiue, wh en sh a ll the olde be dead.
The Ma iden Em presse,and h er Knights , their En terprises rare,
Wh ich now h aue pearst through euerie Pole, of a l l adm ired a re .
Rem a ineth now,th a t we intrea te of grea t Ach iu em ent s done
By E nglish , in contrarie Cly m es,since first her Crowne begonne
Bu t ride we first a t Anker,though a room esom e Sea we ha ue
,
To listen S taf ords Com forts wh ich to E lenor he gaue.
Another contem porary notice of h im occu rs on a
terrestrial globe , one of the celebrated pair , ter
restria l a nd celestial,m ade in the re ign of Qu een
Eliz abeth,1 5 9 2
,known as the Mo ly neu x Globes.
l I t
ru ns a s follows : “ Ingens fl uni en Wolga (ft litti is
S ep tentriona ris Ca sp ii, m agista va rn Vrgen tia m a r
bem (f: regnurn Baga rice a nno 1 5 5 8 peru estiga u a t
An toniu s I enkinsonu s. I tem 1 5 6 2 Medics et P ersian
1 N ow in th e library of th e Middle Tem ple.
IN TRODUCT ION .
follow ing is a translation
Behold,m an ,
h ere h ast thou in th is figureA true likeness,Sketch ed and pa inted with colour,W ith robe
,fa ce , and figure,
O f th e Grand Duk e now in Russia ,Ywan Wassilievitch ,
Who is ca lled the Moscovite,W ho now with powerfu l h andFrom N ovgorod , h is ch ief town ,A m igh ty h ost h ath led’Ga inst Polotsk ,Of th e m igh ty King of P oland
,
l etc.
Printed a t N urem berg, by Hans W eygh el ,
form cutter [engraver] .
1 From t h e a llusion to Polotsk, th e da te of th e portra it m ay
be fixed as 1 5 63,t he Tsar being then th irty - three years of age .
SU PPLEMEN TARY N OTE S .
Dol lgm a nt p. 4.
From the Hungarian Dah lm a n,from dahl , red, and m a n
,a th ing .
The Dah lm an was a sh ort red cloak worn by the Hungarian guards .Dolm an is s ti l l t he term applied to t h e pelisse worn in our Hussarregim ents .
grea t roe/res of Ala ba stre p. 24.
The fol lowing description i s given of these rock s by Le Brun,a
t ra vel ler of th e la st century We found th e bank rocky andeleva ted a s we approa ched th e Alaba s ter m ou n ta ins
,wh ich are on
t h e left as we advanced t owards t he north . We landed to seeth em . Th ey are na tura l subterra nean caves form ed in a rem ark
ab le way , and are ca lled by th e peop le ‘ P issoertje’
petchki),i . s.
,oven s . Th e principa l entrance i s support ed on pi llars of
rock l ike pila sters,severa l of th ese opening on grottos . Th eir
extent i s sa id to be 30 versts (20 m iles) but opin ions differ on
th is point . The rocks a re a s wh i te a s a laba ster,but not so
h ard. Th is loca li ty is about 1 5 0versts (100m iles)from Arch angel .The m ounta ins form a bel t h ere h a lf a leagu e w ide , and visiblefor two h ours a long th e river.
”
(Voy ages de Corneille Le B ra n,
vol . ii, p.
Jenkinson ’
s rou te, a nd the old cha nnels of the Oxus (see Introdu ction , p . xx, and text, pp. 6 9
Extra ctf rom BARON A . K AU LBARS’D escrip tions, etc.
In 1 5 5 9 took pla ce the very interesting j ourney of AnthonyJenk inson, wh ose itinerary , owing to th e scant iness of m a teria l sh ith erto a va ilable, h as been represented in th e m ost stra ngefa sh ion ; a nd when a ll a ttem pt s to lay i t down with a ny ap
proach to probabil ity led to nega tive results,i t was a lleged th a t
SUPPLEMENTARY N OTES .
Jenk inson never m ade h is journey , and th a t h is narra t ive wa s
therefore noth ing better tha n fi ction .
In ourday , Jenkinson’s itinerary a nd narra tive m ay be expla ined
in th e m ost na tura l and certa in way , and every idea of h is wan tof good fa ith m ust di sappear.
Jenk inson ,as M. Len z con siders beyond doubt, landed on th e
peninsula of Mangish lak , in Kara -K ichu bay of Mertvi Kultukgulf. Hence
,on the 5 th October, 1 h e set out wi th a trading
cara van of cam els,and a fter twenty days ’ m arch arrived a t a large
freshwa ter lake,
2 wh ich h e took to be a gulf of th e Ca spian . He
th en adds : N ote th a t in tim es pa st there did fa l into th i s gulfet he grea t riner Oxus and now com m eth not so farre, butfa lleth into another riner ca l led Ardocke.
”
Starting from h ence on th e 4t h October,the cara van rea ch ed
on th e 7 th th e ca stle of Sel liz ure (th e Sh a ijz ure of Jenkinson ’ sm ap). Th is ca stle stood on a h igh h il l . Here l ived th e Khan, ina poor, badly built pa la ce with earthen wa lls . On the south sideo f th e ca stle lay a wide pla in
,wh ich
,thank s to th e wa ter ledh ith er
from t h e Oxus by m eans of dykes,wa s exceed ingly fertile a nd
Jenkinson adds tha t t he wi thdrawa l in to irriga ting cana l s of a
la rge quantity of wa ter had so wea kened th e Oxus tha t i t nolonger rea ch ed t he Ca spian Sea th e freshwa ter lake wh ich h et ook to be a gulf of th a t sea)and a s th e quan tity of wa ter in th eriver continues to d im in ish
,when it sh a ll a ltogeth er cea se, a l l th a t
country i s doom ed to becom e a w ilderness .Set ting out from Fort Selliz u re on t h e 1 4th October, after two
days Jenkinson arrived a t t he town of Kunia Urgendj . Th e grea tfreshwa ter lake
,in to wh ich
,a ccording to Jenk in son , th e Am u
riaria form erly disch arged, can only h a ve been lake Sari-Kam ish ,wh ich a t th a t tim e conta ined fresh wa ter
,because t he presen t Urun
(Iaria (Oxus)had fa l len into it, i. s. ,not long before 1 5 5 9 , and a t
flood - tim e perhaps continu ed every year to flow into it , as m ay be
surm ised from th e extensive irriga tion works th en in u se suppl iedfrom th e Oxus
, a nd extending as far as th e ca stle of Sellizu re, twom arches to t he west of Kunia Urgendj .The approxim a te distance from Ka ra -K ichu bay to Sari -K am ish ,
a ccording to the m ost recent m aps,is 47 5 versts
,and, w ith w ind
1 Jenkinson is som etim es confusing in h is da tes.2 Wh ere we found the wa ter very fresh and sweets (text , p . 6 7)
SUPPLEMEN TARY N OTES .
been sa lt, as it is now ‘; but about th e tim e of Jenk inson ’s arriva l
t he wa ter in th e Urun -daria began to disappear, i .s.,to deflect
t owards t he N orth ; and a s a t t h e sam e tim e we learn from h im
a bout th e grea t river Ardok , out of wh ich,a ccording to the de
scription,flowed th a t Oxus a long wh ose ba nks Jenkinson m arched
from Kun ia Urgendj , and wh ich,as I th ink , m ay be identified
w ith the K u nia ~daria,just as th e Ardok with its north erly direc
tion i s proba bly t he presen t Am u -daria .
Wi th reference to the town of Ka th,th e m ost recen t research es
regarding its site did not lead to any defin ite results,though
i
th e
old ch annel,Akcha -daria
, exa m ined by Colonel Sobolef, rem indsus of th e Kiz il -daria of Abul -gh a z i, a t t he m outh of wh ich stood th etown of Ka th . Professor Lenz is of opin ion th a t even before 1 603there was wa ter in th e Kiz il-daria , a nd th is a fterwards disa ppearedin consequence of the grea t irriga tion works u ndertaken by th efa ther of Abul -gh az i on its banks (Z apiski I m p . Ru ss. geogr.
obshestva,tom . ix
,pp.
Shirva nsha h (see pp . 1 29 seqq.)The h istory of Sh irvan ,
l ike the country i tsel f,i s a n a lm ost
untrodden by-pa th of l itera ture
,and h ad i t not been for th e
la bou rs of Professor Dorn,wh o h as a b ly worked t o fi l l in th e ga p,
there would be a com plete wan t of a good guide in th i s field ofinquiry .Dorn h as written a h istory of Shirvan from th e founda tion of
it s independent dyna sty by N aosh irvan,or Nush irva n (see note
on p. in th e sixth century,to its fina l absorption in th e
grea t Russian em pire about the beginning of t he presen t cent ury .
“
The earl ier period of Sh irva n h istory , h en th is country wa sruled by i ts own princes
,does not concern us in th e presen t work ,
h owever interesting to th e student of h istory : we h a ve to trea t of1 D r. Lan sdell , wh o visited Lakes Sari-Ka m ish as recen tly a s 1 882 ,
found the wa ter inten sely sa lt,m ore so th an sea -wa ter
,and its density
so grea t th a t h is instrum ent for th e determ ina tion of th e specificgravity of different wa ters would not sink below a point wh ich
,h ad
t he sca le been con tinued , would h a ve read 1 20° (Ru ssia n Centra l Asia,
ii,
2 Mem . dc l’
Aca d. I m p . de S t. P e'
tersbourg, 6m e série,Sciences P ol i
tiques , vols . iv a nd v .
S UPPLEMEN TARY N OTE S . el ix
Sh irvan wh en it h ad fa llen in to th e h ands of th e Sufi Shah s ofPersia (1 538 and t h e first few years of i ts subj ection byTu rkey.In 1 5 6 2
,An th ony Jenkinson h a ving landed a t Shabran
, pro
ceeded to th e court of Abdullah , wh om h e ca l ls Obdolowca n”
(see
p . and by h im was very h ospita bly received,
‘
as were a lso th eother Engl ish agents—Alcock, Cheinie, Joh nson , Kitch in ,
and
Edwards,who fol lowed Jenkinson . Abdullah Kha n’s governorsh ip
of Sh irvan la sted from 1 5 49 to 1 5 6 5 ; and is th u s a lluded to byDom . After Solym an h ad w ithdrawn from Pers ia in 1 5 49
,Sh ah
Ta hm a sp a ppointed a rela tive of h is own,Abdullah Kh a n , son o f
Kara Kh a n Ustadshlu,to th e governorsh ip .of Sh irvan . The losses
of the Turks h ad been so h ea vy during th eir inva sion of Persiatha t Abdu l lah could em ploy a l l h is resources to ward off t he
a tta cks of Burh an Al iKh an,son of Kha l il
,and t he la s t reign ing
represen t a tive of t h e princely h ouse of Derbend . I t m igh t ha vebeen expected t h a t t he inh a bitants
,a fter experien cing t he h ope
lessness of resistance,would h a ve subm itted to be quietly governed
by Abdullah,but such does not appear to ha ve been t he case .
Wheth er from a tta chm en t to their own princes,or from fear of t h e
consequences of h a ving sided with Burh an , a party of th em rosein revolt
,and ch oosing for th eir leader one Mehrab
,of th e l ineage
of Burhan ,appeared determ ined to stand by h im to t he la st.
Abdu l lah Kh an suppressed th i s insurrection, a nd another one afterwards . In consequence of th ese victories h is fam e spread far a nd
w ide in Sh irvan,a nd h e was a ble to enj oy in pea ce for a few years
t h e power and credit h e h ad ga ined . In 1 5 5 3Solym an undertookh is fourth cam pa ign aga inst Persia , sending a large force , underth e com m and of Ka sim
,a scion of t he princely h ouse of Sh irva n
,
into th is coun try . N o sooner h ad Ka sim appeared before D erbendthan t h e Sh irvan is, doubtles s reckon ing on t h e powerfu l supportof th e Sultan of Turkey
,threw off th eir a l legiance to Abdu l la h
and declared for Ka sim . Abdullah,h owever
,did not h esita te
to m arch aga inst th e rebels,th ough va stly superior in nu m bers to
h is own force,consisting of only two thousand m en . A ba ttle
wa s fough t near the fortress of Gul i stan (see p . resulting int h e com plete defea t of th e rebels
,num bers of wh om were sla in .
Of th eir decapita ted h eads i t i s recorded a tower was built (seep . wh ile the s urvivors fled into Ta ba seran . Ka sim wa s
either left on th e field of ba ttle, or, as one auth ori ty has it,escaped
SU PPLEMEN TA RY N OTES .
with h is life,but disappeared without anyth ing m ore being h ea rd
of h im .
By th e suppression of th i s revol t Abdullah Khan ’s power wasstill furth er increa sed . He exerc ised it with a wise m odera tiona nd firm ness
,and succeeded in m a king h im self feared through out
Sh irvan,Tabaseran ,
and Dagh istan ,so th a t no idea of Opposing
h im was ever a fterwards enterta ined . His power and th e justiceof h is rule were equa l led by h is goodwil l towards European s , andparticula rly towards th e Engl ish , who were a t th a t tim e m ak ingtheir first efforts to esta bl i sh com m ercia l rela tions with Persia ,and especia l ly wi th t he rich silk -producing coun try of Sh irvan , byway of th e Ca spia n . We sh a l l see h ow h e endea voured in everyway to a ssist Jenkinson on his way to Persia , and h ow t h e la tter,wh o a lway s sty les h im “King of Hyrcania ”
,owed th e fortuna te
term ina tion of h is visit to t he Shah to t h e p owerful influ ence of
h is pa tron . Fina l ly,wh en h is m ission
_to Persia h ad fa iled
,it was
from Abdu l la h Kh an th a t he obta ined a privilege of free trade inh is dom inions showing th a t, a lth ough Abdullah Khan recognisedth e sovere ign ty of t h e Sh ah , y et in h is own terri tory h e wa s veryindependent
,and could to a certa in degree trade a s h e l iked .
Edwards,in recording his dea th in 1 5 6 5 , spea ks of h im a s
“ th isgood k ing, ou r friend (p. He a lso m entions tha t i t wa srum oured th a t t he son of Abdullah K h a n would su cceed h is fa th er.
Edward s nam es h im th e Mu rsay , doubtless identica l w ith Sha hAli Mirz a , m entioned by Jenkin son (p . 1 4 1)a s ha ving shown h imso m uch kindness during h is stay a t Ka z vin . These rum ours a ndh opes , h owever, were unfu lfi lled , a nd th ere were m any ch anges anddisorders in Sh irvan a fter Abdullah ’s dea th—t he officia l s werepartly d ischarged from th eir post s and partly fined ; others weresent to the Shah ; a nd the office of governor wa s for som e tim e
va ca nt,til l a t length it was given, no t to Abdulla h
’s son,bu t to
Ares Khan Ra m l u,wh o h eld it during t he rem a inder of Ta h m a sp
’
s
l ife .
Ares Khan Ra m lu (1 5 6 6 - 7 8)was m a ster of t h e court and
tutor of Prince Su ltan Ma hm ud Mirz a,son of Tah m asp. As long
as Tahm a sp l ived , and the pea ce concluded between Persia and
Turkey in 1 5 60 rem a ined unbroken,Sh irvan wa s quiet, a nd Ares
Khan appears to h ave ruled h is province wit hout a ny rem a rka bleoccurrence . D uring h is governorsh ip the visits Of the Engl ishcontinued . Edwa rds
,who a rrived in Shem akha in 1 5 6 5
,left it in
SUPPLEMEN TARY N OTES
Pa sha , a t the h ead of a large arm y,aga in st Persia , wh ile a t th e
sam e tim e he ordered Muham m ed Gh ira i Kh an of th e Crim ea
to cross the Kha z arian steppe and co-0pera te with the Turks .Mustaph a
’s success was surprising. Th e Persians, though figh ting
bra vely,were bea ten and driven back
,ch iefly owing to their want
Of coh esion and com bined a ction . Their best com m anders fel l ,and t h e Az erba ij an troops were repea tedly routed . Mustapha
,
who h ad been j oined by Alexander,King of K akh et ia
,m arched
qu ietly into Sh irvan ,wh ere he received
‘
th e subm ission of th e
Lesgh ian and Dagh istan ch iefs ; wh ile Ares Kh an , governor of
Sh irva n ,a sensib le
,prudent m an
,finding th a t he could not m a in
ta in h im self,retired a cross th e K u r
,wh ere h e encam ped . In th is
wa y Sh irvan fel l into th e h ands of th e Turk s in 1 5 7 8.
Mu staph a Pa sh a new th ough t he m igh t rule t he conqueredcountries by governors . He appointed Osm an Pa sh a Beglerbeg of
Sh irvan,dividing i t into fourteen sanj aks or districts . He left
Ga ia s Pa sh a in Ara sh,and governors in the other provinces
,
renewed t he fortifi ca tions of Sh em akh a,Ara sh , and Baku
,and
withdrew. Abubekr Mirz a , who th ereupon becam e tributary lordof Shirvan
,rem a ined in th a t country to take wh a tever furth er
s teps were necessary , wi th t h e a ssistance of th e Turks , in ordercom pletel y to subjuga te i t.But no sooner h ad th e Turkish leaders departed than t he Persian s aga in took the field
,andAres Kh an , th e form er governor,
in t he figh ting wh ich ensued, to borrow an expression of th e Per
sian h istorian,
won a m artyr’s crown”. The event s of th is year
(1 5 7 8)are briefly referred to by Christopher Burrough (see pages447 seqq.
,45 2
,and notes
,
TH E TRAVE L S
ANTHONY JENK I N SON
ETC .
JENKINSON ’
S ACCOUNT or
robe of th e sam e colour abou t th eir foreh eads, richly decked,with th eir bowes in their h ands, of th e Turkish fash ion.
After th em m arch ed foure Captaines, m en of arm es,called
in Turkish Sa niagu es,1 cloth ed a ll foure in crim son velu et ,
eu ery one h au ing vnder h is banner twelu e th ousand m en of
arm es,well arm ed w ith th eir m orrions2 vpon th eir h eads,
m arching in good order, w ith a sh ort weapon by th eir sides,called in th eir language Sim ittero .
3
After cam e I aniéaries,
4called th e slau es of th e
Grand Signior, all a foote, eu ery one h au ing his h arqu ebu sh e,
wh o be h is gard , a l cloth ed in violet silke,and apparelled
vpon th eir h eads with a strange form e,called Cu ocu llu cia ,
6
fash ioned in th is sort : th e entring in of th e foreh ea d is l ikea skul l m ade of wh ite velu et
,h a th a tra ine h anging downe
beh inde, in m anner of a French h oode, of th e sam e colour,
and vpon th e forepart of th e sa ide skull , inst in th e m iddes ofh is forehead, th ere is standing bol t Vprigh t l ike a trunks of a
was determ ined to goe th ith er w ith h is arm ie,and in person h im self
represse the a ttem pts of h is enem ies. Wh erefore th e arm ie beinga ssem bled, and al l th ings necessarie orderley prou ided, h e com m andedto set forward
,and in a few days af ter followed h im self wh o com ing
a t length into S iria , presently by tru st ie m essengers com m andedMu staph to com e vu to h im a t Aleppo
,for th ere h e lay encam ped .
Mustaph a , by th e orders of h is fa th er, wa s a f terwards bowstringeda nd stra ngled in h is fa th er’s ten t a t
'
Enegl i. R . K nol les, H istoric ofthe Turkes
,1 603
,p . 7 6 1 Ham m er Purgsta l l, H ist. de l ’E mpire Otto
m a n,tom . vi
,p . 5 6 .
-C .
1 San jak,a governor of a district form ing part of a P a sh a lik .
2 Morion,an open h elm et . 3 Scy m etar.
4 Th e Jan iz aries. Turk.
“yen i new, tch eri ” , soldiers new
soldiers), often Christians . They were first organ ised under SultanAm u ra th I Th eir first revolt wa s underSolym an I on
a ccount of th e ir be ing com pelled to w in ter in Tauri s,or Tabriz
,in
P ersia . Th e second wa s caused by th e m u rder of Mu sta ph a . (See notesupra . Cf . K nolles
,pp . 1 9 1 , 5 1 2, f . 7 64 a lso Ham m er, vi , Th eir
fina l revolt wa s a t Constantinople,wh en th ey were defea ted and dis
banded in 1 826 . C .
5 Cu ocu llucia evidently a corruption of th e Turkish kuku leta
a h ood . From th e I ta lian cocolla ”,a m onk ’s cowl .
SOLYMAN’
S ENTRY INTO ALEPPO. 3
foote long of silu er, garnish ed m ost rich ely with Goldsm ith sw ork e , and pretious stones, and in th e toppe of th e sa idetru nke a grea t bu sh of fea th ers, wh ich wauereth vp and
downe m ost bra u ely wh en h e m arch eth .
After th is th ere cam e pages of h onour, all cloth edin cloth of golde, th e h alfe of th em cary ing h arquebush es, and
th e oth er ha lfe Turkish bowes,with th eir trusses of arrowes,
m arch ing in good order.
Th en cam e three m en of arm es well arm ed,and vpon
th eirh arnesse coa tes of th e Turkes fash ion, of Libardskinnes,1
and m urrions Vpon th eir h eads, th eir speares ch arged , and a t
t h e ende of th eir sta ffe, h ard by th e head of yéspeare, a ~
h orse ta ile died in a bloody colour,wh ich is th eir ensigne
th ey be the ch allengers for th e Turkes own person.
After th em cam e senen pages of h onour in cloth of siluer,
Vpon seu en wh ite h orses,wh ich h orses were cou ered with
cloth of siluer, a ll em brodered and garnish ed with pretiou sstones
,em erauds
,diam onds, and rubies m ost rich ly .
After th em a lso cam e six m ore pages of h onour, cloth edin cloth of golde, eu ery one h au ing h is bowe in h is h and , andh is fawch ine of th e Turks fash ion by h is side.
Im m edia tely a fter th em cam e th e Grea t Turke h im selfe,
with grea t pom pe m agnificence, vsing in h is countenanceand gesture a wonderfu l l m aiestie
,h au ing onely on each side
of h is person one page cloth ed with cloth of golde h e h im
sel fe was m oun ted vpon a goodly wh ite h orse, adorned witha robe of cloth of golde, em brodered m oste rich ly with the
m ost pretiou s stones,and Vpon h is h ead a goodly Wh ite
t uck, con ta ining in length by estim a tion fifteene y ards,
wh ich was of silke and linnen wou en together, resem bl ingsom eth ing Ca llicu t2 cloth , but is m uch m ore fine and rich ,
and in th e toppe of h is crowne a little pinnaeh (sic)of1 L ibbard, a leopard—Spenser andMilton .
2 Ca l icut,on th e coa st of India , Bom bay Presidency. Ou r word
“ca l ico” is derived from it . Th is is proba bly th e earliest u se of th isterm in th e English language .
SOLYMAN’
S ENTRY INTO ALEPPO.
wh ite Ostrich fea th ers, and h is h orse m ost rich ly apparel ledin a l l poin ts correspondent to th e sam e .
After h im followed six goodly y oung Ladies, m ountedvpon fine wh ite h ackneis, cloth ed in cloth of silu er, wh ichw ere Of the fash ion of m ens garm ents, em brodered veryrich ly With pearle, and pretious stones, and h ad vpon
th eir beades caps of Goldsm iths worke, h au ing grea t flacketsof h eare h anging out on ea ch side
,died as red as blood
,
and th e nailes of th eir fingers died of th e sam e colour,eu ery of th em h au ing two eunuch es on each side, and l itlebowes in their h ands, after an Antike fash ion .
After m arch ed th e Grea t Bash a , ch eefe conductor of the
wh ole arm ie, clo thed wi th a robe Of D ollym ant 1 crim son,and
W011 the sam e anoth er Sh ort garm en t very rich ,andabout h im
fift ie Ja niz aries a foote,of h is owh e gard , a ll cloth ed in crim son
velu et, being arm ed as th e Grea t Turks owne Janiz aries.
Th en after ensued three o th er Basbas,with slau es abou t
th em , being a foote,to th e num ber of three th ousand m en .
After cam e a com panie of h orsem en very braue, and in a ll
points well arm ed , to the num ber of foure th ou sand .
All th is aforesa id arm ie,m ost pom pous to beh old, wh ich
was in num ber foure score and eigh t th ou sand m en, en
cam ped about th e citie of Aleppo, and th e Grand Signiorh im sel fe was lodged w ith in th e towne, in a goodly castlesitua ted vpon a h igh m ou ntaine : a t th e foote wh ereof ru n
neth a goodly riner, wh ich is a branch of th at fam ous rinerE uphra tes.
Th e rest of h is arm ie passed ouer th e m ou ntaines of
Arm enia,ca ll ed nowe th e m ou ntaines of Cam ary e, wh ich are
foure daies iou rney from Aleppo, appointed th ere to tarie th ecom m ing of th e Grand Signior, w i th th e rest of h is arm ie,
in tending to m arch in to Persia , to give ba t tell to th e Grea tSoph ie . So the wh ole arm is of th e Grand Signior, con
ta ining as well th ose th a t went by th e m ounta ines, as a lso1 See supplem entary note
,p . clv.
JENKINSON’
S SAFE-CONDUCT GRANTED BY SOLYMAN .
ledges as th e Frenchm en andVenetians vee, and inioy ,and
m ore if it be possible, withou t th e h inderance or im peachm ent of any m an . And furth erm ore , we ch arge and com
m aunde a ll Viceroyes and Consuls of th e French na tion ,
and of th e Venetians, and a ll oth er Consuls resident in ou r
Cou ntrey s, in wh a t port or prou ince soeu er th ey be, not toconstraine
,or cause to constraine by th em ,
or the sey deMinisters and Officers wh a tsoeu er they be, the sa ide An thony
I enkinson ,or h is fa ctor, or h is seru ants, or depu ties, or his
m arch andise, to pay any kinde of consu llage, or oth er righ twh atsoeu er
,or to interm eddle or h inder his a ffa ires
,and not
to m olest nor trouble h im any m anner of way , because our
will and pleasure is, tha t h e sh al l not pay in a l l ourCountries,any other th en our ordinarie custom e. And in case any m an
h inder and im peach h im aboue and besides these our presentletters, we ch arge y ou m ost expressly to defende and assisth im aga inst th e seyde Consuls ; and if th ey will not obey our
presen t com m aundem ent , th a t you adu ertise vs th ereof,th a t
we m ay take such order for th e sam e, th a t others m ay takeexam ple thereby . Moreou er, wee com m au nde a ll our Cap
ta ines of our Ga l lies, and their Lieutenants, be they Foy stes1
or oth er vessels, tha t wh en th ey sh a ll finde the sayde I eukin
son ,or his fa ctor, h is sh ippe or sh ippee, w ith his seru ants
,
a nd m arch andise, th a t th ey hurt h im not,ney ther in bodie
nor goods, bu t th a t ra th er th ey assist and defend h im aga insta ll such as seeks to doe h im wrong, and th a t th ey ey de and
h elpe h im with victu a ls, according to his want, and th a twhosoeuer sh a ll see th ese presents
,obey the sam e
,as th ey
will au oide th e penaltie in doing th e contrarie : Made inA leppo of Syria , the y eere 9 6 1 . of our h oly Prophet Ma hom et
,
in th e y eere of Jesus 1 5 53, signed with the scepter and Signetof th e Grand Signior, w ith h is owne proper h ande.
2
1 Foist, a vessel w ith oars, sm a l ler tha n a ga l ley .2 In th e origina l 1 589 edition of H akluy t
’s Tra vels is added th e
following Th e very origina l] h ereof was deliu eredm e R ich . Hakl .by Ma ster I enkinson in th e Turkish and French tongues ,”
Instru ctions giu en to the Masters andMariners tobe obseru ed in a nd about th is Fleeta
,pa ssing th is y eere 1 5 5 7 ,
towards th e Bay ” of S . N icola s in Russia,for th is presen t
Ra z e to be m ade,and return of th e sa m e by Gods gra ce
to th e port of London , th e pla ce of th eir righ t disch arge, as ih th e Art icles ensuing is deduced. 1
FIRST,it is accorded and agreed betweene th e seuera ll pro
prietories and owners,m asters and com panies of the foure
sh ips, surnam ed th e P rim rose,th e I ohn E u angelist, the Anne
a nd th e Trinitie, and the Lieutenant, Consuls, assistants and
com panie of theMareh ants adu enturers, th a t th e above nam edfoure sh ippes sh a ll in good order and conduct saile, passe,and trau aile togeth er in one flote
, ginge, and conseru e of
societie,to be kept indissolubly to be seu ered
,bu t united
w ith in continu a ll sigh t, so farrefoorth as (by w inde and
wea th er)by possibilitie Sh a ll or m ay be w ith out any sepere
tion or departure of one from th e oth er.
2 . I tem ,it is agreed th a t th e good Sh ip nam ed the Prim erose
sh albe Adm ira ll of th is flote, and th a t An thonie I enkinson,
Gentlem an, sh albe Captaine th ereof, and tha t al l th e other3. sh ips sh a ll ensue and folow h er in a ll courses, and th at nocourse nor way ing (in h arborough especia lly)sh al l be m a dewith out th e adu ice, consent, and agreem en t of th e sa ideCapta ine, th e Master
,his m ate, and two oth er officers of th e
said sh ippe, or of three of th em a t th e least.3. I tem ,
tha t th e sa id Anthonie is and sha lbe repu tedand taken for Captaine general l of th e sa id flote, togeth erwith a ll such orders, preem inences, priu iledges, and preferm ents as by the order of seas is du e and a ccustom ed to aCaptaine during h is aboade and exercise of th e sam e.
1 H a kluy t, 1 5 89, pp . 332-3.
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FLEET ,
4 . I t is a lso ordeined, th a t if any one or m oe of the sa id3. shippes sh a lbe ou t of sigh t, eith er before or beh inde th e
Adm irall , th at th en the rest of th e shippes sh al l tacks or
take of th eir sa iles in such sort as th ey m ay m eete and com e
together, in as good order as m ay be, to th e intent to keepeth e consortm ent exactly in all points.
5 . I t is also constituted, th a t if th e sh ips sh albe seuered bym iste or darke wea th er
,in su ch sort as th e one cannot h aue
sigh t of th e oth er, then and in such case th e Adm ira l sh a l
m ake soundandnoise by drum m e, trum pet, h orne, gunne or
oth erwise or m eanes,th a t th e ships m ay com e as nigh to
geth er, as by safetie and good order th ey m ay .
6 . I t is a lso to be obseru ed, th a t eu ery day once th e oth erth ree shippes sha ll sende and com e aboord th e Adm ira ll
,and
th ere consul t and determ ine of such m a tter and th ings as
sh a ll be for th e assurance of th eir N au iga tion , and m ost expedition of the sam e .
7 . I tem , th a t notes entries be day ly m ade of their N aui
ga tions pu t in writing m em orie,th a t th e y ong Mariners
and apprentices m ay be taugh t caused to leerne andObseru e
th e sam e .
8. I t is accorded th a t th e sa id Captaine sh all h a ue th e
principa l rul e and gou ernem ent of th e apprentices : And th a tnot onely th ey , but also al l other th e sa ilers, sh a lbe at tendantand obedient to h im
,as of du tie and reason appert a ineth .
9 . Also th a t no beere nor broth , or other l iquor, be spiltvpon th e belast, or oth er place of the sh ippe, wh ereby a ny
anoy ance, stinke, or oth ervnsauorines sh a ll grow in the
sh ippe to th e infection or hurt of th e persons in th e sam e.
1 0. I tem,th a t th e Capta ine by discretion sh all from tim e
to tim e dissh ip any artificer or English seru ingm an or ap
pren tice out of th e Prim erose into any of th e oth er threesh ippes, and in l ieu of h im or them
,take any su ch apprentice
as h e sh a l l th inke conu enient , and m ost m eete to serue the
benefi ts of th e Com panie .
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FLEET .
1 7 . Item ,th at a ll other form er orders, rules, and deu ises,
m ade and prou ided for the good order of our sh ippee, wares,and goods, being not repugnant, contrarie or diuerse, to th esearticles, and the contents of th e sam e, sh all be, and stand infu l force and effect, to be in a ll respects obseru ed, andkept ofall and euery person, and persons, whom e the sam e doth or
sh all tou ch or concerne.
In Witnesse of the prem isses fa ith fully to be obseru ed, and
kept,th e owners and Masters of th e sa id foure sh ippes,
together with the sa id Captaine, to th ese seu enteene articles,conta ined in two sh eetes of paper
,h ave subscribed th eir
h ands. Giu en in London th e th ird of May , in th e y eere of
our Lord God, 1 5 5 7 .
Owners of th e Prim erosel
ANDREW IUDDE .
WILLIAM CHESTER.
ANTHONY H ICKMAN .
EDWARD CASTELINE.
Owners of th e I ohn Eu angelistANDREW IUDDE.
WILLIAM CHESTER.
Owner of th e AnneIOHN D IMOCKE.
Owner of th e TrinitieR . T.
1 P rim rose, 240 tunnes, Ma ster John Buckland John E u a ngelist,
1 7 0 t u nnes,Ma ster Laurence R ou nda l Anne
,of London
,1 60 tunnes
,
Ma ster Da vid Ph ilby Trinitie, of London , 1 40 tunnes, Ma ster John
Robins—H a klu y t, 1 5 99 , i, 29 7 .
The first voy age m ade by MasterAnthony Ienkinson ,
from th e Citie of London, toward th e land of R u ssia,begonne
th e twelfth day of Maye,in th e y eere ,
FIRST,by th e grace of God, the day. and y eere abou e m en
tioned, I departed from th e sa id Citie, and th e sam e day a t
Gra u esend em barked m y sel fe in a good shippe, nam ed th ePrim erose, being appointed, a l th ough vnworthy , ch iefe cap
ta ine of th e sam e,and also of the oth er three good sh ippee, to
say ,th e I ohn E u a ngelist, th e Anne, and th e Trinitie
,h au ing
also th e conduct of th e Em perour of Russia , h is am bassadour,nam ed Osep N epea Gregorewich ,
2 who passed with h is com panyin the sa id Prim erose. And thus our foure ta ll sh ippes
being well appointed , as well for m en and victu a ls, as o th ernecessarie furniture, th e sa ide twelfth day of th e m oneth of
May e, we wey ed our ankers, and departed from th e sa ideGra u esend, in th e a fternoone, and ply ing downe th e Th am es,
the wind being Easterly , and fa ire wea ther, the 13. day we
cam e a ground with th e Prim erose vpon a sand ca lled th eBlacke ta ile,3wh ere we sa te fast vntill the 1 4 . day in th e
1 H a kluy t, 1 589 , pp . 333-338, 2 See infra , note, p . 26 .
3 Black ta il spit is on Maplin sands, just beyond Sh oeburyness. In
an old book of sa iling instruction s in th e l ibrary of th e Geograph ica lSoc iety, en titled “The L ighting Colom ne or Sea Mirrour, by P eter Goos :dwelling on th e wa ter h ard by th e new bridge a t th e signe of th e goldensea -m irrour”
,printed a t Am sterdam
,1 638, th e follow ing direction s are
given (p . 50)for sa il ing th is coa st : _ From th e Sh oebeakon th e
course is a lm ost southwest to th e poynt of. Blacktay le, th ere runnethoff a Hooke wh ich m en m igh t sa ile with in com m ing from th e northwards but if you keepe from th e sh oare in 7 fa th om ,
you cannottake hurt of it, but in five fa th om you runne w ith in it FromBlacktay le to th e beacon upon th e N ore th e course isWest southwest .”
At th e outset of th e voyage the sh ips were unf ortuna te : th eP rim rose ran aground on Bla ckta il spit, two of the others a lso m et
ACCIDENTS TO THE FLEET.
m orning, and th en God be pra ised, she cam e off and th a tday we pl ied downe as farre as our Ladie Holla nd
,
land
th ere cam e to an anker, th e wind being Easterly , and th ererem a ined vn till th e 20. day : then we wey ed andwent ou ta t Goldm ore ga te,2 and from th ence in at Ba lsey slade,3 and
so into Orwel wands,4 wh ere we cam e to an anker : bu t as wecam e ou t a t th e sa ide Goldm ore ga te, th e Trinitie cam e on
ground on certa ine rockes th a t ly e to the N orthward of th e
sa ide ga te, and was like to be bilged and lost . Bu t by th e
a ide of God, a t the last Sh e cam e off againe, being very leake °
and th e 2 1 . day th e Prim erose rem aining a t an anker in th ewands
,th e other three sh ippee bare into Orwel h auen, Wh ere
I caused th e sa ide Trin itie to be grounded , search ed, andrepa ired. So we rem ained in th e sa id h auen vntill th e 28.
day : and th en '
the winde being westerly , the three sh ippes
th a t were in th e h auen weied, and cam e foorth,and in com
m ing foorth the I ohn Eu a ngelist cam e on ground vpon a sand ,ca lled th e Andros
,
5 wh ere Sh e rem a ined one tide,and the
next full sea Sh e cam e off aga ine withou t any grea t h urt ,God be pra ised.
Th e 29 . day in th e m orning a ll foure sh ips weied in the
w ith a ccidents,th e Trini ty touch ed the rocks to the north of Gold
m ore ga te and was nearly lost, and th e John E va ngelist grounded incom ing out of Orwel l wands . N aviga tion in th ose days was a ttendedby m any difficultie s
,and sh oa ls and rocks were doubtless very im per
fectly buoyed .
1 I n la ter edition s our ladie of Holland”,so nam ed a fter th e church
dedica ted to th e Virgin, now in ruins. I t is a prom ontory on th e
coa st of E ssex,now m arked a s L ittle Holland ; a bout a m ile off is
Holland Ha ll . S teph en Burrough m en tions anch oring thwart “ourLadie of Holland” .
—H a lcl . , 1 589 , p . 31 1 .
2 Goldm ore ga te was th e south ern en trance in to Harw ich h arbour.
3 Ba lsey Slade,th e pa ssage m arked on old ch arts “ th e Sledway
The word Slade is th e Anglo-Saxon slc‘
td,th e I ce landic sla’
dr,sign i
fy ing a fla t piece of low,m oist ground—Webster’s D ictiona ry .
4 Orwell wands,th e estuary of the Orwell .
5 Andrew ’s sh oa l is close to Orfordness. Capcl S t . Andrew now
stands a little way inland .
HEILICII ISLANDS,OR HELGE LAND .
th e Sunne,and h ad th e la titu de in 60. degrees. Then we
sh ifted our course, and went N orth N orth east and N orth east,and by north
,vntill th e 25 . day . Then we discou ered cer
ta ine Islands, cal ledH eilich Islands,1 ly ing from vs north east,
being in th e la titude of 6 6 . degrees, 40. m inutes. Then we
went north and by West, because we wou ld not com e toonigh th e land, and running th at course 4 . hours, we discou ered, and h ad sigh t of Rost Islands,2 ioyning to th e m a ine
1 H eilich I slands lie off th a t part of the coa st of Finm ark , or
N orway, m arked Heilich lant,or Helge land. Th is was the country
of Oth er, th e earliest traveller and d iscoverer of th e extrem e north onrecord. Alm ost du e north of Heilich I slands is th e R est group of
islets,and north - ea st of th ese th e Lofoden I slands
,extending f or
about 1 7 5 m il es from SW. to N .E . ,between 6 7
°
30'
and 69°
30'
north la t . Th e follow ing sa il ing directions in The L ighting Colum ns(p . 63)m ay serve a s a com m ent ary to th e narra tive —“Fromt h e I sland Gryp to th e N om enda ls I slands th e coa st i s N orth E a ste igh teen leagues, but from Gryp to th e N om enda ls I slands th ecourse is N orth Ea st e igh teen leagues, but from Gryp to th e I slandRust N orth and N orth by E a st four and sixteen leagu es . Betwixtth em ly (besides th e N om enda ls I slands)a lso th e islands H olyland a ndTra enoch . Traenoch and Rust ly e th irteen leagues a sunder.
From Rust to Wero th e coa st is N orth E a st and by north n ine leagues,but to Loffoert north n orth ea st three and th irty e leagues. BetwixtWero andLoffoert ly eth t h eMa elstrom e
,wh ere you m ay sayle through
but a t stil l wa ter. By th e west point of Loffoert you m ay runnein and m ake road under it . And a lso you m ay runne through fromth ence w ith in betw ixt the islands and th e m ayne land
,a ll a long unto
th e N orth Cape .
"Th i s coa st is now so wel l known
,th a t it is
a lm ost needless to sa y th a t m ost of th e islands h ave bold, precipitous,and deeply inden ted coa sts ; th a t th e interior is eleva ted and verysterile and th a t severa l of the m ounta ins, t h ough not very lof ty, arecovered w ith perpetua l snow . Th e naviga tion is rendered com paratively ea sy by th e depth of wa ter(300to 400fa thom s)a t th e ba se of th ecl iffs, and th e largest vessel can pa ss w ith out danger am ong th e rockyislets
,th ough a lm ost filling th e narrow spa ce between th em .
-The
Voy age of the Vega , N ordenskiOld, i , pp . 46 -5 1 Sa i ling D irectionsf orthe Wh ite Sea , I m ray and Son , p . 2 .
2 R est I slands are m ere precipices of rock,form ing a term ina tion
,
th ough a t som e distance,of th e Lofoden group. N ext to Best l ies
Verb,adj oining to wh ich is Moskan. Th e na m e
“R bst” is th e old
LOFODEN ISLANDS. THE MAELSTROM.
land of Finm arhe. Here th e Sunne continueth in Sigh taboue th e h oriz on, alm ost 2 . m oneth s togeth er, day and
n igh t. Thus con tinuing our course a long th e coast of
N orway and Fin la nd,th e 27 . day we tooke th e Sunne , being
a s far sh ot as I l ofoote,1and h ad th e la titude in 6 9 . degrees.
And th e sam e day in th e a fternoone appeared ouer our
h eads a ra ine bowe like a sem icircle, with both ends vp
Ward . N ote th a t there is between th e saidRest Islands andLofoote, a Wh irle poole called Ill a lestra nd
,
2 wh ich from h alfe
ebbe vntil h a lfe flood, m aketh such a terrible noise th a t itsh aketh th e ringes in the doores of the inh abitats h ouses ofth e sa id Islands, ten m iles Of. Al so if th ere com m eth
any Wh ale with in th e current of th e sam e,th ey m ake a
pitiful crie . Moreou er, if grea t trees be caried into it byforce of stream s
,and a fter with th e ebbe be cast out againe,
the ends and bough es of th em h aue bene so bea ten, th a t th ey
term for a wh irlpool,wh ich i s stil l reta ined in th e Scottish isles
,e.g. ,
Sum burg R oost, between th e Orkneys and Sh etlands . —Metca lfe’sOxonia n in N orwa y , i, 237 , seq .
1 Th e largest of th e Lofoden i slands are B indO, Ando, andLango ,Ost Vaagen , West Va agen, and F lagstadti. All of th em are ruggedand m ounta inous. Th e popula tion are a m ixedra ce
,partly of Scandi
navian,partly of Lappish descent , ch iefly dependent on th e fish ery
,
wh ich was establish ed previous to th e 1 1 th century,and h a s a lways
a ttra cted a large num ber of th e inh abitants of th e m a inland.Ch am bers
’
s E ncy clop sedia , art . Lofoden”.
2 The Ma lstrOm,or Maelstro’m (
“grinding stream a lso ca lled
Mosk enstr‘
dm,i s to th e south of th e island of Moskenaes
,th e south ern
m ost of th e Lofoden group. L ike the Sa l tstrtim (a t th e en tran ce toSkjerstad Fj ord), it is form ed by th e tide pouring through a narrowstra it four tim es da ily
,form ing a trem endous , roaring ca tara ct, wh ich
it is dangerous to pa ss except a t certa in sta tes of th e tide . Wh en th ew ind blows aga in st th e current th e Ma lstriim becom es extrem elydangerous, th e sea for severa l m iles be ing so violen tly agita ted th a tno boa t can l ive in it. Th e Ma lstrem
,th ough m ore fam ous
,is su r
pa ssed by th e Sal tstrom,wh ere
,during spring tides, th e scene is
described as a m ost im posing one .
—Metca lfe’s Owenia n in N orwa y ,
i,237 ; Baedeker’s N orwa y a nd Sweden , pp . 222
,227 .
SENIENO. KETTELWICKE,OR KJODVIG.
are like the sta lkes of h em pe th a t is bruised . N ote, th a t a llth e cost of Finm arks is high m ou n ta ines, and h ils, beingcou ered al l th e y eere with snowe. Andh ard aboord th e shoare
of th is coast,th ere is 1 00. or 1 5 0. fadom s of wa ter in depth .
Thus proceeding and say ling forward , we fel l with an Islandcalled Zenam
,
1 being in y 6 la titude of 7 0. degrees. Aboutth is Islandwe saw m any Wh ales, very m onstrous, about oursh ips, som e by estim a tion of 60. foote long : and being th eingendring tim e, th ey roared and cried terribly . Fromth ence we fel with an I sland, called If
'
ettelwiclce.
2 Th is coastfrom Rost vu to Lofoote l ieth north and sou th
,and from '
Lofoote to Zena m ,north ea st and southwest, and from Zena m
to K ettelwilce,east north east and west southwest . From th e
said K ettelwike we sa il ed east and by north 10. leagues,and fell with a land, cal led I nger sound
,
3 where we fished,being beca lm ed, and tooke grea t plenty of Gods. Thusply ing a long the coast
,we fel w ith a Cape, ca ll ed th e N orth
Cape,
4 wh ich is the north erm ost land th a t we passe in our
1 Zena m (Senjen), Senieno, and on old charts San ien , is a largeisland off th e coa st , s e para ted by a stra i t from th e m a inland . I t issi tua ted north -ea st of th e Lofodens
,in la titude 69° to 69° or
about h a lf a degree south of its position according to Jenkinson .
2 “An I sland ca lled K et tlewicke .
” Jenkinson is sl igh tly in errorh ere
,th ere being no island of th is nam e off th is part of th e coa st of
N orway. Th e pla ce referred to is Kj O’
doig, a t th e north end of th e
i sland of SOrO. I t wa s first observed by Steph en Burrough in th eSea rch thrif t, May 23rd
,1 5 5 6
,wh en h e described h im self a s being
“ thwart of th e Ch appel,wh ich I suppose is ca lled K edilwicke”
(H a lcluy t, p . Th e m en tion of th e ch a ppel ” m ay be an obliquea llusion to th e adj oining Kjodoigfeld, w ith its projecting prom ontory,Ta rha lsen ,
lying m idway between SenienO and I ugii, and wh ich byJenkinson m igh t ea sily h ave been m istaken for an i sland . 0 .
3 Th e island of I ngO l ies in la t . 7 1°
5’N .
,n earMaoso
,and forty
m iles west-south -west of th e N orth Ca pe . Prof . N ordensk iold saysth a t th e influence of warm ocean ic curren ts is so grea t h ere th a tpota toes som etim es yield a good crop ; but t h e inha bitan ts ch ieflydepend on fish for the ir diet . Voy age of the Vega , i , p . 40.
4 The la titude of th e N orth Ca pe is exactly wha t Jenkinson sta tes
KEGOR ON FISHERS ’
ISLAND .
and the Easterm ost land th a t h e h a th . Thereare 2 . oth erIslands neere adioyning vuto th a t, wh ereon the Castle of
Wardhou se standeth .
The inh abitan ts of th ose 3. Islands liu e onely by fish ing,
m ake m uch stockefish , wh ich th ey dry w ith frost : th eirm ost feeding is fish ; bread and drinke th ey h aue none, bu tsuch as is brough t th em from oth er places. Th ey h au e sm a l l
store of ca ttell,wh ich are a lso fed with fish .
1 From Wa rd
hou se we sa iled sou th sou th east ten leagues, and fell with a
Cape of land ca lled K egor,2
ye north erm ost part of th e land
1 Th e pra ctice of feeding ca ttle on fish is very genera l in northerncountries a t th e presen t day . In I celand
,dried cods’ h eads are given to
cows and pon ies . At Soroka,and oth er vil lages on th e Wh ite Sea
,
sm oked h errings answer th e sam e purpose .-R ae
’s White Sea P eninsu la
,p . 1 20.
2 K egor, or K egur, is Cape Nem étsky Germ an)of m odernm aps . I t lies about th irty m iles S E . from Va rdO
,a t th e nort h end
of R iba tch i (Fish ers’)pen insula . From Wardh ou se to th e poyn t ofR egor” , says The Sea Mirrou r “ th e course is south ea st and southea st and by south t en leagues . Betwixt th em both is a grea t baye ,wh erein are divers sounds and rivers
,am ongst oth er th e river P etsing,
wh ich is a grea t , fa ire and large R iver wh ere m en m ay goe in w ithgrea t sh ipps, a good ways with in th e river is a good road
,th ere is
taken and laden m uch sa lm on,but th ere fa l l no oth er specia ll wares . ”
Between VardO and R ibatch i pen in sula th e ea sterly w inds wh ich preva il in sum m er blow w ith a s m uch regulari ty a s a lm ost to deserve th enam e of trade w inds .
“K egor is a fayre h aven ly ing a t th e north end of the F ish ersI sland
,a l ittle with out th e poynt . Th ere ly e two or three rocks a t th e
north poynt of th e h aven ,and a lso a su ncken rock in th e m iddest of
the h aven s m outh ; you leave th e suncken Rock w ith th e oth er R ockson th e starboard side of you
,and runne in by th e south shoare
,and
edge th em beh ind th e foresayd rocks,and anch or th ere in seven or
e igh t fa th om ,th e h aven s m outh ly eth in southwest, it is th ere so
good lying a s in any h aven th ereabouts on th e coa stThe D anes ca l l th is h aven Ea ster h aven , th ere wa s wont to be th e
staple of Fish wh ere every one m ust com e to buye , th erefore the I slandis y et ca lled, wh ereon K egor ly eth , th e Fi sh ers I sland .
I t is indeed no island but very neare ; it is fa st to the m a ine
land w ith such a very sm a ll neck th a t th e Russes, wh ich com e fromK ilduy n or the river o f K 001
,and are bound to th e river Pitsing, doe
PECHENGA MONASTERY .
of Lappia . And betweene Wa rdhou se th e sa id Cape is a
grea t Bay , called Dom m eshafi,
1 in th e south part wh ereof is aMonasterie of Monkes of th e Ru sses religion , ca lled P echin fa
l
sifychow .
2 Thus proceeding forward and say ling a long th e coastof th e sa ide lande of Lapp ia ,
winding South east, th e fourthday through grea t m ists and darkenes we lost the com pa nieof th e oth er three ships
,and m et not with them aga ine, vntill
th e 7 . day ,wh en we fell w ith a Cape or headland cal led
goe a longst with in th is land and h aule the ir boa tes over th a t sm a l lneck
,for not to goe about a sea board .
—The Sea Mirrour, p . 6 7 ;
Im ray ’s Sa i ling D irections, p . 24.
D om m eshafi"
(Varanger fiord). So na m ed from the D om en (dom e
sh a ped)h ill , S E . of Vardo’ . S teph en Burrough , in h is search forCh ancellor’s m issing sh ips, m entions th e ba y (H a kl .
,p . and it
i s m arked on Wm . Burrough ’s h ith erto unknown MS . m ap, circa1 5 58 (Old Roy . Lib .
,18
,D .
,i ii), a s Well a s on th a t of Jenkinson . Th e
h eigh t (530f t .)of th i s dom e - sh aped h ill wou ld m ake it a conspicuouslandm ark to naviga tors, and account for its h aving lent its n am e toth e ba y . (Cf. N orwegian Governm ent Ch art Baedeker’s N orway a nd
Sweden, p .—C .
2 P echinchow . Trifan,a m onk of N ovgorod, founded the cloister of
P echenga in 1 533, and dedica ted it to th e Holy Trin ity . H e undertookth e conversion of the La pps
,a nd ra ised partly w ith h is own h ands th e
ne igh bouring shrine of Boris—Gleb . H e went to Mosco,and obta ined
from I van I I I a gran t of lands and oth er privileges for h is sa nctua ry .
P ilgrim s, a ttracted by h is z ea l and reputa tion,cam e from far and near
to worsh ip a t th e sh rine erected in th ese north ern sol itudes . Th eiroff erings, a nd th e revenues derived from fish eries and trade
,soon
enrich ed th e m ona stery but th e Swedes regarded w ith j ea lousy th eRussia n establish m en t close to th eir border
,and in 1 5 90 a tta cked and
destroyed th e p lace,putting its inm a tes to th e sword . About th is tim e
th e m ona stery of Solovetsky in th e Wh ite Sea (founded in 1 429)was strength ened, and enclosed w ith in th ick stone wa lls
,to serve
a s a refuge to Russian s on th ese coa sts . Solovetsky , th e i slandm ona stery
,is la rge andprosperous to th is da y , wh ile P ech enga , on th e
m a inland , on ly survives in na m e . P echinchow is th e gen itive ca se of
P echenegi, th e nam e of a warlike people inh abiting south ern Russia .
I t i s difficult to account for th e ir nam e be ing carried so fa r north as toh ave found a resting- pla ce on th e sh ores of th e Wh ite Sea . A townin th e Governm ent of K harkof bears th e sa m e na m e .
—K ara m sin,i,
240,ii,29 ; Sem eonof
,arts . “P ech enegi” , “Solovetsk” ; Rae’s White
Sea P en insu la , pp . 1 6 - 18, and 1 7 2 . H erberstein (Hakl . ii,p . 49 .
ENTRANCE TO THE WHITE SEA.
Su ehinose,1 wh ich is th e entring in to th e Bay of S . N ichola s.
At th is Cape lieth a grea t stone, to th e wh ich th e barkesth a t passed th ereby , were won t to m ake offrings of butter,m eale
,and oth er victua ls
,th inking th a t vnlesse th ey did so
,
th eir barkes or vessels shou lde th ere perish ,as it h a th bene
often tim es seene : and th ere i t is very darke and m istie .
N ote th a t th e 6 . day we passed by th e place wh ere Sir Hugh
Willoughbie. with a ll h is com pan ie, perished , wh ich is ca lled
in
?“ Arzina reca,th a t is to say ,
the rinerArz ina .
2 Th e land Of
r w h ere 3Hug h Lapp i a Is an h igh la nd , h au ing snow ly ing on I t com m on ly
a l l th e y eere. Th e people of the Cou ntrey are h al fe Gen
tiles :4 they line in the sum m er tim e neere th e sea side, and
1 Sv ia toi N oss,i.s.
,H oly P rom ontory
, n led by Dutch andEnglishm ariners into “Swete N ose”
,form s th e western entrance into th e
Wh ite Sea,wh ile Ca pe Kan in
,th e extrem e north ern point of Kanin
pen insula,faces it on th e ea st .
2 Th e Arz ina,or Varz ina
,debouch es in Nok u y ef Bay , la t . 68
°
20’
and long. 38°
30’E . of Greenw ich . H ere Sir Hugh Willough by, with
th e crews of h is two sh ips,perish ed from cold in 1 5 53-4
,and h ere
th e ir bodies were discovered by Russian fish erm en —Engla nd a nd
Ru ssia,Ham el
,p . 86 Voy a ge of the Vega , i , 63.
3 Mr. Edward R a e,who la te ly sa iled a long th e coa st of Lapland,
thus describes it : “Dull volcan ic rocks,red and rounded ; abrupt
grey cl iffs, split a nd fissured,w ith m isty snow crown ing th em ,
rosehundreds of feet from the da rk sea .
” Wh ite Sea P eninsu la , p . 84 .
Th e La pps—for th ese are th e people referred to in th e text—are
a Finn ish race inh a biting th e district of K ern (form erly Kola), th eso -ca lled pen insula o f La pland
,besides north ern parts of F inland
,
N orway, and Sweden . They a ppear to h ave been known a s Suom i”,
a m ong th em se lves, and in th e twelfth century th e na m e Lapp wa sunknown . Ca stren derives it from th eir w ord “Loap
”or
“Loop”,
sign ifying “end
”
,a s a pplied to th e extrem e north ern position of th e ir
coun try ; Vareliu s conj ectures th a t it wa s first a pplied a s a termof derision by th ose Finn s wh o h ad adopted a m ore or less settledf orm of life , to kindred tribes who reta ined th eir prim itive h abits .Th e La pps were form erly m uch m ore w idely distributed. Accordingto Ma th esiu s
,a t th e R eform a tion th ere were La pps in Ostrobothnia ,
a nd through out th e wooded districts of Fin land wherever se ttlem entsa nd agriculture h ad no t penetra ted . R u ssian a
‘
nna lists of th e six
teenth century m ention La pps no t only on th e sh ores of th e Gulf of
ARRIVAL IN RUSSIA.
wh ich th ey exercise da ily , as well m en as wom en ,and kil l
such beasts a s serue th em for th eir foode . Thus proceedinga long th e coast from Su etinoze a foresa id
,th e 9 . day of Inly
wee cam e to Cape Gra ce, being in th e la titude of 6 6 . degrees .
a nd 45 . m inu tes, and is a t th e entring in of th e Bay of
S . N ichola s. Aboord th is land th ere is 20. or 30. fadom s
current w a ter and sundry grounds good to anker in . Th e curren t a tape
06 th is Cape runneth Sou thwest and N orth east . From th isCape we proceeded a long, vntill we cam e to Crosse Island , l
wh ich is seu en leagues from th e said Cape Sou thwest : and
from th is Island wee set ouer to th e oth er side of th e Bay e,
and wen t Sou th sou thwest,and fell with an h ead land ca l led
Foxenosefi wh ich is from th e sa id Island 25 . leagues. Th e
hin
g? entring of th is Bay from Crosse Island to th e neerest landN ich o
18 seu en on th e other Side 18 senen leagues ouer. From Foxenose pro,u es
itd a t th e ceeding forward th e twelfth day of th e sa id m oneth of I u lie
,
a ll our foure sh ips arriu ed in sa fetie at th e roade of Sa in tN ich olas in the land of Russia
,wh ere we encored and h ad
say led from London vu to th e sayde roade senen hundred andfifty leagues.
3 Th e Russian am bassadour and h is com panywith grea t ioy gotte to Sh ore , and ou r sh ippes h ere forthwithdisch arged th em selu es and being laden againe and h au ing a
fa ire winde,departed towarde England th e first of August .
Th e th ird of th e sayde m oneth I with oth er of m y com panie
1 Sosnovet z,or Fir I sland
,better known to English sa ilors as Cross
I sland,from th e num erou s crosses once standing on it
,but wh ich
h ave been ruth lessly cut down for fu e l by sh ips’ crews—Adm ira ltyD irections
,p . 1 9 .
2 Cape Kerets,com m on ly known to E nglish sa ilors a s Blue N ose ,
a t th e entrance to th e Gulf of Arch angel .—Adm ira lty D irections,p . 20.
3 Th e entrance to th e N orthern Dw ina wa s in early tim es by N ich ola sCh annel
,th e westernm ost of th e four principa l arm s of its estuary .
H ere stood th e m ona stery of S t . N ich ola s,two m iles and a ha lf from
th e sea -coa st,m entioned by Th om a s Ra ndolph , Queen E liz abeth ’s
a m ba ssador. Sh ips now en ter by th e Berioz ofsky (birch -tree)Ch annel , a nd a nch or o ff th e Solom ba l I slands . 1 5 89
,p . 400.
KHOLMOGORI .
cam e vu to th e citie of Colm ogro,1 being an h undred verstes
from th e Bay of Sa in t N ich olas,and in th e la titude of 64 .
degrees 25 . m inutes. I tarried a t th e say d Colm ogro vntill
th e fifteen th day ,and th en I departed in a l ittle boa te Vp th e
grea t riner of Dwina,wh ich runneth very swiftly , and th e
selfe sam e day passed by th e m outh of a riner cal led P inego,leaning it on our left h and fifteene verstes from Colm ogro. On
both sides of th e m outh of th is rinerP inego2 ish igh land, grea t1 K holm ogori, 4 7 m iles S E . of Arch angel on the Mosco road
,is
situa ted on an island form ed by two arm s of th e N orth ern Dw ina .
K h olm ogori is a s ancient a s N ovgorod itself , and, according to som e,
was th e capita l of B iarm ia (P erm ie). P robably before th e N ovgoro
dians cam e h ith er th ere st ood th e F inni sh town of “H olm gard” or
H olm gavol”
,m entioned in Sca ndinavian saga s, a nam e sa id to be
derived from two Scandinavian words,h olm o” or
“kolm o”
,island,
and gard” , governm ent . K h olm ogori first a ppears in Russian MSS .
in a gra m ota,or letter addressed by Grand Duke Joh an Joh annovitch
(135 5 - 9)to th e posadniclc (governor)and boyards of th e Dw ina . Be
tween 1 5 5 7 and 1 587 it wa s th e residence of a m ayor,wh o exercised
judicia l functions over th e wh ole province . K ho lm ogori wa s a t th isperiod a flourish ing place , and it wa s th en th a t English m en settledh ere a nd built severa l h andsom e h ouses . R ich ard Gray establish ed arope -wa lk h ere in 1 5 5 5
,and in 1 5 5 7 English workm en were sent from
London to superin tend it . Abou t th e sam e t im e English m erchantsfounded th eir trading f actory a t K h olm ogori, and built spa cious wareh ouses to conta in th e ir m erch andise
,wh ile na tive traders occupied the
gostinni door. R andolph writes in 1 5 68,Colm ogoro is a grea t t owne
builded a l l of wood . K h olm ogori h ad severa l able and energeticgovernors, am ong wh om were Zvenigorodsky , Via z em sky , La shkarof ,
and oth ers . I n 1 6 13 it successfully w ith stood an inva sion of PolesandL ithuanian s and in 1 682 wa s ra ised to a bish opric
,its first bish op
,
Ath ana sius,adorn ing it w ith stone church es . In 1 7 00 th e Voievode
tran sferred h is residence to Arch angel (th en known a s N ew K h olm o
gori), and th e m ilitary follow ing h im , K h olm ogori soon decl ined. I t
i s now but little better th an a poor village , th ou gh in Lepekh in’s
t im e (1 7 70)it Stil l possessed a ca th edra l andDr. Sh aw,in h isGa z etteer
of the World,speaks of its church
,docks
,and sch ool of navigat ion .
Vsévolojsky and Sem eonof,arts . K h olm ogori
”.
2 Th e P inega , a righ t tributary of th e Dwina , rises in th e districtof Solv ich egodsk , wh ere it is form ed by th e confluence of two sm a l lrivers, B iela ia (Wh ite), a nd Cherna ia (Black). I t h as a course of
abou t 300 m iles, w ith a breadth of 200 to 500 yards,and a depth
PASSAGE UP THE DWINA.
rockes of Al abastre, grea t woods and Py neaple trees ly inga long w ith in th e ground , wh ich by report h aue ly en th eresince N oes flood . And th us proceeding forward th e nineteen thday in th e m orning, I cam e into a town cal led Yem ps,1 anhundred verstes from Colm ogro. All th is w ay a long th eym ake m uch tarre, pitch and a sh es of Aspen trees. Fromth ence l cam e to a place ca lled Vstiug,
2an ancien t citie, th e
last day of August . At th is citie m eete two riners th e one
called I ug and th e oth er Su cuna ,both wh ich fa ll in to th e
a foresa id riner of Dwina . Th e riner of I ug h a th h is Springin th e land of th e Tartars ca lled Cherem izzi
,
3 ioy ning to th e
varying from three to six and even 1 2 feet . Th e banks are steep inplaces
,particularly about ten m iles above th e town of P inega , and are
com posed of red clay, sandstone , gypsu m ,andbla ck l im estone. Jenkin
son wa s th erefore righ t in speaking of grea t rocks of a laba ster”,for
th is m inera l is a va riety of gypsum . Th e “pine - apple trees” wereprobably stranded logs of fir or larch
,for wh ich th is river is parti
cu larly noted,th ough th e a llusion is evidently to fossilised wood .
Fossils are certa in ly found in th e m ounta in lim estone and P erm ianstra ta of P inega .
—Sem eonof,art . P inega .
”
1 On J enkinson’s m ap Yem sa on Gerard’s (da ted 1 6 13, one of th e
oldest of Russia)“Jem se and on S tieler’
s H a ndA tla s (5 1)“Jem za
”
,
occur a s th e nam e of a lef t a ffluent of th e Dwin a . S t ieler a lso h a s“J em ezkoje ,
a t t he m outh of th e Jem z a,doubtless th e place referred
to by Jenkinson .
2 Usting m outh of Yu g), a t th e confluence of th e Yug and th e
Su h ona,was known a sVeliki (Grea t)Usting . Th is was an im portan t
pla ce of trade,and particul arly for th e sh ipm ent of corn
,flax
,
bristles,ta llow
,and h ides .
3 Th e Ch erem issi (Meri)are a Tart ar-Finnish tribe,occupying parts
of th e Governm ents of Ka z an and Via tka . Th ey were settled on th eVolga in very early tim es
,and are m en tioned by th e Russian anna li sts
a s inh abiting th e districts next below th e Mordva , an a llied race,both
h aving been included in the cou ntry of th e Bolgh ars. I n Jenkinson ’s
tim e their settlem en ts rea ch ed to Via tka , about du e ea st of th e
sources of th e Y ug, and between th is river andP erm ia , wh ich extendedin th ose da y s to both banks of th e Kam a . Th e Ch erem issi were subjected by th e N ovgo rodians in th e fourteen th century, and soon a fterwards a ccepted Chri stian ity . I n 187 0 th ey num beredSchnitz ler
, S la tistigu e de la R ussie,pp . 65 200 D revniy e gorodu ,
Sh pelefsky , p . 133 Voienno S ta tist . S borni/r, 1 87 1 , p . 9 7 .
VOLOGHDA.
with long poles. Th ere are m any of these Barks Vpon th eriner Of Dwina And th e m ost part of th em belongeth vu toth e citie Of Vologhda : for th ere dwell m any m arch an ts
,and
they occupie th e sa id boa tes with cary ing of sal t from th e
sea side in to th e sayde Vologhda . Th e twentieth of Sep
tem ber I cam e vnto Vologhda ,
l wh ich is a grea t citie, and th e1 Jenkinson wa s, th erefore , twen ty-six days in going from K h olm o
gori to Vologhda . R andolph m ade th e sam e j ourn ey in th irty days .H e wa s towed up stream
,th is being th e on ly m ode of progress .
Vologhda is one of th e oldest of Russian towns,h aving been founded
in th e th irteenth century by th e N ovgorodians t h ough , a ccording toanoth er a ccount, S t . Gera sim
,wh o wen t th i th er from Kief
,found it in
exi stence in 1 14 7 . In its earliest days Vologhda wa s a dependen cy ofN ovgorod ; it is m entioned in a gra m ola , or letter addressed by th eN ovgorodians to P rin ce Y aroslaf in 1 264 ; and it was plundered in1 2 73by Sv ia toslaf , Prince of Tver
,in league with th e Tartars, wh en
its inh abitants were carried away into captivity ; bu t in th e fourteenth century Vologhda h ad aga in becom e flourish ing and populous.From th at tim e it changed its a l legiance, repeatedly now payingtribute to th e princes of N ovgorod, now to th ose of Mosco, and it wa sfina lly un ited w ith th e principa lity of Mosco by Va ssili-Va ssilievitchth e Blind . Va ssil i , wh ose du kedom h ad been u surped by h is cousinSh em iaka
,lived a t Vologhda from October 1 446 to February 1 44 7
,
wh en,finding its inh abitan ts ready to espou se h is cause
,be w ith th eir
a ssistance retook Mosco . Ivan I I I visited Vologhda in 1463; and
Ivan IV,w ith wh ose reign we are ch iefly concerned
,in tended m aking
it his principa l residence,visiting it repea t edly, and on th e la st occa
sion rem a in ing over two years superintending th e fortifica tion s h e h adbuilt round th e ca stle . Th ese are referred to by Th om a s R andolph
,
Queen E lizabeth ’s am ba ssador. I t w a s to Volgohda th a t Ivan fl ed
wh en Mosco was burn t by th e Krim Tartars ; and h ere took place th a tinterview between th e enraged C z ar and Devlet Gh irei’s am ba ssadors
,
o f wh ich H orsey left a curious account . Joseph N epes , th e firstRussianenvoy to England in 1 5 5 6 (see a nte
,p . wa s a na tive of Vo loghda ,
a ndH orsey resided h ere som e weeks on h isway h om e . Upon the open ingof trade w ith England, Vo loghda becam e a depot for English m erch andise conveyed h ith er up th e Dw ina
,Su hona
, ,and Vologhda rivers .
Land was given to th e English m erch ants to build a h ouse and stores,
a nd for m any years one of th eir factors continua lly resided h ere .
Vologhda h as lost th e com m anding place it h eld am ong Russian towns,m uch of th eWh ite Sea trade now pa ssing to th e Bah ia—H a kl .
,1 589
p . 400; Sem eonof,art .
“Vologhda”
; R ussia,by Dr. Giles Fletcher,
H akl . Soc . ,185 6
,pp . 1 66 -68.
RUSSIAN LOG-HOUSES .
riu er passeth through th e m iddest of th e sam e . Th e h ousesare builded with wood of Firre trees, ioyned one withanoth er,
and round w ith ou t : th e h ouses are foure squ arewith out any yron or stone worke, cou ered
'
with birch Barkesand wood ouer th e sam e : th eir Church es are a ll of wood
,
two for eu ery parish ,one to be h ea ted forWinter and th e
oth er for Som m er.
1
On th e toppes of th eir h ouses th ey lay e m u ch earth,
for feare of burning : for they are sore plagued w ith fire.
Th is Vologhda is in 5 9 . degrees, 1 1 . m inutes,2 and is fromColm ogro 1 000. verstes.
Al l th e way I neuer cam e in house,bu t lodged in th e wil
dernesse, by th e riners Side,and carried prou ision for the
w ay . And h e th a t will trau el l th ose w aies, m ust carry e withh im an h a tch et
,a tinder boxe , and a ket tle
,to m ake fire and
“m eme”
Log-h ouses a re constructed very m uch in th e sam e way a t th e
present day in Russia , and th ey are far m ore com f ortable and warm er
th an th ose built of brick . Th e following is th e m odu s op era ndi of th e
Russian builder. H aving selected h is logs, he planes th em on th e upperand under side
,in order th a t th ey m ay lie close one above th e oth er ;
th e ends are th en doveta iled togeth er, th e in terstices being fi lled inw ith m oss
,or better still
,w ith tow
,because it does not h arbour
insects . Open ings are cut for doors and w indows , and a double roofof boards
, grooved to ca rry off ra in , com pletes th e structure . All th isis done with th e axe
,wh ich
,in th e h ands of a skilful carpenter
,takes
th e place of plane,saw
,ch ise l
,and h am m er. H igh roof s are now
invariably in u se in Jenkinson ’
s tim e th ey a ppear to h ave been fla tand covered w ith ea rth
,doubtless a s a preventive aga in st fire , and
perh aps a lso for warm th . Brick and stone are now largely used inbuilding in Russia , a law h aving been pa ssed m any years ago tha twh en a wooden h ouse h ad been burnt down in a town it could on ly berebuilt in brick or stone . Villages , h owever, are entire ly m ade of
wood,and th e cold and h ot church es for w inter and sum m er u se
are to th is day general in m ost of th e north ern districts . Birch barkis seldom used now for covering wooden h ouses, a sh ea th ing of boardsbe ing m ore com m on but th e rounded log-h ouses
,uncovered by any
externa l coa t, are th e m ost fam il ia r sigh ts of a l l .2 Th e latitude of Vologhda is 58
° Jenkinson places it nearlya degree too far north its distance from K h olm ogori is about 7 00m iles .
ROAD TO MOSCO. YAROSLAF.
seeth e m ea te , when he h a th i t : for th ere is sm a ll succour inth ose parts, vnlesse it be in townes.
1
Th e first day of Decem ber, I departed from Vologhda in
poste in a sled , as th e m aner is in Win ter.
2 And th e way
to Mosena is as followeth . From Vologhda to Com m elski
27 . verstes,3 so to Olm or 25 . verstes,4 so to Teloy tske 20
verstes,5 so to Vre 30. verstes,6 so to Voshomsko 30. verstes,
7
th en to Yem sla u e 30. verstes,8 wh ich standeth VpOIl th e
1 P ost travelling in Russia h as m ade considerable progress since th etim e of Jenkinson . On a ll th e ch ief h ighways th ere are good posth ouses
,and if provisions are no t plentiful
,th ere is th e never-f a il ing
sa m ovar to fa ll back upon , w ith th e warm ing cup of tea , luxuries nuknown in ou r traveller’s tim e . But in th e m ore rem ote parts of th ecountry it is still necessa ry to take provisions for th e road, and inview of a possible breakdown
,an axe or h a tch et and a rope are
indispensable .
2 Th e Russian a m ba ssador,N epea , D r. Standish
,Mr. Grey
,and
oth er E nglish m en preceded Jenkinson to Mosco . Starting fromK h olm ogori the 29th July, th ey reach ed Vol oghda th e 2 7 th August,and Mosco th e 1 2th Septem ber. Th e ir m ode of conveyance fromVologhda to Mosco w ith th eir m erch andise wa s in telegos
”
,or open
carts ; h ence th ey were fourteen days on th e road,wh ile Jenkinson ,
wh o wa ited in Vologhda til l w inter, tra velled in a post - sledge , andwas on ly six days in rea ch ing the ca pita l .—H a kl .
,1 5 89 , p . 338.
3 Com m els/ci,
“N icola Com oloscoi”of I saa cMa ssa ’s N ovissim a Ru ssia
Ta bu la,1 640; probably N ikolskoi , near th e river Kom ela . See
French m ap of R u ssia,1 —C .
4 Glm or,eviden t ly a m isprint forObnor
,or ra th er St . Obnorski jam ,
a n old post - sta tion ; Obnorski-P avlof m on a stery lies three m iles E . of
th e h ighroad .—C .
5 Teloy tske, probably Telia tsch ia , or Boda Telia tsch ia of Frenchm ap—C .
6 Ure,probably D er
,sh ort for D erevnia
,village .
7 Vosha nsko,probably Voch enskoi of French m ap.
—C .
8 Yeara sla u e (Ya roslaf), founded by Yaroslaf th e Grea t in th e
eleventh cen tury,h a s a lways been a grea t en trepo
‘
t for trade . In earlydays
,m erch andise destined for P ersia was landed h ere
,and vessel s
were built a t “Ustwicki Z elez m a,about 100 m i les distan t , to convey it
down th e Volga . An old writer (Dr. Giles Fletch er)sa ys of it, th a tits situa tion on th e h igh bank of th e fa m ous Volga wa s very fa ir andsta tely to beh old . H e adds : “ In th is Towne dwelt th e R u sse
King Vla rlm nir,su rna m ed I m u s/m m
,th a t m a rried th e daugh ter of
em ber.
POSTING . RECEPTION BY THE EMPEROR.
Dowbnay 30. verstes,lso to Godoroke 30. verstes
,
2so to Owcha y
30. verstes,
3and last to th e Musco 25 . verstes, wh ere I ar
riu ed th e sixt day of Decem ber.
Th ere are 1 4 . postes ca lled Fa nwes4 betweene Vologhda and
Masco,wh ich are accom pted 5 00. verstes asunder.
Th e 10. day of D ecem ber, I was sent for to th e Em perorsCastle by th e say d Em perou r, and deliu ered m y letters vnto
the Secretarie, 5 wh o ta lked with m e of diuers m a t ters, by th ecom m andem ent of th e Em perou r. And after th a t m y letterswere transla ted , I was answered th a t I was welcom e, and
th a t th e Em perou r would giu e m e th a t I desired .
1 D ubna (D owbnay)is m arked “D oobna on th e French m ap
a river of th e sam e nam e divides th e Governm ents ofVladim ir andMosco .
2 Godoroke (Gorodok)a lso finds place on th e French m ap, and,
doubtless,m arks th e site of an old f ort .
3 Ozvcha y , evidently th e Ou tsch a R iver (near Pushkino)of Frenchm ap, exactly 25 versts from Mosco —C .
4 Th e Tartar word Ya m (“Yanne of th e text)h as been entire lysuperseded by th e Western European potch t (posh ta , post), th ough preserved in y a m stchik
,or posta l driver. The Russian posting system
was entirely m odelled a f ter th a t of th e Tartars,th ough th e words
h ave been m odern ised,or
,if we m ay so term it , E urop ea nised. An
a ccount of th e Ya m s,a s preva il ing in Ch ina in th e Middle Ages, w ill
be found in Colonel Yule ’s Ca tha y a nd the Wa y Th ither,from th e
narra tives of Friar Odoric and Sh ah Rukh ’s am ba ssadors . A com
parison of th ese w ith experiences o f Russian posting sh ows h owclose a resem blance there is ; even th e m ode of carrying expressde spa tch es by estaf ette com pletely an swers to th e kidij
’cl of th e
Tartars,except th a t instead of foot-runners
,fleet h orses are kept a t
every sta tion , wh ose riders,wh en carrying im portan t despa tch es, never
draw th e re in from one end to th e oth er of th e stage , a veraging abouttwelve to fifteen m iles . R ailways and telegraph s are, of course , revolu tionising com m un ica tions
,but th e old style of travel is be ing intro
du ced into Centra l Asia , wh ere th e locom otive h a s not y et h ad tim e
to penetra te . The etym ology o f th e word “ y am ” is from th e Ch inesey é
-m a,t .e.
,h orse-post—Ca thag/ a nd the Wa y Thither, ccii, 137 -39 .
5 Jenkinson does no t say wh o th is secretary wa s, but Kil lingworthinform s us th a t h is na m e wa s Eva n Meca ll awicke Weskawa te (IvanMich a ilov itch Viscova tof), wh o wa s very friendly to the English .
If a kl . , p . 301 .
RECEPTION BY THE EMPEROR. 31
The 25 . day , being th e day of th e na tiu itie,I cam e into
th e Em perours presence, and kissed h is h and , who sa te a loftin a goodly ch a ire of estate, h au ing on h is h eade a crowne
m ost rich ly decked, and a stafi‘
e of golde in h is h and,a l l
apparelled with golde, and garnish ed w ith precious stones.
Th ere sa te distant from him about two y ardes h is broth er,1
and next vnto h im a boy e of twelu e y eeres of age , wh o was
inh eritor to y 6 Em peror of Ca sa n ,
2conquered by th is Em peror
8. y eeres past . Th en sa te h is nobili tie round about h im,
rich ly apparelled with golde and stone. And after I h addone obeisance to th e Em perou r, h e with his owne m outhcalling m e by m y nam e
,bade m e to dinner
,and so I departed
to m y lodging till dinner tim e,wh ich was a t sixe of the
clocke, by candle ligh t.The Em perour dined in a fa ire grea t Ha ll
,
3 in th e m iddestwh ereof was a pillar foure square
,very artificia lly m ade ,
1 Th i s probably wa s Yuri , youngerbroth er of I van,in wh ose ch arge
h e left th e aff a irs of h is kingdom wh en h e wa s absent .3 Th e Tartar boy prince wa s U tam it
,or U tam ish Glu rei
,son of
Safa Gh irei and th e beautiful N oga i princess, Siy u nbeka . U tam it wa s
taken w ith h is m oth er a t Ka za n in 1 5 5 1 , and brough t to Mosco , wh ereh e wa s baptised in 1 5 5 2 , under th e nam e of Dm itri . He had beenpla ced on th e throne of Ka za n wh en on ly two years of age, on th e
dea th of h is fa th er in 1 549 . Th is would m ake h im ten years of age ,not twelve
,as in th e text . H oworth sta tes
,on wh a t authority I know
not,th a t th is young prince died a t Mosco on th e 1 1 th June 1 5 5 6 . I f
th is be correct, th e young prince seen by ou r tra veller in D ecem berth a t year could not h ave been U tam ish —K a ra m sin
,viii
, 99 , 102, 2 1 2,
22 1,226 H oworth
’
s H ist . of the Mongo ls, pt . 1 1 , div . i,p . 409 .
3 Th is h a ll w as th e celebra ted Gra nooita y a pa la ta , wh ere am ba ssadors and foreigners of distinction were rece ived in audience
,and enter
tained a t grea t fea sts . Th e old building, erected in th e fif teenthcentu ry by I van II I
,and designed by two I ta lia n arch itect s
,Marco
Ruffo and P etro Antonio , suffered severa l tim es from fires . I n
1 686 it was rebuilt by Prince Ga litsin ,and a fter th e grea t fire of
l 737 ‘was restored by th e Em press E li za beth . Th is h a ll wa s a lso th epla ce of a ssem blage for th e sobbri
,or ga th erings of nota bles, to discuss
a ffa irs of sta te and religion—Sem eonof,art . Mosco” ; K ara m sin
,
vol . viii, pa ssim .
BANQUET AT THE PALACE .
about wh ich were diu ers tables set,and a t th e Vpperm ost
part of the H al l sa te the Em perour h im selfe , a t h is tablesa te
‘
his broth er, his Vncles sonne, th e Metropolit a ine, th e
y oung Em perour of Casa n,and diners of h is noble m en
,a ll of
one side . Th ere were diners Am bassadors oth er strangers,a s wel Christians as Hea th ens
,diu ersly apparelled , to th e
num ber of 600. m en,wh ich dined in th e sa id h a ll
,besides
2000. Tartars, m en of war,wh ich were newly com e to render
th em selu es to th e Em perour, were appointed to serue h imin h is warres aga inst th e Lyfia nclefrs
,but th ey dined in o th er
h a ls. I was set a t a litle table,h au ing no stranger w ith m e
,
directly before th e Em perors face . Being th us set and placed ,th e Em perou r sen t m e diu ers bowles of wine and m ea dem any dish es of m ea t from h is own h and, wh ich were brough tm e by a D uke, and m y table seru ed a ll in golde and siluer,
and so likew ise on oth er tables th ere were set holes of gold ,set with stone, worth by estim a tion 400. pounds sterling one
cup,besides th e pla te wh ich seru ed the tables.
Th ere was also a Cupboord of pla te,m ost sum ptuous and
rich,wh ich was not vsed, a m ong th e wh ich was a peece of
golde of two y ardes long, wrough t in th e toppe w ith Towersand Dragons beades also diu ers barrels of golde and silu er
,
1
w ith Castles on th e bungs, richly and artificial ly m ade . Th e
Em perour and a ll th e Hall through out was seru ed w ithD ukes
,and wh en dinner was ended , the Em perour ca lled
m ee by nam e, 85 gaue m ee drinke w ith h is own h ande, so I
departed to m y lodging.
1 Th is display of gold a nd silver vesse ls, wh ich m ade so grea t a nim pression on ou r tra veller, sh owed th e exten t of Russia ’s com m ercein th ose days . Through th e Tartars sh e h ad dea l ings w ith th e
Levant,and m uch of the wea lth of t h e Indies found its way to th e
court of Mosco . But little of th i s sum ptuous pla te ca m e from th e
la tely sa cked Ka z an ,for, on th e ca pture of th is fortre ss in 1 5 5 1 , I van
a bandoned th e booty to h is arm y, reserving to h im self on ly th e crowna nd sceptre o f th e C z ars
,a nd th e na tiona l standard and cannons, saying
t h e only rich es h e cared for were “p ea ce with honou r for Russia .
K a ra m sln,viii
,1 92 .
MOSCO.
to h is pa llace aga ine , and wen t to dinner by candle ligh t , andsa te in a woodden h ouse , very fairely gil t. There dined inthe place
,aboue 300. strangers, and I sa te a lone
,as I did
before, directly before th e Em pereur, and h ad m y m ea t,bread ,
and drinke sen t m e from th e Em pereur.
Th e citie of Ma skol is grea t , th e h ouses for th e m ost part1 Jenkinson ’
s description of Mosco is som ewh a t m eagre , but h e w a sth ere on ly a sh ort tim e
,and wa s inten t on prosecuting h is j ourney
furth er ea stwards . H erberstein , wh o wa s a t Mosco in 1 5 1 7 a nd
1 5 26,on em ba ssies rela ting to P ol ish a ffa irs
,and wh o resided th ere
severa l m on th s,h a s lef t full particulars of th is city . At th a t tim e
Mosco h ad a grea t m any church es,
h ouses and cottage s, a ndinh abitan ts a h andsom e gostinny door, or ba z aar, surrounded
by a stone wa ll,stood in th e Grea t , or N ew Suburb
,i.e . ,outside
th e Krem lin . Th is, in 1 534, was surrounded by a m oa t , and af terwardsby a wa ll w ith towers, abutting on th e Krem l in on th e ea st side , andform ing th e enclosure now so well known a s th e K ita i gorod centra ltown), a nam e it received a ft erwards because of its centra l positionbetween th e Z em l ia noi gorod (earth en town , i.e.
,surrounded by an
eart h en ra m part)and th e Krem l in . Towards the end of th e sixteenthcentury
,Mosco
,w ith its suburbs
,bad a c ircu m ference of twenty
versts,or about twelve m iles th e princes and wea lthy boyards lived
inside th e Krem lin . Th e K ita i gorod wa s th e grea t pla ce of trade and
barter ; h ere , too, lived wea lthy boyards and guests . Th e B iely gorod(wh ite town)w a s th e resort of boyards
,m erch an ts
,and burgh ers,
wh ilst in th e Z em lla noi gorod lived th e bla ck, or com m on people . Th e
oldest h istorica l buildings of Mosco are th e wa lls of th e Krem lin,
with th ose of th e adj oin ing K ita i gorod, som e of th e towers,and th e
Lolm og/e m esto opposite th e Spa ssky ga te , m entioned in th e docum entsof th e sixteen th century a s th e pla ce wh ere th e people a ssem bled toh ear laws prom ulga ted and th e a ff a irs of Sta te and Church decided .
I n th e Krem lin itself are th e Terenm y dvorets,th e priva te pa lace of
th e T sars,da ting from 1 487
,restored in 1836
,a ccording to th e ancien t
design ,and the Ca th edra l of th e Assum ption , buil t by th e Venetian
F iora ven t i,under Ivan th e Th ird’s orders
,th e wa lls of wh ich h ave
survived so m ahy fires and disa sters,and a re still standing . Th ese
bu ildings m ust h ave been a ctua lly seen by Jenk inson . Of oth ers,
such a s th e Gra nooita y a pa la ta , th e grand banqueting and audienceh a ll
,m odern ch anges h ave lef t but little resem blance to wh a t they
were th en . Bu t the genera l appearance of th e city,w ith its irregular
streets,its nu m erous church es and m ona steries
,its grea t m arket
pla ces a nd ba z a ars,h a s rem a ined th e sam e—Sem eonof
,art .
“Mosco” ;[f erbcrslein
,I I ak l . Soc .
,i i,1 - 7 .
THE KREMLIN . LIVLANDEHS . 35
o f wood,and som e of stone ,
with w indowes of y ron ,wh ich
seru e for sum m er tim e . There are m any fa ire Church es of
stone,but m ore of wood
,wh ich are m ade h ot in th e winter
tim e . Th e Em pereurs lodging is in a fa ire,and large ca stle
,
walled foure square of bricke , h igh ,a nd th icke
,situa ted Vpon
a hil , two m iles about,and th e riu er on th e Southwest side
of it,and it h a th 1 6 . ga tes in th e wa ls, and a s m any bulwarks.
H is pa l lace is separa ted from the rest of th e Castle ,by a long
wa ll going north and south,to th e riu er side . In h is pa llace
are Church es, som e of stone,and som e of wood
,wi th round
towers,fairely gilded . In th e Church doores and with in th e
Church es, are im ages of golde : th e ch iefe m arkets for al l
th ings, are w ith in th e sa ide Castle,and for sundry th inges,
sundry m arkets, and eu ery science by itselfe. Also in th e
w in ter th ere is a grea t m arket w ithou t th e Castle, vpon th e
riu er being fro z en ,and th ere is sold corne, earth en pots, tubs, .
sleds,&c . Th e Castle is in circuite 2900. pases.
The cuntrie is full of m arish ground , and pla ine, inwoods and riners abundant , but it bringeth foorth good
plentie of com e . Th is Em perour is of grea t power : forh e h a th conquered m uch
,as well of th e Lg/fia nalers
,
1 P oles,
1 Lyfia nders (Livon ian s), Germ an inh abitants of Livland, one of
th e Ba ltic provinces of Russia . At t h e beginn ing of th e sixteen thcen tury
,Livland was under th e Teuton ic Knigh ts, wh ose power soon
a f terwards declined . Th ey sh owed jea lousy a t th e progress of Russia ,and thwarted h er plan s by preventing artisa ns and h andicra ftsm en
engaged in Germ any from en tering Russia and in structing its peop le .
Th ey a lso pla ced an em bargo on th e im port of arm s and m eta ls intoth is country
,a ttributing to Ivan a m bitious design s of conquest, wh ich
were not a ltogether foreign to h is policy . Accordingly, wh en , in1 5 5 4, am ba ssadors from Livon ia sued for a renewa l of th e pea cewh ich h ad la sted fifty years, I van exacted conditions ; and th ese no t
h aving been fulfilled, h e a ssum ed th e title of “King of L ivon ia ”,and
sent h is arm y to invade th is country in th e autum n of 1 5 5 7 . Af terlaying it wa ste and burn ing severa l towns, h is troops returned inFebruary 1 5 58 to Ivangorod on th e N arova . N arva itself wa s takenin th e spring of th e sam e year. Th is
,followed by th e ca pitula tion of
D orpa t and other successes,m ade Ivan m a ster o f L ivon ia
,broke th e
LETTS . SWEDES . SAMOYEDES .
Lettos,
1and Swethens,
2as a lso of the Ta rta rs a nd Gen tiles,
ca lled Sa m og/cles,3 h au ing th ereby m uch inlarged h is do
power of th e Teuton ic Kn igh ts, and opened th e Ba ltic to R u ssiancom m erce—K a ra m sin
,viii
,p . 292 , seq .
1 Lel los (Letts), a peop le of S lavon ian origin ,inh abiting Lithuania
a nd parts of L ivland . In th e sixteenth century,Lithuan ia form ed
part of P oland . Augustus, King of P oland and Grand Duke of
Lithuania,espoused th e cause of Livonia
,and encouraged th e
T eutonic Kn igh ts to,
resist Russia . H e wrote a h augh ty letter toI van
,dem anding th e eva cua tion of th e Ba ltic provinces by h is troops .
Th is dem and wa s as h augh ti ly declined by th e T sa r, wh o prepared forwar w ith P oland
,wh ich h e saw h ad becom e inevitable . Th e la n
guage of th e Letts is sa id to be nearer Sanskrit than any oth er of th e
Aryan grou p .—K a ra m sin
,viii
,p . 35 8.
2 Swetheus (Swedes). Gustavus Va sa looked w ith anxiety a t th e
increa sing power of Russia,and form ed a league with P oland,L ivonia ,
P russia,and Denm ark to oppose the ir com m on enem y
,endeavouring,
th ough unsuccessfully, to en list Queen Mary of England in th e cause ,a nd induce h er to proh ibit th e Engl ish from trading w ith Russia .
H ostil ities h aving com m enced,Gustavus th ough t to ga in an ea sy
victory . But h is troops,h aving fa iled to take a Russian fortress
,were
obliged to a ct on th e defensive,and being worsted in severa l en
counters,Gustavus m ade peace
,and sen t an em ba ssy
,com posed of h is
princ ipa l officers of Sta te,to Mosco
,in February 1 5 5 7
,to arrange
term s w ith th e Tsar.
—K a ra m sin,viii
,p . 2 7 4
,seq .
3 Sa m oydes (Sam oyedes), a people of Alta ic race,inhabiting
N orthern Russia in Europe and th e sh ore of th e Arctic Sea a s far
ea st a s th e Gulf of Ta im ur. They are a llied w ith Yak ii tes a nd oth erpeople of Finn ish ra ce
,and
,like th ese
,are becom ing ex tinct
,som e of
th eir tribes h aving lost th eirdistinctive ch a ra cteristics . Of th eir earlyh istory but little is known ; som e believe th em to h ave origina llycom e from H igh Asia , a nd to have been driven towards th e northwest of th e continent by th e Hu ns . Th is wa s th e opinion of Ca s
tren,wh o devoted h im self to th is bran ch of ethnograph ica l resea rch .
Th ough they ca m e into con ta ct w ith th e Russians in th e fifteen thcentury
,th ey h ave rem a ined to th is day singularly free from Russian
influ ences a nd Ch ristia n ity . Th ey are,strictly speaking, nom ads wan
dering from pla ce to pla ce with the ir reindeer, living in tents m ade o f
th e skins of th is an im a l , a nd pursuing th eir occupa tions of huntersa nd fish erm en . Th ey are o f m edium h eigh t, strongly built, m u scula r
,
a nd a cti ve,with fla t
,w ide faces
,large h eads, stra igh t bla ck h a ir, a nd
sm a l l obliquely -se t eyes . Th ey worsh ip idols,but acknowledge one
suprem e be ing, Sa m N u m to wh om th e ir Sh a m ans,o r pries ts
,pray .
RUSSIAN MANNERS .
At m y being th ere , I h eard of m en,andwom en , th a t drunke
away th eir ch ildren, and a ll th eir goods, a t th e Em pereursta u erne, and not being able to pay ,
h au ing im pauned h im
selfe,the Tau erner bringeth him ou t to th e h igh w ay , and
bea tes h im vpon th e legges : th en th ey th a t pa sse by , knowing th e cause, and h au ing peradu entu re com passion vpon h im ,
giu eth th e m onie, and so h e is ransom ed .
In eu ery good towne, there is a drunken Tau erne, calleda Cursem ay ,
wh ich th e Em pereur som etim e letteth out tofarm e, som etim es bestoweth for a y eere or two on som e
D uke or Gentlem an,in recom pence of h is seru ice : and for
th a t tim e h e is Lord of a ll th e Towne, robbing a nd spoiling,
and doing wh a t pleaseth him : and. th en h e being growen
th ese,too
,sh e pa inted h er fa ce and darkened h er eyebrow s
,so th a t
,to
u se th e qua int language of th e period,a m an m igh t discern th e
colours h anging on th e wom an’s fa ce “a lm ost a fligh t sh oot off” , andth ey
looked “as th ough th ey were bea ten about th e f a ce w ith a bag of’
m ea l”,wh ile th e ir eyebrows were a s bla ck a s jet . R am baud
,in h is
h istory of Russia,rem arks th a t th e custom of secluding wom en in
Russia was older th an th e Tartar inva sion . H e traces it to th e
Asiatic origin of th e S lavs,andByz an tine influence
,draw ing a para lle l
between th e gyrzcecu m of th e Middle Ages in Byz antium ,and th e terem
,
or verkh,th e upper or wom en
’s a partm ent inMosco . With out pausingto consider a subj ect of no little ethnologica l interest, we m ay
observe th a t m odern Russian travellers find a counterpart of old R u s
sian m anners and custom s in th ose preva iling a t th e courts of pettyAsia tic princes a t th e present day .
As to th e obedience of wom en to th eir husbands,H erberstein
rela tes an odd anecdote of a Germ an artillerym an m arried to a R u s
sian w ife . Th e lady reproa ch ed h er husband for no t proving h is loveby bea ting h er. H e com pl ied w ith h er w ish es
,and fina lly ou t ofi
h er h ead and legs . In England, wom en were a lso barbarouslytrea ted
,if we m ay bel ieve an old di stich :
A w ife,a span iel
,a wa lnut - tree
,
The m ore you bea t th em th e better th ey be .
Bea t your shuba ” fur overcoa t), says th e Russian proverb ,and it w ill be warm er; bea t your wife, and sh e sh a ll be sweeter.
”
Ha kl .,1 5 89
,p . 346 ; R a m ba ud, i , 31 6 -31 9 ; H erberstein
,H akl . Soc .
,
i,94 J avorsky
’
s Tra vels of the R ussia n Jll z'
ssion to Afgha nista n, vol . i ,p . 37 .
DRESS . 39
rich e, is taken by th e Em pereur, and sent to th e warres
againe, wh ere h e sh a ll spend a l l th a t wh ich h e h a th gottenby ill m eanes : so th a t th e Em pereur in h is warres is littlech arged, but a ll th e burden lieth vpon th e poore people .
Th ey vse sadles m ade of wood a nd sinewes,with th e tree
gilded wt da m aske work,and th e sea te cou ered w ith clo th ,
som etim es of golde , and th e rest iS’
aQohfl a n 1 lea th er
,w el l
stitch ed . They vse little dru m m es a t th eir sadle bowes,by
th e sound wh ereof,th eir h orses vse to runne m ore swiftly .
Th e R usse is apparelled in th is m annerzz h is vpper garm en t
is of cloth of golde , silke, or cloth ,long,
downe to th e foote ,a nd bu t teu ed with grea t buttons of silu er, or els laces of
silke, set on w ith brooch es
,th e sleeu es th ereof very long,
wh ich h e weareth on h is arm e , ruffed Vp. Vnder th a t heh a th anoth er long garm ent
,bu ttoned with silke bu ttons
,with
a h igh coller standing vp of som e colour,a nd th a t garm en t is
m ade stra igh t . Then h is sh irt is very fine,and wrough t
w ith red silke,or som e gold , w ith a coller of pearle. Vnder
h is sh irt h e h a th linnen breech es Vpon h is legges, a pa ire of
h ose with out feete,
h is bootes of red or y el low lea th er.
1 Saphia n (pronounced Safi a n), Russian for lea th er m ade fromgoa tskin .
2 An engraving in H erberstein (vol . i, p . 96)represents th e dressa nd equipm ents of th e Russian boya rd of the sixteen th century . I t s
com pletely Asia tic ch ara cter h a s been preserved to ou r day am ong th elower orders. The long upper garm en t
,or kaf ta n, rea ch ing to th e
fee t,w ith long sleeves ruffed up th e arm
,a nd th e red sh irt
,are worn
by traders and pea sants of m odern Russia . H erberstein sa ysTh ey a ll u se th e sa m e kind of dress and bodygear ; th ey wearoblong tunics w ith out folds, and w ith ra th er tigh t sleeves, a lm ostin th e Hungarian style , in wh ich the Ch ri stians ha ve buttons tofa sten th e brea st on th e righ t side ; but Tartars, wh o wea r a sim ilarga rm en t
,h ave th e buttons on th e lef t side . Th ey wea r boots of a
colour a pproa ch ing to red,and ra th er sh ort, so a s no t to rea ch th e
knees ; th e soles are protected w ith iron na ils . Th ey nearly a ll h a vesh irts ornam ented round th e neck with va rious colours, fa stened w ithnecklace s
,or w ith silver or copper gilt beads w ith cla sps added for
o rna m ent ’s sa ke . (i , p .
WEAPONS . SLEDGES .
On h is h ead h e weareth a wh ite Colepecke ,1 with buttons of
siluer, gold , pearle, or stone,and vnder it a blacke Foxe
cap,turned vp very broad .
W hen h e rideth on h orse backe to th e warres,or any
iourney,h e h a th a sword of th e Turkish fash ion , and h is
bowe and arrowes of th e sam e m anner. In th e towne h eweareth no weapon, bu t one two or three pa ire of kniu es
h aning th e h a fts of th e tooth of a fish e , ca lled th e Morse.
2
In th eWinter tim e ,the people tra uell with sleds, in Towne
and Countrey ,th e way being h ard, and sm ooth with snow
th e wa ters a nd riu ers are al l froz en ,and one h orse with a
sled,w il l draw a m an vpon i t 400. m iles
,in three daies : but
in th e Sum m er tim e, the way is deepe w ith m ire,and tra
nelling is very ill .Th e Ru sse
,if h e be a m a n of any abilitie
,neuer goeth ou t
of his h ouse in th eWin ter but vpon h is sled , and in Sum m er
vpon his h orse : and in h is sled he sits vpon a carpet,or a
wh ite Beares skinne : th e sled is drawen with a h orse wel ldecked
,with m any Foxes andWoolu es teiles a t h is necke,3
is conducted by a li tle boy vpon h is backe : h is seru ants
stand vpon th e ta ile of th e sled,&c .
1 Colepecke (kolpak), a word of purely Tartar origin ,m ean ing th e
back of th e h ead,and af terwards a pplied to a covering for th e
h ead ; it corresponds with th e Russian shapka (probably Eng . sha lao,
French chapea u), and wa s appl ied to any kind of h eadgear. H erberstein (p . 106)m entions th eir wh ite peaked h a ts of felt (of wh ichcoarse m an tles were m ade)rough from th e sh op . Th e word is foundin t he nam e Kara -ka lpak”
,or Bla ck Caps
,a tribe of Mongol Turk s,
settled in th e delta of Am u -daria . See Wood ’s Shores of La ke Ara l ,
p . 189 .
2 Morse (wa lrus). P rofessor N ordenskiiild says th a t doubtless th ewa lrus was hunted by P olar tribes long before th e h istoric period,im plem ents of wa lrus-bone h aving been found am ong th e N orth erngraves . Wa lrus tusks were an article of export to L ithuania and
Turkey ; and th e Turks m anu factured of th em dagger- h andles .Vog/a ge of the Vega ,
i,1 58 ; see a lso H erberstein
,i,1 12 and ii
,1 1 1 .
3 Such ornam ents a s are described in th e text h ave becom e obsoleteso a lso is th e driving with a postillion . I t is only in the ca se of som e
grea t Church dign ita ry th a t a postil lion is used , but th is is disa ppea ring .
THE OKA. PERESLAVL - RIAZAN .
one league bey ond the sa id Collom,we cam e vnto a riu er
ca lled Occa ,
1 in to th e wh ich th e riner Mosco fa lleth, and
looseth h is nam e : and passing downe th e sa id riner Oeoa8. leagues, we cam e vnto a castle ca lled Terrenettfls/eo
,
2 wh ichwe left Vpon ou r righ t h and , and proceeding forward , th esecond day of May , we cam e vnto anoth er castle ca lledP erosla a e
,
3 distant 8. leagues, leau ing it a lso on our righ t
I van IV reduced th eir city to a sh es . I n th e sixteenth century,
h owever, wh en our traveller visi ted it,Kolom na wa s a m a stering
ground or rende zvous for th e various expedition s aga inst th e Tartars .—Sem eonof
,art . Kolom na
”.
1 Ocea (Oka)is a nam e borne by severa l rivers in Russia the m ostim portan t is tha t m entioned in th e text
,a righ t tributary of th e
Volga . Th e Oka h as a length of 930m iles,and dra in s an area of
square geograph ica l m iles . I t flows th rough populous districts , andis a va luable m ean s of com m un ica tion between m anufa cturing and
agricultura l settlem ents on its banks .Terreu et tisko (P erev itsky Torjok), a vil lage in th e Governm en t
of R ia z an,twenty m iles from th e district town of Zara isk . Th is
vi llage occupies th e site of th e anc ien t town of P erev itsk,m en tioned
in th e diary of P im en,Metropol itan of Mosco in 1381 . Ruin s of old
fortifica tions are still to be seen on th e h igh bank of the Oka.
Sem eonof,art . P erev itsky Torjok
”.
3 P erosla u e (P ereslavl , or P erey aslav l)i s th e m odern town of R ia z an,
still known a s P ereslavl -R ia z an , to distinguish it from P ereslavlZa lesski (a n te, p . a town in th e Governm ent of Vladim ir. Th e
exa ct year of th e founda tion of P ereslav l is unknown . According to anold chron icle
,wh en R om an - Igorev itch , grandson of Gleb
,wa s prince
,
Bish op Arseniu s I . la id its founda tion s in 1 1 98 A .D .
,near a lake
,with
prayers and blessing of wa ters” ; som e,h owever
,a ttribute to it a stil l
earlier existence (1095)and m ention Yaroslavl,th e son of Svia to
slav l,a fa m ous builder of ci ties
,as its founder. T ill th e end of th e
th irteen th century,P ereslav l occupied an insign ificant position a m ong
Russian cities ; but in 1 294 th ere h appened a m ira cle . St . Va ssili,
B ish op of Murom,
floa ted th ith er down th e Oka on h is m antle—a
peril ous kind of ra ft,wh ich h e wa s com pelled to venture u pon owing
to th e slanderous a ccusa tions of h is leading an im m ora l l ife brough tby th e inh abitan ts of Murom . At P ereslavl th e worthy bish opestablish ed h is see
,j oin ing Murom w ith i t . P ereslavl
,thus h onoured
,
rose to a h igh position in th e religious world, and beca m e th e residence o f th e princes of R ia z an
,wh o rem oved h ith er from Old R ia z a n .
From th a t tim e P eresla vl beca m e one of th e m ost im porta nt towns of
OLD RIAZAN . KASSIMOF. 43
h and . Th e th ird day we cam e vnto th e place wh ere OldeI teza n 1 was situa te , being now m ost of it ruined and ou er
growen ,and distan t from th e sa id P erosla ne 6 . leagues : th e
4 . day we passed by a ca stle called Tereeonta,
2 from Rez a n
1 2 . leagu es, and the 6 . day we cam e to anoth er castle ca lledCa ssim ,
3vnder th e gou ernm ent of a Tartar prince nam ed
Russia,com pletely eclipsing Old R ia z an . I t sh ared
,in com m on w ith
so m any other cities, in th e m isf ortunes a ttending Tartar inva sion s ;but
,in 1 5 64
,saw for th e la st tim e before its wa lls th e Tartar h ost
,led
by D evlet Gh irei, Kh an of the Crim ea,wh o was com pelled to retire
a f ter ravaging th e environs—Sem eonof,art . P ereslavl—R ia zan”
.
1 Old R ia za n is now m erely a village standing on th e h ighrigh t bank of the Oka. I ts ea rly h istory wa s a troublous one ,and it suffered m any a sh ock from Tartar h ordes and riva l Slavprinces . In 1 237 , Ba tu, grandson of J ingh iz Kh an , destroyed it ;and twen ty years before th a t da te , Vsevolod, son of Yuri
,Prince
of Vladim ir, reduced it to a sh es . Th ese m isfortunes,but ch iefly its
unsuitable geogra ph ica l position , caused its aba ndonm en t,and gradu
a lly N ew or P eresla vl -R ia z an becam e th e ca pita l . A ruined fortress,
defended on three sides by ram part s, on th e fourth by th e precipitousbank of th e river
,long m arked its site
,and exca va tions m ade in its
environ s during th e presen t century h ave brough t to ligh t interestingh istorica l relics of th e old princes of R ia z an . Th ese are preserved inth e Granovitay a P a la ta a t Mosco . —Sem eonof
,art . R ia z an Stara ia ” .
2 Terecou ia,on Jenkinson ’
s m ap Tereckh ou e (Terikh ovo), i s avillage in th e Spa ssky district of th e Governm ent of R ia z an
,th irty
m iles from th e town of Spa ssky . I t stood on th e Oka,near th e
m outh of th e P ora , and wa s th e site of a m ona stery referred to inth e B olshoi chertej , or grea t survey of Russia , referred to th e th irteenthcentu ry . T erikh ovo received a ch arter in 1 520.
—Sem eonof,art .
Terikh ovo” .
3 Ca ssim (K a ssim of), on th e left bank of the Oka, is th e ch ief townof a district of th a t nam e in th e Governm ent of R ia z an
,w ith a h is
tory buried,l ike its ancien t wa lls
,by Mongol h ordes in 137 6 . An cien t
gra m ota,or Acts
,refer to it u nder th e nam e of Mesch ersk ; and in
1 452 th e place m ust h ave so far recovered its downfa ll as to h a ve.been th ough t worthy a gift by Duke Va ssili th e Blind to th e Tartarprince Ka ssim ,
a s a m ark of gra titude for a ssistance rendered h im in
recovering h is Duchy of Mosco from a usurper of th e nam e of
Sh em iaka . Since th a t tim e th e town wa s better known a s K a ssim of,
th ough la terActs continue to m ention it under its ancient nam e . For
upwards of two centuries, from 145 2 to 1 6 7 7,th e Tartar princes
,or
SHAH ALI . MUROM.
Vtz ar Zegoline,1som etim e Em peror of th e worthy citie of
Ca za n,and now subiect vuto th e Em peror of Russia . Bu t
leaning Cassim on our left h a nd, th e 8. day we cam e vnto a
fayre towne ca lled Morom,
2 from Ca ssim 20. leagues, wh ere
Tsa revitchi sons of T sars)of K a ssim of,rem a ined fa ith ful adhe
rents of Mosco, and a ssisted h er in h er wars aga inst Tartars, Novgorod, Livonia , and P oland - Sem eonof
,art . K a ssim of
”.
1 Sh ah Ali is th e Tartar prince spoken of under th e nam e of Tsa r
Z ego line. H e wa s m ade Kh an of Ka z an in 1 5 1 9,but wa s obliged to
a bdica te in 1 5 2 1,owing to h is unpopula rity w ith th e Tartars . H e
th en took refuge w ith th e Russian Grand Duke Va ssili , wh o gave h imtwo town s a s h is portion . In 1 5 26 H erberstein saw h im in Mosco,and speaks of h im a s
“King Sch ea le h olding h igh position a t Court .H aving been convicted of tra itorous dea lings with Ka z an , he wa s
im prisoned and kept in captivity for severa l years , but wa s pardonedby Ivan th e Terrible
,and received a gif t of th e town of Mesch ersk
(K assim of). Twice aga in h e w a s p laced on th e throne of Ka z an,but
onl y re igned for sh ort periods . H e served th e Russians in th eir warsa ga inst Sweden ,
Livonia,and P oland
,return ing from th ese cam pa ign s
to K a ssim of,wh ere h e erected a m ausoleum
,in wh ich h e was interred
in 1 5 6 7 . Th is,and an in scription in Arabic rela ting to h im ,
are stillpreserved .
-Velia m inof Zernof,I z sledova niy a o K a ssim of ski/eh. Tsa
ria kh,pt . I
,pp . 2 7 7 - 5 58 H oworth
,pt . Ii
,div . 1
,pp . 400-34 H erber
stein,ii,134- 137 .
2 Murom,in 5 5
°
35’
N . la t .,is well situa ted on th e h igh lef t bank of
th e Oka,h ere a broad
,navigable river ; and i s surrounded by grea t
forests abounding in bees and w ild anim a ls . With th ese advantagesit h as a lso anoth er
,tha t of being th e m art or p la ce of interch ange of
th e products of th e m anufa cturing districts on th e west and th e fertile corn -producing pla ins on th e ea st . Murom is one o f th e veryoldest ci ties of Russia
,and is connected w ith h er popular legendary
h ero,I lya Murom e t z E lijah of Murom ). Th e na m e is sa id to
h ave been derived from a Finnish tribe , who founded it in th e ninthcentury
,and wh o were
,a ccording to N estor, subject to Rurik th e
Va rangian . In th e eleventh century,Murom form ed a n independen t
dukedom,and its first prince was Gleb
,son of Vladim ir
,wh o reigned
til l 101 6 . Subsequently its princes a ppear to have owned a llegianceto oth er dukes
,and in 1353, in th e tim e of th e la st of th e ir rulers
,
Yu ri -Yaroslavitch,th ey beca m e un ited w ith Vladim ir
,and were a fter
wa rds incorpora ted with Mosco . Murom wa s ravaged by th e B01gh ars in 1087 ; in 1 096 it wa s taken by I siasla f , son of ~Monom ach os.
I n 1239,1 281 , a nd 1 293th e T artars la id it wa ste ; a nd a t th e beginning
o f the seventeenth cen tury th e P oles put to th e sword wh ole su burbs
VASS IL . CHEBOK SARI .
Va siliagorool ,l distant 25 . leagues, wh ich we left upon our
righ t h and . Th is towne or castle h ad h is nam e of th isE m pereurs fa th er, wh o wa s ca lled Va silia s
,and gorod in th e
Russe tongue, is as m uch to say as a castle,so th a t Va silia
gorod,is to say ,
Va silia s castle : and it was th e furth est placetha t th e say d Em peror conquered from th e Tartarres. Bu t
th is presen t Em pereur h is sonne, ca lled Ju a n Va siliwieh ,
h a th h ad grea t good successe in h is warres,both aga inst th e
Christians and a lso th e Mah om etists and Gentils, but especia lly aga inst th e Tartarres, inlarging h is Em pyre enen to
th e Caspian sea,
2 h au ing conquered the fam ous riu er of
Volga ,w ith a ll th e country es th ereabout adiacent . Thus
pioceeding on our iourney th e 25 . day of May a foresa id,we
cam e to anoth er castle ca lled Sa bowsha re,3wh ich we left on
1 Va ssil,otherwise known as Va ssilsu rsk Va ssil on th e Sura
,a
righ t a ffluent of th e Volga), wa s built by Va ssili, fa th er of Ivan IV,in
1 5 23,wh ile a t war w ith Sah ib Gh irei
,T z arof Ka z an . Va ssilsu rsk
stands a t th e confluence of th e Sura w ith th e Volga , on h igh ground,and parts of th e old fortifica tions are still visible . I t is now th e ch ieftown of a district of th e sam e nam e included in the Governm ent ofN ijny N ovgorod—Sem eonof
,art . Va ssil” .
2 At th is period of h is reign (1 5 5 7 I van IV h ad trium ph edover th e enem ies of Russia . Gustavus Va sa
,King of Sweden , h ad
sued for pea ce Lithuan ia had renewed th e truce wh ilst the Tartarkingdom s of Ka z an and Astrakh an h ad fa llen a t th e feet of th e con
querer. By th e downfa ll of th ese Tart ar principa lities, th e Volga h adbecom e th rough out its en tire course to th e Caspian a Russian river.
I t is m ost probable”,says th e h istorian
,
“h ad I van then followed uph is victories and turned h is arm s aga inst th e Crim ea
,h e would h ave
found a th ird Ta rtar sta te a t h is feet,and thus adva nced by two cen
t u ries th e m ost glorious even t in th e reign of the Em press Ca th erineI I .
” —K a ra m sin , viii , 268-269 .
3 Sa bowshare (Ch eboksari), a district town of th e Governm en t ofKa zan
,on th e righ t bank of th e Volga , eigh ty m iles from Ka z an .
I t is picturesquely situa ted in a h ollow surrounded on th ree' sides bywooded h ills
,and suff ers in consequence from m uddy streets . Ao
cording to tradition , a villa ge of Chuva sh es once stood h ere,and
th e nam e of th eir ch ief Sh abkm ar is sa id to be perpetua ted in
Ch ebok sari”
. Th e pla ce i s m entioned in docum ents in 137 1,wh en
P rince D m itri J oannovitch wen t to th e h orde of Ma m a i . For two
THE MORDVA. 4 7
ou r righ t h and , distan t from Va siliagorocl 1 6 leagues. Th e
country h eerabou t is ca l led Jll arrloa its,
1and the h abita ntes
did professe th e law of th e Gentils : bu t now being conqueredby th is Em pereur of Ru ssia ,
m ost of them are Ch ristened , butlie in th e woods and wildernesse , w ith out towne or h abita tion .
centuries a fter th is its nam e does no t occur ; on ly a f ter th e fa l l ofKa z an is it found in th e list of fortified places garrisoned by Streltsi .Ch eboksa ri in recen t tim es h as becom e a com m ercia l town of im portance
,owing to its position with reference to th e gra in-producing dis
tricts—Sem eonof,art . Ch eboksari
”.
1 Mordovits the country of the Mordva), a F inn ish tribe ocenpy ing parts o f th e Volga provinces, and extending a s far ea st as th esouth ern Ura l andwest to th eMoksh a . At th e present da y th ey are m ostnum erous in th e Governm ent of S im birsk
,wh ere th ey form twelve
per cen t . of th e popula tion . The ir num bers in European Russia h avebeen estim a ted a t of both sexes . Jornandes, in th e sixth century ,i s th e first writer wh o m entions th em th ough , if th eir tribe Ersia beiden tica l w ith th e Aorsi
,th e first notices of th is people are m uch older,
for th ey are referred to by P tolem y,Strabo
,a ndConstantine P orphyro
gen itu s. N estor,th e anna list
,speaks of th e Mordva
,and pla ces th em
next to th eir kin sm en,th e Meri . In 1 104
,th e Russian prince
,Yaroslav l
Svia toslav itch ,a tta cked them
,but wa s defea ted w ith h eavy loss and
it wa s only w ith th e rem ova l of th e grand duca l throne to Vladim irth a t th e Russian s began gradua lly to subjuga te th e Mordva and
colon ise th eir territory . During th e Tartar dom in ion ,Russian influ
ence over th is tribe m ade but little progress a fter th e fa ll of Ka z an,
h owever, th e Mordva and th eir a ll ied tribe,th e Ch erem issi, were
com pelled to surrender th eir independence,and soon em bra ced th e
f a ith of th eir conquerors, wh o push ed th eir colon ies far in to th eirland . Th e Mordva not only learn t Russian
,but in course of tim e
forgot th eir own language , wh ich wa s only preserved in th e ir songsand by th e wom en . In som e pla ce s th ey h ave interm ingled so m uchw ith th e R u ssian s a s to be h ardly distinguish a ble from them . Th eirphysica l ch ara cteristics a re—m edium h e igh t ; fa ir or reddish h a ir; blu eor grey eyes . Th e m en are often good- looking, th e wom en rarelyI n m anners th ey are gentle , h onest, and h ospitable , but superstitious,som ewh a t dirty, and addicted to strong drinks . Th ey are a l l goodagriculturists . In dress th e m en are h ardly to be distinguish ed fromRussian pea sa n ts ; th e wom en wear wh ite linen sh irt s
,em broidered
w ith red wool, confined a t th e wa ist w ith a broad belt of variega tedwool len stuff and va riou s m eta l ornam ents h igh pointed h ead-dresses
,
em broidered and hung with coin s and beads, and neckla ces of coin sor beads—Sem eonof
,art . Mordva ”
.
SVIAJSK . OLD AND NEW KAZAN .
Th e 27 . day we passed by anoth er castle ca l led Swga sluo}distant from Sh a bowshare a foresa id 25 . leagues : we left it onour righ t h and , and the 29 . ca m e vn to an Island one leaguefrom th e citie of C’a za n
,
2 from wh ich fa lleth downe a riner1 Swga sko, on Jenkinson ’
s m ap Su ia tsko”
(Sv ia jsk), a district townof th e Governm ent of Ka z an , on th e righ t bank of th e Sviaga , near
its confluence w ith th e Volga . Svia jsk wa s founded by I van in 1 5 5 1a s a m il itary post for th e cam pa ign s aga in st th e Tartars of Ka z anand th e F inn ish tribes on th e Volga . K ara m sin
,in describing I van ’s
m arch to Ka z an in 1 5 52 , says : Le 13Aout,on apercu t Sviajsk , et ce
fu t a vec la plus vive satisfaction qu e le tz ar fixa ses regards sur cetteville na issante
,fondée sous son regne, pour a ttester les victoires des
Russes et le triom phe des Ch rétiens sur les infideles.
”Sv ia jsk wa s
once a prosperous place,but towards th e end of th e e igh teenth cen
tury it declined,its m ercan tile and industria l inh abitants h aving
tra nsferred th em selves to th e neigh bouring Ka z an . Arch aeologistsh ave supposed th a t Sv ia jsk occupied th e site of Suvar or S iva
,an
ancien t town of th e Bolgars, existing in the tenth century ; but th isis doubtful .—S hpelef skg, p . 49 K a ra m sin
,viii
,p . 149 Sem eonof
,art .
Sviajsk”
.
2 Ka z an,capita l of th e Governm ent of th i s nam e
,stands about three
m iles from th e Volga , on th e R iver Ka z anka . Ka z an,in its present
position , only da tes from th e fif teenth century ; the ruins of th e
earlier town , m entioned in Russian ch ronicles a s h aving been destroyedby th e N ovgorodian free bands in 136 1
,being situa te near Kn ia z
K am aief village , and th e n am e S tara ia (Old)Ka z an still lingers aboutth e place . Ka z an was in th ose days frequently pillaged by th e R us
sians,a nd did not becom e im portan t till a fter the downfa l l of Belgh ar.
In 1399,Ka z an wa s com pletely dem ol ish ed, and Ulu Makh m et
,wh o
establish ed th e Tartar kingdom of Ka z an,decided upon finding a m ore
suitable site for h is capita l . Accordingly, about th e year 1 437 , h efounded a new town , surrounding it w i th wooden wa lls ; and th is,underh is successors, grew in wea lth and becam e an em porium of com
m erce . Th is is K aram sin’
s version,but M . Velia m inof Zernof
,in h is
Tsa rs of K a ssim of , says Ka z an wa s not dem olish ed in 1399,but
continu ed to be ruled by its own princes till 1 445 , wh en Makh m u tek,
son of Ulu-Muh am m ed (Makh m et), f orm erly Kh an of th e GoldenH orde
,took it in wa r
,and founded th e new Ta rtar Khana t of Ka zan
(cf . K a ra m sin,v,324-32 7 V. Z ernof , i , 1 In 1 5 52 (not 1 549, a s
would a ppear by Jenkinson ’s reckon ing), Ivan la id siege to Ka z an,
persona lly conducting opera tion s aga inst th e Tartar strongh old . In
1 5 53, Ka zan was form ed into an eparchy, and its first archbish op wa sS t . Gouri
,wh ose rem a ins a re preserved in th e ca th edra l - Sem eonof
,
a rt . Ka z an
THE KAMA. PERMIA.
a place where all m erch an ts, a s well Russes and Ca z anits, as
N agay ans and Crym m es,and diu ers oth er na tions did resort
to keepe m art for buy ing and selling, bu t now it is forsaken ,
and standeth w ith ou t any such resort th ith er, or a t Ca z a n ,or
a t any place abou t it,from Mosco vn to Mare Oa spiu m .
Thus proceeding forward th e 1 4 . day , we passed by a goodlyriu er called C'ani a
,
1 wh ich we left on our left h and. Th isriner fal leth out of th e countrey of P era nia 2 in to the rinerof Volga ,
and is from Ca za n 1 5 . leagues, and th e cou ntrey
ly ing betwixt th e said Ca z a n and th e sa id riu er Ga m a on
th e left h and of Volga is ca lled Va chen ,
3and th e inh a
day , to be ca lled “Makarief fa ir (Howorth,pt . 1 1
,p . I van ’s
wars were doubtless disa strous to th e Levantine trade,wh ich form erly
pa ssed th is way .
1 Th e Kam a fa lls into th e Volga about fifty m iles below Ka z an .
I ts cou rse through th e Governm ents of P erm and Via tka is overm iles long, m uch of wh ich is navigable . I t is th e h ighway of com
m unica t ion in sum m er for th e trade w ith S iberia and th e m in ing districts of th e Ura l , and m a y be righ tly term ed “a goodly river” .
2 P erm ia h a s given its nam e t o a series of fossil iferous rocks w idelydistributed through N orth ern Europe . In anc ien t tim es it w a s knownas a country inh abited by F inn ish tribes
,precursors of th e Russians
,
th e “Biarm ar”of Scandinavian s
,th e P erm ia of Byz antine writers
,
and th e Grea t Veliki)P erm of Russian anna l ists . N estor,in reca
pitu la ting th e na tions wh o l ived to th e ea st of th e Russ,m akes m en
tion of it . Th e enterprising N ovgorodians were th e first to enterinto rela tions w ith it
,and levied tribute there a s early a s the eleven th
centu ry . In th e th irteenth century it is m entioned a s th eirdependencyin trea ties w ith neigh bouring Russian princes and it was only on th efa ll of N ovgorod, in 1 4 7 1
,th a t P erm ia was fina lly un ited w ith th e
dukedom of Mosco . I ts first Russian colonisers and defenders wereth e Stroganofs, wh o rece ived grants of land a long the Kam a . Th e
present Governm ent of P erm includes nearly a ll th e m ore im portan tm in ing districts in th e northern Ura l . These are grouped roundEka terinburg, perh aps th e m ost progressive and flourish ing of Russiantowns—Sem eonof
,art .
“P erm3 Va cken
,h ere used for Votiaken
”
,th e country of th e Vot iaks
,a
F inn ish tribe a llied with the Ch erem issi (supra , p . and am ong theearl iest inh abitants of Via tka and the country to th e west
,besides parts
of th e Governm ents of Ka z an and Orenburg. Th e Vot iaks,a ccording
to th eir own tradition s,were settled in th e Governm ent of Ka z an
,near
VOTIAKS . NOGAI - TARTARS .
bitantes be Gentils, and line in th e wildernesse with ou th ouse or h abita tion : and th e countrey on the oth er side of
Volga ouer aga inst the sa id riu er (lla m a is ca lled th e land ofChereniizes,
1 h alfe Gentils, h a lfe Tartarres, and a ll th e land onth e left h and of the said Volga from th e sa id riner vnto
Astra ca n,and so following th e N orth and N orth east side of
th e Caspia n sea,to a land of th e Tartarres ca lled Tu rkom en
,
is cal led th e countrey of Ma nga t or N agag,2 wh ose inh abi
the m odern town of Arsk,wh ence
'
they were driven out by th e Tartars. Th ey ca lled them selves Ot
”
,U t
”
,Ud
”
,or
“Udm urt”,but
were kn own am ong Tartars a s th e “Ar”
; h ence, ethnologists believeth ey m ay be identified w ith th e “Ara or Arin i”
,a lso a Finn ish ra ce
,
anciently inh abiting parts of N orth ern S iberia,and particularly the
banks of th e Yen isei . Th ese “Ara”a re supposed to h ave given th eir
nam e to th e town of Arsk,but a re now extinct
,th e ir la st l iving
representa t ive h aving been seen by Mul ler and Gm el in in 1 738. The
Votia ks,h owever
,are num erous to th is da y in th e Governm en t of
Via tka,on th e Upper Kam a and on th e Via tka rivers
,and th ey are
sa id still to num ber of both sexes . As rega rds th e ir earlyh istory but little defin ite is rea lly known
,except th a t th ey fell under
th e sway of th e N ovgorodians, wh o , in one of th e ir descents on th eVolga towards th e close of th e twelft h cen tury
,took th eir fortress of
Bo lvansky . Th e Votiaks th en retired towards th e ea st,and took u p
th eir h abita tions on th e R iver Ch eptsa . Th e Tartar Kh an,Sah ip
,
partly colon ised Ka z an with th is people in th e th irt eenth century ;and in 1 469
,Ibrah im form ed th em into bands for th e defence of th is
city aga in st th e Russian s . In th e m iddl e of th e sixteenth century,th e
Votiaks l iving near Arsk rebelled,but were reduced t o subm ission by
I van ; and in h is w ill , dated 1 5 7 2, th ey are a ssigned to h ish eir, togeth erw ith th e kingdom of Ka z an . As la te a s 1 5 82 , h owever, th ey were inarm s aga inst th e Stroganofs and th eir conversion to Ch ristian ity didnot take place til l long a ft er Jenkinson ’
s visit—Sem eonof,art .
“Votiaki
”
; K a ra m sin,viii , p . 21 5 .
1 On th e Ch erem issi, see note,p . 24 .
2 Th e N oga i Tartars derived th eir nam e from N oga i, gra ndson of
Teva l,seventh son of Juch i
,th e f ounder of th e Golden H orde
,and
e ldest son of Jingh iz Kh an . On th e dea th of Ba tu,N oga i com
m anded th e h orde of Kipch ak,and becam e so powerful th a t h is a lli
a nce wa s sough t by th e E a stern E m pire ; andMich ael P a laeologus gaveh im h is na tura l daugh ter,Euph rosyne, in m arriage . About th e m iddleof th e sixteenth century, th e N oga is were restrict ed to th e steppes
E 2
NOGAI HORDES .
tantes are of the law of Mah om et , and were a ll destroy ed inth e yeere 1 5 5 8
,a t m y being a t Astra ca n , through ciu ill
warres am ong th em ,accom pany ed with fam ine
,pestilence,
and such plagues, in such sort , th a t in th e say d y eere th erewas consum ed of th e people, in one sort and another, aboueone hundred th ousand : th e like plague was
'
neu er scene in
th ose parts, so th a t th e sa id cou ntrey of N agag being a
countrey of grea t pasture, rem a ineth now vnreplenish ed toth e great con ten ta tion of th e Russes, wh o h aue h ad cru el l
warres a long tim e togeth er.
Th e N agay ans wh en th ey fiorish ed, liued in th is m anner
th ey were diu ided in to diu ers com panies called Herds,and
eu ery Hord h ad a ruler, whom th ey obey ed as their king,and was ca lled a Murse. Towne or h ouse th ey h ad none
,
bu t liu ed in th e Open fieldes,eu ery Murse or K ing h au ing
h is Hords or people abou t h im,with th eir wines
,ch ildren
and ca ttell,wh o h au ing consum ed th e pasture in one place,
rem oou ed vnto anoth er : and wh en th ey rem oou e th ey h aueh ouses like tents set vpon wagons or carts
,wh ich are drawen
from place to place with cam els,and th erin th eyr wiu es,
ch ildren,and a ll th eyr rich es
,wh ich is very lit tle, is caried
about,and eu ery m an h a th at th e least foure or five wiu es
besides concubines. Use of m oney th ey h aue none, but doebarter th eyr ca ttell for apparell and oth er necessaries. They
del igh t in no arte nor science,except th e warres, wh erein
th ey are expert , but for th e m ost part they be pasturing
north of th e Ca spian a nd Bla ck Sea s,though still exercising grea t
influence in Sou th ern R u ssia,and extending th eir ra ids to Rez an
,and
even as far a sMosco,a s la te a s th e beginn ing of th e seventeen th cen
tury. Th eir Kh an,Yu ssaf
,renowned a s we ll for h is spirit a s for h is
w isdom,was styled by th e Sultan of Turkey
,
“P rince of Princes” ;but th e fa ll of Ka z an and Astrakh an
,disunion am ong them selves,
plagues, and oth er reverses h ad weakened th em, and th ey m igh t a t th is
tim e h ave fa llen an ea sy prey to an energetic conqueror.—Sem eonof
,
art .
“N oga i” ; K a ra m sin,iv
,ch a p . 3; viii , pp . 104
,288; Howorth
’
s H ist .
of the Al fongols, part I I , pa ssim .
THE SAMARA. SARATOF.
h ouses called P etowse,1 twen tie leagues from th e riu er Ga m a,
wh ere is grea t fishing for stu rgion ,and so continuing ou r
way vntill the 22 . day ,and passing by anoth er grea t riner
called Sa m a r,
2 wh ich falleth ou t of th e a foresayd countrey ,
and runneth through N aga y , and entreth in to th e say d riu er
of Volga . The 28. day we cam e vnto a grea t h ill ,3 wh erewas in tim es past a castle m ade by th e Grim m es, but now itis ruined, being th e inst m idway betweene th e say d Ga z a n
and Astra ch an ,wh ich is 200. leagu es or therabou t , in th e
la titude of 5 1 . degrees 47 . m inu ts. Vpon a ll th is sh ore growethabundance of licorish ,
‘
wh ose root runneth with in the ground
like a vine .
Thus going forward, th e sixt day of Iu lie we cam e to a
1 “P etowse doubtless a ph onetic rendering for R ibof tsi, “fish erm en th e Russian R and English P being interch angeable for th ereis no such place a s Petowse on th e Volga .
2 Th e Sam ara rises in th e Obech i Syrt, or genera l wa ter-partingand a f ter a course of 2 70 m iles
,m ostly through bare, treeles s
pla ins,fa lls into th e Volga a t th e m odern town of Sam ara . Th ese
pla ins form part of th e h igh ly productive , corn -
grow ing districtsea st o f th e Volga , celebra ted for the ir loess, or black earth deposits .—Sem eonof
,art .
“ Sam ara”
.
3 Th e “grea t h ill” referred to m ust be tha t on wh ich Sara tof now
stands,descending in steep terra ces to th e Volga , and partia lly
enclosed in an a m ph ith ea tre of h ills . I ts position,a bout h al f -wa y
between Ka z an and Astrakh an,in la t . 5 1
°
accords f a irly well withth e text. But in Jenkinson ’
s tim e Sara tof stood on th e lef t bank of
th e Volga , about seven m iles h igh er up than th e present site . I t wa s
only rem oved to th e righ t bank in 1 605 , probably to th e pla ce wh erethe Tart ar settlem ent of Sari -ta u yellow h ill)once stood, and,a ccording to Senkofsky , wh ere th e irch ief town Burtassof was situa ted .Christoph er Burrough s, wh o pa ssed h ere in 1 5 7 9 on h is voyage toP ersia for th e E nglish m erch ants , speaks of it a s Gu eu le (th e Uuelc or
Uca ca of writers of th e th irteenth and fourteenth cen turies), andgivest he la titude a s 5 1
°
Th ere is a village of th is nam e near Sara tof ,wh ere antiquities and coin s h a ve been dug up . Burrough s says th erewere ru in s of a ca stle stil l visible in h is day , and tom bstones w ithch ara cters and devices graven on th em . H e a lso m entions the abu ndance of liquorice —H a kl .
,1 589 , p . 441 Yule ’s Marco P olo
,i,p .
5 8 Sem eonof , a rt . Sara tof
PEREVOLOG. THE DON . 5 5
place ca lled P erou olog,1 so nam ed because in tim es past th eTa rta rres carry ed th eir boa tes from Volga vuto th e riu er
Ta na is,oth erwise called Don
,by land, when th ey would
robbe such as passed downe th e say d Volga to Astra ca n , and
a lso such as passed downe by th e riu er Ta na is,to Asephe,
Gafia ,or any oth er towne situa ted vpon Mare E uaim u m
,in to
wh ich sea Ta na is2 fa lleth ,wh o ha th h is springes in the
countrey of Rez a n ,out of a pla ine ground . I t is a t th is
streigh t of P erou olog from th e one riner to th e oth er twoleagues by land, a nd is a dangerous place for theeu es and
robbers, but now i t is not so eu ill as it h a th beene,by reason
of th e Em pereur of R ussia h is conquests.
D eparting from P erou olog,h au ing th e wildernesse on both
sides, we saw a grea t h eard (sic)of N aga y ans, pasturing, as is
abou esayd, by estim a tion aboue a th ousand cam m els drawingof carts with h ouses Vpon th em l ike tentes, of a strangefash ion, seem ing to be a farre off a towne3 : th a t Herd was
1 P erevolog, P ereu olock of Jenkinson ’
s m ap (from pereva lit, todrag a cross), is th e nam e given to a narrow neck of land betweenth e Don and th e Volga . The place referred to in th e text is a sh ortdistance from T sa ritsin
,th e term inus of th e Volga -D on ra ilroad
,
wh ere th e two rivers approa ch to w ith in eigh t m il es of one anoth er.
Christoph er Burrough s m entions Pe revolog, and says it wa s reckonedth irty versts (twenty m iles)th ence to th e Don—Sem eonof
,art .
“P erevolog”
; H a kluy t, 1 589, p . 441 .
2 Th e D on rises in l oa n -oz era I van ’s lake,a lso indica ted on
Jenkinson ’
s m ap), in th e Governm en t of Tul a . I ts source i s on ly5 86 feet a bove sea level
,and it flows through rem arkably level pla ins
inhabited for th e m ost part by th e Cossa cks,wh ose exploits aga inst th e
Tartars were a t th a t tim e (m iddle of sixteenth century)becom ingknown in Russia —Sem eonof
,art .
“Don”
; K a ra m sin , viii, p . 285 seqq .
3 Th e m anner of m oving tents on carts drawn by ca m els wa specul iar to th ose Tartar tribes who led a sem i-nom adic life on th e
pla ins of south ern and south -ea stern Russia (see Yule ’s Ma rco P olo,
2nd edit . , i, 247 , wh ere a woodcut is given). Through ou t Centra lAsia th e un iversa l practice a t th e present day is to take th e tent topieces and pa ck it on the back of a cam el or bullock on arriving a t
the destina tion , it is quickly set up,th e wom en being particularly
expert a t th is work .
tra can .
MURZA ISMAEL . OLD ASTRAKHAN .
belonging to a grea t Murse called Sm ille,1 the grea test princein a ll N aga y , who h a th slaine and drinen away a ll th e rest,not sparing his owne brethren and ch ildren , and h au ing
peace with th is Em perou rof Ru ssia h e h a th wh a t h e needeth ,
and ruleth a lone,so th a t now th e Russes line in peace with
the N aga y/a ns, wh o were woont to h aue m ortall warres
together.
Th e 1 4. day of I u ly passing by an olde castle, wh ich wasOlde Astra ca n
,
2and lea ning it vpon our righ t h and, we
1 The title “Murz a is,a ccording to Fischer, derived from th e
Arabic “Am ir Zadeh ”. I sm a el,th e prince h ere referred to
,was
broth er of Yussuf,fa th er- in - law of Sa fa Gh irei
,th e expelled Kh an
of Ka zan,and a llied by m arri age w ith Shah Ali, Khan of K assim of
,,
(supra , p . I sm ael wa s a warm a lly of Russia,h elping h er in
h er wars aga inst th e Krim Tartars and aga inst th e Khan of
Astrakh an . Af ter m urdering h is broth er Yussuf , h e wrote to th eT sar : “Your enem y is dead
,and th e people h ave elected m e by
a ccla m a tion .
”I van cultiva ted th ese friendly rela tion s
,l ike th e
pol itic m onarch h e wa s,but would not suder h im self to be styled
broth er” by a Tartar prince . I sm ael died in 1 5 63 or 1 5 64.
K a ra m sin,viii
,253 H oworth
,part I I
,1036 .
2 Old Astrakh an (or Stara Astracan of Jenkinson ’
s m ap),five m ilesabove th e new town
,stood on th e righ t bank , on Sha ria bughor
(h illock). Long before Astrakh an ex isted,in th e th ird century
,
Atel or_I til
,th e ancien t ca pita l of t h e
“
K h oz ars,stood h ere . Towards
th e close of th e sixth cen tury, th e town of B a la ngia r a ppears to h avebeen erected a t th e m outh of th e Volga th is in i ts turn gave pla ce,a t th e endof th e fourt eenth century
,to the Mongol city of Tsitra ca n,
capita l of th eir kingdom . Th e Tartars ca lled it H adj i - ta rhha n, orAdia sh - ta rkha n ; in Russian MSS . of th e th irteenth century i t ism entioned a s H oz ita ra ka n
,but wa s known to th e Georgian s a s
K hoza r. Th e Venetian envoy Contarin i (147 6)wa s th e first todescribe Astrakhan (or Citracan). H e speaks of it a s a sm a l l townseven ty-five m iles from th e m outh of th e Volga , surrounded by a lowwa ll
,w ith a few h ouses bui lt of bricks
,and a trade in spices
,wh ich
were sent to Ven ice by wa y of Ta na or Az of .
Af ter th e fa ll of Ka z an,Ya m gurch ei, Kh an of Ast rakhan
,volu n
t arily subm itted to Russia , but h e soon a ft erwards broke h is oa th of
fea l ty,a nd Ivan sen t an arm y to reduce h im to subm ission . In 1 5 5 4
,
Astrakh an wa s taken,but it aga in rebelled
,and was not fina lly
annexed by Russia til l 1 5 5 7 , th e year before Jenkinson’
s visit, wh en
TRADE OF ASTRAKHAN .
solde by the Russes, and th e rest were banish ed from the
Island . At th a t tim e it h ad bene an casie th ing to h aueconu erted th a t wicked N a tion to th e Christian fa ith
,if th e
Russes th em selu es h ad beene good Christians : bu t howshould th ey sh ew com passion vnto oth er N a tions, wh en theyare not m ercifu ll vnto their owne. At m y being there Icould h aue bough t m any goodly Tartars ch ildren, if I wouldh aue h ad a th ou sande
,of their owne fa thers and m others
,to
say , a boy Or a wench for a loafe of breadworth sixe pence in
England , but we h ad m ore need of victu a lles a t th a t tim e
th en of any such m erch andiz e. Th isAstra ca n is th e furth esth olde th a t th is Em perour of Ru ssia h a th conquered of the
Tartars towardes th e Ca spia n sea , wh ich h ee keepeth verystrong, sending th ith er eu ery y eere prouision of m en
,and
victu a lles,and tim ber to bu ilde th e castle.
Th ere is a certa ine trade of m erch andiz e there vsed, bu t
as yet so sm a ll and beggerly , th a t it is not woerth the
m aking m ention,and y et there com e m erch antes th ither
from diu ers places.
1 The ch iefest com m odities th a t the
1 The trade of Astrakh an,wh ich Jenkinson found in a lm ost a
m oribund condition , h ad been m uch larger in earlier tim es. Besidesspices
,wh ich went th is wa y to the Adria tic, silk and silken stuffs were
im ported from Tran scauca sia and P ersia,sh eepskins and woven
cloth s from Bokh ara and Kh iva . Sa lt,obta ined from lakes near the
Ca spian , wa s am ong th e m ost va luable of com m odities dea lt in,being
sough t for by m erchants from Mosco . In la ter tim es the RussianT sa rs endeavoured to foster th e trade of Astrakh an
,w ith but part ia l
success . AlexisMikh a ilovitch founded in 1 6 6 7 a com pany of Arm enianm erch ants
,and bui lt a vessel to protect th em from pira tes . In P eter
th e Grea t ’s tim e th ere were four trading com pan ies, one of wh ich wa sEnglish , but Ca therine I I abol ish ed a ll m onopolies , and declared th etrade free . N ot with standing th is enligh tened policy, the Astrakh antrade
,ha m pered by restriction s in th e ports of P ersia , did not flourish
,
and it was only w ith in th e present century th a t it took a fresh start .
Th e annua l export s,consisting ch iefly of iron andh ardware, am ounted
between 1 85 1 to 1860 to th e im port s,silk
,fru its
,and
cotton,to about but Astrakh an ’s foreign trade is m uch
exceeded by its transa ctions w ith its ne ighbours on either side
ENTRANCE TO CASPIAN . 5 9
Russes bring th ith er are redde hides, redde sheepe skinnes,woodden vessels, bridles, and saddles
,kniu es
,and oth er
trifles, with corne, bacon, and oth er victu a lles. Th e Tartarsbring th ither diu ers kindes of wares m ade of cotten wool] ,with diu ers kindes of wrough t silkes : and th ey th a t com e
out of Persia , nam ely from iS'
lia m a ckie,
l do bring sowing silke,
wh ich is th e cou rsest th a t th ey vse in Ru sseland, Orasko ,
diu ers kindes of pide silkes for girdles, sh irts of m a le, bowes,swoords, and such like th ings : and som e y eeres com e
,and
wallnu ts, bu t a ll such th inges in such sm a ll qu antitie, th e
m erch antes being so beggerly and poore th a t bring th e sam e ,
th a t it is not worth th e writing, neith er is th ere any hopeof trade in all th ose parts woorth th e fol lowing.
Th is foresa id Island ofAstraca n is in length twelu e leagu es,and in bredth three , and l ieth East andWest in th e la titudeof fortic seu en degrees nine m inu ts : we tarry ed th ere vntill
th e sixt day of Augu st, and h au ing bough t and prou ided a
boa te in com pany e w ith cert a ine Tartars and Persians,we
laded our goods, and im barked our selu es, and th e sam e day
departed I , w ith th e sam e two Johnsons h au ing th e wholech arge of th e N au iga tion down the sa id riu er Volga , beingvery crooked, and full of fla ts towards th e m outh th ereof.We en tered into th e Ca spia n sea th e tenth day of August a tth e Easterly side of th e sa id riner, being twentie leagues
Tran scauca sia and th e Volga provinces . To th e form er,corn is sh ipped
in large gu an tities from th e Governm ents of Sam ara,S im birsk
,and
Sara tof , wh ile th ese rece ive in exch ange th e produce of th e Ca spianfish eries
,wh ich are still con tinued on an exten sive sca le . Th e wh ole
va lue of th e trade of Astra kh an was estim a ted in 1 860 a t twenty-fivem ill ion s of rubles, or about Anoth er strik ing fea ture of
Astrakh an are its gardens, produc ing wa term elon s in enorm ous quantities . Th ese are sh ipped in large ligh ters to th e town s on th e UpperVolga —Sem eonof
,art .
“Astrakh an”.
1 Th e silk of Sh em akha (see p . 131)w as a t one tim e consideredth e best in P ersia , and its m anufa cture was th e ch ief occupa tion of
th e inh abitants . But th e m isera ble sta te of th e country,owing to
wars, interfered w ith t he silk industry , and closed m any of the
fa ctories—Sem eonof,art . Sh em akh a”.
DELTA OF THE VOLGA.
from Astracan aforesaid , in th e la titude of fortic sixe degrees
twentie seu en m inu ts.
1
Volga h a th seuen tie m outh es2 or fa lles in to th e sea : and
we h au ing a large w inde, kept th e N orth east sh oare,and
th e eleu enth day we sa iled seu en leagues Eastnorth east ,
and cam e vnto a n Island h au ing an h igh h ill th erein, call edAccurgarf
’a good m arke in th e sea From th ence East ten
leagues, we fell with another Island called Bawhya ta ,
4m uch
h igh er th en th e other. With in th ese two Islands to th eN orthwards
,is a grea t bay ca lled th e Blew sea .
5 Fromthence we say led East and by N orth tenne leagues, and
h auing a con trary winde, we cam e to an anker in a fa th omwa ter, and so ridde vntill th e fifteenth day ,
h au ing a great
storm e a t South east, being a m ost con trary winde, wh ich weridde out . Th en th e winde cam e to th e N orth , and we
wey ed, and set our course Southeast , and th a t day say led
eigh t leagues.
Thus proceeding forwards, th e seu enteenth day we lostsigh t of land , and th e sam e day sailed thirtie leagues, andthe eigh teen th day twentie leagu es w inding East, and fel l
1 The delta of th e Volga begins about th irty m iles above Astrakh anwh ere th e Buz an
,a large arm
,leaves th e m a in river on th e lef t side .
Two m iles and a h a lf above th is town,th e Ba lda
,anoth er ch annel
separa tes from th e Volga , and a t Astrakh an itself a th ird arm,th e
Kutum,diverges . From th is point naviga tion becom es diflicu l t
,
owing to th e num erous ch annels wh ich intersect th e delta in a ll
direction s,sh a llows and sand banks caused by th e ever- sh ifting
current .2 Th e m outh s of th e Volga are variously estim a ted a t between 80
and 200, but th ey are so con tinua lly ch anging th a t no correct idea ca n
be form ed of th eir num ber.—Sem eonof
,art .
“Volga ” .
3 D oubtless A lc-K urgha n wh ite h ill). Th e term inology of th eC aspian h a s com pletely ch anged since Russian Cossa cks gave new
nam es to islands,bays
,and prom ontories
,discarding Tartar appel
la t ives.
4 On Jenkinson ’s m ap, Boghna t a .
5 The S iny e Moo l ittle blue sea)of Russian m a ps, a w idebay to t h e north -ea st o f th e Volga estuary .
sARAic’
.
chicks,
1subiect to th e a foresayd Ta rtar prince calledMurse
Sm ille, wh ich is now in friendshippe with th e Em perour of
Russia . Heere is no trade of m erch andize vsed,for th a t th e
people h aue no vse of m oney ,and are all m en of warre
,and
pasturers of ca ttell , and giu en m uch to th eft and m urth er.
Thus being at an anker aga inst th is riu er Yake,and a ll ou r
m en being on lande, sau ing I , who lay e sore sicke, and fiu e
Tartars,wh ereof one was repu ted a h oly m an ,
because h eecam e from Mecka
,there cam e vuto vs a boa te with th irtie
m en wel l arm ed and appoynted,who hoorded vs, and beganneto en ter in to our barke, and our h oly Tartar cal led Azy ,
2
perceiu ing th a t, asked th em wh a t th ey wou ld h aue,and
with all m ade a pray er : with th a t th ese rou ers stay ed , decl aring th a t th ey were Gentlem en, banish ed from th eyr countrey ,
and ou t of liu ing,3and cam e to see if th ere were any Ru sses
or oth er Christians (wh ich th ey call Capha rs)in our barketo wh om th is Az ie m ost stou tly answered
,th a t th ere were
none, au owing th e sam e by grea t othes of th eir lawe, (wh ich
ligh tly they will not breake)wh om th e rou ers beleeu ed,and
1 Saraich ik (“Th e Litt le Pa lace about forty m iles up th e Ura l
,was
vi sited in 1338 by P a sca l of Vittoria,a Franc isca n m onk . H e wen t
th ere by wa ter in twelve days from Sara i on th e Volga . Saraich ik
was,in th e la tter h a lf of the sixteen th cen tury, th e h ead quarters of
th e N oga i Tartars, and P rince I sm ael,as m ay be inferred from
th e text,h ad h is residence th ere . The ruins of th is town were
seen by P a lla s in 1 7 69,and bricks of wh ich it wa s built were used in
building th e town of Gu rief and neighbouring Cossack sta tions .Ca tha y a nd the Wa y Thither
,H akl . Soc .
,pp . 234
,287 , 288 ;
Sem eonof,
art .
“Sara ich ikofska ia stan itsa” ; Ara lo-K a spia n E xp .
B ogda nof , pt . I , p . 4 .
2 Azy” is evidently intended for “Hadp a title given to Muh am
m edan pilgrim s t o Mecca .
3 Th ese “banish ed gentlem en” were probably usurpers or defea ted
riva ls and enem ies of reign ing Khans . H aving fled for sa fety to th esteppe
,th ey supported th em selves and th eir followers in th e best way
th ey could . “Caph ars eviden tly from th e Arabic K af er, an un
believer,i.e.
,in Muh am m ed . Th e inciden t is curious
,a s Jenkinson
and h is party were pa ssed off by th e H adj i as good Mussulm ans .—C .
NORTH - EAST SHORE OF CASPIAN .
Vpon h is wordes departed . And so through th e fidelitie of
th a t Ta rtar, I w ith al l m y com panie and goods were sau ed,
and our m en being com e on boorde,and th e winde fa ire
,wee
departed from th a t pla ce, and winding East and Sou th east ,th a t day being th e second of August sa iled 1 6 . leagues.
Th e 21 . day wee passed ouer a bay of 6 . leagues broade,1
a nd fell with a Cape of land , ha u ing two Islands a t th e
Sou th east part th ereof, being a good m arke in th e sea and
doubling th a t Cape th e land trended N ortheast, and m aketha noth er bay ,
in to wh ich falleth th e grea t riner Yem ,
2spring
ing out of th e land of Colm a cke.
Th e 22. 23. and 24. day es, we were a t an ancre .
3
Th e 2 5 . th e w inde cam e fa ire, and we sa iled th a t day 20.
leagues, and passed by an Island of low land ,4 and therea bout are m any fla ts and sands : and to the N orthward of
I Probably th e w ide but sha llow bay of B iely (wh ite)I lm eu,ea st of
th e m outh s of th e Ura l . Furth er ea st, low, fla t spits of land followin succession , runn ing far out to sea
,part ly below
,part ly above th e
surfa ce of th e wa ter. In com paring Jenkinson ’s narra tive with m odern
surveys of th e Ca spian , it sh ould be rem em bered th a t upwards of threecenturies ha ve intervened, and th a t the gradua l desicca tion wh ich h asbeen going on through out th is tim e h a s wrough t a grea t ch ange inth e configura tion of the north ern and north -ea stern shal low coa sts ofth is sea .
2 Th e estuary of th e Em ba is in 46 ° 30' N . lat . Th is river is nowlost in th e sand long before rea ch ing th e Ca spia n . How long ago itsm outh wa s desiccated it is im possible t o say , for th e oldest fish erm en
h ave no traditions of an outfa ll h ere in to th e sea , and a dense growthof reeds now covers its estuary . Th e Em ba rises in 49° N . lat . in th e
south ern offshoots of th e Ura l range, a country form erly inh abitedby Ka lm uks
,but now com prised in the territory of th e K irgh iz of
th e Lesser H orde, and included for adm in istra tive pu rposes in th e
Turga i district of th e Governm ent of Orenburg .—Sem eonof
, art .
“Em ba R uss. S urvey of Ca sp ia n , 1 87 5 , p . 30.
3 Off th e m outh , or wh a t h ad been th e m outh,of th e Em ba .
4 P erh aps Lebiaj i (Swan), one of th e num erous low,sandy islands
off th e entrance to M'
ertvi K u ltu k dead gulf), th e “grea t ba y ”
of th e text . N ear th e end of th is island th e coa st h a s a south -westerlydirection
,and form s, with B usa tchi pen in sula
,K a ida k inlet .
MANGISHLAK PEN INSULA.
th is Island there goeth in a grea t bay , bu t wee set off fromth is Island , and winded Sou th to com e into deepe wa ter,being m uch troubled with sh oalds and fla ts
,a nd ranne th a t
course 10. leagues, th en East Sou th ea st 20. leagues, and felwith th e m a ine land
,being full of copped h ils
,and passing
along th e coast 20. leagues, th e furth er we sailed , th e h igh erwas th e land .
Th e 27 . day we crossed ouer a bay ,
1 th e Sou th sh oare beingthe h igh er l and , and fell w ith a h igh point of
'
land : and
being ou erthwart th e Cape, th ere rose such a storm e a t th e
East, th a t we th ough t verily we sh ould h aue perish ed : th isstorm s con tinued 3. day es. From th is Cape we passed to a
port called llf a ny oslau e.
2 Th e place wh ere wee sh ould h auearriued a t the South erm ost part of th e C a spia n Sea
,is 1 2 .
leagues with in a bay : but wee being sore torm en ted,and
tossed with th is foresa id storm s, were drinen vnto a noth erland on th e oth er side th e bay , ou erthwart th e sa id Ma n
gosla u e being very lowe land, and a place as well for th e ill
Probably Kosh ak Ba y , form ed by Bu sa tch i andMangish lak pen insula s . Th e bay is eigh teen m il es long and a bout seven m iles widea t its entrance . I ts north sh ore is low
,clayey
,and fla t
,be ing h ardly
nine feet above th e sea,wh ilst on th e south it is bordered by a ch a in
of h ills intersected by two or three sm a ll ravines and a w ide va lley .N ear th e entrance to Kosh ak Bay , ea st of th e prom on tory
,wa s
form erly th e port of Mangish lak—Ru ss. S urvey of Ca spia n , pp .
2 “Mangish lak com posed of two words,WIa ngu and K ish la k,signi
fy ing th e village or abode of th e Mangyt or N oga i Tarta rs, i s th ena m e of a pen in sula on th e ea st coa st of th e Ca spian . Th e porth ere was th e point of departure for cara vans of Russian tradersbound for Kh iva
,and for a long wh ile Fort N ovo-Alexandrofsk ,
erected on th is peninsula,served Russia a s a f ooth old in Turkom an
territory,and a ba se for m il itary opera tion s . More recen tly , a s h er
influence extended f urther south,oth er points on th e ea st coa st were
found m ore suitable for th ese purposes, and th e fort lost m uch of
its im portance . I t w il l be rem em bered th a t Lom akin’
s detachm entm arch ed from th is pla ce aga inst Kh iva in 1873, and th e nam e is stillreta ined a s th a t of a large m ilitary district .
PAYING TOLL .
waigh t of ours, wee agreed to giuc three h ides of Ru ssia ,
and foure wedden dishes, and to th e Prince or gou ernour of
t he sa ide people one ninth and two seu enth s,l N am ely ,
9 .
seu eral l th ings, and twise 7 . seu erall th ings : for m oney th eyvss none.
And thus being readie, th e foureteenth of Septem ber weedeparted from th a t place, being a Ca ra u a n of 1 000. cam els.
And h au ing tra u a iled fiu e day es iourney ,wee cam e to anoth er
Princes D om inion ,and vpon th e way th ere cam e vnto vs
certaine Ta rta rs a h orsebacks,being wel l arm ed, and
seru ants vnto th e sa id Prince ca lled Tim or Solta n ,
2gou ernour
of th e sa id Cou ntrey of Ma ngosla u e, wh ere we m ent to h auearriu ed and disch arged our barke if th e grea t storm e aforesa id h ad not disappoin ted . Th ese foresa id Ta rtars stay edour Oa ra u a n in th e nam e of th eir prince, and opened ou r
wares, and tooke such th ings as th ey though t best for th eirsaid prince w ith out m oney , bu t for such th ings as th ey tookefrom m e
,wh ich was a nin th
, (after m uch dissension)I riddevnto the sam e Prince, a nd presented m y selfe before him ,
requesting his fau our, and pasport to trau aile through h iscou ntrey ,
and not to be robbed nor spoiled of h is peoplewh ich request h e grau nted m e
,and intertained m e very
gen tly ,com m anding m ee to be well feasted with flesh and
m ares m ilke : for bread th ey vss none,nor oth er drinke
except wa ter : bu t m oney h e h ad none to give m ee for su ch
th ings as h ee tooke of m ee,wh ich m igh t bee of va lue in
Ru sse m oney ,fifteene rubbles
,bu t h ee gaue m ee h is letter,
and a h orse worth seuen rubbles. And so I departed fromh im being glad th a t I was gone for hee w as reported to bee
Th ey gave th e prince nine severa l th ings and tw ice seven severa lth ings, th e num bers nine and seven being considered lucky .
Vesselof sky , note, p . 1 12 cf . Abu lgha z i, p . 228.
2 Tim our Sultan, broth er of H adjim Kh an , received as h is sh are, ona division of h is fa th er’s h eritage in 1 5 5 7
,h a lf th e town of Kh iva
a nd th e Kara -Bakaul Turkom an s .—H ist . (les Mogu ls et Ta rta rs, par
Abul Gh a z i Kh an ,D esm a ison
,p . 25 6 ; Vesselofslcy , note , p . 1 13.
CROSSING THE DESERT . 6 7
a very tyran t, and if I h ad not gone vn to him,I vnderstoode
his com m au ndem ent wa s, th a t I sh ould h au e bene robbedand destroy ed .
Th is Solta n liu ed in th e fieldes with out Castle or towne,
and sa te a t m y being w ith him,in a little rounde h ouse
m ade of reedes cou ered w ith ou t w ith fel t , and w ith in withCarpets. Th ere was w ith h im th e grea t Metropol itan1 of th a twilde Cou ntrey ,
esteem ed of th e people,as th e bish op of Rom e
is in m ost parts of E u rope, with diu ers other of h is ch iefe
m en : the Solta n wi th th is Metropolitan,dem anded of m e
m any questions, a s wel touch ing ou r kingdom s, lawes, and
Religion, as a lso th e cause of m y com m ing in to those parts,with m y furth er pretence . To wh om I answered concerninga l l th ings, as vuto m e seem ed best
,wh ich th ey tooke in good
part . So h au ing leau e I departed a nd overtooke our Cara na n,
and proceeded on our iou rney ,and trau a iled 20. day es in th e
w ilderness from th e sea side w ith ou t seeing towne or h abitation
,cary ing prou ision of v ictua ls with vs for the sam e tim e,
and were drinen by necessitie to ca ts one of m y cam els and
a h orse for our part,as oth er did th e like
,and during the sa id
20. day es we found no wa ter, but such as w e drewe ou t ofolde deepe wells, being very brackish and sa l t
,and y et som e
tim es passed two or three day es with out the sam e. And th e
day of October ensuing, we cam e vnto a gu lph e of th e
Ca sp ia n sea againe , wh ere wee founds th e wa ter very freshand sweete : a t th is gu lph e the custom ers of th e king of
Turkom a n m et vs,wh o tooke cu stom e of eu ery 25 . one, and
7 . nin th es3 for th e sa ide king and his brethren, wh ich being
1 By “Metropolitan m ust be understood th e Sh eik u l I sla m,or
som e oth er grea t dign itary of th e Moh am m edan world. Th e title isrepeated a fterwards in speaking of Bokh ara (see p .
2 Probably a m isprin t for 3,as th ey departed on th e 4th . (See
3 An error h as crept in h ere, probably ow ing to th e ignorance of th e
C t al A “S dtranscriber of on r sran m anners. even an runs were,as
w e h ave rem arked (note p . th e lucky num bers th e tax,th erefore,
F 2
MISTAKEN GEOGRAPHY . HADJIM KHAN .
receiued th ey departed, and we rem ained th ere a day afterto refresh ou rselu es.
N ote th a t in tim es past th ere did fa l in to th is gulfe1 y °
grea t riu er Oxu s, wh ich h a th h is springs in th e m ountaines
of P a raponisus in I ndia ,
2and now com m eth not so farre
,bu t
fa lleth into anoth er riner cal led Ardoeke,wh ich runneth
towards th e N orth,and consum eth h im self in th e ground ,
passing vnder ground aboue m iles, and th en issu eth
out aga ins and fa lleth into th e lake of K itba g.
We h aning refresh ed ourselu es a t th e foresaide gulfe,
departed th ence th e 4 . day of October, and th e 7 . day arriu ed
a t a Castle ca lled Sellizu re,wh ere th e king (call ed Az im
Ca n)4 rem a ined with 3. other of h is brethren and th e 9 . day
levied in th is instance was one in twenty-five,or four per cent . , and
in addition,a s presents for th e Sultan and h is brethren
,seven severa l
th ings and n ine severa l th ings—Vesselof sley , note on p . 1 1 5 .
1 Th e early com m enta tors of Jenkinson were sorely puz z led w ithth i s “gulf”, and decided th at it m ust h ave been Kara buga z , to wh ichth ey were obliged to give a m uch grea ter exten sion ea stward th an i tever a tta ined. R ecent surveys h a ve com pletely dispell ed th ese erroneou s conclusion s
,in sh owing th a t th e fresh -wa ter” gulf rea ch ed by
Jenk inson on th e 1 4th Septem ber was no gulf a t a ll,but Lake Sari
Kam ish,at th a t tim e un ited w ith th e Am u daria
,and occupying a
far m ore extensive area th an a t presen t . E ven a t th is day a n
occa siona l overflow from th e Oxus finds its way in to Lake SariKa m ish . (See infra , p . 7 4, note .)
2 P araponisi m ontes of Jenkinson ’s m ap, P aroponisu s of P tol .
,Bk .
V I,cap. xi
,th e m odern H indu Kush .
—C .
3 In H a kluy t, 1 5 98, f . 329,th ese figures are corrected to 5 00.
La ter on,h e writes th a t th e Ardocke flows ou t of th e Oxus . (See
infra ,p .
4 Th is individua l h as been identified with Hadj im Kh an (in RussianMSS . h is nam e is spelt A z im Can). Hadj i Muh am m ed Kh an , or
H adjim Khan ,son of Ogotai, wa s ra i sed to th e throne, or, strictly
speaking, to th e Wh ite Carpet, in 965 of th e H egira (AD . a t th e
age of 39,andreigned till 1 602 . H e h ad five bro thers Mahm ud Su l
t an,Pulad Sul tan
,T im ur Sultan
,Alla -Kuli Sultan
,and Suleim an
Sultan . H adjim Kh an received a s h is a ppana ge th e town of Ve z ir,wh ile Alla Sultan h ad U rgendj , Kil t, and H a z arasp.
—Vesselof sky , pp .
1 10- 1 1 6 A bu lgha z i, p . 253.
ALI SULTAN .
h igh ,a nd the gra ins like rice
,wh ich groweth a t th e toppe of
th e cane l ike a cluster of grapes : the wa ter th a t seru eth all
th a t Cou ntrey is drawen by dich es ou t of th e riu er Oxu s,
vnto th e grea t destruction of th e sa id riner,for wh ich cause
it falleth not in to th e Ca spian sea as it h a th done in tim es
past, and in sh ort tim e a ll th a t lande is like to be destroy ed,
and to becom e a wildernes for wan t of wa ter,wh en th e riner
of Oxu s sh al l faile.
l
The 1 4 . day of the m oneth we departed from th is Castleof Sell izure, and th e 1 6 . of the sam e we arriued a t a citie
called Vrgense,2 wh ere we pay de cu stom e a s well for ou r
owh e heads, a s for our cam els and h orse . And h aning th eresoiou rned one m oneth ,
a ttending the tim e of our furth ertrau a ile, th e king of th a t Cou ntrey ca lled Aly Solta n ,
3 bro th erto th e fore nam ed Azym Ca n
,returned from a towne ca l led
Coroz a n with in the borders of P ersia,wh ich h ee la tely had
conquered from th e P ersia ns, with wh om e h ee and th e
rest of the kings of Ta rta ria h a ve continu a l l warres.
Before th is king also I was com m aunded to com e,to
wh om e I likewise presen ted th e Em pereurs letters of
grows to a h eigh t of ten feet . Wh en ground into flour,sorgh o serves
as food for m an h orses ea t th e gra in a s readily as barley,ca ttle feed
upon its green sta lks, and sh eep on its leaves . Wh en dried, th e strawm akes excellent fuel . A field of sorgh o, carefully m anured and irriga ted , will yield from 50 to 1 60- fold .
—K ostenlco,pt . 1 1 1
,p . 20.
1 Jenkinson ’
s words were prOph etic . Th e environs o f Ve z ir h avelitera lly becom e a wilderness
,and noth ing is left of th e town but som e
ruins .2 Jenkin son distinguish es between U rgendj and Sell iz ure , ca lling thela tter a
“ca stle”,th e form er a city or town
,a s th ough it were th e
m ore im porta nt pla ce of th e two but Sel liz ure Vez ir)wa s th eresidence of H adjim Kh a n ,
and th eref ore th e ca pita l,wh ile Urgendj ,
m ore centra lly situa ted and larger, m igh t ea sily h ave been m istakenfor th e principa l town .
—Vesselof sky , note , p . 1 1 .
3 Ali Sultan frequently m ade ra ids into Kh ora ssan,th e province
th ere is no town of th is nam e (Vesselof s/cy , p . 1 1 7,note). On som e
old m a ps,h owever
,th e na m e a ppears w ith reference to a town
,and
on Jcnk inson’
s,Corassa n pa rva a nd m agnu occur.
—C .
URGENDJ. 7 1
Ru ssia,and h e interta ined m e well
,and dem a u nded of
m e diners questions, and a t m y departure ga ue m e h is
letters of safe conduct .Th is Citie or towne of Vrgence1 standeth in a pla ine ground ,
with wa lles of earth , by estim a tion 4 . m iles about it . The
bu ildings with in i t are a lso of earth , but ruined and out of
good order : it h a th one long streete th a t is cou ered aboue,wh ich is th e place of th eir m arket . I t h a th bene wonne and
1 Urgendj , now known a sKunia (Old)Urgendj, becam e th e ca pita l ofK warezm a fter Ve z ir wa s no longer h abita ble , and long before Kh ivarose to be th e principa l city of th e Kha na t . Urgendj owed its firstf ounda tion to th e Arabs
,sh ortly a fter th e ir inva sion of th is country .
Th ey took F il , a town on th e righ t bank of th e Jih un,or Oxus
,
m entioned by h istorians under th e nam e of E l Manz ura,a nam e by
wh ich it ca m e a f terwards to be known . But th e river,ever encroa ch
ing on its righ t bank andunderm in ing th eir town , caused its in ha bita n tsto rem ove to th e opposite bank and build a new town
,wh ich th ey
ca lled Urgendj , or Gu rgandj . Dim esh aki,an Arab geogra pher of th e
fourteenth century,describes it a s noth ing m ore th an a vi llage a t first
,
but a f terwards a town known am ong Arabs a s E l -D jordjaniy a . Ibn
Ba tu ta proceeded th ith er from Saraich ik,a ccom plish ing th e distance
in th irty days . D own to th e m iddle of th e sixteenth century,or a few
years antecedent to Jenkinson ’
s visit,U rgendj continued to be a pla ce
of im port ance . A caravan road connected it with th e Ca spian a t
Ba lkh an Bay ,th e Oxus flowed pa st its wa lls, anda ccording to Abu lgh a z i,fields
,vineyards
,and gardens continued un interruptedly on e ith er
bank a s far a s th e Ca spian,in to wh ich th is river th en disch arged, th e
riparian districts being inh abited by Turkom ans of th e Adakli~Kh iz ir,
Ali,and Tivedji tribes . But about 1 5 7 5 th e Am u daria worked a n ew
ch annel for itself opposite th e tower of Khast,a t a pla ce nam ed Ka ra
U igh urTuka i , and flowed towa rds th e fortress of Tuk,debouch ing into
th e Ara l,ca lled by Abu lgh a z i Sea of Syr, probably a t Aibugh ir Bay .
Ow ing to th is ch ange , th e neigh bourh ood of U rgendj beca m e in courseo f tim e a w ilderness
,th ough for m any years a fter th e even t recorded
took place,and even wh en Urgendj itself was deserted by its popu l a
tion , crops were sown and h arvested in th e fruitful tra cts,fertilised
by th e overflow of sum m er floods,and th e Kh an w ith h is followers
would,a t certa in sea sons
,takes u p h is abode near U rgendj , and
superintend h arvesting opera tions . T uk lay north of t rst, a nd
north—ea st of U r'
gendj , a t a distance of a few h ours ’ ride—Abu lgha z i,p . 22 1 .
TARTAR‘ PRINCES .
lost 4 . tim es w ith in 7 . y eeres by ciu ill warres,
1 by m eaneswhereof th ere are bu t fewe m arch ants in it, and th ey verypoore
,and in a ll th a t towne I cou ld not sell aboue 4 . carseis.
Th e ch iefest com m odities th ere solde,are such wares as com e
from Bogha r, and ou t of P ersia ,bu t in m ost sm all qu antitie
not worth th e writing. All th e land from th e Ca spia n sea toth is Citie of Vrgence, is ca lled the lande of Tu rkeina n ,
and is
subiect to th e saide Az im Can , and his brethren wh ich be
5 . in mem ber,
2a nd one of th em h a th th e nam e of th e chiefe
king ca lled Ca n ,but h e is litle obey ed saning in h is owns
D om inion,and where h ee dwel leth : for eu ery one will be
king of h is owne portion ,a nd one broth er seeketh a lway es to
destroy a nother,h au ing no na tura l loue am ong th em ,
by
reason th a t th ey are begotten of diu ers wom en ,
3a nd com
m ouly th ey are th e ch ildren of slanes, eith er Christians or
Gentiles,wh ich th e fa th er doeth keepe as concubines, and
onery Ca n or Su lta n ,h a th a t th e least 4 . or 5 . wiu es, besides
y ong m aydens a nd boy es, l iu ing m ost v iciously ,and wh en
there are warres betwixt th ese brethren , (as th ey are seldom e
with out)h ce th a t is ou ercom e if h ee be not slaine,fl ieth to
th e fielde with such com panie of m en aswil l fol lowe h im , and
th ere liu eth in th e w ildernesss resorting to wa tering pla ces,a nd so robbeth and spoy leth as m any Ca ra u a ns of March an tsand oth ers as th ey be able to ou ercom e, con tinuing in th issort h is wicked life, vn till such tim e as h ee m ay get powerand ayde to inu ade som e of h is brethren aga ine . From th e
Ca spia n sea vnto th e castle of Sellizur a foresa id,and a ll th e
Cou ntreis about th e sa id sea , th e people line without towneor habita tion in th e wilde fieldes, rem oou ing from one place
to a no ther in grea t com panies with th eir ca ttle, whereof they
1 Th ese civil wars were probably fough t between Al i Sultan and
h is broth ers .3 See a nte
,note
,p . 68.
3 Two sons , H adjim a nd Mah m ud,were born of one m oth er
,and
two,P u lad a nd T im ur
,o f another.
—A bu lgba z i, p . 253.
TARTAR MANNERS . ARDOK .
sam e : th ey ha ve no riu ers nor pla ces of wa ter in th iscou ntrey ,
vn til y ou com e to the foresa id gulfe, distant fromthe place of our lading 20. day es iou rney , except it be inwels
,th e wa ter wh ereof is sa l tish
, y et distan t th e ,one
from th e oth er two day es iourney and m ore. Th ey ca teth eir m ea te vpon th e ground , sitting with th eir leggs doublevnder them , and so a lso when th ey pray . Arte or scienceth ey h aue none
,but liu e m ost idlely , sitting round in
grea t com panies in th e fields,deu ising, and ta lking m ost
va inely .
l
The 26 . day of N ou em ber, wee departed from th e towne of
Vrgence, and h aning tra u a iled by th e riner Oxu s 1 00. m ile,
we passed ouer anoth er grea t riu er called Ardoeke,wh ere we
pa id a certa ine petie custom e. Th is riner Ardoeke2 is grea t,
1 Thi s description of th e Tartars m a y serve a t th e presen t da y a s a
true picture of the m anner in wh ich th e sem i-nom adic tribes peoplingth e steppes of Centra l Asia pa ss th eir tim e
,except wh ere th ey h ave
fa llen under the im m edia te influence of Russian m a sters .2 Th is Ardock
”wa s long a puz z le to com m en ta tors til l recent
surveys in th e Am u da ria delta threw new ligh t on th e subject,and
e lucida ted th e fact th a t the grea t and swiftly flowing river crossed byJenkinson w as none oth er th an th e Am u daria . P ossibly Ardok wa sh is rendering of Ta ldy le (stra igh t)or Ta lry le, th e loca l nam e of itswestern and oldest arm as it flowed north of Kunia U rgendj into th eAra l Sea . Jenk inson ’
s Oxus”,a long wh ich h e travelled 100 m iles
,is
th e K unia da ria (old river)or da ria ly k, join ing th e Am u daria Opposite Sh eikh -Abba s -Ali
,and represen ting the Ca spian arm of th is river
,
wh ich in h is tim e h ad cea sed to flow con tinuously into Lake SariKa m ish . Th e Ara l Sea is conspicuous by its absence both from textand m ap, evidently proving th a t ou r tra veller was under th e influenceof erroneous idea s preva lent in Western Europe on th e geogra phy ofth ese countries for th ough P tolem y and h is copyists inserted on th eirm a ps an Or ia na s lucu s abou t th e place wh ere one would look for th eAra l
,th ey gave no rela tive im portance to it
,and m ade a ll th eir rivers
debouch in the Ca spian,wh ile sixteenth century cartogra phers, such a s
Wied,com pletely ignored its existence . (Cf . K a u lba rs
,pp . 446 -448 ;
Herbert Wood,pp . 1 50, 236 P tolem y , Bk . v 1 , cha p . xii and Sep tim a
Asia Ta bu la,edit . of 1 5 13; a lso m aps o f Marine S a unte 1320
,Ma r
tell i 1 495 , a ndWied —C .
KAIT on KATH . 7 5
and very swift , fa lling out of th e foresa id Oxus, and passingabout 1 000. m ile to th e N orthward , it th en consum eth i t selfein th e ground , and passing vnder th e sam e about 5 00. m ile ,
issu eth out aga ine a nd fal leth into the lake of K ita y ,as I
h aue before declared .
1
Th e 7 . of D ecem ber folowing wee arriu ed a t a Ca stle calledK a it
,
2subiect to a Solta n , ca lled Sa ra niet Solta n ,
3 wh o m en tto h aue robbed a ll th e Christians in th e Ca ra u a n ,
h ad it notbene for feare of h is broth er the king of Vrgence, as we were
inform ed by one of h is ch iefest cou nsa ilers, wh o willed vs
to m ake h im a present,wh ich h e tooke, and deliu ered :
1 Ante,p . 68.
2 Ka th (Can te of Jenk in son ’s m ap)stood on th e Y arm ish cana l
,
probably near th e site of th e m odern Ka it,or K et . I t w a s m entioned
by El -Birun i,an Arab writer of th e eleven th century
,wh ose birth
place wa s no t far OR,and h e says it la y im m ediate ly on th e lef t bank
of th e J ihun,or Oxus . An old river ch annel h a s been traced north
of Ka it in a strip of wh a t is now sandy wa ste,ru nn ing towards th e
north -west,south of th e little town of Gurlen . Th is wa s probably
th e course of th e Oxus in th e tenth and eleventh centurie s,and h ere
Ka th of ancient days m ust h ave stood on th e righ t bank of th is oldriver bed
,south of Gurlen . At present th e Am u daria is a bout
twe lve m iles dis tant from Ka it, and only approa ch es its old ch annelnearGurlen , wh en it sweeps to the righ t w ith th a t tendency to underm ine its righ t bank wh ich is so noticeable a feature in th is river.
Th ese particulars are derived from M . Lerch ’s pam ph let on th e
h istory and geogra ph y of Kh iva . Th is author h im self visitedKh iva and studied th e subject on th e spot . H e adds th a t T im ur
,
in 137 2 , undertook severa l ca m pa igns aga in st Kwarez m ,m arch ing
th ith er from Sam arkand,a nd reach ing th e J ih u n above Ka th
,a t
a pla ce nam ed Se -piye,wh ere h e in a ll probabil ity crossed to
th e left bank . One of th e first places h e took wa s Ka th . On h is
furth er m arch th ence aga inst Urgendj , m ention is m ade of th e Gurlencana l
,a s th ough th e Am u da ria flowed ea st of Ka th and Gurlen a s it
does now ; but th is w a s evidently not its course in Jenkinson ’
s t im e,two
centu ries la ter. I bn Batuta wh o travel led to U rgendj in 1340, aboutth irty years before T im ur’s first expedition
,pa ssed through Kath , and
found it th e only t own on th e road to Bokh ara —Lereh,pp
. 20-2 1 .
3 Vesselofsky suggests th a t perh a ps Suleim an Sultan,broth er of
H adjim Kh an , m a y be th e person h ere m en tioned—Vesselof sky ,p . 102 .
AN ALARM OF ROBBERS .
besides we pa ide a t th e sa ide Castle for custom e, of euery
cam el one red h ide of R ussia,besides petie gifts to h is
officers.
Thus proceeding in our iou rney , th e tenth day a t n igh tbeing a t rest
,and our watche set
,th ere cam e vnto u s foure
h orsem en,wh ich we tooke as spies
,from wh om s wee tooke
th eir weapons and bound th em,and h auing well exam ined
th em ,th ey confessed th a t th ey h ad scene the tract of m any
horsem en,and no footing of cam els
,and gaue vs to vnder
stande,th a t th ere were rou ers and th eeu es abroade : for th ere
trau aile fewe people th a t are true and peaceable in th a tCountrey ,
but in com panie of Ca ra u a n,wh ere th ere be m any
cam els, and h orsefeeting newe with ou t cam els were to be
doubted . Wh ereupon we consul ted determ ined am ongstou r selnes
,and sent a poste to th e sa ide Solta n of K a y ie, wh o
im m edia tely cam e him selfe with 300. m en,a nd m et th ese
foure suspected m en wh ich we sen t vn to h im,and exam ined
them so stra igh tly ,and threa tened them in such sort , th a t
th ey’
confessed, th ere was a banish ed Prince1 with 40. m en 3.
day es iourney forward, wh o lay inwa ite to destroy vs, if he
could,and th a t th ey them selu es were of h is com panie .
The Solta n th erefore vnderstanding th a t th e theeu es were
not m any , appointed vs 80. m en well arm ed with a Capta ine
to goe with vs,and conduct vs in our way . And th e Solta n
h im selfs returned backe againe, taking th e 4 . theeu es withh im . These souldiers tra u ailed w ith vs two dayes, consum ingm uch of ou r victua ls. And th e 3. day in the m orning veryearely ,
th ey set out before ourCa ra u a n,andh au ing ranged the
wildernes for th e space of foure h eures, they m ette vs com
m ing towardes vs,a s fast as th eir h orse could runne, and
declared th a t th ey h ad found th e tract of h orses not farre
1 Th is prince m a y h ave been Burum ,th ird son of B udju gi Khan ,
a nd brother of the sla in D ost and I sh a,concerning wh om Abu lgh a z i is
silent . H e appears to h ave h eld Kath during h is broth erBe st’sKh a nsh ip—Vesselof sky , p . 1 2 1 .
A FIGHT WITH ROBBERS .
.pray ers together eu ery one after h is lawe,professing to liu e
and die one with anoth er, and so prepared our selu es. Whenth e th eeu es were nigh vu to vs, we perceiu ed th em to be innom ber 37 . m en well arm ed
,and appoin ted with bowes,
arrowes andswords, and th e Capta ine a prince banish ed fromh is Cou ntrey . Th ey willed vs to y eelde ou r selu es
,or els to
bee slaine, bu t wee defied th em ,
wh erewith th ey sh otte a t vs
a ll a t once, and wee a t th em very h otly , and so con tinuedour figh t from m orning vntill two h oures with in nigh t , dinersm en
,h orses and cam els being wounded and sla ine on both
partes : and h ad it not bene for 4. h and gunnes1 wh ich Iand m y com panie h ad and vsed
,we h ad bene ou ercom e and
destroy ed for the th eeu es were bet ter arm ed , and were a lsobet ter arch ers th a n we ; Bu t a fter wee h ad sla ine diu ers of
th eir m en and horses w ith our gunnes, th ey durst not ap
proch e so nigh , wh ich ca used th em to com e to a truce withvs vnt ill th e next m orning, wh ich we a ccepted, andencam pedourselu es vpon a h ill
,andm ade th e fash ion of a Castle
,wa lling
it about with packes of wares, andlayde our h orses and cam els
w ith in th e sam e to saue th em from th e sh otte of arrowes :
and th e th eeu es a lso incam ped with in an arrowe sh otte a lsoof vs
,but th ey were betwixt vs and th e wa ter, wh ich was to
our grea t discom fort , because neith er we nor our cam els h ad
dru nke in 2 . days before.
2
Thus keeping good wa tchs, when h alfe th e nigh t was spent ,th e Prince of th e th eeu es sent a m essenger h alfe way vnto
vs,requiring to ta lke with ou r Captaine in th eir tongue, th e
Cara u a n Ba sha ,wh o answered th e m essenger, I will not
depart from m y com panie to goe into th e h alfe way to ta lke
1 Arqu ebu sses were th e only h and gun s known a t th is tim e .
2 Th is style of fortified cam p h as often been em ployed by th eRussian s in th eir wars w ith Centra l Asia tics
,and h as stood th em in
good stead wh en a tta cked by overwh elm ing odds . Jenkinson and h is
party m ust, h owever, h a ve been in a critica l si tua tion,cut off a s th ey
were from th e wa ter- supply .
TRUCE—PARLEYS—v—AGREEMENT . 7 9
with th ee : but if th a t thy Prince with al l h is com panie willswears by our Lawe to keeps the truce, th en w ill I sende a
m an to ta lke with th ee, or els not . Wh ich th e Prince vnder
standing a s well h im selfe as h is com panie,swore so lowde
th a t wee m igh t a ll h eare . And th en wee sen t one of our
com pan ie (reputed a h oly m an)to ta lke w ith th e sam e m es
senger. Th e m essage was pronounced a loude in th is order,
Our Prince dem au ndeth of the Ca ra na n Basha,and of a ll
y ou th a t be Ru ssa rina ns,1 (tha t is to say circum cised)notdesiring y our bloods, th a t
‘
y ou deliu er in to h is bandes as
m any Capha rs, th a t is, vnbeleeu ers (m eaning vs th e Christians)as are am ong y ou with th eir goods, and in so doing,
h ee will suffer y ou to depart w ith y our goods in qu ietnesse,and to th e con trary , y ou sh al l be h andled with no lesse
cru eltie th en th e Caph a rs, if h ee ou ercom e y ou ,as h e
doubteth not . To th e wh ich our Ca ra na n Ba sh a answered ,th a t h ee h ad no Christians in h is com panie
,nor oth er
strangers, bu t two Turkes wh ich were of th eir Laws,and
a l th ough h ee h ad, h ee woul d ra th er die th en deliu er them,
and th a t wee were not a fraide of h is threa tnings, and th a tsh ould h ee knows wh en day appeared .
'
And so passing inta lke, the th eeu es (contrary to their othe)carried our h olym an away to th eir Prince, cry ing with a lowde voy ce in
token of v ictorie, Ollo, ollo.
2 VVherewith we were m u ch
discom forted, fearing th a t th a t h oly m an would betray vs :
but h ee being cruelly h andled and m uch exam ined,would
not to dea th confesse any th ing wh ich was to vs preiudiciall ,
neith er touch ing vs,
3nor y et wh a t m en th ey h ad slaine and
wounded of ours th e day before . Wh en th e nigh t was spent,in th e m orning we prepared ourselu es to ba ttel againe, wh ichth e th eeu es perceiu ing, required to fa ll to agreem en t asked
1 “Bu ssarm anni is m ere ly a varia tion of “Mussu lm anni in fre
quen t u se am ong th e illitera te in Russia .
2 Allah !Allah !3 I .e .
,Jenkinson and th e two Johnsons.
ARRIVAL ON THE OXUS .
m u ch of vs : And to be briefe,the m ost part of ou r com panie
being loth to go to ba t tel againe, and h aning l itle to loose,safe conduct to passe
,we were com pel led to—agree, to giu e
th e th eeu es 20. ninth es (th a t is to say)20. tim es 9 . seu era ll
th ings, and a cam ell to carie away th e sam e,wh ich being
receiu ed, th e thieu es departed in to th e wildernes to th eirolde h abita tion
,and w e wen t on our way forward . And
th a t nigh t cam e to th e riu er Ooeu s,
1 wh ere wee refresh ed ourselnes, h au ing bene 3. dayes with ou t wa ter, and drinke, andtarried th ere a l l th e next day ,
m aking m erry with our sla ine
h orses and cam els, and th en departed from th a t place, for
feare of m eeting with th e sa id th eeu es againe or such like,
wee left th e h igh way wh ich went along th e sa ide riu er and
passed through a wildernes of sand,and trau a iled 4 . day es
in th e sam e before we cam e to wa ter : and th en ca m e to a
well , th e wa ter being very brackish ,and we th en as before
were in neede of wa ter, and of oth ervictua ls, being forcedto kill our h orses and cam els to ea te .
In th is wildernes also we h ad a lm ost fa llen into the
h andes of th eeu es : for one nigh t being at rest, there cam e
certa ine scou tes, and caried away certa ine of our m en wh ichlay a little separa ted from the Ca ra u a n ,
wh erewith th ere wa sa grea t sh ou te and cry ,
and we im m edia tly laded ou r cam els,
and departed,being about m idnigh t andvery darke, anddroue
sore till wee cam e to th e riu er Oxus againe,2and then we
1 Th e text does not state a t wh a t point on th e Oxus Jenkinsonarrived
,but it m ay be a ssum ed to h ave been about ha lf -way between
Kh iva and Bokh ara , probably near Fort Kavakl i, a bout 120 m ilesfrom Bokh ara by a road a long th e lef t bank of th e Am u daria .
Cf. Col . Wa lker’s m ap of Centra l Asia .
2 Jenkinson ’
s route , a ft er crossing th e Am u daria,lay up th e righ t
bank of th is river, probably to Utch Uch ak , near th e ruins of Tu nu kliu .
Here th e road to Bokh ara bifurca tes, one tra ck con tinuing to fol lowth e river
,th e oth er striking off in a north - ea sterly direction a cross a
f righ tful sa nd desert. I t wa s by th is la tter th a t Vam béry travelledwith a caravan of dervish es
,enduring tortures from th irst between
BOKHARA.
in the lowest part of a ll th e land,walled about with a h igh
wa ll of earth ,with diu ers ga tes in to th e sam e it is deu ided
into 3. partitions,wh ere of two parts are th e kings, and th e
3. part is forMarch ants and m arkets,and eu ery science h a th
th eir dwelling and m arket by th em selu es. Th e Citie is verygrea t, and th e h ouses for th e m ost part of earth , but thereare a lso m any h ouses, tem ples and m onum ents of stone
of its form er prosperity underOkkoda i, son of Jingh iz . In 1 265 it wa svisited by th e broth ers P ole
,and we read in th e book of Marco
P olo : Quant il orent passe cel desert,si v indrent a une cite
qu i est a ppelée Bocara,m oult noble et grant” (P a u thier
, p .
H ayton I,King of Arm en ia
,pa ssed th rough it on h is h om eward
j ourney and h is cousin and nam esake th e h istorian gives asim ilar a ccount of it
,for h e speaks of Bokh ara and Sam arkand a s
deux gran s et riches citez (P a u thier,p . 69
,note From th e end
of th e th irt eenth to the m iddle of th e sixteenth centuries,or from the
tim e of Marco P010 to tha t of Jenkinson,th ere is a wide gap in early
notices of Bokh ara , on ly partia lly filled by Ibn Ba tuta,th e Moor
,and
th e Span ish envoy,D on Ru y Gon z a lesde Clavij o , to the court of Tim ur.
During th e wh ole of th is period th e sta tes of Centra l Asia were tornby c ivil wars wh ich arose am ong the descendants of Jingh iz , and destroyed a ll the germ s of return ing civilisa tion in th e unh appy Oxuslands . Under th e strong rule of T im ur
,Sam arkand
,w ith wh ich were
linked th e fortunes of Bokhara,aga in flourish ed ; and h is descendants,
a fter th ey h ad been driven out of a ll th e ir possession s south of th e
Oxus,m ade Bokh ara th eir h om e
,em bellish ing it w ith m any fine
buildings . From 1 400 to 1 5 00 m ay th erefore be con sidered the periodof rena issance in Bokh ara . Th is wa s put an end to
,unh appily
,by
anoth er period of intestine orders , w ith inva sions of Kirgh iz and
Kalm uks . I t wa s not till a few years before th e vi sit of our travellertha t Abdulla Kh an , of th e Sh eibani dyna sty, took possession of th e
throne and restored pea ce and prosperity to th e noble " city. Withits si z e and f ea tures of in terest
,m odern writers and travellers
,from
Burnes in 1832 to Schuyler in 1 873,h ave a cqua in ted us . Th ey h ave
spoken of its wa lls,eigh t m iles in circuit, pierced by eleven ga tes of
its ark or citade l artificia lly ra ised in th e cen tre of the c ity ; of itsm osques, colleges, and extensive suburbs. Th ey h ave pra ised itsgardens, m arkets
,and ba th s
,and described th e extent and im portance
o f its trade . Mr. Schuyler says,you cannot wa lk the stree t w ith out
seeing th a t it is rea lly a capita l” .- See .Mey endorfi
'
, p a ssim ; Va m be'
ry’s
H ist . of Bokha ra , pa ssim ; Bretschneider, p . 1 66 ; B a rnes, i, cha ps . 9a nd 1 0 ii
,1 58 ; K ha nikof , pp . 7 9 -87 Schu y ler, ii , 85 - 108.
BADNESS or ITS WATER . 83
sum ptuously builded , and gil t, and specia l ly ba thstones so
artificia lly buil t th a t th e like th ereof is not in th e worlde
th e m anner where of is too long to reh earse. There is a l ittleRiu er running through th e m iddes of th e sa ide Citie, bu t th ewa ter th ereof is m ost vnh olsom e
,for it breedeth som etim es
in m en th a t drinke th ereof, and especia l ly in th em th a t benot th ere borne
,a worm e of an ell long,
wh ich l ieth com
m only in th e legge betwixt th e flesh and th e skinne,and is
pluckt out abou t th e a ncle with grea t art and cunning, th e
Surgeons being m uch practised therein, and if sh ee breaks inplucking out, th e partie dieth ,
and eu ery day sh e com m eth
ou t about an inch e, wh ich is rol led vp,and so worketh till
sh ee be a ll ou t . 1 And y et it is th ere forbidden to drinke any
other th ing th en wa ter,
m ares m ilke, and whosoever is
found to breaks th a t lawe is wh ipped and bea ten m ostcruelly through th e Open m arkets
,and th ere are officers
appoin ted for th e sam e who h aue au th oritie to goe in to any
m ans h ouse, to search e if h ee h aue eith er—Agu a u ita ,wine
,or
brage, and finding th e sam e,doe breake th e vessels, spoy le
th e drinke, and punish th e m asters of th e h ouse m ost cruelly ,y ea , and m any tim es if th ey perceiu e, but by th e brea th of a
m an th a t h e h a th dru nke ,with out furth er exam ina tion h ee
sh a ll not escape th eir h endes.
There is a Metropolitane2 in th is Bogha r, wh o causeth th islawe to be so streigh tly kept, and h e is m ore obey ed th en th eK ing, and wil l depose th e king, and place anoth er a t h is will
1 Th e bad qua lity of th e wa ter h as been th e subject of genera lcom m en t . Th is is led from th e Zara f sh an
,wh ich flows a t a distance
of th ree m iles from the city by a cana l (th e Sh ehr- i-rud)into reservoirs
,and is a llowed to stagnate forweeks, breeding infusoria , to wh ich
th e disea se a lluded to by Jenkinson—th e rishta or Guinea worm—isa ttributed .
2 We h ave before rem arked (a nte, p . 6 7)th a t “Metropol itan,as
a pplied to Muh am m edan dign itaries, is an erroneous term . Th e
h ighest personage in th e ir h ierarch y i s th e Sh eikh u l I slam,who pre
sides a t th e conferences of th e Ulem a s,and i s ch ief spiritua l adviser
of th e Kh an .
BURHAN KHAN . INFLUENCE OF PERSIA.
and pleasure,as h ee did by th is king tha t raigned a t ou r
being there, and h is predecessou r,1 by th e m eanes of the sa ideMetropolitan : for h ee betray ed h im ,
and in th e nigh t sleweh im in h is ch am ber, who was a Prince th a t loued a ll Christians well .Th is Countrey of Bogha r was som etim e subiect to the
P ersia ns,
2and doe now speaks th e P ersia n tongu e, but y et
now it is a kingdom e of it sel fe,and h a th m ost cruel warres
con tinua lly with th e sa ide P ersia ns about th eir religion,a l th ough th ey be a ll Mah om etists.
3 One occasion of th eir
1 Burh an,a ppanage Kh an of Bokh ara
,i s probably th e personage
a lluded to . Burh an wa s nom ina ted joint ruler o f Bokh ara w ith YarMahom m ed in 1 5 50. But h aving incurred th e disp lea sure of N avruzKh akan of Mav erannahr
,h e was deprived of Bokh ara
,and obliged
to retire to Karaku l . I n 1 5 5 7 h e took tip arm s aga in st Abdullah ,but was defea ted by th is Prince
,
-wh o caused h im to be a ssa ssinated .
Th e st ory runs th a t h e was betrayed by th e h oly h oja Inibareh, per
h a ps Jenkinson ’
s“Metropol itan”
,and m et h is end a t th e h ouse of
one Murz a Eke -bi. On th e m orrow,a t dawn
,h is h ead wa s placed on
a pik e,and sent to Abdullah —H oworth
,ii, 7 2 7
- 7 29 Va m béry , p. 284.
2 During th e Kh a lifa t,th e coun try and city of Bokh ara f orm ed
part of th e province of Kh ora ssan,and wa s subj ect to P ersian
Princes to th e end of th e ten th century, wh en ,upon t he fa ll of th e
Sam anide dyna sty , a warl ike tribe known a s the K h arluks invadedMaverannah r
,and turn ed th e tide of inva sion in an opposite direc
tion. From th is period N orth ern P ersia wa s constan tly ravaged byth e Tart ars and th eir a ll ies . But th e P ersian language, probably usedby th e Arabs in converting th e people of Centra l Asia to I slam
,i s
to th is da y spoken in Bokh ara by th e Tadj iks, a people of Aryandescent .3 Th e religious h a tred between Sunn is and Sh iah s
,th e two grea t
sects into wh ich Muham m edans were divided, increa sed the fury of
th eir an im osity . E itherparty regarded th e oth era s worse th an h eretics,and th eir fana tici sm led th em to com m it th e m ost frigh tful excesses,a s wh en th e sa cred sh rine of I m a m R iz a wa s sa cked by Abdul Mum
m in ’s sa va ge warriors, and a ll wh o sough t refuge with in its sanctuarywere indiscrim ina tely slaugh tered . Th e sh aving of th e upper l ip isreligiously practised by Sunn is a t th e present day , th e beards andends of th e m oustach e are left untouch ed, but th e part im m ediatelyunder th e nose m ust be sh aved clean—See Schuy ler, ii , 180 Va m be
’
ry ,
286 II oworlh,ii,735
JENKINSON INTERVIEWS THE KING .
looketh not to raigne aboue 2 . or 3. y eeres before h ee beeither slaine or driu en away , to th e grea t destruction of th e
Cou ntrey and m arch an ts.
Th e 26 . day of th e m oneth I w as com m anded to com e
before th e said king, to wh om I presented th e Em perour of
Ru ssia h is letters, wh o interteined vs m ost gently , and causedvs to ca te in h is presence, and diu ers tim es h e sent for m e ,
and deu ised with m e fam iliarly in h is secret ch am ber, as
well of th e power of th e Em pereur,and th e grea t Turke, as
also of our countreis, lawes, and religion ,and caused vs to
sh oote in h and gunnes before h im ,and did h im selfs practise
th e vse th ereof. Bu t a fter a ll th is grea t intertainem ent
before m y departure h e sh ewed h im selfs a very Ta rta r : for
h e went to th e warres ow ing m e m oney ,and sawe m ee not
pa ide before h is departure ;1 And al th ough indeede h ee gaueorder for the sam e, y et was I very ill sa tisfied
,and forced
to reba te part, and to take wares as paim ent for the rest,con trary to m y expecta tion
,but of a begger, better paim ent
I could not h aue, and glad I was so to be pa ide and dis
pa tch ed .
Bu t y et I m ust needes praise and com m ends th is barbarou sking, who im m edia tly a fter m y arriu a ll a t Bogha r, h au ing
vnderstoode our trouble with th e th eeu es, sen t 1 00. m en well
arm ed , and gaue th em grea t ch arge not to returns beforeth ey h ad eith er sla ine or taken th e sa ide th eeu es. Who
according to th eir com m ission ranged th e wildernes in such
1 Abdullah invaded Kh ora ssan five tim es,and was on th e point of
starting on h is first expedition aga in st th a t coun try wh en Jenkinsonwa s a t Bokh ara in 1 5 5 9 . These earlier expeditions were h ardlydeserving to be ca lled wars, th ey were ra th er a lam ane
”,or plundering
ra ids into north ern Kh ora ssan,for a s long a s Tam a sp wa s K ing of
P ersia h e wa s strong enough to protect his north ern provinces ; u ponh is dea th , h owever, in 1 5 7 6 , th a t country fell into a sta te of anarchya nd confusion , during wh ich th e Uz beks were able to take H era tand deva sta te north ern P ersia .
—Va m be'ry , p . 284 ; Howorth,pt . 1 1
,
div . 1 1, 733, sq .
RETRIBUTION . TRADE OF BOKHARA. 87
sort,th a t th ey m et w ith th e sa id com panie of th eeu es
,and
slewe part, and part fledde, and foure th ey tooke and brough tvnto th e king, and two of th em were sore wounded in our
skirm ish wi th ou r gunners And after th e king h ad sen t form e to com e to see th em ,
h ee caused th em a l l 4 . to be h angeda t h is pa lace ga te ,
because th ey were Gen tlem en to th eexam ple of oth ers. And of such goods as were gotten againe,
I h ad part restored m e, and th is good iu stice I found a t h is
h andes.
There is y eerely grea t resort of March ants1 to th isCitie of Bogha r, wh ich trau a ile in grea t Ca ra u a ns fromth e Coun tries th ereabout adioy ning,
as I ndia,P ersia
,
Ba lke, Russia ,
w ith diners oth ers, and in tim es past fromCa tha y , wh en th ere was passage , bu t th ese March antsare so beggerly and poore, and bring so little qu antitie
of wares,ly ing two or 3. y eeres to sell th e sam e
,th a t
th ere is no h ope of any good trade th ere to be h ad
worthy th e following.
Th e ch iefe com m odities th a t are brough t th ith er ou t ofthese foresa ide Countrey s, are th ese fol lowing.
1 Bokh ara owed h er com m ercia l prosperity to h er centra l position .
Situa ted a t th e cross-roads wh ere m erch ants from E a stern Asia m et
th ose from the West,and interch anged th e wares of Europe for th e
produce and m erch andise of Asia,Bokh a ra wa s a great em porium of
trade . I t a lso served a s a depot for m erch ants com ing from th e Southbefore th ey crossed th e grea t deserts wh ich intervened between it andth enorth ern countries . H aving no industries of any im portance, Bokh aradepended solely on agriculture a s a m ean s of diverting som e of th istrade for h er own popula tion
,wh ose wan ts
,h owever
,were not large .
H ence th e sm a l l exten t of h er loca l com m erce,and th e un fa vou rable
im pression it produced on ou r tra veller. Th e un settled sta te of th e
coun try and in security of th e roads m ust a lso doubtless h ave dim in ish edth e tra ffic , a nd en t irely stopped th a t w ith Ch ina . Th a t th is h ad beengrea t, m ay be ga th ered from in ciden ta l notices of earlier travellersMarco P olo, P egolo t t i, and J oh n de Marignolli. But wars and freshinva sion s diverted m uch of th e trade into oth er ch annels
,and we find
th e caravans t a king a m ore north erly route to Ca th ay via Otra r,
Ta shkend,and th e line of th e Sy r.
TRADE OF BOKHARA WITH INDIA,
The I ndia ns1 doe bring fine wh ites,2 wh ich th e Ta rta rs doeroll about th eir h eads, a nd a ll oth er kinds of wh ites
,wh ich
serue for apparell m ade of cotton wooll and crasko,3 bu t
golde, siluer, pretiou s stones, a nd spices th ey bring none. Ienquired and perceiu ed th a t a ll such trade passeth to theOcean Sea , and th e va ines where a ll such th ings are gotten,are in the subiection of th e P ortinga ls.
4 Th e I ndians cariefrom Bogha r agains, wrough t silkes,5 redde h ides,6 slau es andh orses
,with such l ike, bu t of carseis and other cloth e
,th ey
m ake litle accom pt . I offered to barter with March ants of
th ose Cou ntreis, wh ich cam e from th e furth est parts of I ndia,
euen from th e Countrey of Benga la ,th e Riu er Ga nges, to
give them carseis for th eir com m odities,but th ey would not
barter for such com m oditie a s cloth .
The P ersia ns7 doe bring th ith er Cra ska,wollen cloth
,
1 Indian trade reach ed Bokh ara viaMesh ed andN orthern Khora ssan .
In Jenkinson ’
s day , probably on ly som e of th e com m odit ies imported from India in m odern tim es were brough t t o Bokh ara . Th e
fine textiles m entioned by him h ave,h owever
,continued to th e pre
sen t day to be suppl ied from th a t coun try, wh ilst coarser cottonsa nd l inen s are now a lm ost exclusively of Russian m anufa cture .
K ba nilcof , pp . 1 1 1 - 1 7 9 Schuy ler, ii , 95 .
2 I .e.
,Cam brics
,m uslins .
3 Ora sko (Cra sh , from th e La tin Cra ssu s), coarse linen .
‘1 Th e P ortuguese were a t th i s tim e m a sters of th e coa sts of India .
5 Bokhara silks h ave a lways h eld a h igh pla ce in th e com m erce of
Centra l Asia . The silk industry,original ly introduced by th e Ch inese ,
a nd revived by Sh ah Murad Kh an in 1 7 85 , after th e ca pture of Merv,
is estim a ted a t four and a h a lf m illions of pounds,Bokh ara a lone sup
plying one and a h a lf m illions . Th e dyers are m ostly Jews,who a lso
trade in silk yarn—Mey enclorfi, p . 2 1 9 Sch uy ler, i, 1 9 1 .
3 Th e red h ides cam e from Russia,a lways celebra ted for h er lea ther
m a nufa cture . Th e slaves were principa lly Persian s captured in war,
a nd the h orse s were th e Argam aks ref erred to below .
7 The P ersia n trade with Bokh ara cam e m ostly via Mesh ed and
I l era t . K hanikof says,in 1840
,fou r caravans annua lly entered
Bokh a ra from Mesh ed,t he m erch andise dea lt in be ing ch iefly cotton
a nd silk stuffs, sh awls, ca rpets, and turquoises . From Bokh a ra were
AND CHINA.
skinnes,wol len cloth of diners sorts, wodden vessels, bridles,
saddles, with such like,and doe carrie away from th ence ,
diu ers kindes of wares m ade of cotton woll,diu ers kindes of
silkes, Cra sea , with oth er th ings, bu t there is but sm all
v tterance. From th e Cou ntreis of Ca tha y is brough t th ith erin tim e of peace
,and wh en th e way is Open, m uske, rubarbe,
sa tton,dam aske, w ith diners oth er th ings : a t m y being a t
Baghure, th ere ca m e Ca ra u a ns out of a ll these foresa idCountreis, excep t from Ca th a y , a nd th e cause why th erecam e none from th ence
,was th e grea t warres th a t h ad dured
3. y eeres before m y com m ing th ith er, and y et dured betwixt2 . grea t Cou ntreis and ci ties of Ta rta rs th a t are directly inth e way betwixt th e sa id Bogha r and th e sa id Ca th a y , andcertaine barbarous fielde people
,as well Gentiles as Ma ho
m etists bordering to th e sa ide Cities. The cities are ca lledTa slsen t1 and Ca sha yre,
2and th e people th a t warre aga inst
Ta sken t are ca lled Ca ssa les3 of th e law of Ma hom et, and th ey
in th eir com m erc ia l dea l ings w ith th e K h oz ars. Merch ants fromBokhara visited Tara
,Tom sk
,and Tobolsk before Yerm ak conquered
S iberia,and were seen in Mosco in th e fif teenth century . Th e
trade route in P egolott i’s tim e (14t h cen tury)from Tana (Az of)toP ek ing pa ssed through Astrakh an , Sara i, Sara ich ik , U rgendj ,Bokh ara ,Sam arkand
,and Otrar. Th a t th e Russian grand dukes a tta ch ed im
portance to th e cultiva tion of trading rela tion s w ith th ese Cen tra lAsian Khana ts , is eviden t from th e negotia tions opened by Va ssil iI vannovitch with th e fam ous Baber
,and from th e interest taken by
h is son and successor in Jenkinson ’
s m ission . Th ose in terested inth e present sta te and future prospects of th e Bokh ara trade woulddo we ll to consul t M . P etrofsky
’
s notes in Schuy ler. See a lsoMey endorfi
”
,pp . 22 7 -25 2 K ha nikof , pp . 1 65 - 1 7 2 .
1 Ta shkend .
2 Ka shgar, th e nam e of th is c ity , was a lso a ppl ied to th e country a si t is a t th is da y—K ash garia , or Ea stern Tu rkestan .
3 Ca ssa ks (K a z z aks), im properly ca lled Kirgh iz form th egrea terpart of t he sem i-nom adic popula tion of Centra l Asia a t th e presen tda y . Th ey are first h eard of under th e nam e of “Uz bek K a z z aks
”
about th e m iddle of the fif teenth cen tury,wh en th ey j oined th e
fortu nes of th e descendan ts of J ingh iz , a nd took pa rt in th e wars
KAZZAKS AND KALMUKS. 9 1
wh ich warre with th e sa id countrey of Caska yre, are calledK ings,1 Gen til es idola ters. Th ese 2 . barbarous na tionsare of grea t force, lining in th e fieldes with out h ouse or
towne,
h aue alm ost subdued th e foresaide cities, so
stopped vp th e way , th a t it is im possible for any Cara u a n topass vnspoiled, so th at 3. y eeres before our being th ere, noCa ra u a n h ad gene, or vsed trade betwixt th e Cou ntreis of
wh ich en sued between th ese princes and th e successors of Abulkh a irof th e Sh eibani dyna sty . Th e ir num bers rapidly increa sing, th eK a z z aks beca m e a power in Centra l Asia . Baber sa ys of th e ir Kh anKa sim
,th a t he kept th e h orde in better order th an any oth er Khan ,
a nd th a t h is arm y num bered nearly m en . Th ey were defea tedby th e N oga is , but recovered th e ir prosperity under Ak (Hakk)N a za r Kh an
,wh o subdued Mogolistan or K ashgaria , and h ara ssed
Turkesta n . About th e m iddl e of th e sixteen th century th ey occupied both banks of th e Ta la s
,took th e town s of Turkestan (H a zret)
and Sabran,and threa tened Bokhara . D an ilo Gubin
,the Russian
Envoy,reported in 1 535 th a t th e K a z z aks h ad becom e very powerful
,
and h ad taken Ta sh kend . Th e nam e K a z z ak”m ean t “freebooter”
,
“free lance” , or“m arauder” .
—H oworth,pt . 1 1
,pp . 62 7 - 634 ; V.
Z ernof , pt . 1 1 , p . 330.
1 P robably a m isprint for K irgh is (see m ap). But th e peoplereferred to were th e Ka lm uks
,wh ose Buddhism would a ccount
for th eir being ca lled idola ters . Th eir powerful em pire of D zungaria , once th e h eritage of Jagata i , la y to th e north of K ashgaria ,
occupying very ‘
nearly th e sa m e extent of territory a s th a t now
com prised in th e Ch inese province of 1 11 or Ku ldja . Th e Ka lm uksor D zungars were very frequ ently sum m oned to a ssi st th e riva lprinces of Ka shgar in th e sixteen th and seventeenth centuries .Upon th e dea th of Su lta n Sayid of Ka shgar, th e m ost rem arkable
,of th e Mongol Kh an s descended from Togh lu k T im ur
,in
1 534 h is eldest son,R a sh id
,seiz ed th e capita l and brough t a ll
th e country under one un ited governm en t . But,on h is dea th
,ow ing
to dissensions ‘
sam ong h is sons, th e severa l States com prising it fel la sunder. Th e disturbed sta te of K ashgaria con sequent on th ese contention s
,and th e religious wars of th e H oja s, wh o were divided into
two sects, interf ered grea tly with trade , and threw it into oth ercha nnels . In 1 6 7 8 th e D zungars, wh o th en form ed a powerful confederacy under th eirKh an Ga ldan ,
took th e c ity of Ka shgar, and ruledth e coun try for seven ty -eigh t years, till th ey were overthrown by th eCh inese .
- Bellew,K a shm ir a nd K a shga r, p . 25 ; K uropatkine, K a sh
ga ria , 83-86 .
ROAD TO CATHAY.
Ca tha y ,and Bogha re, 85 wh en th e way is cleare
,it is 9 .
m oneth s iourney .
l
To speake of th e sa id Countrey of Ca tha y , and of suchnewes as I h aue h eard th erof
,I h aue th ough t it best to
reserue it to our m eeting. I h au ing m ade m y solace a t
Bogha r, in theWinter tim e,and h a u ing learned by m uch
inquisition,th e trade th ereof, as also of a l l th e o th erCountries
thereto adioyning, a nd the tim e of the y eere being com e,for
a ll Carau ans to depart , and a lso th e king being gone to th ewarres, and newes cam e, th a t h e was fled, a nd I adu ertisedby th e Metropol itan h im selfs, th a t I sh ould depart, becausethe Towne was l ike to be besieged : I th ough t it good and
m eets, to take m y iourney som e way ,and determ ined to
h aue gone from th ence into P ersia , a nd to h aue scene th e
trade of th a t Cou ntrey ,a l th ough I h ad enform ed m y selfe
sufficiently th ereof, as well a t Astra ca n,as a t Boghar : a nd
perceau ed well th e trades, not to be m uch vnlike th e tradesof Tarta ria : but wh en I sh ould h aue taken m y iourney th a tway ,it was let by diu ers occasions
’
: th e one was, the grea twarres2 th a t did newly begin betwixt th e Sophie, and th e
1 Th e fol lowing distances, in days’ j ourney, are given by P egolot tiof th e trade route to P eking in h is dayFrom Orga nci (Urgendj)to Oltra rre (Otrar)
Oltra rre Arm a lec (Alm a l ik)Arm a lec Ca m exu (Kanchu)Ca m ema Ca ssa i (K ingsz i, hod. Ha n
ch au- fu)Ca ssa i Ca m ba lu (K ha nba lilc, hod.
P ek ing)230
or about seven m onth s and a h a lf . Th is leaves out Bokh ara , a nda llows noth ing for h a lts on th e road
,for th e boa t j ourney down th e
Han river to its confluence w ith th e Yangtse Kiang a t B auch au-f u,or
for incidenta l delays on so long a j ourney . Jenkinson th erefore didno t over-estim a te th e distance from Bokhara to Ca th ay , i .e.
,P eking, a t
n ine m onth s . -Ca tha y , p . 288.
2 I .e . ; Abdu lla h ’s expeditions aga inst Kh ora ssan (a nte, p .
ence
TARTAR AMBASSADORS .
Vrgence,1and escaped th e danger of 400. rouere, wh ich lay
in wa ite for vs backe aga ine, being th e m ost of th em of
kindred to th a t com panie of theeu es, wh ich we m et with
going foorth , as we perceau ed by foure spies, wh ich were
taken . Th ere were in m y com panie,and com m itted to m y
ch arge, two Am bassadeurs, th e one from th e king of Bogha r,
th e oth er from th e king of Ra llce,and were sen t vnto th e
Em pereur of Ru ssia : a nd a fter h a u ing taried a t Vrgence, and
the Castle of Zellysu re,2eigh t daies for th e assem bling, and
m aking ready of ou r Carau an : th e second of Aprill wedeparted from th ence, h au ing foure m ore Am bassadors inou r com pany ,
sent from th e king of Vrgence, and oth erSoltans, h is brethren ,
vnto th e Em pereur of Ru ssia,with
answere of such let ters as I brough t th em : and th e sam e
Am bassadors were a lso com m itted vnto m y ch arge, by th e
said kings, and princes : to whom e I prom isedm ost fa ith fully ,
and swore by ou r lawe,th a t they sh ould be well vsed in
Ru ssla nel,andsuffered to depart from th ence againe in safetie,
a ccording as th e Em pereur h ad written a lso in h is let tersfor th ey som wh a t doub ted , because th ere h ad none gone outof Ta rtaria in to Ru ssia , of long tim e before .
3
Th e 23. of Aprill , we arriu ed a t th e Ma re Ca spiu m againe,
wh ere we found our barke wh ich we cam e in,but neith er
1 Ante,p . 70.
2 Ante,p . 69 .
3 Here Jenkinson seem s to be in error,for Am ba ssadors ca m e to
Russia from Kh iva in 1 5 5 7 , and in October 1 5 58. On th e la st-m entionedocca sion
,th e Laurentian MS . (v , 267 -8)gives th e nam e of th e envoy
,
Tenish Azi,th ough it m ay be th a t th e anna list confounded th is em bassy
w ith th at a ccom panying Jenkinson in 1 5 5 9 . In any ca se , af ter thefa ll of Ka zan andAstrakh an
,it is recorded th a t th e Tsars of Kh iva
and Bokh ara sen t distinguished persons to Mosco w ith presents, inorder to ga in th e good-will of I van , and obta in privileges of tradingwith Russia . As a result
,perh aps
,of Jenkinson ’
s travels,em ba ssies
arrived in Russia from Centra l Asia in 1 5 63,1 5 66
,and 1 583
,from
Kh iva,Bokh ara
,and Sa m arkand
,the ir object being ch iefly to prom ote
com m ercia l intercourse,in wh ich th ey a ppear to h ave succeeded .
Vesselof sky , pp . 122,1 23
,note K ara m sin
,viii
,25 2 .
RESCUE or SLAVEs. 9 5
anker, cable, cocke1 nor sa ile : neu erth elesswe brough t h em pewith vs, and spunne a cable ourselu es
,with the rest of ou r
tackl ing,and m a de vs a saile of cloth of cotton wooll and
rigged ou rbarke, as well as we could,but boa te or anker we
h ad none. In th e m eane tim e, being deu ising to m ake an
anker of wood of a cart wh eele , there arriu ed a barke,wh ich
cam e from Astra ca n,with Ta rta rs
,and Ru sses
,wh ich h ad
two ankers, w ith Wh om I agreed for th e one : and thus beingin a readines
,we set saile
,and departed
,I,and th e two
I ohnsons being Master and Marriners ou r selu es,h au ing in
our barke the said sixs Am bassadors,and 25 . Russes, wh ich
h ad been slau es a long tim e in Ta rta ria ,
2nor euer h ad before
m y com m ing,l ibert ie
,or m eanes to get te h om e
,and th ese
slau es seru ed to rowe wh en neede was. Thus sailing som e
tim es along th e coast, and som etim es out of sigh t of land , th e13. day of May e, h aning a con trarie winde
,we cam e to an
anker, being three leagues from th e sh oers,there rose a
sore storm s,wh ich con tinued 44 . h eures, and ou r cable being
of ou r owne spinning, brake, and lost ou r anker,and being
off a lee sh oare, and h au ing no boa te to h elpe vs, we hoisedour sa ile, and bare room er w ith th e sa id sh oare, looking forpresen t dea th : but as God prou ided for vs, we ranne into a
1 Cocke i .e.
,a cock -boa t . Sh akspere
y on ta ll anch oring bark,D im inish
’d to h er coele h er cock a buoy
Al m ost too sm a ll for sigh tK ing Lea r, iv, se . 6 .
—C .
2 Th is is th e first successful a ttem pt on record of th e rescue of
Russian slaves in Centra l Asia . In the present century,Capta in (new
Genera l)Jam es Abbott undertook to negotia te be tween th e Kh an of
Kh iva and Genera l P erofsky for an exch ange of prisoners,wh ile th e
la te Colonel R ichm ond Sh akespeare efiected th e relea se of a largenum ber of th ese unf ortuna te ca ptives a t Kh iva , and led them sa felyba ck to Russia (see Abbott’s H era t to K hiva
,vol . i
, pa ssim). ManyRussian sla ves interm arried w ith Kirgh iz wom en
,and settled on
th e outskirts of towns, wh ere th eir descendants are known a s Ch ah ar
K a z z aks.
STORM ON THE CASPIAN .
erseke full of oz e and so sau ed our selu es w ith our barke, weliu ed in grea t discom fort for a tim e . For a l th ough we sh ouldh aue escaped with our lines th e danger of the sea
, y et if ou r
barke h ad perish ed,we knew we should h aue bene, eith er
destroied,or taken slau es by th e people of th a t Countrey ,
l
who liu e w il dly in th e field,l ike beastes
,with out h ouse or
h abita tion . Thus wh en th e storm e w as seased,w e went out
of th e creeke aga in : and h au ing set te the lande with our
Com passe,and taken certaine m arkes of th e sam e
,during
th e tim e of th e tem pest,wh ilest we ridde a t our anker, wee
went directl y to the place wh ere wee ridde, w ith ou r barkeagaine, and fou nde our anker wh ich wee lost : wh erea t th eTartars m uch m aru elled, h owe wee did it . Wh ile wee werein th e creske
,wee m ade an anker of woods of Cart wh eeles
,
wh ich wee h ad in ou r barke, wh ich we threwe away , wh enwee h adfounde our yron anker againe . With in two daies after
,
th ere arose another grea t storm s, a t th e N orth east, and welay a trie, being driuch farre into th e sea
,and m uch adoe to
keepe our barke from sinking, th e billowe was so grea t :2 buta t th e last
,h au ing fa ire wea ther, wee tooke th e Sunne, and
knowing howe th e lande lay e from vs,wee fell with th e
Riu er Ya he, according to ou r desire,wh ereof th e Ta rta rs
were very glad , fearing th a t wee shou lde h aue bene driu ento th e coast of P ersia ,
wh ose people were vu to th em grea tenem ies.
3
1 I .e.
,Turkom ans
,a nte
,p . 65 .
2 Storm s are not of com m on occurrence on th e Ca spian,and th e
dangers of naviga tion arose from th e unseaworthy cra f t in u se in
th ose days,and from sh a llows . P erson s fam i l iar w ith th e Ca spian
cannot but agree with H orace
N on sem per im bres nubibus h ispide sManant in agros au t m are Caspiu m
Vexant inaequ a les procellaeUsque . Book I I
,Ode ix .
3 Th e P ersian s andUzbek Tartars were continu a lly a t warin th e sixteenth century
,th eir enm ity be ing em bittered by religi ous differences .
98 RIVERS FALLING INTO THE CASPIAN .
in m any places, and in oth er places as sal t as our grea tOcea n. It h a th m any goodly riners fa ll ing in to it , and itau oideth not it selfe , except it be vnder ground . The notableriners th a t fal l in to it, are first th e grea t riu er of Volga ,
ca lled in th e Ta rta r tongue Retell,1 wh ich springeth out of a
lake in a m arrish or pla ine ground , not farre from th e Citie
of N ou ogrode, in Ru ssia,and it is from th a t springe, to th e
sea , aboue two th ousand English m iles. I t h a th diners oth er
goodly riu ers fa lling into it, as out of Seba ria ,
2 Ya iole,
3and
Yeim Also ou t of th e m ounta ines of Ca u ca sus,th e riu ers
of Cyrus,5andArash
,
6and diu ers oth ers.
As tou ch ing th e trade of Sha m aky e7 in Media
,and Tebris
,
with other townes in P ersia,I h aue enquired, and doe well
vnderstande,th a t it is eu en like to th e tra des of Ta rtaria ,
th a t is l ittle v tterance,and sm all profite : and I h aue bene
adu ertised th a t th e ch iefe trade of P ersia is into Syria ,and
so transported in to th e Leu ant seas. The fewe sh ippes Vpon
th e Ca spia n seas, th e want of Marte and port Townes, th e
pou ertie of th e people,and the ice, m aketh th a t trade
naugh t .At Astra ca n
, th ere were March ants of Sha m a ley e, w ithwhom e I offered to barter
,and to gine th em kersies for th eir
included R aga , or Rey , now m arked by som e ruins east of Teheran,
and th e fa m ous Erba tana,now H am adan . Th e Media of Atropa tes,
com m ander of th eMedian contingent a t th e ba ttle of Arbela,included
th e ba sin of Lake Uru m iyeh,a s well a s th e val leys of th eAraxes
,Sefid
R ud,and low countries of Ta l ish and Gh ilan , on th e sh ores of th e
Ca spian,thus nearly corresponding w ith th e m odern P ersian province
of Az erba ijan .—R itter’s Asia
,I ran . Russ . edit . , pp . 101 , 137 ; H ero
do tu s,i,5 95 .
1 I til,i.e.
,river
,was th e old nam e for the Volga . Th is river h as its
source in th e Osta shkof district of th e Governm ent of Tver,in
5 7°
10’
N . la t .
,in m oss bogs crossed by lakes a t an eleva tion of 840feet .
I ts length is reckoned a t 2320m iles—Sem eonof,art . Volga
2 S iberia , so na m ed a f ter S ibir,a town in th e Governm ent of
Tobolsk .
3 Ya ik , a nte, p . 6 1 .
‘1 Em ba,a nte
,p . 63.
3 K ur.3 Araxes . 7 Sh em akha
,a n te
,p . 5 9 .
RETURN TO MOSCO.
wares, bu t th ey would not,say ing, they h ad th em as good
ch eape in their Countrey ,as I offered th em
,wh ich was sixe
rubbles for a kersie,th a t I asked : and wh ile I was a t
Bogh ar, th ere were th ere brough t thith er ou t of P ersia , cloth ,
a nddiu ers com m odities of our Countreies, wh ich were soldea s good ch eape as I m igh t sell ours.
The tenth day e of June,wee departed from Astra ca n ,
towardes th e Musko,h au ing a h undred Gunners in our com
panie, a t th e Em pereurs ch arges, for th e safe conduct of th eTa rtarreAm bassadors, andm e. And th e eigh t and twen tiethdaye of July following,
we arriu ed a t th e Citie of Ca za n ,
h a u ing beene Vppon th e way e from Astra ca n th ith er,sixe
weekes,and m ore, without any refresh ing of victuals for in
a l l th a t way e th ere is no h abita tion .
Th e seu enth of August following, we departed from Ca zan
and transported our goods by wa ter, as farre as th e Citie of
Ilforons,
1and then by land so th a t the second of Septem ber
,
we arriu ed a t th e Citie of Musho, and th e fourth day I cam e
before th e Em pereurs Maiestie , kissed h is h and , and pre
sen ted him a wh ite Cowes ta ile2 of Ca tha y , and a dru m m e of
Tartaria,wh ich he well accep ted . Al so I brough t before
h im a ll th e Am bassadors th a t were com m itted to m y ch arge ,
w ith all th e Ru sse slau es : and th a t day I dined in h is
Ma iesties presence and a t dinner, his Gra ce sen t m e m ea teby a D uke
,asked m e diu ers questions
,touch ing th e lands,
Cou ntreis wh ere I h ad bene . And thus I rem a ined a t th eMusko about y our a ffaires
,vntill th e 1 7 . day of Februarie
,
th a t y our wares were sent downe : th en h au ing l icence of
th e Em pereursMaiesty to depart, th e 2 1 . day I cam e to y ourh ouse at Vologhda ,
and th ere rem a ined vntill th e breakingvp of th e y eere,
3and th en h au ing seene a ll y our goods laden
in to y our boa tes, I departed with th e sam e,and arriu ed
1 Murom,a nte
,p . 44 .
2 A ya k’s ta il .3 In other words
,th e opening of na viga tion is wh a t Jenkinson
wa ited for at Vologhda .
COMPARISON OF LATITUDES .
withall in sa fetie a t Colm ogro, th e 9 . o f May , 1 5 60. And
h ere I cease for th is tim e,in trea ting y ou to beare with th is
m y large discourse, wh ich by reason of th e varietie of m a t terI cou ld m ake no sh orter, and I beseech God to prosper a l l
y our a ttem pts.
The latitudes of certaine principa ll places inRussia
,and other Region s . 1
Mosco, inN ou o-
grod, the grea tN ou o-
grod, th e lesseColm ogro
Ca zan
Owelce
Astra can
At the en trance into the Ca sp ian sea
Ma ngu sla u e, beyond th e Ca spian sea
Vrgence in Ta rta ry e, 20. da ies iourneyfrom the Caspia n sea
42 1 8
Bogha r, a Citie in Ta rtaric,20. da iss
iourne f V39 10
y 1 0m rgenee
1 These la titudes and notes are inserted by Hakluyt in the 1 5 99edition in the above order m odern authori ties as below
Latitudes Au thority .
Mosco “ 131
3311113, 2? g} Sem eonof .
N ovgorod, th e Grea t 5 8 31 do .N ijny N ovgorod 5 6 20 do .K h om ogori 64 13 do.
Eologh da g?
do .a z an 4 do .
Uvek , or Ukok (Ucaca) 5 1 23 Yule .
Astrakh an 46 4 Sem eonof .
Mangish lak pen in sula3N orth ern extrem ity ,CapeT iuk K aragani4 33 Struve .
Old U rgendj 42 32 Keith J ohnston .
Bokhara (Am eer’s pa lace) 39 46 45 Stru ve .
ITINERARIES TO CATHAY .
From Vrgenshe to Bogharslcie, 1 5 . dayes .N ote—At th i s citie of Boghar i s th e m arte or m eeting place
betweene the Turkes and na tions of th ose partes and the
Cath a ians.
Also th e tol l there is th e 40. part to be pa id for m erchandiz esor goods.From th ence to Ca shar or Cashar is one m oneth s iou rney , and
from Ca sha r or Ca skar (being the frontier of the grea t Ca n,h a u ing m any townes and fortes by the way)is a lso a m oneth strau ell for m erchants by land to Ca tha y .
Furth er a s h e h a th h eard (not h au ing bene in those partes h imselfe)sh ips m ay sa ile from th e dom inions of Ca tha ia vuto I ndia .
Bu t of oth er wa ies,or h ow th e Sea s l ie by any coa st h e knoweth
not .
1 7m instru ction of a nother Ta rta rian Mercha n t dwelling in the
citie of Boghar, a s h e h a th learned by oth er h is countrym en
wh ich h aue bene there.
First from Astra can by sea to Sera choelce,is 1 5 . dayes (a ffirm ing
a lso th a t a m an m ay trau ell th e other way before written byTurkem en).From Sera ehoe/ce to Vrgenshe is 1 5 . dayes .From Vrgenshe to Boghar also 1 5 . dayes .N ote—These la st 30. da ies iourney i s withou t h abita tion of
h ouses,th erefore trau ellers lodge in their owne tents, cary ing w ith
th em to eate th eir seu era ll prou isions : and for drinesse th erebe m any wels of fa ire wa ter a t equa l ba iting places not farredistant da ily to be had.
I‘
askent . From Bogha r to Ta sha n 1 easie tra u elling with goods, is 1 4.
dayes by land .
From Taskan to Occient,
2 7 . dayes .From Oecien t to Ca shar 20. da ies. Th is Ca shar is th e headtowne or cit ie of another prince
,ly ing betweene Bogha r and
Ca tha ia,called Reshit can .
3
1 Tashkend .
2 U zkand, site of som e ancient ruins , supposed to be of Greek
origin—Schuy ler, ii , 46 .3 R a sh id Kh an .
THE MUSK DEER .
From Ca sha r to Sowehilc,1 30. da ies iourney , wh ich Sowchiek
i s the first border of Ca tha y .
From Sowehielc to Ca m ehielc,
2 5 . dayes iourney , from Ca m
ehich to Ca tha y is two m oneth s iou rney , a ll t h e way beinginh abited
,tem pera te and wel l replenish ed with innum erab le
fruits,and th e ch iefe cit ie in th a t wh ole land is ca lled Ca m bu loo,3
wh ich is yet 1 0. da ies iou rney from Ca thay .
Beyond th is land of Ca tha y wh ich th ey pra ise to be ciu il and
vnspeakably rich,is th e countrey nam ed in t h e Tartarian tongue
Ca ra - ea lm a clc,inh abited with bla cke people : but in Ca tha y th e
m ost part th ereof stretch ing to th e sunne rising, are people wh iteand of fa ire com plexion . Their religion a lso a s th e Tartaresreport is Christian ,
or a fter the m anner of Christia ns , and their lan
guage peculiar, differing from th e Tart arian tongue .
There are no grea t and furious Beares in tra u el ling through th ewa ies a foresa id
,but wolu es wh ite and b la cke . And because th a t
woods are not of such qu ant it ie there, as in these partes of Ru ssia ,but in m aner ra th er skant th en plen tiful] , as is reported
, th e
Beares breed not th a t way , but som e oth er bea sts (as nam ely onein Ru sse ca lled Ba rse
“)are in th ose coa sts . Th is Ba rse appeereth
by a skinne of one seene here to sel l , to be neere so grea t as a bigl ion spott ed very fa ire, and th erefore we h ere take it to be a
Leopard or Tiger.
N ote—20. dayes iou rney from Ca tha y is a countrey nam edAnyrim ,
5 where l ineth the bea st tha t beareth the best m uske,dz
1 Su h - ch au .
2 K an -ch au .
3 K h anba l ik (P ek ing). 4 B a rse,Russian for leopard.
5 Th e na m e Angrim is a puz z le , but th e a llusion is evidently toTh ibet
,th e country of th e m usk deer (M
'
oschus m oschiferus). Th e
m usk is taken,not from th e knee of th is an im a l
,but from a bag
situa ted benea th the skin of th e abdom en . Great num bers were killedfor th e sake of th is scent
,wh ich fetch ed a h igh price in th e Middle
Ages .—Yule ’s Marco P olo, pa ssim ; Ca tha y , clxxiv ; Jardine ’s
N a tu ra list’s L ibra ry , xi, 1 1 6 .
Th is note verges on th e fabulous,or
,a s su ggested in th e m argin ,
takes a f ter Sir John Mandev ille’
s extraordinary stories publish ed inth e first edition of H akluyt . H is ch a pter on pigm ies sh ould be readw ith it andMarco P olo’s on th e m arvellous people with golden teethinh abiting the borders of Yunnan .
K i tay .
h ora bu tda y es
ANOTHER WAY TO CATHAY .
th e princ ipa l therof is cut out of th e knee of th e m a le. The
people are tawn ie,
for th a t the m en are not bearded nor differin com plexion fro wom en
,they haue certa ine tokens of iron
,th a t
is to say : th e m en weare th e sunne round l ike a bosse vpon th eirsh oulders
,and wom en on their priu ie partes . Th eir feeding i s
rawe flesh in th e sa m e land,and in another cal led Tita y ,“ t he
Duke there is ca l led Ca n they worsh ip the fire, and i t is 34. dayesiourney from grea t Ca tha y , and in the way l ieth the beautifu l ]people, ea ting with kniu es of gold , and are ca lled Com orom
,
2and
the land of sm a ll people is neerer the Mosko then Ca thay .
The instru ctions of one of P erm ia ,who reporteth he had bene
a t Ca thay t he way before written , and a l so another way neere
t h e sea coa st , as followeth , wh ich note was sent out of Prussiafrom Giles Holm es.
First from th e prou ince of Dwina is knowen the way to P echora ,m ay by and from P echora trau elling with olens3 or hart s
,i s sixe dayes
d or
le r fro’
iou rney by land , and in t he Som m er as m uch by wa ter to the
riner of
The Ob is a riner full of fla ts,th e m outh of it is 70. Russe
m iles ouer. And from th ence three dayes iou rney on the righ th and is a pla ce ca lled Chorna- lese
,
5 to say in Engl ish , Bla cke
1 K ith a i,or Ca th ay
,a s Ch ina was kn own to th e people of Inner
Asia .
2 Com orom is probably an erroneous rendering of Kara m uren,as
t h e H oang h o , or Yel low R iver, wa s known am ong Mongols . (See
M. P olo,ii, 69, seqq . ; H a kluy t, 1 5 89 , p .
3 Russian for deer of a ll kinds,particularly for re indeer.
4 Steven Burrough was th e first Engl ish m an to a ttem pt to reachth e Chi by wa ter in 1 5 5 6 . H e entered th e m outh of th e P ech ora
,
m et w ith Sam oyeds,wh om h e describes
,a nd brough t h om e reports o f
th e Obi,wh ich h e learned from m a sters of coa sting vessels engaged in
hunting wa lrus . One of h is inform ants wa sTh eodor(Feodor), possiblyth e sa m e a s th e Ph eo th er Torotigin
”
,auth or o f th e following report .
—H a kl .,1 5 89, pp . 31 1 -2 1 .
5 Correctly tra nsla ted,
“ bla ck forest Th e na m e is of no im porta nce beyond sh owing th a t Russian s h ad visited th e Obi
,and h ad
penetra ted som e dista nce u p it, for th ere were no trees for som e
dista nce from its m outh .
HADJI MAHOMET’
S ROUTE .
tim es am ong them selu es. And if any m erchan ts com e vuto them,
then th ey k ill one of their ch ildren for their sakes to fea st th emwitha ll . And if a m erch ant chance to die w ith them
,they burie
h im not,but ca te h im
,and so doe they ca te th em of th eir owne
countrey l ikewise. Th ey be eu ill of sigh t and h aue sm all noses,but they be swift and sh oote very wel, and th ey tra u a ile on h artsand on dogges, and their apparell is Sables and Harts skinnes .They h ave no m erch andise but sables onely .2. I tem ,
on th e sam e coast or quarter beyond th ose people, andby th e sea side a lso doeth dwell anoth er kind of Sam oeds in l ikem aner
,hau ing another language . One m oneth in th e y eere th ey
l ine in th e sea,and do not com e or dwell on th e drie land for th a t
m oneth .
3. I tem,beyond these people
,on the sea coa st
,th ere i s
another kind of Sa m oeds, th eir m ea te i s flesh and fish
,and their
m erch aundise are Sables,wh ite and bla cke Foxes (wh ich the Russes
ca l l Pselts‘)and h arts skins and fawnes sk ins .
The relation of ChaggiMem et , a Persian Merchant , t oBaptista R am u siu s and oth er notable citi z ens of Ven ice, touch ingth e way from Tauris, th e ch iefe citie of P ersia , to Ca m pion ,
a citie of Ca th ay, ou erland: in wh ich voiage h e h im selfe
h ad pa ssed before w ith th e carau ans.
2
From Ta uris3 to Solta nia 6 dayes iourney .
From Solta nia to Ca sbin 4
From Ca sbin to Verem i4 6
From Verem i to E ri5 1 5
P sets,the Arctic fox (Ca nis lagop us).
2 R everse of I ter. in R a m u sio D el le N a uiya z ioni‘ e Viaggi, tom . ii,p . 1 6 , 1 5 83; a lso Yu le’s Ca tha y , ccxvii .—C .
3 Tabri z .
4 Veram in,two m arch es ea st o f Teh eran , close to the a ncient R ai.
(See Ca tha y , ccxvii .) 5 H era t .
HADJI MAHOMET ’S ROUTE . LETTER To LANE. 1 07
From E ri to Bogha raFrom Boghara to Sa m a rcha ndFrom Sa m a rcha nd to Caska rFrom Ca cha r to A-csu
From Acsu to Cu chil
From Cu chi to Chia lis2
From Chia lis to Turfon3From Tu rfon to Ca m a l4
From Ca m a l to S u ccu irFrom S uccu ir to Ca u ta 5From Ga u ta to Ca inpion
Wh ich Ca m p ion is a cit ie of th e
u ince of Ta ngu t, from whence thecom m eth .
A letter6 of Ma ster Anthonie I enlcinson vpon h is
returne from B ogha r to th e worsh ipfu l Ma sterH enry La ne,7 agent
for th e Moscou ie Com pan ie, resident in Vologda , written inth e Mosco th e 18. of Septem ber 1 5 5 9.
WORSHIPFULL SIR,a fter m y h eartie com m enda tions prem ised
w ith m ost desire to God of y our welfare and prosperoussuccesse in a ll y our affa ires. I t m ay please y ou to
’
bee adu er
tised th a t th e fourth of th is presen t I arriu ed with RichardI ohnson and Robert I ohnson a ll in h ea lth th ankes bee toGod. Wee h aue beene as farre as Bogha r, and h ad proceeded
1 Kuch a .
2 Kara sh ah r.
3 Turfan .
4 Ham i .
5 K ao -tai,between K an -ch an and Suh -ch au .
6 H a kluy t, 1 5 99 , i, 305 .
7 Henry Lane a ccom pan ied Chancell or in°
h is second voyage toRussia in 1 5 5 5
,and proceeded w ith h im to Mosco th e sam e year. He
th ere took part in th e interviews and negotia tion s wh ich led to th efirst grant of privileges to English m erch ants. (See H a kl .
,1 589
,
p .
20 dayes iourney .
5
25
20
20
10
10
13
1 5
5
6
Em pire of Ca tha y in the pro
grea tes t qu ant it ie of Rubarbe
SIR JOHN LOCKE.
ate , zen . further on our voy age toward th e lande of Ca tha y , h ad it not
(pgd
e
f
in bene for th e incessant and continu all w arres wh ich are ine 01
'
m y . all these bru ta ll and wilde cou ntreys, th a t i t is a t th ispresent im possible to passe, neith er went th ere any carananof people from Boghar th a t way these three y eeres. And
a l though our iourney h a th bene so m iserable, dangerou s and
ch argeable with losses, ch arges and expenses,as m y penne is
not able to expresse th e sam e : y et sh all wee bee able tosatisfie th e worsh ipful l com panies m indes
,as touch ing th e
egg-
O,discou erie of th e Ca sp ia n sea ,
1 w ith the trade of m erch an
CaSpia” diz e to bee h ad in such landes and countreyes as bee th ereabou t adiacent
,and h aue brough t of th e wares and com m o
di ties of th ose countries.
able to answere th e principal l with
profite2: wish ing th a t th ere were v tterance for as grea t a
qu antitie kersies and oth er wares as th ere is profite to beeh ad in th e sales of a sm all qu antitie (all such eu ill fortunesbeing escaped as to vs h au e ch aunced th is present voy age)forth en it wou ld be a trade worth ie to bee followed . Sir
,for th a t
I trust y ou wil l be h ere sh ortly (wh ich I m uch desire)I w il ldeferre th e discourse with y ou a t large vntill y our com m ing,
as well tou ch ing m y tranel , as of oth er th ings. Sir Johnto Lu cke3 departed from h ence toward England th e seu enth of
scou ia
Sweden .
1 By discovery we m ust understand exp lora tion, th e Ca spian Seah aving been discovered and sa iled over centuries before Jenkinson ’
s
tim e . (See curious representa tion of an earl ier naviga tion on Ca ta lanm ap,
2 From th i s passage—the on ly reference to th e subject - it is to beinferred th a t th e j ourney to Bokhara was not a fa ilure from a com
m ercia l point of view .
3 Sir John Locke i s erroneously m entioned by Fox Bourne,in h is
E nglish Sea m en under the Tudors (vol . i , p . a s h aving aecompanied Jenkinson to Aleppo in 1 5 53. H is nam e occurs (H a kl .
,1 5 99 ,
ii,p . 1 14)as one of th e earliest traders to th e Levan t, and Th om a s
Locke (probably a rela tion)wa s one of th e adventurers in th e secondvoyage to Guinea in 1 5 54 (Ha kl .
,1 589, p . A nam esake
of th e first,and perh aps descendant, th e celebra ted auth or of th e
H u m a n Understa nding, wrote th e h istory of naviga tion prefixed toChurch ill ’s collections of voyages, recently reprinted in the collectedworks of J oh n Locke—C .
QUEEN ELIZABETR’
s LETTER
h appie increase in a ll prosperitie. Righ t Migh tie Prince, th eam itie of y our Maiestie towardsvs, and our Subiects
,is very
pleasant to vs to be rem em bred, wh ich being begunne by
the goodnes of God, in th e raigne of ou r m ost deere broth erof h appie m em orie, K ing Edwa rd th e Sixt, and afterwardes,
through y our not onely singular h um anitie,fedde and
nourish ed bu t a lso through y our incredible goodnes increased ,and augm ented
,is nowe so firm ed
,and established
,with all
m anner of tokens of y our beneu olence, th a t nowe wee doubtnot , bu t th a t from h ence foorth ,
during m any ages, th e sam e
sh all endure to th e pra ise of God to both ou r glories, to thepubl ike grea t com m oditie of our Realm es on eith er part , andto th e priu ate desired h ope, and certa ine felicitie of al l ou r
Subiects.
And al th ough th a t th is y our goodnes h a th bene aboundantly extended to a ll our Subiects
,tha t h aue a t any tim e
repaired into any part of y our Em pire, for the wh ich wee
gine (as reason is)y our Maiestie righ t bartie thankes, a ndwill againe sh ewe th e l ike vnto y ours, righ t wil lingly , wh ensoeu er Opportu nitie sh a ll require : y et the abou ndance of
y our benignitie both in receau ing, and a lso in entertayning
our fa ith full , and belou ed seru ant, An thonie I enkinson,th e
bringer of these our letters, is vnto vs for h im priua tely ve'
ry '
th ankefu l l . For besides th is, tha t in a ll places of y ourEm pire
,h e not onely by y ourMaiesties sufl
’
erance, bu t alsoby y our com m andem ent, enioy ed m uch libertie, and grea tfriendsh ippe, y our goodnes not ceasing in th is y our dom es
tica ll disposition of clem encie,did righ t willingly , and of
y our owne abou ndant grace, com m ende th e sam e our well
belou ed seru ant,by y our letters, sealed with y our Im peria ll
sea le,to sundry forren Princes, vnto whom e he was m inded to
iourney : wh ich y our m agnificence did purch ase vu to h imh appily ,
and according to h is desire, both passage with out a l lperill , through y our notable credite
,and a lso a tch ieu ing of h is
iourney through y our com m enda tion .
To THE TSAR . 1 1 1
Th erefore l ike as these y our duplica ted beneu olences, bothth a t one generally exh ibited to a ll our Subiectes, frequenting,th a t y our Realm e
,and a lso th is th e oth er extended apart to
th is our righ t fa ith full seru an t Anthonie I enkinson ,is righ t
assuredly fastened in our rem em brance not onely for a perpetu a ll
,and gratefufl m em oriall , bu t a lso for a m u tu a l l and
m eete com pensa tion : so wee desire of y our Maiestie, tovouch sa fe from h ence foorth to conseru e and continu e th e
gem ina te disposition of y our beneu olences, both general ly toa l l our Subiects
,and a lso priu atelv to th is our belou ed ser
nan t . And we doub t not but at our request, y ou wil l aga ine
gra tiou sly sh ewe vu to th e sam e Anthonie,nowe adm itted in to
our seru ice,th e l ike fanour as h eretofore y our Maiestie of
y our m eere notion ,did exh ibite vnto h im being th en a priu a te
person . And th erefore wee desire y ourMa iestie eftsoones to
graun t to th e sam e our seru ant , y our letters of licence, pas
port,and sa fe conduct, through th e tenor, au thorit ie andh elpe
whereof,be
,h is seru ants, together with th eir m arch andiz es
,
baggages, h orses and goods wh a tsoeu er, th a t sh all be brough tin
,or carried out, by or through all y our Em pire, kingdom e
,
dom inions,and prou inces, m ay surely , and freely iourney , goe,
passe,repasse, depart , and th ere tarry so long a s it sh all
please h im : and from th ence returne,wh ensoeu er it sh al l
seem e good to h im , or h is : and as wee doub t not,bu t th a t
y ourMaiestie in th e goodnes of y our na ture,w ill gra tiou sly
and abou ndantly gran t a ll th ese good offices of hum anitie,so
wee doe h artely desire, th a t y ourMa iestie will likewise vouchsafe to com m ende th e sam e our seru ant , togeth er with a ll h is
goods, by y our letters, to oth er forren Princes, and special ly toth e Grea t Soph ie, and Em perourof P ersia , into wh ose Em pire,and Iurisdictions, th e sam e our seru an t purposeth with h isfor to iourney ch iefly for tria ll of forreine m erch andiz es.
We th erefore doe tru st, th a t all these our dem ands sh a ll
tende, and h aue effect,according to th e hope of our seru ant ,
and to our expecta tion, for y our wea l th ,for the com m oditie
THE QUEEN ’
S LETTER TO THE SHAH .
of both our Subiects, luckie to h im , th ankefu ll to vs, a cceptable to y ourMa iestie
,and very profitable to our Subiects on
either part . God grant vnto y ourMaiestie long and h appie
felicitie in earth and eu erlasting in h eau en . D a ted in our
fam ous Citie of London ,the 25 . day of th e m oneth of Aprill
in th e y eere of th e crea tion of th e world,5 5 23. and of ou r
Lorde God Iesus Christ,1 5 6 1 . and of our raigne, th e th ird.
The Qu eenes Ma iest ies letters t o the Great S0ph ie1
of P ersia,sent by Ma ster Anth ony I enkinson .
3
ELIZABETH,by th e grace of God, Queene of England , &c.
To th e righ t m igh tie and righ t v ictorious Prince,the Grea t
Sophie, Em perou r of th e P ersia ns,Medes,P a rthia ns
,Hyrcanes,
Ca rm a narians,Jll ary ians,
3of th e people on th is side
,and
1 Geoffrey Ducket erroneously defines “Soph i as P ersian for
beggar” (H a kl .,p . doubtless referring to th e num erous
religious m endicants in the E a st . Soph i, Sufi or Safiwas a ph ilosoph y,
and becam e th e surn am e of a dyna sty of P ersian m onarch s,wh o
adopted th e tenets of th e “Sufi”. Sh ah I sm a il Sufi developed th is
religion in P ersia (circa Th e word is th e Arabic “Safi”
,pure
,
clear,brigh t , a lso just, uprigh t . Th e Greek a o
'
qboe, wh ence our wordsoph istry is probab ly derived .
3 In La tin and English—H a kluy t, 1 5 89, 36 1-2 .
3 Th is style and title m ust h ave included m uch m ore th an th e
Shah of P ersia could,even in th ose days, cla im ; nor do th e nam es
enum era ted represent distinct na tiona l ities,as th ey did in th e ancient
P ersian em pire . Th ey were used m erely to add to th e dignity andim port ance of the Sh ah in his own eyes . I t is needless to refer
to the Medes and P arth ian s , of th e oth ers h ere m entioned,th e
Hyrca neswere th e inh abitants of Hyrcan ia , south -ea st of th e Ca spian,
its ch ief town being Hyrcan ia , i .s. , D jurdjan or H i’
irgen , now m a rkedby som e ruins . Th e Carm a na/ria ns, i.e.
,Carm an ians
,inh abited th a t
province of P ersia now known as Kerm an,bordering on the Indian
Ocean wh ile th eMa rgia ns, or inh abitants of Margiana , j oined Ba ctriaon th e ea st
,and took th eir na m e from th e riverMargus, th e Murgh ab
of th e present day , on wh ich once stood th e city of Antioch iaMargiana , in m odern t im es th e undeservedly celebra ted Merv .
1 1 4 INSTRUCTIONS FROM
bring it to passe, th a t of th ese sm a ll beginnings, grea term om ents of th ings sh al l h ereafter spring, both to ou r furni
ture,and h onors, and a lso to the grea t com m odities and vse
of our peOples : so it will be knowen ,th a t neith er th e earth
,
th e seas, nor th e hea u ens, h aue so m uch force to separa te vs,
as the godly disposition of na tura l l h um anitie,and m u t u a ll
beneu olence, haue to ioy ne vs strongly togeth er. God gran tvu to y our Ma iestie
,long and h appie felicit ie in earth
,and
perpetu al l in h eau en . D a ted in England, in ou r fam ousCitie of London, th e 25 . day of th e m oneth of Aprill
,in the
y eere of th e crea tion of th e world,5 5 23. and of our Lord
I esus Christ,1 5 6 1 . and of our Ba igne the th ird .
A rem em bra nce giu en by vs the Gou ernou rs, Consule
,andAssista nts of the comp a nie of M
'
a rcha nts,trading into
R ussia,th e eigh t day of May 1 5 6 1 . to ou r tru st ie friende
An th on ie I enk inson,a t h is departure towards Russia ,
and so to P ersia,in th is ou r eigh t iou rney .
l
FIRST y ou sh a ll vnderstand,th a t we h aue laden in our good
sh ippe, ca lled th e Swa llowe, one Ch est, th e key es wh ereofwee doe h ere deliu er y ou ,
and a lso a bill,wh erein are written
particularly th e con ten ts in th e sa ide Ch est, and wh a t eu eryth ing did coste : and because
,as y ou knowe, th e sa ide Chest
is of ch arge, wee desire y ou to h aue a specia ll regarde vu toit
,and wh en God Sh al l sende y ou vnto Mu sho
,our m inds and
will is,th a t y ou ,
w ith th e adu ise of ou r Agen ts’ th ere
,doe
appoynt som e such presen ts for th e Em perour, and his sonne,eith er wine
,cloth e of golde, scarlet , or pla te, as to y our good
discretion sh a l l be th ough t m eet, and wh en y ou h aue deliu ered vn to h im th e Queenes Maiesties letters
,and our sa id
present in th e na m e of th e com pany ,we th inke it good tha t
y ou m ake y our h um ble su te vu to h is highness in our na m e,
1 I l a lrluy l , 1 589 , p . 362 .
THE MUSCOVY COMPANY. 1 1 5
to get his l icence or sa feconduct for y ou and all oth er our
seru an ts orAgen ts a t a ll tim es h eereafter, with such waresa nd m erch andiz e as y ou a t th is tim e
,or th ey h eerafter a t a ll
oth er tim es sha ll thinke good, to passe out of h is dom inionstowards Ta rta ria , P ersia ,
or oth er places, and a lso to returnevn to Mosco with such wares and m erch andiz es as y ou sh a ll
bring or send from any land or countrey th a t is not ln
h is dom inions, a nd if it be th ough t good by y ou and our
Agents th ere to m ake com position with th e Em peror or h is
officers for som e certaine cu stom e or tole vpon such goods aswe sh a ll passe tha t way , to the intent we m igh t be th e betterfau oured
,we referre it to y our discretion, foreseeing th a t th e
opening of th is m a tter be not preiudicial l vuto our form er
priu ileges.
And for the sale of our cloth of golde, pla te, pearles,saph yres, and oth er iewels, we put our trust a nd confidencein y ou ,
principa lly to . sell th em for ready m ony , tim e to
good debters, or in barter for good wares, so th a t y ou m akeour oth erAgents priu y h ow for wh a t price you sel l any
of th e prem ises, and also deliuer such sum m es of m ony ,bill es or wares as y ou sh al l receiu e, vnto our sa id Agentsth inking good, furth er, th a t if y ou perceiue tha t th e pla te or
oth er iewels, or any part thereof will not be solde for profitbefore y our departure from th e Mosco
,th a t then y ou cause
th em to be safe packed, and set order they m ay be senth ith er againe in our sh ippes the next y aera , excep t y ou perceiu e th a t th ere m ay be som e profit in carry ing som e part ofth em into P ersia ,
wh ich we woul d not to be of any great va lue.
We h au e also laden in the sa id Swa llow and th e oth er twosh ips, 80. fardles,
1conteining 400. karsies,2 as by the enuoys
3
1 Fardles. Old French . Th e old form of f a rdea u , a pack, bundle ,wa s probably derived from Arab .f a rda h , a package .
—Skea t,p . 203—0.
3 K arsie (kersey), a coarse woollen cloth , so ca ll ed after th e vil lageof Kersey, in Suffolk, wh ere th e woollen trade wa s established by a
colony of Flem ings .—I saa c Taylor, Words a nd P la ces,p . 292 .
3 Fr. envois,i.e.
,invoices.
1 1 6 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
do appeare, wh ich fardles be packed , and appointed to becary ed in to P ersia : neu erthelesse if you ch ance to finde goodsa les for th em in th e Mosco
,we th inke it were good to sel l
part of th em th ere, and to cary th e lesse qu an tity with y ou ,
because we be vncertaine wh a t ven t or sale y ou sh all finde in
P ersia or oth er places wh ere y ou sh all com e.
I f you Obtaine th e Em perou rs licence to passe out of h isdom inions
,and to returne, as a foresaid, and th a t y ou perceiu e
y ou m ay safely do th e sam e,our m inde is
,th a t a t such tim e
a s y ou th inke best and m ost conu enient for th a t pourpose, y oudo appoint so m any ,
such of our hyred seruants or appren
tises as y ou th inke necessary m eet for our a ffayres, and
m ay best be spared to go with y ou in y our said voy age,wh ereof we would one to be su ch as y ou m igh t m ake priu ie ofa l l your doings for diners considera tions and causes th a t m ay
h appen wh ich seru ants appren tises, we wil and com m and,
by th is our rem em brance,to be obedient vnto y ou as vnto vs
,
not onely to go with y ou ,and to do such th ings as y ou
com m and th em in y our presence, but a lso to go vu to suchcoun tries or pla ces as you sh a ll appoint th em vnto
, eith erw ith wares or with ou t wares, and th ere to rem a ine and con
t inu e so long as y ou sh all th inke good, and if th ey or any of
th em w ill refuse to do such th ings as y ou do appoin t th em ,
as a foresa id , or th a t any of th em (be h e hyred seru ant or
apprentise)do m isuse h im sel fe by any m aner of disobedienceor disorder
,and will not by gen tle and fayre m eanes be re
form ed,we will th a t y ou send h im back to th e Mosco
,with
straigh t order th a t h e m ay be sen t from th ence h ith er,and
let vs h aue knowledge of h is eu il l beh au ior,to the in ten t
th a t if h e be a hyred seru ant we m ay pay h im h is wages
according to his seru ice, and if h e be an apprentise we m ay
vse h im according to his deserts.
We will also th a t y ou take with y ou such karsies, scarlet ,oth er cloth es, or a ny oth er su ch wares of ours, as y ou sh a ll
th inke good , and so in th e nam e of God to take y our iourney
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
as y ou sh a ll th ink m eete for th e search of the passage by Nou a
Zem bla,
lor els y ou to returne for England as y ou th inke
good . Prou ided alway es th a t if y ou doe perceiu e or vnder
stand,th a t passage is like to be h ad into P ersia th e Sum m er
following, wh ich sh al l be in the y eere 1 5 63, and th a t y ou can
not sell our karsies in th e Em perours dom inions, as aforesay d , a t a reasonable price th en we will ra th er th ey m ay be
kept till th e say d Sum m er in th e y eere 1 5 63. and th en y ou toproceed forwards Vpon y our iourney towards P ersia ,
as a foresay d . I f passage into P ersia can not be obteined th e next
y eere, neith er good h ope of passage in th e y eere 1 5 63. neith er
y et in the m eane tim e, good sale of our karsies in the Em pe
rours dom inions, then we thinke good for y ou to see if y ou
ca n practise to cary y our say d wares by sa fe conductthrough P olonia , or any oth er way es vnto Consta n tinople, or
els wh ere y ou thinke better sa le m ay be h ad, th en in
R ussia .
Thus hau e we giu en y ou to vnderstandourm eaninges in th isintended adu enture : but forasm u ch as we do consider and
know , th a t if we Sh ould prescribe vn to y ou any certaine way ,
or direct order wh a t y ou sh ould doe,we m igh t so worke
cleane contrary to our purpose and in tent : th erefore knowing y our approou ed wisedom e with y our experience, and a lso
y our carefull anddiligent m inde in th e a tch ieu ing and bringing to good successe (by th e h elpe of a lm igh ty God)a ll
th inges th a t y ou take in h and,we doe com m it our whole
a ffayres concerning th e say d adu enture wh ollie vnto y our
good discretion ,pray ing God so to prosper y ou ,
as m ay be
first for h is glory , secondly , for th e h onour and com m oditie of
Steven Burrough sa iled through Va iga ts Stra its in 1 5 5 6,and
h eard from a coa ster of N ova Zem bla,or N ew Land . Burrough wa s
th e first E nglish m an to h ear of it,and h is partia l success in naviga ting
towa rds th e N orth -Ea st led to subsequen t expeditions organised byth e Muscovy Com pany. (See H a kl .
,1 5 89 , p .
TO PERSIA AND RUSSIA.
th is realm e, and next for our profi t, with th e increase of y our
good nam e for euer.
And y et furth er desiring, and also m ost earnestly requiringy ou as y ou tender th e sta te of our com pany , th a t y ou w il lh aue a speciall regard vu to th e order of our houses ou r
seru ants,as wel l a t Colm ogro and Vologda ,
as a t Mosco,and
to see and consider if any m isorder be am ongst ou r seru antsor apprentises, wh ereby y ou th inke we m igh t h eera fter bepu t to h inderance or losse of anv part of our goods or priu ilege there, tha t you do not onely see th e sam e reform ed , bu ta lso to cert ifie vs thereof by y our letter a t large, as our trustis in y ou .
And for th e better knowledge to be had in th e prices and
goodnesse of such th ings as we do partly suppose you sh a ll
finde in th e parties of Ru ssia,we doe h eerewith deliu er y ou a
qu antitie of certa ine drugges, wh ereby y ou m ay perceiu e h ow
to know th e best, and a lso th ere is noted th e prices of suchwares and drugges as be heere m ost vendible a lso wedeliu er y ou h eerewith one pound and one ounce weigh t in We igh ts
a nd dru
brasse, to the end, th a t y ou m ay th erby , and w ith th e bill ofprices of wares know wh a t th ings be worth h eere. As for 8011
th e knowledge of Silks, we need not to gine y ou any in
stru ctions th erof, oth er th en y ou know .
Also if y ou vnderstand th a t any com m oditie in Russia ,be
profitable forvs to h aue with y ou in to P ersia or oth er places.
ou r m indes is th a t ou r Agents Sh a ll eith er prou ide it for y ou ,
or deliu er y ou m oney to m ake prou ision y our selfe. And
because th e Russes say th a t in trau elling Eastwards fromColm ogro th irtie or fortie day es iourney , there is the m a ine Th e m an
s W 1 t h
sea1 to be found
,we thinke th a t Rich ard I ohnson m igh t ggzggeE
im ploy h is tim e th a t way by land , and to be a t Mosco tim e
enough to goe w ith y ou into P ersia for if it be true th a t h em ay trau ell to th e sea th a t way ,
and th a t h e m ay know h ow
1 Probably intended to refer to the Kara Sea .
THE JOURNEY TO PERSIA AND RUSSIA.
m any m iles it is towards th e East from Colm ogro, it will be a
grea t h elpe for vs to finde ou t th e stra igh t and passage th a tway ,
if any be th ere to be h ad.
WILLIAM GERRARD,
THOMAS LODGE,
WILLIAM MERRIKE .
BLASE SANDERS .
Gou ernors.
3
36 11 68
MARRIAGE or IVAN .
cam e to Vologda , wh ich is distant from Colm ogro senen hundred m iles, where I rem ained foure day es, a ttending thearriu all of one of y our boa tes, wh erein was laden a ch est of
iewels with th e present,by y our worsh ippes appoy nted for
the Em perours Maiestie : wh ich being arriu ed,and the ch est
receiu ed, I th erewith departed toward th e citie of Moscou ia,
and cam e th ith er th e twentith day of th e sam e m oneth ,
wh ere I im m edia tly caused m y com m ing to be signifiedvnto th e Secretarie of th e Im peria ll Ma iestie
,with th e Qu ecnes
highnesse letters addressed vnto th e sam e h is Maiestie,
ers to th e who inform ed th e Em perour th ereof. Bu t h is highnessepero t
ussia . h au ing grea t a ffayres, and being a t th a t presen t rea dy to bem arry ed vnto a Lady of Chircha ssi
,
1of th e Mah om etica ll
law,com m anded th a t no stranger, Am bassadour, nor oth er
,
sh ould com e before h im for a tim e,with furth er stra igh t
ch arge, th a t during th e space of three day es th a t th e sam e
solem ne feast was celebra ting, th e ga tes of th e citie sh ouldbe sh u tte, and th a t no person ,
stranger or na tiu e (certeine of
h is h ou seh olde reseru ed)sh ou ld com e ou t of th eyr sayd
of th e Vago, a lef t tributary of th e N orth ern Dw ina,for a length
of 2 70, and a breadth of 130 m iles . Th is region was in early days inh abited by a tribe known to ethnologists a s th e Zavolotski Chudi .N ovgorodian hunters, a ttracted by th e a bundance of w ild an im a ls inth e dense forests of Vago, first visited it in th e eleventh and twelfthcenturies, and from th a t tim e it cam e to be included in th e TransOnega h a lf of th e Circum -Onega p ia tina ,
or fifth,anoth er ancien t terri
toria l division . Upon th e fa ll of N ovgorod, Vago wa s un ited w ithth e Grand Duchy of Mosco, and divided in to seven districts . In 1 7 70
it was included in th e Governm ent of Arch angel , its ch ief town beingthen
,a s i t is now
,Vago, or Shenkursk (h ence “Vagan i ”, a nam e
a ppl ied to th e pea sants of Sh enkursk). In 1 7 80 th e Vago country wa saga in subdivided into two districts, one of wh ich becam e part of th eArch angel Governm ent
,th e oth er of Vologhda . Jenkinson ’
s routewould
,of course
,h ave la in pa st th is cou ntry—S em eonof .
Circa ssia , H is first wife,Ana sta sia
,h aving died in 1 5 60
,I van
m arried,26 th August 1 5 6 1 , a Circa ssia n lady, daugh ter of Tem gruk
(Tem ru k), one of th e m ost il lu strious of the Ch erkess princes. She
is de scribed a s ch arm ing, and o n being adm itted into th e GreekChurch
,rece ived a t h er ba ptism th e na m e of Mary
—K a ra m sin, ix, 41 .
JENKINSON PRESENTS HIS LETTERS . 1 23
houses during th e say d trium ph ,the cause thereof vu to th is
day not being knowne .
Th e sixt of Septem ber following, th e Em perou r m ade a
grea t feast, wh ereun to were ca lled al l Am bassadou rs and
strangers being of repu ta tion , and h au ing a ffayres : am ongstwh om I was one, but being willed by th e Secretarie1 first tocom e, and to sh ew h im th e Qu eenes Ma iest ies letters
,I
refused so to doe, say ing I would deliu er th e sam e vu to th eEm perours owne h andes, and not oth erwise : wh ich h eard ,th e Secretarie answered, th a t vnlesse h e m igh t first perusethe sa id let ters
,I sh ould not com e in to th e Em perours pre
sence , so th a t I was not at th e feast. N eu erth elesse, I wasadu ertised by a noble m an th a t I was inquired for by th e
Em perours Maiestie,a l th ough th e ca u se of m y absence was
to h is Maiest ie vnknowne . Th e next day following,I caused
a supplica tion to be m ade, and presen ted it to h is h igh nesseowns bandes, and th ereby declared th e cause of m y com m ing,
signified by th e Qu ecnesMa iesties letters,and the a nswere of
h is say d Secretary ,m ost hum bly beseech ing h is Gra ce th a t
h e would receiu e and accep t th e sam e h er h ighnesse let ters,with such honor and friendsh ippe, a s h is letters sen t byOsepp N apey a were receiu ed by th e h andes of our la te Souereigne lady Qu eene Mary ,
or els th a t it would please h ish ighnesse to dism isse m e, say ing th a t I would not deliu er th esa id letters but vnto h is owne bandes for th a t it is so vsed in
our coun trey . Thus th e m a tter being pondered , and th e effectof m y suplication well disgested , I was forthwith com m andedto com e with th e say d letters before h is Ma iestie
,and so
deliu ered th e sam e in to h is owne bandes, (with such presen ts
a s by y ou were appoynted)according to m y request, wh ich
were gra teful ly a ccepted, and th e sam e day I dined in h is
Th is secretary , who appears to h ave been unfriendly towards Jenkinson
,th ough genera lly well disposed towards the English , wa s pro
bably Mikh a ilof , identica l w ith I van Micha ilof Viscova ty , a lreadym entioned (a nte, p .
OSIP NEPEA.
Graces presence, with grea t intertainm ent . Shortly a fter,I
desired to know wh eth er I sh ould be l icenced to passe throughh is high nesse dom inions into th e land of Persia , a ccording toth e Qu eenes Maiesties request : h eereunto it was answered
,
th a t I sh ould not passe th ith er, for th a t hisMaiestie m ent tosend an arm ie of m en th a t way into th e land of Chirca ssi
,
wh erby m y iourney Sh ould be both dangerous and troublesom e
,and th a t if I Sh ould perish th erein ,
it would be m uchto h is Gra ces dish onour
,but h e doubted oth er m a tters
,a l
though th ey were not expressed . Th us h au ing receiu ed h is
answere,neith er to m y expecta tion , nor y et contenta tion
,
and th ere rem a ining a good part of th e y eere, h au ing in th a ttim e solde th e m ost part of y our karsies a nd oth er wares
appointed for P ersia , wh en th e tim e of th e y eere required toreturne for England , I desired pasport, and post horses form oney , wh ich was granted but h au ing receiu ed m y pasportready to depart, th ere cam e vnto our h ouse th ere Osip
N epeya ,
1 wh o perswaded m e th a t I sh ould not depart tha t
Osip,or Osep (Joseph)N epea h ad exerted h im self before on
beh a lf of th e English , not unm indful of the h ospita lity sh own h im in
E ngland . All we know about h im is th a t,be ing Governor of Vologhda ,
h e was a ppointed by th e T sar h is envoy to England in 1 554 . H e
sa iled w ith Ch ancellor, and narrowly esca ped drown ing in th e sh ipwreck in P itsligo Bay , landing on th e coa st of Scotland in
N ovem ber th a t year. H is first experiences of ou r countrym en weresingularly unfavourable , for h e lost th e grea ter part of th e va luablegoods h e brough t , wh ich were plundered by th e lawless pOpu lation of th a t part of th e Scottish coa st . Som e were restored to h imthrough th e exertions of th e English Governm ent, but the grea ter partwas lost
,togeth er w ith th e lives of som e of h is suite . Proceeding by
land to London,h e everywh ere rece ived a cordia l welcom e . On
a pproa ch ing th e capita l , a deputa tion of th e leading citiz ens, h eadedby th e Lord Mayor
,cam e forth to m eet h im
,and conducted h im
through th e streets, wh ich were thronged by en thusia stic crowds, to a
h ouse prepared for h im in Fenchurch Street . H e wa s received inaudience by King P h il ip and Queen Ma ry
,and enterta ined m ost
h ospitably by th e Muscovy Com pany . H e returned to Russia in 1 5 5 7w ith Jenk in son (a nte, p . loaded w ith m arks of favour
,and bearing
costly presents to h is sovereign . Contem porary h istorians bear w itness
DANCERS OF THE CASPIAN .
wh om I had grea t friendsh ip and conference all th e way
downe th e sam e river vu to Astra ca n,wh ere we arriued a ll in
h ea l th th e 1 0. day of Iu ne .
And as touch ing th e situa tions of th e cities,towns
,ca stles
,
and country es,1as well of Mah om etans a s a lso of Gentils
adioyning to the sam e,whereby I passed from Mosco vn to
Astra ca n ,I om it in th is breu iat to reh earse
,for th a t I
h eretofore h aue declared th e sam e m ost am ply vu to y ou in
m y voy age to Bogh ar. Th us being arriu ed a t Astra ca n, as is
aforesaid , I repay red vnto th e captaine th ere, vnto whom I wascom m ended from th e Em perours Ma iesty ,
with grea t ch argeth a t h e not only sh ould ayd and succor m e with a ll th ingsneedfull during m y abode th ere
,bu t a lso to sa feconduct m e
with 5 0. gunners well appointed in two strooges2or brigam
tines into th e Ca spia n sea,vntill I h ad passed certa in e dan
gerons places wh ich pira ts rou ers do a ccu stom e to h aunt,h au ing prepared m y barke for the sea , th e Am bassador of
P ersia being before departed in a barke of h is owne,th e 1 5 .
day of Iuly ,th e y eere a foresa id, I and m y com pany tooke
ou r voy age from th e sa id Astra can,and th e next day a t a
West sunne,3passed the m outh of the sa id riner being twentiem iles distant
,ly ing next South ea st . 4 Th e 1 8. a t a Southwest
sunne,5 we passed by three I lands6 being distan t nine m ilesfrom th e sa id m outh of Volga ,
and Sou thsou thwest from
1 Both MSS . h a ve “and of nations
3 Th e stroog, in old Russian , was a river craft propelled by oars andsa il . Those com m only used on the Western Dvina were of about 1 50tons burden . From the c ircum stance of th eir be ing oth erwise ca lled“brigantines in the text, it is probable th a t a sim ilar craf t wa s em
ployed by pira tes on th e Caspian . Th e word is derived from stroga it,
to plane .
3 I .e.
,4 p.m .
H a tf . MS . h as south -west doubtless the correct reading.
5 I .e.
,2 p.m .
3 There are num erous islands off th e m outh of th e Volga , and i twould be h ardly possible to identify any three in particu larw ith th oseseen by Jenkinson .
CHETERI BUGRI . TERK I .
th ence, sa iling Sou thsou thwest th e next day , a t a West byN orth sunne we fel l with a land ca l led Cha l lica Ostriu a ,
1
being foure round Islands togeth er, distant from the sa idthree Islands fortie m iles. From th ence sa iling th e sa idcourse th e next day ,
we h ad sigh t of a land ca lled Tu he,
2 in gfue
n trey
th e cou ntrey of Tywrnen ,where pira ts and rouere doe vse z
TW m en
for feare of whom wee h a led off in to the sea du e East fortiem iles, and fell vpon Sh al lowes ou t of th e sigh t of land, andth ere were like to h aue perish ed , escaping m ost h ardly :then th e 22. day we h ad sigh t of a goodly Island called rpggz
i
gCha tu let
,
3 distant from th e sa id Cha llica Ostrina a h undred
1 Helm . MS . h a s “Cha tz'
ra i.e.
,fou r. Cheteri Bugri, “ island of
four h illocks” , is m en tioned by C . Burrough (H a kl .,p . Th is
i sland is usua lly sigh ted on th e voyage from Astrakh an down the
Ca spian , and is m arked on m odern m aps .2 H a tf . MS . h a s Tu zke
”
; H elm .
“T irek Th e place referred to ,evidently Terki
,is a t th e m outh of th eTerek
,wh ere
,in 1 5 69, I van caused
a f ortress to be erected a s a protection to h is fa th er-in - law Tem ruk,and
to strengthen h is own position in th is country . Th is wa s probably th efirst Russian fortifica tion in Cauca sia . I t occu pied th e site of th e
a ncient fortress of Tum en,a nam e wh ich a lso a pplied to th e low
lying fla t country to th e north -west of th e Ca spian,spoken of by th e
Venetian envoy,Josapha Barbaro, a s “th e ch a m pa ignes of Tum en
”.
Th e fortre ss of Terki , f our years a fter it wa s built,was dem ol ish ed indeference to th e w ish es of Sel im Sultan
,of Turkey
,but th e pla ce wa s
ch osen by Cossa cks and oth er free lances from th e Volga for th eirsettlem ent
,wh ence th eir nam e Terek Cossa cks”. In 1 586 th e
town wa s rebuilt and garrisoned by Streltsi, and from th a t t im e
beca m e an im portan t ba se of opera tions for Russia in h er advancesouthward. Ow ing to th e fresh im portance th e pla ce h ad a ssum ed
,its
fort ifica tion s were strength ened in 1 646,according to th e m ost im
proved system of engineering in those days. But wh en P eter th eGrea t returned from D erbend in 1 7 23
,th e inh abitan ts of Terk i were
transferred to new fortresses,and th e pla ce was converted into a
redoubt, garrisoned by 200 m en . Terk i appears on d’
Anv ill e’
s m ap of
th e Ca spian a s a ruined fort . I t wa s visited towards th e end of la stcentury by Giildenstadt
,th e traveller
,wh o found rem a ins of the town
wa ll stil l in existence . Sem eonof,art .
“Terski”
.
3 Shet ly head, not island, is m entioned by C . Burrough (H a kl .,p .
and is probably the land sigh ted by Jenkinson ,wh o did not a pproach
with in Six m iles of it,and m igh t ea sily h ave m istaken th e prom on
tory for an island .
1 28 THE COUNTRY OF THE SHAMKHALS .
m iles,th e winde being contrary ,
and a stiffe ga le, we werenot able to seiz e it : bu t were forced to com e to an anker tothe leeward of the sam e sixe m iles off in three or fourefa th om wa ter
,being distant from th e m a ine land to th e
Westward of vs, wh ich was ca lled Shafca y ll or Connyhe,1 acountrey of Mah om etans
,about 2
m iles, and so riding a t
two ankers a h ead,h a u ing no oth er prou ision, we lost one of
th em,th e storm e and sea being growne very sore, and th ereby
our barke was so ful l of leakes, th a t with continu all pum p
ing,we h ad m u ch a doe to keepe h er aboue wa ter
,a lthough
we threw m uch of ou r goods ou erboord,with losse of ou r
boa te,and ourselu es th ereby in grea t danger like to h aue
perish ed eith er in th e sea,or els vpon th e lee shoare, wh ere we
sh ould h aue fa llen into th e h andes of those wicked infidels,
wh o a ttended our sh ipwracke and surely it was very vnlike
th a t we Sh ould h aue escaped both th e extrem ities,bu t onely
1 Both MSS . h ave “Sh a lkau les”
. Th e nam e occurs in C . Bu r
rough ’s narra tive . H e places it twenty- four m iles north -north -west o fD erbend. Th is country is now com prised w ith in the m il itary district(obla st)of Terek . I t lies between the righ t bank of the Terek
,th e
left of the Sulak,and th e west coa st of th e Ca spian
,and is known as
th e Kum yk sub-district (okrug). On the south -west it extends to th eK a tchka likof ch a in
,an Ofiset of th e Cauca sus range . I t is a low- lying
strip of level land bordering th e Ca spian,wh ere rivers stop th e ir
courses before rea ch ing th e sea,and f orm num erous lakes a nd m arshy
tracts,breeding fevers, for wh ich th is region is notorious . I ts inhabi
ta nts are chiefly Kum yks,a people of Turkish race
,supposed by som e
to be th e origina l stock wh ich peopled th is coun try and h ave sincebeen replenish ed by Ta rtars and refugees . They l ived under th eirown princes or Sh a m kh a ls (evidently th e word in th e text), to whomth ey pa id tribute . Th ey are a l l Sunni Moh am m edans . Th eir wea lthcon sists ch iefly of ca ttle
,espec ia lly sh eep
,but th ey a lso cultiva te
the soil and own vineyards. Th eir first rela tions w ith R u ssia da tefrom 1 5 5 9, when Agh im ,
prince of th e Kum yks of Tum en,beca m e
h er va ssa l . Afterw ards,fortresses were built in the ir country. In
1 604,the Kum yks rebe lled
,and obliged the Russian garrisons to leave :
but in 1 7 22,during P eter th e Grea t’s expedition aga inst P ersia , th ey
renewed th eir a ll egiance , andare now com pletely subdued.—Sem eono f
art .
“K u m yksky”
.
2 A blank in both editions of H akluyt a nd in the MSS .
WALL OF ALEXANDER. TIFLIS .
castle therein, being situ a ted vpon an h ill called Ca stowe
builded all of freestone m u ch after our building, th e wallesvery h igh and th icke
,and was first erected by K ing Alex
ander the grea t , wh en h e warred aga inst th e Persians and
Medians,and th en he m ade a wa ll of a woonderfu ll h eigh t
and th ickenesse, extending from th e sam e citie of th e
Georgians, y ea vnto th e principa ll citie th ereof nam ed
Tiph l is Tewflish ,1 wh ich wa ll th ough it be now rased
,or oth erwise
decay ed , yet th e founda tion rem ayneth ,and th e wall was
m ade to th e intent th a t th e inh abitants of th at cou ntrey
th en newly conqu ered by the said Alexander sh ou ld not
ligh tly flee, nor h is enem ies easily inu ade. Th is citie of
Derben t being new vnder th e power of th e Soph ie of P ersia ,
bordereth vpon th e sea , adioyning to th e foresa id land of
Sha l/ca ll, in th e la titu de of fortie one degrees. From th encesailing Sou theast Sou th sou th east abou t 80. m iles, th esixth day of Augu st, the yeere a foresa id, we arriued a t our
possession of P ersia . In 1 7 22, h owever, P eter th e Grea t, profitingby th e disorders in tha t country
,captured th is pla ce and left a
garri son in ch arge . But six years a fterwards D erbend was se iz ed bya neighbouring prince , wh o wa s, h owever, obliged to surrender it toN adir Sh ah . In 1 7 96 it was besieged by Russian forces and taken
,
but wa s not fina lly incorpora ted w ith Russia till after th e Trea ty ofGulistan
,1813. With reference to th e tradition of Alexander th e
Grea t being its founder see next note .—Sem eonof ; Yule’s Marco
P olo,i,5 5 .
1 Tifl is,founded circa 1063
,capita l of Georgia , stands on both
banks of th e K u ror Cyrus,and is th e residence of th e lieutenants of th e
T z ar in Tran scauca sia . I t is,perh aps
,th e m ost thriving and beautif ul
town in h is dom in ions,south and north of th e Cauca sus . Th e wa ll
m entioned in our text ran inland from D erbend a long th e ridges ofth e Cauca sus
,th ough h ow far, does not appear to be certa in ,
—R ich ardEden says th irteen days’ j ourneys a ccording to Klaproth ’s ext ractsfrom th e D erbend na m eh
,it extended to th e B ariel pa ss . E ichwa ld
followed it for twelve m iles. Every h a lf m ile,substantia l towers,
crested w ith ba ttlem ents,were erected upon it . Tradition'
a scribes it toAlexander th e Grea t
,wh o built it to shu t up th e Tartars, th e Gog and
Magog of th e Scriptures,and it bears the title of Sadd-i-I skandar,
the ram part of Alexander.—Yule’s Ma rco P olo
,2nd cd . ,
ii,p . 537 .
SHABBAN . SHEMAKHA.
landing place called Shabra n 1,wh ere m y barke discharged :
th e goods layd on Sh ore,and th ere being in m y tent keeping
great wa tch for feare of rou ers,whereof th ere is grea t plenty ,
being field people, the gou ernor of th e sayd cou ntrey nam edAlcanMu roy ,
2com m ing vnto m e, intertaynedm e very gen tly ,
vnto wh om giuing a present, h e appointed for m y sa fegard
fortie arm ed m en to wa tch and ward m e,vntil h e m igh t
h aue newes from the king of Shyrua n . The 1 2. day of th e
sam e m oneth newes did com e from the king, with order th a tI Sh ou ld repayre vnto him with al l speed : and for expedition
, as well cam els to the num ber of fine and tortie to carym y goodes, as a lso h orses for m e and m y com pany were inreadinesse, so th a t th e goods laden, and taking m y iourney
from th ence th e said twelft day , on th e 1 8. of th e sam e
m oneth , I cam e to a citie ca lled Sha m a elcye,3 in the sa id
countrey of Hyrca n,otherwise cal led Shyru a n,
and there the
1 Shabran’
s K ha li (fort)is m arked on Monteith ’s m ap of GeorgiaandArm enia ; on K h a tow ’
s, sca le it a ppea rs a s I zabran -Ka leh,
on a sm al l river,th e I za bran
,fa lling into th e Ca spian not far from
N izabad and on Koch ’s m ap of the Cauca sus . I ts position,h owever
,
seem s to h ave been fixed by d’Anv ill e (see h is a tla s and m ap of the
Ca spian)on th e coa st of D agh estan ,about m idway between Derbend
and Baku . I t wa s in th e district of Kuba , and i s referred to by th eArabic auth or
,Ch akany ,wh o, speaking of an inva sion of Kha z ars , says,
a postroph ising th e ir sovere ign, “Th ou m adest of Derbend a h ell,and
cau sedst th e lam en ta tion s of Sh ahran”
(D orn,p . Angiolello
m ention s it as an unwal led city four days’ m arch from Derbend. -See
Zeno, H akl . Soc .
,pp . 49, 5 7 Angiolello, ib. ,
p . 1 13.
2 Ali Kh an Murz a .
3 Sh am aky e (Sh em akh a). Th ere were two towns of th is nam e
Old and N ew . Th e form er,Old Shem akh a
,seen by Jenkinson
,was
destroyed by N adir Sh ah in 1 7 40,and is now a h eap of ruins . N ew
Sh em akh a,about twelve m iles S E . of the old town
,m a rked by som e
ru ins about a m ile from th e post sta tion of Aksu,suffered terribly
from earth quakes, and th e sea t of governm ent was th erefore rem ovedin 185 9 to Baku . Th e country round Sh em akh a produced the bestsilk , but th e cl im a te was h ot and unh ea lthy—D om
,Uber die einfdlle
der a lten Ru ssen in Ta ba ristan, p . 121 Sehiltberger, in Hakl . Soc .,
p . 45 .
Shubran
AlcanMurcy t]
gou ernm
THE KING OF SHIRVAN .
king h a th a fayre place, wh ere m y lodging being appoin ted ,th e goods were disch arged : th e next day being th e 1 9 . day , Iwas sen t for to com e to th e king nam ed 0bdolowea n ,
1 wh o
kept h is court a t th a t tim e in th e h igh m oun taines in tents,distant from th e sa id Sh am a cky c twentie m iles, to a u oid th e
iniury of th e h ea t : and th e 20. day I cam e before h ispresence
,
2 wh o gen tly interteyned m e,and h au ing kissed h is
bandes,h e h ad m e to dinner
,and com m anded m e to Sit
downe not farre from h im . Th is king did sit in a very rich
pau ilion wrough t with silke a nd golde placed very pleasan tly ,
Vpon a h ill Side,Of sixteene fa th om long, and sixe fa th om
broad,h au ing before h im a goodly founta ine of faire wa ter
whereof h e and h is nobilitie did drinke, h e being a prince of
a m eane sta ture, and of a fierce coun tenance, rich ly ap
parelled wi th long garm en ts of silke,and cloth of golde,
im brodered with pearles and stone : Vpon h is h ead was a
tol ipane3with a Sh arpe end standing v ards h alfe a y ardlong, of rich cloth of golde, wrapped about with a piece of
India silk of twentie y ards long,wrough t with golde, and on
th e left Side of his tol ipane stood a plum e of feth ers,set in
a trunke of golde rich ly inam eled, and set w ith preciousstones : h is earerings h ad pendan ts of golde a h andfu ll long,with two great rubies of grea t value, set in th e ends th ereofall th e ground with in h is pau ilion was cou ered wit-h rich
carpets,and vnderh im selfe was Spred a square carpet wrough t
with silu er gold, th erevpon was la id two entablecush ions. Thus the king with h is nobilitie sitting in h is
pau illion with h is legs a crosse, and perceiu ing tha t it was
1 Abdullah Khan,King of Sh irvan . H is dea th
,on th e 2nd of
D ecem ber 1 5 65 , m entioned by ArthurEdwards,was a grea t loss to th e
English traders, t owards wh om h e was favourably disposed . See
Edwards’ letter to th e Russia Com pany —H a lal,p . 37 7 .
2 Both MSS . add “w ith a gif te” .
3 Turban . The Turkish,P ersian
,andRussian word “ tolipan or
tulpan m eans a tul ip . From its sim ilarity in sh a pe to th e flower,
th e E a stern head-dress cam e to be ca l led by th e sa m e word .
THE TOWN OF KAZVIN . HAWKING .
not only gine m e passage, bu t also m en to safeconduct m e
vnto the sayd Soph ie, ly ing from th e foresa id citie of
Sha ina /ly e th irtie days iourney , Vp in to th e land of Persia ,
a t a castle ca lled Ca sbin 1 : so departing from th e king a t th a ttim e, within three dayes after, being the foure and twentie
day of Augu st the y eere a foresayd, h e sent for m e againe
vnto wh om I repayred in th e m orning, and th e king not
being risen out of h is bedde (for his m aner is, th a t wa tch ingin the nigh t, and th en banketting with his wom en, being a
h undred and fortic in nu m ber, h e sleepeth m ost in th e day)did give one com m andem ent th a t I sh oul d ride an h awkingwith m any Gentlem en of h is Court : and th a t they Sh ouldsh ew m e so m u ch gam e and pastim e as m igh t be, wh ich wasdone
,and m any cranes killed : we returned from h awking2
about three of the clocke a t th e afternoone. The king th enrisen, and ready to dinner, I was inu ited thereunto, and
approching nigh to th e entring in of h is tent, and being inh is sigh t two gentlem en incou ntred m e with two garm entes
of th a t countrey fash ion, side down to th e ground, th e one of
silke,and th e other of silke and golde, sent vnto m e from the
king, and, a fter th a t th ey caused m e to pu t off m y Vpper
garm ent , being a gowne of blacke velu et furredwith Sables,th ey pu t th e sayd two garm ents Vpon m y backe, and so con
ducted m e vnto th e k ing, before wh om doing reu erence, and
k issing h is h and, h e com m anded m e to sit not farre fromh im
,and so I dined in h is presence ; h e a t th at tim e being
1 Ca sbin (Ka zvin), now a m iserable place,fa lling ra pidly into
decay, i s seven days’ j ou rney ea st of Tabriz , on the road to Teh eran .
D elle Va lle sa ys th a t Ka zvin continued to be th e ch ief c ity of P ersiatill Sh ah Abba s took a n a version to it , and rem oved h is court toI spah an (P inkerton, ix ,
Oleariu s rem arks tha t it conta inedinh abitants in 1 637 . Gla z ed tiles
,of som e beauty in design
and colour, occa siona l ly found a m ong its ruins, are th e only tracesof its h aving once been th e residence of P ersian sovereigns.
2 H awking was a favourite pa stim e of th e Kings of Sh irvan . I van1 1 1
,Grand Duke of Muscovy
,sent ninety fa lcons a s a presen t to an
earlierKing of Sh irva n .—A tha na siu s N iki tin
,in H akl . Soc .
,p . 4.
HYRCANIA OR SHIRVAN .
y ery m erry , and dem anding of m e m any questions, and
am ongst oth er, h ow I”
l iked th e m aner of th eyr h awking.
D inner so ended, I required h is h ighnesse safeconduct for todepart towards th e Soph ie, wh o dism issing m e w ith grea tfau ou r
,and appoin ting hisAm bassadour (wh ich returned out
of Russia)and oth ers, to safecondu ct m e, he gaue m e, a t m y
departure, a fayre h orse with a ll fu rniture , and cu stom s free
from thence with a ll m y goods. So I returned to Sha m a kyeagaine, wh ere I rem ayned vntill th e sixt of October, to
prou ide cam els, h orses, and other necessaries for m y in tendediourney .
Bu t now before I proceed furth er, I purpose to write som e
th ing of th is countrey of Hyrca n ,
1now call ed Shyrua n ,
withthe townes and com m odi ties of the sam e . Th is cou ntrey of 1 131 0311 1
H yrcan in tim es past was of grea t renowne, h au ing m anycities, townes, and castles in it : and th e kings th ereof intim e of antiqu itie were of grea t power, able to m ake warreswith th e Soph ies of Persia bu t now it is not onely otherwise
(for th a t th e cities, townes and castles be decay ed)bu t alsoth e king is subiect to th e say d S0ph ie (a l th ough th ey h aveth eir proper king), and be a t th e com m andem ent of
th e say d Soph ie, wh o conquered th em not m any y eeres(1
13311
253passed, for th eyr diu ersitie in religion, and caused not onely religion
a ll th e nobilitie and gentlem en of th at cou ntrey to beput to dea th
,bu t also ouer and besides
,rased th e wa lles
of th e cities, townes, and castles of th e sa id realm e,to
th e intent th a t th ere Sh ould be no rebellion, for theyr
1 Hyrcan l a 1 s a m 1snom erfor th i s country,Sh irvan h aving an swered
to th e ancient Media Atropa tene,th e m odern Russ1an Governm ent of
Sh em akh a,or Baku ; wh ile Hyrcania lay to th e sou th - ea st of th e Ca s
pia n , probably represented by th e m odern P ersian province of Ma zan
deran (Zeno, in H akl . Soc.
,p . 49
,note). Th a t erroneous idea s pre
va iled regarding th ese Ca spian countries in th ose tim es i s evident fromth e a llusion in Milton to th e H yrcan ian cl iffs of Cauca sus” . In
P tolem y ’s tim e,h owever
,the Ca spian Sea wa s known a s Mare
Hy rca nu m .-P a radise R ega in
’
d,Book 1 1 1
,line 31 7 .
ARBASH .
grea t terrour, cau sed a turret of free stone and flints to beerected in th e sayd citie ca lled Sha m akye,
1and in a ranke of
flints of th e sayd turret did set th e h eads of th e sayd nobilitieand gentlem en ,
th en execu ted2: th is citie is distan t from th e
sea Side,with cam els senen day es iourney , but now th e sam e
being m uch decay ed , and ch ieflie inh abitedwith Arm enians,
ano ther citie cal ledArra sh,
3 bordering Vpon th e Georgians,is th e ch iefest and m ost Oppu lent in the trade of m erch andiz e ;and th ereabouts is nourish ed th e m ost abundan t growth of
raw silke,and th ith er th e Turkes, Sy rians, and oth erstrangers
do resort and traffike. Th ere be a lso diners good and neces
sarie com m odities to be prou ided and h ad in th is sa id rea lm e
eidcliz et, gal les, rough and sm ooth
,cotten wooll , a llom e
and raw silke of th e natura ll growth of th a t countrey .
Besides,neere a ll kinde of spices and drugges, and som e
o th er com m odities, wh ich are brough t th ither from ou t ofEast India
,bu t in the lesse qu antitie, for th a t th ey be not
assured to h ave ven t or v tterance of th e sam e ; but th ech iefest com m odities th ere , be raw Sil kes of all sortes
,wh ereof
th ere is grea t plenty . N ot farre from th e say d citie of
1 Ante,pp . 98
,131 .
2 Oleariu s m ade particular inquiries as to the truth of th is story,
wh ich h e attributes to John Cartwrigh t, an Engl ish traveller in P ersia ,wh o borrows large ly from H ak luyt
,but found no founda tion for it .
H e confirm s,h owever
,ou r auth or’s sta tem ent regarding th e ruined
ca stle or’
fortress of Guli stan,w ith its neigh bouring convent and tra
dit ions. H e is of Opinion th a t the nam e Gul istan,signifying flower
garden wa s derived from th e adja cen t va lley,wh ich is rem arkably
beautiful . Th is nam e is not uncom m on in P ersia,be ing given to any
place o f m ore th an ordinary a ttra ctions—Tra vels of the H olsteinE m ba ssy inMoscovy a nd Ta rta ry (P aris, p . 2 73 The P rea cher
’
s
Tra vels,in th e Earl of Oxford’s collection
,vol . i
,p . 7 26 .
3 Arra sh is m arked Aresh on th e tran script of the Russian m ap of
Georgia , by K ha tow I t stood on th e h ighroad from Baku toT ifl is
,near th e river K u r
,in swa m py ground . Th e unh ea lth iness of
th e place caused th e dea th s of Banister,Lawrence
, Ch apm an,and
oth er Engl ish m en . Cartwrigh t, in th e work just quoted, m entions th ecity o f Ara sse , and says h e wa s six days travelling th ence to Tabrizbut he is a p lagiarist . —Cf. Monteith ’s m ap, R .G.S .
CURIOUS TRADITIONS .
‘
JEVAT. THE KUR.
kept a passage thereby , vntill there cam e an h oly m an (term ed
H a'
u coire H a m she1)a kinsm an to one of th e Soph ies, wh om ounted th e sa id h il , and com ba t ting with th e said Gian t,did bind not onely him in ch a ines, bu t also h is wom an cal ledLa m isa che, with h is ' sonne nam ed After : for wh ich victorieth ey of th a t countrey haue th is h oly m an in grea t reputa tion,and th e h ill a t th is day (as it is bru ited)sau ou reth so ill th a tno person m ay com e nigh vnto it . Bu t wh eth er it be trueor not , I reterre it to furth er knowledge.
N ow to returne to th e discourse of th e proceeding in m y
voy age towards th e grea t Soph ie. Th e 6 . of October in th e
y eere a foresayd, I with m y com pany departed from Sh a m a chie
aforesayd, and h au ing iourneied three score m iles cam e to atowne ca lled Ya u a te,2 wh erein th e king h a th a fa ire h ou se,with orch ards and gardens, well replen ished with fru ites of
all sorts. By th is towne passeth a grea t riner called Curre3
wh ich springeth in th e m ou ntaines Of the Georgia ns, and
passing through th e countrey of Hircania a foresa id, fa llethin to th e Ca spian or H irea n Sea , a t a place betweene two
ancient townes ca lled Sha bra n and Ra cowe,’1situa te within
the realm e of H irca ne, and from th ence issu eth further,1 H a u eoire, perh aps “Fakir”, or dervish . H am z ah was Mah om et’suncle
,but th e personage referred to m ay probably h ave been Ham zah
Beg, prince of th e Turkom ans of th e Wh ite Sh eep . H e reigned inMesopotam ia and Ca ppadoc ia forty years
,a nd died in 1446
,being suc
ceeded by h is nephew Jeh angh ir, brother of th e celebra ted UzunH a ssan .
—D ’
Herbelot,Bibliothéque Orienta le.
2 Ya ua te (Jeva t), at th e confluence of th e K u r wi th the Araxes .3 Th e K u r
,or Cyrus
,h as its source in th e Kiz il -Gyaduk
,f eet
a bove th e sea (Sir R . Tem ple ’s Asia,p . I t loses its na m e on
j oining th e Araxes . Th ese united rivers flow into th e Ca spian byone m onth
,about sixty m iles south of Baku, not , a s Ducket says,
near Baku, or, as Jenkinson sta tes, between th is town and Sh abran
(H a kl ., pp . 329
, I n th e tim e of Strabo th e K u r and Araxesa ppear to h ave entered th e sea by separa te m outh s .
4 Baku and its naph th a springs h ave been noticed by num berlesswriters, from Jenkinson to th e auth or of a pa per in Good Words
(1884, p . who ca lls th is ancient town a quondam ham let . Baku
BAKU. ISMAIL SUFI .
passing through a fru itq cOuntrey , inh abitedwith pasturingpeople, wh ich dwell in th e Sum m er season vpon m ountaines, and in Winter they rem oou e in to th e va lley s with ou tresorting to townes or any oth er h abita tion andwh en th eyrem oou e, they do iourney in Carrau ans or trOOpes of peopleandca ttell , carry ing all th eirwiu es,ch ildren ,
andbaggage Vpon
bul locks. N ow passing this wild people ten dayes iourney ,com m ing into no towne or h ou se
,the 1 6 . day of October we
arriu ed a t a citie ca lled Ordowill , wh ere we were lodged In gin
sciti
l
a
I'
OWl
a h ospital l1 builded with fa ire stone, and erected by th is Ardou l .
Soph ies fa th er nam ed Ism ael,
2 onely for th e su ccour and
lodging of strangers and other trau ellers,wherein all m en
h au e victu als and feeding for m an and h orse, for 3. dayes, and
since 1 85 9 , capita l of the Governm ent of th e sam e nam e—is situa tedin th e south -western cornerof th e pen insula of Apsh eron
,and possesses
th e finest h arbour in th e Ca spian . I ts founda tion is referred by D ornto th e s ixth century. Af ter th e Ara b conquest it fel l under thepower of th e Kh an s of Shirvan ,
and suffered grea tly from th e in
va sions of Tokh tam ysh and Sh ah I sm a il . From 1 509 it form ed partof P ersia , from wh ich it was taken by th e Turks, but was retaken byth e P ersian Shah Abba s th e Grea t . In 1 7 23
,Baku wa s ca ptured
,
a fter a long siege, by a Russian squadron u nderMatiu shk in,but wa s
restored to P ersia in 1 735 . In 1806,a f ter th e treach erous m urder
of th e Russian Genera l , Prince Tsitsianof , wh ose m onum ent standsin th e square, it wa s fina lly incorpora ted w ith Russia . I ts nam e i ssa id to be derived from two P ersian words, bad, w ind, and kubida h ,to bea t, th e a ppropria teness of wh ich , as appl ied to Baku, can h ardlybe den ied by anyone who h as pa ssed a few days th ere .
- Sem eonof ,art .
“Baku1 Cara vansera i .2 I sm a il
,fa th er of Sh ah Tahm asp, was the son of Sheikh Hyder
,by
Martha , daugh ter of Uzun H assan,and Despina
, daugh ter of Ka loJoh annes, one of th e la st Christian em perors of Trebiz ond . I sm a iloverthrew th e Uzbek power a t th e ba ttle of Merv Sh ah Jeh an in
1 5 14, andreigned twen ty-five years, dying in 1 524 . He introduced th eSufi or Su ffavean religion into P ersia ; h is fa th er
,Sh eikh Hyder
,
h aving been th e first to espouse it,wh ence h is followers were a lso
ca lled H yderi. I sm a il is sa id to have been a bloodth irsty tyrant,on ly
fit to be com pared w ith N ero .—Tra vels of a Merchant,H akl . Soc .
,
p . 1 9 1 .
ARDEBIL . TABRIZ.
no longer. Th is foresayd la te prince I sm a el,l ieth buriedin
a faire .Meshit,
1 with a sum p tuous sepulchre in th e sam e,wh ich
h e caused to be m ade in his l ife tim e . Th is towne Ordowill2
is in th e la titude of 38. degrees an ancien t citie in th e
prou ince of Adera uga n ,
3 wh erein th e princes of P ersia are
com m only buried , and th ere A lexander th e grea t did keepeh is court wh en h e innaded th e P ersians. Foure daies iourneyto th e Westward is th e Citie Tebris
,
‘1 in old tim e ca lledTa u ris, th e grea test citie in Persia ,
bu t not of such tra de or
m erchandi z e a s it h a th bene,or as o th ers be a t th is tim e
,by
m eane of th e grea t inu asion of the Turke,5 wh o h a th conquered
1 Mosque . Th is m osque and I sm a il’s tom b h ave been repea tedlyvisited byMorier and oth ers .
2 Ordowill (Ardebil), once a town of grea t repute,but now a n
in sign ificant vi llage , stands on th e p la in of Mogam . I ts h istory isclosely a ssocia ted w ith th e Sufi m onarch s of P ersia
,wh ose tom bs are
still preserved th ere . Wh en Ardebil capitula ted to th e Russian s in1828
,th e library belonging to th e m osque of Shah Sufi wa s sent to
Russia .
—Montieth’s K a rs a nd E rz eroum
,p . 1 50.
3 Aderba ijan ,or Az erba ijan
,th e north -westernm ost province of
P ersia,lies between th e Ca spian and Bla ck Sea s
,being separa ted from
th e form er by th e Russian district of Lenkoran .
4 Tabriz w as th ree or four days’ j ourney from Ardebil . Th e citywa s situa ted in a pla in a t th e foot of a m ounta in
,and wa s surrounded
by a beautiful country. I t wa s about twenty-four (fift een ,a ccording
to anoth er a ccount)m iles in circuit, and wa s no t surrounded by wa l ls .I t h ad been th e residence of Darius
,K ing of P ersia
,and conta in ed
m any elabora te pa la ces buil t by subsequent kings . Ta uriz,or Tabriz ,
h as been identified w ith th e Shush an of E sth er,th e north ern E cba tana ,
and oth er a ncien t cities of fa m e . Friar Odoric,of P ordenone
,says it
is a nobler c ity and a better for m erchandise th an any oth er in th eworld . Th ere are now no traces of its m agn ificence , th ough it wasstill in splendou r in th e seven teenth cen tury . N O town h as sufferedm ore from th e ravages of war and earth qu akes - Angio lel lo, in H akl .Soc .
,p . 1 2 1 Ca tha y , ib.
,p . 48 Tra vels of a JlI ercha nt
,ib.
,pp . 1 6 6 - 1 73.
5 Solym an II in vaded P ersia in 1 534,and advanced to Ta briz , wh ich
h e took,w ith out
,h owever
,com m itting any disorder. D riven to retire
by one of th e m ost violent storm s ever recorded in h istory,h e pa ssed
th e w in ter a t Babylon,wh ere be ca u sed h im self to be crowned King
of P ersia . The following year h e aga in advanced, retook Tabriz , andsucked it
,wh ile T a hm asp retired into the m ounta ins near K a svin
,
DEATH OF BAJAZET.
I shou ld com e before h is presence, willing m ee in th e m eanet im e to m ake readie m y present if I h ad any to deliu er.
At th is t im e th e grea t Turkes Am bassadour1 arriu ed foureday es before m y com m ing, wh o was sent th ith er to conclu dea perpetu a ll peace betwixt th e sam e great Turke and th e
Soph ie, and brough t with h im a present in gold and faireh orses, with rich furnitures and oth er giftes esteem ed to bewoorth fortic th ousand pound. And th ereupon a peace wasconcluded with ioy fu ll feastes, trium phs and solem nities,corrobora ted with strong oth es, by th eir lawe of Alkaran
,for
eith er to Obserue the sam e, and to line a lway es after as
sworne brethren, ayding th e one th e oth er agaynst a ll princesth a t sh ould warre agaynst th em ,
or ey th er of th em . And
vpon th is conclusion the SOph ie cau sed the great Turkessonne nam ed Ba iset Soltan , a va liaunt prince (wh o beyngfled from h is fa th er vnto the Soph ie, h ad rem ayned in h is
court th e space of foure yeeres)to bee pu t to dea th . In
wh ich t im e th e sayd Turkes sonne h ad caused m ortall warree
betwixt th e sayd princes, and m u ch preu ailed therein Th e
Turke dem aunded th erefore h is sonne to bee sent vnto h im ,
and th e Soph ie refused th ereunto to consent . Bu t now beingela ine according to th e Turkes will , the Soph ie sent him h is
h ead for a present, not a l it tle desired, and acceptable to th evnnaturall fa ther.
2 D iscoursing a t m y first arriu all with the
1 Th is am ba ssador was Ha ssan Agh a .
2 K nolles,a contem porary h istorian
, gives full particul ars of th isem ba ssy
,and of th e dea th of Ba ja zet . Th e circum stances were
th ese -Ba ja z et , a brave and energetic prince , h ad offended h is fa ther,who suspected h im of am bitious designs w ith regard to th e su ccession ,wh ich h e in tended for h is favourite son
,Selim . Baja z et , to sa ve h is
l ife and the l ives of his ch ildren,fled in 1 5 5 6 to P ersia , and took
refuge w ith Sh ah Tah m asp, h is fa th er’s enem y . He wa s a t first welltrea ted a t the P ersian Court
,but a f ter awh ile Tam asp becam e irri
ta ted aga inst h im ,and threw h im into prison . Solym an , m eanwh ile
,
h ad never cea sed urging th e surrender of Ba ja z et , but unsuccessfully,till a t length h e found th a t Tahm asp wa s open to a bribe , and wouldconsent to the dea th of h is prisoner
,th ough refusing to give h im up
DISCUSSING TRADE WITH PERSIA. 1 43
king of Shiru an of sundry m a tters, and being intertained as
h a th bene before declared, the sa yd king nam ed Obdoloca n ,
dem au ndingwh eth er th a twee of England h'
adfriendsh ip withth e Turkes or not , I answered th a t we neuer h ad friendsh ipwith th em , and th at th erefore th ey would not suffer vs topasse through th eir coun trie in to th e Soph ie his dom inions,and th a t there is a na tion nam ed th e Venetians, not farredistant from vs, wh ich are in grea t leagu e with th e say dTurkes,1 wh o trade into h is dom inions with our com m oditiesch iefly to barter the sam e for rawe silkes
,wh ich (as wee
vnderstand)com e from th ence : and th a t if it wouldplease the sayde Soph ie and oth er princes of th at countrey ,
to suffer our m erch aunts to trade into th ose dom inions, and
a live. Ha ssan Agh a , a trusted agent, wa s sent to P ersia,visited
th e prison in wh ich th e unfortuna te Baja z et wa s confined,and
recognised in h im h is playfellow of form er years . H aving com
m unica ted to Solym an th e results of th is interview,h e was
com m issioned to strangle Baja z et w i th h is own h ands,an order
wh ich h e executed w ith revolting bruta lity, refusing th e wretchedm an
’s prayer to take leave of h is ch ildren . Baja z et’s three sons
,a lso
a t Ka zvin , were bowstrung in the sam e way , wh ile h is fourth son,an
infant a t Brussa , suffered th e sam e fa te . Th e c ircum stances a ttendingh is dea th reca ll to m ind th e m urder of th e young princes in the Tower,for it is recorded by K nolles tha t, wh en th e m iscreant h ired to do th eb loody deed entered th e room ,
th e ch ild threw h is arm s about h isneck,
and so m el ted h is h eart th a t h e was found lying in a swoon by h isintended victim ’s side, anoth er h aving to disch arge his bloody ta sk .
Thi s m urder was justified by Solym an on grounds of policy, or, a sK nolles qua intly puts it, “ lest of an evil bird m igh t com e an evilch ick”.
—K nolles’s Genera ll H istoric of the Turkes, p . 7 81 .
1 Th is is h ardly correct. Ven ice had for nearly a century beennegotia ting w ith th e K ings of P ersia to a tta ck Turkey, prom ising as1
sistance with arm s and sh ips to induce Persia to m ake war andweakenth e power of th e Turks
,wh ich was th en a t its z en ith . Th e Venetians
h ad by th is tim e lost th eir m aritim e suprem a cy in th e Levant andBlack Sea , wh ere th e trade wa s m ostly in th e h ands of
‘
Genoe se . I t
was doubtless with th e view of rega in ing th eir form er position in th e
E a st th a t th e R epublic exerted itself strenuously to bring abouta coa lition aga inst Turkey. (See Tra vels of Venetians, in Hakl . Soc . ,
aTurk esrch a u n t s
h stand
Ieuk in
TURKISH INTRIGUE .
to give vs passeport and safe conduct for the sam e, as th e
sey de Turke h a th grau nted to th e sayde Venetians, I doubtednot bu t th a t it sh ould growe to su ch a trade, to th e profite ofth em
,as neuerbefore h adbene the l ike, and th a t th ey sh ould
bee both furnish ed with our com m odities,and a lso h aue
vt terance of th eirs,a l th ough th ere neuer ca m e Turke in to
th eir land,perswading with m any oth erwordes for a trade to
be h ad. Th is king vnderstanding th e m at ter liked i t m ar
u eil ou sly , say ing, th a t h ee wou ld write vu to th e SOph ie
concerning th e sam e ; as h e did in very deede, assuring m e
th a t th e Soph ie woul d graunt m y request,th a t a t m y
returne vnto h im h e would giu e m e letters of safe conduct,
and priu iledges.
1 Th e Turkes Am bassadour was not th encom e into th e land
,neith er any peace h oped to be concluded ,
but great prepara tion was m ade for warre wh ich was l ikem u ch to h aue furth ered m y purpose, but it ch anced oth erwise. For th e Turkes Am bassadeur being arriu ed and the
peace concluded,th e Turkish m erch an ts th ere a t th a t tim e
present, declared to th e sam e Am bassadour,th a t m y com m ing
th ith er (nam ing m ee by th e nam e of Franke)would in grea tpart destroy th eir trade, and th a t it sh ould bee good for h imto perswade th e Soph ie not to fau our m e
, as h is h ighnesse
m ent to Obseru e th e league and friendsh ip with th e grea t
Turke h is m aster,wh ich requ est of th e Turkish m erch an ts
,
th e sam e Am bassadour earnestly preferred , and being a fterwards dism issed with grea t h onour h ee departed ou t of th eRea lm e with th e Turkes sonnes h ead as a foresayd, and oth erpresents.
Th e 20. day of N ou em ber aforesayd, I was sent for to
1 Jenkinson ’
s instruction s (a nte, p . 1 1 7)were to endeavour to divertpart of th e Lévan tine trade into anoth er ch annel
,in order th a t England
m igh t m ake u se of h er new relations with Russia to open a new traderoute by wa y of th e Volga and Ca spian to India . H is want of successon th is occa sion appea rs to h ave been ch iefly du e to Turkish influences
,
wh ich were just th en param ount in P ersia .
HIS QUESTIONS . A FRIEND AT COURT .
th ith er from th e m ost excel len t and gracious sou era igne
Ladie E liz a beth , Queene of th e sayd Rea lm e,for to treate of
friendsh ip , a nd free passage of ou r m erch au nts and people,
to repa ire and tra ffiqu e w ith in h is dom inions,for to bring
in our com m odities,and to carrie away th eirs, to th e h onour
of both princes, th e m utua l com m oditie of both realm es, and
weal th of th e subiects,with o th er words h ere om itted . He
th en dem au nded m e in wh a t language th e letters were
writ ten ,I answered
,in th e La tine, I ta lian ,
and Hebrew °
wel l say d h e, we h aue none with in our rea lm e th a t vnderstand th ose tongues. Wh ereunto I answered th a t such a
fam ous andwoorth ie Prince (as h ee was)wanted not people ofall na tions with in h is large dom in ions to in terprete th e sam e .
Th en h e questioned with m e of th e sta te of our countries, andof th e power of th e Em perour of Alm aine
,K ing Ph ilip
,
and th e grea t Turke,1 and wh ich of th em was of m ost powerwh om I answered to h is contenta tion
,not dispray sing th e
grea t Turke, th eir la te concluded friendsh ip considered. Th enh e reasoned with m e m uch of religion, dem au nding wh eth er
I were a Cower,th a t is to say , an vnbeleeu er
,or a .Mu selrna n
,
th a t is,of Mah om ets lawe. Vu to wh om I answered
,th a t
I was neith er vnbeleeu er nor Mah om etan ,but a Christian.
Wh a t is th at say d h ee vnto the king of Georgians sonne,2 wh obeing a Ch ristian was fled vnto th e say d SOph ie , and h ee
answered th a t a Christian was h e th a t beleeu eth in I esu s
1 Ferdinand I,P h ilip I I of Spa in
,and Solym an th e m agn ificent,
a t th a t tim e th e m ost powerful princes in Europe .
2 Lu arsab I,King of E astern Georgia , dying in 1 5 58, left two sons,
S im on and D avid,between wh om h e divided h is dom in ions . But a s
ne ith er of th em wa s content with h is sh are,th ey declared war aga inst
ea ch other, and both solicited a ssistance of Tah m asp . The youngesth a ppen ing to a pply first
,T ah m asp a nswered th at h e would give h im
a ll h is fa th er’s territories provided h e would turn Muh am m ada n .
D avid em braced th is proposa l,j oined th e P ersian arm y
,and was sent
to Ka zvin, wh ere our traveller saw h im .—Ch ardin ,
Voy . en P erse,i,
p . 1 7 4 .
DISMISSAL . ORMUZ.
Christus, affirm ing h im to bee th e sonne of God, and th e
grea test proph et : D oest th ou beleeu e so sayd th e Soph ievnto m ee : Yea th a t I doe say d I : Ch th ou vnbeleeu ersay d h e, we h aue no neede to h aue friendsh ip with th e
vnbeleeu ers, and so wil led m ee to depart. I being gladth ereof did reu erence and went m y way , being accom paniedwith m any of h is gentlem en and oth ers, and a fter m ee
followed a m an w ith a Basanet 1 of sand , sifting a ll the way
th a t I h ad gone with in th e sa id pa llace, eu en from the say dSoph ies Sigh t vnto the court ga te .
Thus I repaired againe vnto m y lodging, and th e say dnigh t Sha lly Murzey
2sonne to th e king of Hirca ne a foresayd, Th e cur
t IGSIe
wh o fau oured m ee very m uch for th a t I wa s com m ended vntoh im from h is fa th er, willed m e not to doub t of any th ing,putting m e in h ope th a t I sh ould h a ue good successe withth e Soph ie, and good intertainm ent .
Th us I continued for a tim e , da ily resorting vnto m e diners
gentlem en sent by th e Soph ie to conferre with m e,especial ly
touch ing th e a ffa ires of th e Em perour of Russia ,and to know
by wh a t way I intended to retu rne into m y countrey ,eith er
by the wa y th a t I cam e,or by t he way of 0rm u s
,
3and so
1 Old Engl ish , a little basin .
2 Sh ah Ali Murz a,a nte
,p . 1 41 .
3 Orm uz was a m onth or six weeks’ j ourney from Ka zvin on ca m elsTh is island belonged to th e P ortuguese , and was reputed to be of
fa bulous wea lth ; Abdul R ez ak,Shah R okh ’s envoy
,describes it in
glow ing term s on visiting it in 1 442 . Th eMoorish proverb ran,
“Th e
world is a ring, and th e j ewel in it is Orm uz ” ; andMilton sa ys, outsh one th e wealth of Orm uz and of Ind (P a radise Lost, Bk . 1 1
,line
In 1 507 , th e grea t Afon z o D a lboqu erqu e took Orm uz for h is sovereign ,
Don Manuel,a fter an a ction wh ich holds a h igh pla ce am ong P ortu
gu ese anna ls. For upwards of a century Orm uz rem a ined a P ortugusse possession , till it fell into th e h ands of th e P ersians, h avingsurrendered to th e Ea st India Com pany ’s fleet in 1 622 . On th i socca sion William Baffin
,th e naviga tor, received h is dea th wound.
E ver since, Orm uz h as rem a ined desola te . See Com m enta ries of
Af onso D a lboqu erque (H akl . i,pp . 105 - 1 23
,and iv
,p . 186 ;
B afin’
s Voy ages (Hakl . pp . xlv and 1 5 6 .
FRIENDLY INTERVENTION .
with th e Portinga le sh ippes. Vu to wh om I answered,tha t
I durst not returne by th e way of Orm us,th e Portinga le and
wee not being friends, fully perceiu ing th eir m eaning : for Iciiii
s in .
was adu ert ised th a t th e sayde Soph ie m eant to h aue warres$323: with the Portinga le, and would h aue ch arged m e th a t I h ad
bene com e for a Spie to passe through h is - dom in ions vntothe sa id P ortinga le, th inking th em and vs to bee a ll one
people,and calling a ll by th e nam e of Franks, bu t by th e
prou idence of God th is was preu ented.
After th is th e sayd SOph ie conferred with h is nobilitie
and counsell concerning m e,wh o perswaded
,th a t h e sh ou ld
net entertaine m e well , neith er dism isse m ew i th letters or
gifts, considering th a t I was a Franke, and of th a t na tionth a t was enem ie to th e grea t Turke h is broth er, perswadingth a t if h ee did oth erwise, and th a t th e newes th ereof sh ouldcom e to th e knowledge of th e Turke
,it sh ould be a m eane
to breake th eir new leagu e and friendsh ip la tely concludeddisswading furth er because h ee h ad no neede, neith er th a t itwas requ isite for h im to h aue friendsh ip w ith vnbeleeu ers,
wh ose cou ntrey s lay farre from him,and th a t it ’
was best forh im to send m ee with m y letters vu to the seyde grea t Turkefor a present, wh ich h e was fully determ ined to h aue donea t som e m eete tim e
,m eaning to send his Am bassadour vnto
th e sayd grea t Turke very Sh ortly a fter.
Bu t th e king of H irca nes1 sonne a foresayd, vnderstanding
th is del ibera tion,sent a m an in post vnto h is fa th er, for to
declare and im part th e purpose vnto h im , who as a gra ciousprince
,considering th a t I h ad passed through h is dom inions,
and th a t I h ad iourney ed for a good inten t, did write to0nd
gm M . th e Soph ie2 a ll th a t wh ich h ee vnderstood of h is say d deD SOD B
la lfe~ term ina tion,and th a t it sh ould not stand with h is m a 1 est 1es
h onour to doe m e any h arm e or displea sure, but ra th er to
gine m ee good enterta inm ent , seeing I was com e into h is1 I .e.
,th e King of Sh irvan ’s son
,a nte
,p . 1 41 .
2 Ha tf . MS . adds : “w ith a ll spede”
.
u iledges
a ined of
l olow
w h ich
h ere
er a n
Arm e
SHEMAKHA. ALCOCK AND CHEINIE .
h oly m en were th e ch iefe andprincipall procurers andm oonersth ereof : bu t th e SOph ie him selfe m eant m ee m u ch good a t
th e first,and th ough t to h aue giu en m e good entertainem ent
,
and so h ad done, h ad not th e peace and leagu e fortuned toh aue bene concluded betweene th em and th e grea t Turke.
N eu erth elesse, say d h ee , th e Sophie h a th written vnto m e toentertaine y ou well , and y ou are welcom e into m y countrey ,
and so h ee intrea ted m ee very gently , in wh ose court I re
m ayned senen dayes, and obteined of h im letters of safe
condu ctes and priu il edges in y our nam es to be free frompay ing cu stom e
,wh ich I deliu ered vnto y our seru au nts
Th om as Alcocke and George Wren , a t th eir departure towards Persia for y our a ffaires :1 and h is h igh nesse did giu em ee two garm ents of silke, and so dism issed m e wi th grea tfau our
,sending w ith m e h is Am bassadou r againe vu to th e
Em perour of Russia,and com m itted th e ch iefest secrete of
h is a ffayres vnto m ee,to declare th e sam e vnto the Em pe
rours m aiestie a t m y retu rne and th us departing th e tenthday of Aprill , I cam e to th e Citie of Sha m a ehie
,and th ere
rem ayning certa ine day es for prou ision of cam m els downe toth e Sea Side
,I sent from th ence before, m en to repayre m y
barke and to m ake h er in a readinesse. And during m y
u sen t to abode in Sham a ehie,th ere cam e vnto m e an Arm enian sen t
ster
lKl D SOD
th e
g of
argia .
from th e K ing of Georgia ,wh o declared th e lam entable sta te
of th e sam e king, th a t being enclosed betwixt th ose two
1 Alcock went to P ersia w ith R obert Cheinie,as agents for th e
Russian Com pany,in 1 5 63. Th ey landed a t som e port in Media
, pro
bably a t Jenkinson ’s Sh abran ,
and proceeded th ence to Sh em akh a,
wh ere th ey were well rece ived by Abdullah Khan . Ch einie rem a ineda t Sh em akh a
,wh ile Alcock travelled to Ka zvin to buy m erchandise .
R eturn ing, h e m et Ch einie a t Levacta (Jeva t, or Djeva t), a day and a
h a lf from Sh em akh a . Meanwh ile,an Il l- feeling h ad grown up aga in st
foreign m erch ants in consequence of a Muh am m adan h aving beenkilled by a Russian . P erceiving th is , Alcock and Ch einie h a stenedth eir departure . Ch einie set ou t first
,a nd sa fely reach ed Shem akh a
,
wh en , three days after h is a rriva l,h e h eard th a t Alcock h ad been
killed on h is way th ith er. p . 37 5 .
A MESSAGE FROM GEORGIA.
cru ell tyrants and m igh tie princes, th e say d grea t Turke and
the Soph ie,h e h ad continu a ll warres with th em
,requiring
for th e loue of Christ and as I was a Christian th a t I woul dsend h im com fort by th e say d Arm enian
,and adu ise h ow h ee
m igh t send hisAm bassadou r to th e say d Em perour of Russia,
and wh eth er I th ough t th a t h ee woul d support h im or no
and with m any oth er wordes required m ee to declare h isnecessitie vnto th e sam e Em perour a t m y returne : a ddingfurth er th a t th e say d king would h aue written vnto m ee h is
m inde,but th a t h e doubted th e safe passage of h is m es
senger. Unto wh om I -did l ikewise answere by worde of
m outh,not onely perswa ding h im to send h is Am bassadour
to Russia ,not doub ting but th a t h ee sh oul d finde h im m ost
h onourable and inclined to h elpe h im ,bu t a lso I directed
h im h is way h ow th e sayde king m igh t send by th e cou ntrey
of Chircassi,through th e fa u our of Teneruke1 king of th e gggeg
r
ggsay d countrey , wh ose daugh ter th e say d king h ad la tely 011 1 1 311 88?
m arried . And thus dism issing th e say d Arm enian,with in
two day es after I sent Edward Clearke2 y our seru aunt vntoth e Citie of Arra sh , wh ere th e m ost store of silkes is to beeh ad
, giu ing h im Com m ission to h aue passed further in to th esay d countrey of Georgia ,
and th ere to h aue repaired vnto
th e sayde king. And after m y com m enda tion prem ised, and
m y m inde declared, to h aue pursued for safeconduct of th esam e prince for our m erch au nts to trade in to h is dom inions
,
and th a t obta ined to h aue returned aga ine w ith Speede . Th e
sam e y our seru ant iou rning to th e sayde citie of Arra sh,and
th ere finding certa ine m erch ants Arm enians,wh ich prom ised
to goe to th e sayde cittie of Georgia ,3com m ing to th e borders
th ereof was perceiu ed by a Captaine th ere, th a t h e wa s a
Christian ,and th ereupon dem aunded wh ith er h e ‘
went,and
1 Tem gruk , Ivan ’s fa ther-in -law .- See a nte
,fol . 9 1 .
2 Edward C lark is m entioned in Edwards ’ letter (H a kl . , p . 37 6)a sth e m ost suitable person to represent th e Com pany in P ersia .
3 I .e.,T iflis.
DESCRI PTION OF PERSIA.
vnderstanding th a t h ee could not passe furth er with ou t grea tsuspicion,
answered th a t h ee cam e th ither to buie silkes, andsh ewed th e king of H irca nes let ters wh ich h e h ad with h im
,
and so returned backe againe, and th e 1 5 . of Aprill cam e toS ha m a ehie from whence I departed th e sixteene of th e sam e
m oneth,and th e one a nd twent ie thereof com m ing to th e Sea
Side, and finding m y barke in a readinesse,I caused y our
goods to bee laden ,a nd th ere a ttended a fa ire wind.
Bu t before I proceede any furth er to speake of m y returne,
I intend w ith y our fau ours som e wh a t to trea te of th e
cou ntrey of Persia , of th e grea t Soph ie, and of h is countrey ,
lawes and religion .
Th is la nd of Pers ia is grea t and am ple,deu ided into m any
kingdom es and prou inces, as Gilla n , Cora sa n, Shiru an ,
land
m any oth ers h au ing diu ers Cities, Townes and Castles in th e
sam e. Eu ery prou ince h a th h is seu era ll king, or Sul tane,a ll in obedience to the great Soph ie. The nam es of th e
ch iefest Cities be th ese . Teu cris, Ca sbin ,K esha n
,Yesse
,Meslcit
,
H eirin, Ordowill, Sha m a ehie
,Arra sh
,
2 with m any oth ers.
Th e countrey for th e m ost part toward th e Sea side pla ineand ful l of pasture
,bu t in to th e h igh land
,h igh ,
fu l of
m ou n taines, and sh arpe. To th e Sou th it bordereth Vpon
Ara bia and th e East Ocean . To th e N orth Vpon th e Caspia nsea and th e lands of Ta rtaria . To th e East vpon th e pro
u inces of I ndia,and to th e West vpon th e confines of
Cha ldoea, Syria ,
and oth er th e Turkes landes. Al l with inth ese dom inions be of the Soph ies, nam edShaw Thom a s
,sonne
to I sm a el Sophie. Th is Soph ie th a t now raigneth , is noth ing1 Gh ilan
,Kh ora ssan
,Sh irvan . Th e first two are well -known pro
vinces of P ersia ; th e la st now form s part of th e Russian em pire .
From th e c ircum stance of its being h ere included in P ersia,it is
evident th a t Abdulla h Khan ’s sovere ignty was m erely nom in a l .2 Th ese cities are Tabri z
,Ka zvin
,Ka sh an
,Yezd
,Mesh ed, Hera t
,
Ardebil , Sh em akha a nd Arrash ; a ll , w ith th e exception of th e twola st, noted cities a t the presen t day , though in a sta te of decay
,like
every th ing in P ersia .
RELIGION OF PERSIA.
th e Turkes and Tartares bee, y et h onour th ey th is false fa inedMurtez a llie. say ing th a t h e was the ch iefest disciple tha tMah om et h ad
,cursing and ch iding da ily three oth er disciples
th a t Mah om et h ad called Om a r Vsira n and Abebeclee,1and
these three did Slay th e say d Murtez a llie,for wh ich cause
and oth er differences of h oly m en and lawes,th ey h aue h ad
and h aue with th e Turkes and Tartares m orta ll warres. To
in trea t of th eir religion a t large, being m ore orlesse Mah om etslawe and th e Alkoran, I Sh a ll not need a t th is presen t .Th ese persons are com ely and of good com plexion
, proude
and of good courage, esteem ing th em selu es to bee best of a ll
na tions,both for th eir religion and bolines
,wh ich is m ost
erroneous, and a lso for a ll oth er th eir fash ions. Th ey be
m artiall,deligh ting in fa ire h orses and good h arnesse, soone
angrie, craftie and h ard people. Th us m uch I h aue though t
good to trea te of th is na tion, and now I returne to discoursethe proceeding of th e rest of m y voy age.
My Barke being readie a t the Ca spia n Sea side as aforesay d , h au ing a fa ire w inde, and com m it ting our selu es vnto
God th e 30. day of May , one th ousand fiu e h undred sixtie
three,wee arriu ed a t Astra can
,h au ing passed no lesse dan
gers Vpon th e Sea in our returne,th en we susta ined in our
going foorth , and rem ayning a t th e sa id Astra ca n,vntill th e
ten th day of Iu ne,one hundred gunners being th ere adm itted
vnto m e for m y safegard up th e riner Volga , th e fifteenth of
Iu lie I arriu ed at th e Citie of Ca za n,wh ere th e captaine
entertained m e well,and so dism issing m ee, I was conducted
from place to place vnto the citie of Mosko,where I arriu ed
the 20. day of August 1 5 63. in safetie, th ankes be to God,with all such goods, m erch andiz es, and iewels, as I h ad prou ided as well for th e Em perours stocke and accou n t , as a lsoof y ours, al l wh ich goods I was com m aunded to bring in to
1 Abu bekr,Om ar
, and Oth m an,th e first three Kh a l if s cursed by th e
Sh iah s, beca u se th ey put to dea th Ali, son -ih - law of th e Prophet .—Seea nte
,p . 84.
JENKINSON RETURN S TO MOSCO.
th e Em perours treasurie before it was opened , wh ich I did ,and deliu ered th ose parcels of wares
,wh ich were for h is
m aiesties accoun t, videlicet, precious stones, and wrough tsilkes of sundry colours and sortes, m uch to h is h ighnessecon ten ta tion ,
and th e residue belonging to y ou ,v iz .
,Cra shoe,
and raw silkes, with oth er m erch andiz es (as by accountappeareth)were brough t vuto y our h ouse
,wh ereof part
th ere rem a ined , and th e rest was laden in y our sh ips la telyreturned .Sh ortly after m y com m ing to th e Mosko
,I cam e before
th e Em perours m aiestie and presen ted vnto him the apparell
giu en vnto m e by th e Soph ie,
1 wh ose h ighnesse conferredwith m ee touch ing th e princes a ffa ires wh ich h e h ad com
m it ted to m y ch arge , and m y proceedings th erein it pleasedh im so to accept, th a t th ey were m uch to h is conten ta tion
,
say ing vu to m e, I h aue perceiu ed y our good seru ice, for th ewh ich I doe th anke y ou , and will recom pence y ou for th e
sam e, wish ing th a t I would trau ell againe in such h is oth era ffa ires, wherein h e was m inded to em ploy m e : to wh om Ia nswered
,th a t it was to m y h eartie reioy cing th a t m y seru ice
wa s so acceptable vnto h ish igh nesse, a cknowledging a ll th a tI h ad done to bee but of du etie
,h um blie beseech ing h is grace
to con tinue h is goodnesse vnto y our worsh ips, and cuen a t
th a t instan t I h um bly requested h is m aiestie to vou chsa feto graunt vnto y ou a new priu iledge m ore am ple th an th e N ew rriu
leges ob
first , wh ich im m edia tely was grau n ted,2and so I departed . 32121
9
30136
And a fterwards h aning penned a briefe note h ow I m eant “13°
to h au e th e sam e priu iledges m ade, I repa ired da il y to th eSecretarie for th e perfecting of th e sam e
,and obta ined it
y uder h is m a iesties broad sca le, wh ich a t m y departure fromth ence , I deliu ered vnto th e custodie of Th om as Glou er
y ourAgent th ere . The copie wh ereof and a lso of the oth er
priu iledges graunted and giu en by th e king of H irea n,I h aue
1 Cf . a nte,p . 1 49 .
2 Th ere is no trace of th is privilege in H a kluy t .
ARRIVES IN LONDON .
alreadie deliu ered vu to y ou . Soiourning a ll the Winter a t
Mosko, and in the’1
‘
m eane tim e hau ing bargained with th e
Em perours m aiestie, I sent away y our seru au nt EdwardClearke h ither ou erland with adu ise
,and also m ade prepara
tion for sending agayne into Persia in m eete tim e of th e
y eere. Andcom m itting the charge th ereof vnto y ourseru antsTh om as Al cocke, George Wrenne, and Richard Ch einie, th e28. of I u ne last , I departed in poste from th e say d Mos/co,
and com m ing to Colm ogro, and so downe to th e Sea side, Ifound y our sh ips laden and readie to depart
,wh ere I em
barked m y selfe in y our good sh ip called th e Swa llow, the
9 . of Iuly , one th ousand fiu e h undred sixt ie foure,and
h au ing passed th e Seas with grea t and extrem e daungers of
losse of sh ippe, goods and life,th e 28. day of Septem ber last
(God bee pray sed)wee arriu ed h ere a t Londone in safetie.
Thu s knowing th a t th e cou ragiou s and valiau nt souldierwh ich adu entureth both fam e
,m em ber and l ife
,to serue
fa ith fully h is sou eraigne, esteem eth not the perils and
daungers passed (th e victorie once ob ta ined)neither for h is
guerdon desireth any th ing m ore,then th a t h is seru ice bee
well taken of h im forwh om h e enterprised it : So I perceiu ingy our fau ourable beneu olence to m e extended in accepting m ytrau els in good part to y ourcontenta tions, doe thinke m y selfetherewith in grea t part recom pensed : beseech ing a lm igh tieGod to prosper y our adu entures, from tim e to tim e h erea fterto be m ade for reaping th e fruits of m y trau els (a t y our greatch arges, and to m y no sm all dangers)th a t ye m ay plen tifullyga th erin andenjoy th e sam e to th e illustra ting of th e Qu eenes
m ost excellent m aiestie,th e h onour and com m oditie of th is
h er h ighnesse realm e,and to the am ple beucfite and abundant
enrich ing of y ou and y our succession, and posterite for eu er.
1 5 8 PRIVILEGES FOR PERSIA.
contrary to th is our com m andem en t,and th e sam e be knowen
vnto vs, th en wee w ill th a t th e sa id custom ers and officers
sh a ll loose and be pu t out of th eir sa id offices, with our
furth er displeasure,and th e sa id English m erch ants to h aue
restored all such m ony andwares as ou r custom ers h aue takenof them for our said cu stom e. And wh ensoeu er the sa idEnglish m erch an ts or th eir factors sh al l bring any m aner ofwares m eet for our treasurie
,th en our treasurer sh a l take th e
say d wares into our treasurie, and sh a l giuc vu to th e saidEnglish m erch au nts
,eith er ready m oney or raw silkes, to th e
value of th eir sa id wares. And Wh eresoeu er th is ou r letterof priu il edges sh al l be scene and read with in our dom inion ,
wee stra igh tily will and com m au nd th a t it take effect,and be
obeied in a ll points. D a ted a t our place of I a a a t,th e day
and y eere aboue written , and sea led with our princely sca le,
and firm ed by our secretarie in the 1 2 . y eere of our raigne .
PETITION RELATING TO THE NORTH -EAST
PASSAGE .
1
ANTHONY JENKINSON TO
[
THE QUEEN .
To the Qu enes Moste Excellente .Ma ieslie.
2
EXPERIENCE proveth e (m oste gracious Sou eraigne)Th a tN a tura lly a ll Princes ar desyrou s to I m ploy e theire studyand extend th eire power to adva unce th eire Hou mour, fam e
and Renowne And to Enlardge th eire dom ynions, K ingdom s,
and Terry tories, Wh erfore it is not to be m arvey lid a t,to see
th em eury day e ready to pru ve th e sam e ; N ot regardinge
a ny costes, pery lls or laboures th a t th eireby m ay ch aunce .
1 Jenkinson ’
s first efforts on h is return from P ersia in th e autum n
of 1 5 64 were a t once directed towards organ ising a voyage to Ca th ayby th e north -ea st
,a plan of discovery th a t h ad never been wh olly
lost sigh t by the m erch ant adventurers to Russia from th e period of
th e acc identa l discovery of th e coa st of Moscovy by R ich ard Ch ancellorand Steph en Borough in 1 5 53. Th e origin of th is sch em e of
Ca th ayan enterprise is,h owever
,to be traced to th e m ind of th e far
sigh ted Seba stian Cabot,wh o first propounded it a s an a lterna tive
and far better route,not on ly of th e one undertaken by h im or h is
fa th er to th e north -west in 1 4 7 7—9,but a lso anoth er frequently lost
sigh t of , nam ely,th e one specia lly recom m ended by R obert Th orn
,
a m erch an t of Bristol,in 1 527
,wh ich wa s to take th e voyagers
stra igh t across th e N ort h P ole and bring them out on the oth er sideof th e globe . Th e first to revive th e sch em e of a north - ea st pa ssageto Cath ay, after a lapse of twelve years
,upon any pra ctica l ba sis or
new da ta a cquired by experience in travel , was, undoubtedly,Anth onyJenkinson in h is petition to th e Queen
,now before us
,and printed
for th e first tim e in extenso .
2 Cott . MS .
,Ga lba D ix
,f . 4 . Th is, in jured a t th e edges, h as been
colla ted w ith th e MS . a t th e Sta te P aper Office, S . P . D om . E liz . ,
vol . 36 and severa l cancelled words are supplied from the S . P . 0 .
MS . The da te o f th is letter is 30May 1 5 65 .
1 60 JENKINSON’
S PETITION TO THE QUEEN .
The Worlde knowethe th a t th e desy er of princes ba the bynso ferven t to obtayne th eire desyred purposes, Th a t th ey h auea dventured
,and provid th ings to m ans Coniecture im pos
sible, wich e not only th ey h aue m ade very possible, Bu ta lso th ings th a t
"
seem ydvery h arde and dy ffy cu lte, th ey h auem ade very facy le and easy . And th is to doo, som e ney th er
fearinge God nor respectinge na tu ral l cy vy ly tie, Con trary toa ll righ ts, Equ y tie, hu m any tie and Conscy ence , h ave not onlySpoy lyd, Robbed and sacked m any stronge Cy tties and
Countrey s, N eare vu to th em,Bu t a lso h aue Disinh ery ted, y ea
and m ade Captyve vuto th em N oble Princes, y ea such e a s to
any m ans coniecture wer noth ing inferriour vnto th em .
Oth ers whom s th e feare of God h a th e kept w ith in th e
bounds of reason, and y et of no lesse m agnany m y tie and
noble Courage, th en th ey , Haue not spared to torne1 Vp and
downe th e wh ole worlde so m any tym es th a t th e peopleinh abitinge the farthy est Regions of th e Occidentall
,h aue
pursued with ferven t desy ers, labours, perills and dau ngers,
To penetra te and enter in to th e farthest Regions of th e
Orienta ll,and in lykwy se th ose people of the Orienta ll h au e
h ad no lesse laboure and desy er to enter and penetra te intoth e farth est partes of th e Occidental l ; And so followinge
th eire purch ase2 h aue not ceased vnty ll th ey conlde passe no
furth er by reason of the Create Seas wich e th ey though te tobe th
’
end of th e worlds. N ow consideringe th a t th is noblea nd Couragiou s D esy er never dy ethe bu t ly eth hy dden in
th e Harts of a ll N oble Princes a ttending oportu ny ty e tom any fest it self, and know ing the sam e not to be wan ting iny our m aiestie
, I though te it therfore no lesse th en m y bownden
dewty e to m ake m any fest vn to y our m oste Excel lentem aiestie m y ne opyny on , How y our grace m ay e not only
1 To me,A. S .
,to turn .
—H a 11iwell .2 0 . Fr. pourcha s, an a ttem pt to a cquire , endeavour.
I’
ll get m ea t to serve th ee,
Or lose m y lif e in th e purcha se.—Bca u . a nd F l .
1 62 JENKIN SON’
s PETITION TO THE QUEEN .
Ry se, The m ettalls Golde, and Silver, Th e stones,Rubyes,
Dy am ants,ba lasis
,&c. Wherefore y f i t wolde please Al
m igh ty e God th a t th is Region of Oa th a ye m igh te be discou erydby y our m aiestie and passage fownde thy th er by th e north e,As th eare wer no dough t of th e fyndinge of a ll th ese Comm ody ties (in grea te h abondanns)So th eare sh olde also
grea te Bennefy te ry se to th is y our m aiesties rea lm e of Eng
lande, by th e grea te ven t th a t wolde be m ade of a l l kynde of
wollon com m ody ties m ade in th is realm e in th ose colde
country es Betwene th e Im agyned straigh te (Of no dowgh te
to be fownde)and th e sa id Lau nd of Ca tha ye. Th e N avigation wolde be sh orter by th e N orth e
,th en th a t of th e
P ortinga lles by th e Sowth e . Though e we sh olde tra vel]even to th e I londs of spices
, Ca llyd th e Molu cuel by
th em alredy discou eryd, by twoo thowsande Leages, wh icharr Six th owsande m y les, And as farr distan te as Ca tha y s
is from th ose I londs,SO m och e shorter also sh a l l owre
travells be,And y et sh albe as am ply furnysh ed with
Spy ces as th ey are th eare . Besydes Sy lkes, Golde and silverand precious stones w ith infy ny te oth er com ody ties as
I h aue learned in m y Travells. N owe towch ynge th e dann
gerou snes of th e Travel ],and th a t th e N orth erly Seas be
vnnavigable for th’
extrem y ty e of th e colde (as som e Cosm o
graphers h aue affyrm ed)w ich e indeede is very trewe, y f th edewe tym es of th e y ere be not obseru ed.
2 Bu t as experienceand practy se h a th e detectid th ese Cosm ographers Of errors
1 Th e Molucca s,or Spice I slands
,in E . long. were first
discovered by Antoni o D ebren,in th e nam e of th e King of P ortuga l ,
in 1 5 1 2 , and m ore fully explored in 1 5 64. Cf . Ma j or,P rirzce H enry ,
4 18 Alboquerqu e (Hakl . iii,1 62 .
2 Th is rem ark sh ows th a t our traveller h ad studied th e subject carefully before addressing H erMa jesty . H a lf the a ttem pts to naviga teth ese sea s h ave fa iled
,owing to th e sea son ch osen being too early or
too la te,a nd from an im perfect knowledge of th e sta te of th e ice .
See pla n of N ordenskiold’
s expedition,presented to th e K ing of
SWQdC Il . i, 1 2 -33.
JENK INSON’
s PETITION To THE QUEEN . 1 63
in theire Specu lacion ,For a ffyrm ynge the partes Sowthward
to be both e inh abitable1 and vnnavygable for th’extrea
m y ty e of the h ea te, so I m ake no dowte a t a ll,by th a t
sm a l le practy se and expery ence th a t I h aue h ad in th osenorth erly Regions, but th a t th ey ar a lso decey u id in th is.
For aswell on th is sy de, as bey onde th e Pole twoo or threeh undreth c leages, As all m en of K nowlege m ay e consider,Th e Sea s and landes be as tem pera t wh en th e Soonne is inth e northe tropicke as th ey be in these partes. And for th e
space of term weekes wh ere I h ave Traveled th ere is con
tinu a ll da ie, Th e Sonne~alwaies aboue our h orison ,And so
th e nearer th e Pole the longer D aie, wh iche is no sm alle
Com odity e, and Com forte to th e N aviganntes. And seinge
th a t the P ortinga lles and Spa nya rdes Haue not spared totravel] vpon vnknowen Coastes, Hau ing abowte th e Equinoctiall , longe Nigh tes, We sh olde h aue no feare a t a l l
,Bu t
ra th er be Encouraged to travel] and Search e for th is passage ,Haninge for so longe ty m e Continual] ligh te of th e Soonne (y f
th e Season be D ewly obseru ed), And lyke as th ere is vary etyof Opynions Towch inge th is passage owte of th is oure Occianinto th ’
east Occian, Som e a ffirm inge th e sam e by th e N orthweste (Takinge th ere Au th ory tie of Gerten awthors wh o
wrote by Coniecture)wh ich Opynyon I do not wholly dissentfrom SO am I fully perswaded th a t to th e N orth easte th ereis no dowgh te of a passage to be fownde, For th a t like as Ia t m y beinge in Scy thia and Ba ctria
,I divers tym es ta lked
and Conferred w ith Dy vers Ca th ay enswh o wer th ere a t th a tpresen t in trade of m erch anndy se Towch inge th e com ody ties
of th eire cou ntrey ,And how the Seas aborded vn to th em
,I
Learned of th em th a t th e sa id Seas h ad th eire Course toGerten north erly Regions with Wh om they h ad Traphy qu eby Seas. Also h au inge conferrence with th
’
inh abitantes
I .e., un inhabitable.
—N ares’s Glossa ry .
Even to th e froz en ridges of th e AlpsOr any other ground inha bita ble.
-R ich . act i,so . 1 .
M s
1 64 JENK INSON’
s PETITION To THE QUEEN .
of Hugarye1
and other people Of Sam eg/des and Colm a ckes
wh ose Countreys ly e very farr north erly (and nere wh ere
un to I gesse the sa id passage to be)which e people Say lea longe th e sa ide Coastes Fy ssh inge a fter th e grea te Fy sh eca lly ed th eMorse for th e Benefy te Of h isTea the. OfWhom e
I h ave learned th a t bey onde them th e sayde Lande and
Coastes trench e and tende to th e East and to the Southwarde
,And th a t th e Corrau ntes and tydes runne East South
easte andwest northweste very veh em ently , which e m anifestlyargueth e a passage. Furth er th is laste y ere a t m y beinge inTh
’
em perou re ofMu scovia his Coorte, y t ch aunced th a t there
Cam thy th er Certen of th’inh abitantes of th e foresa id
Country es To present vuto th e sa id Prince a certen straungeHed with a h om e therein
,wh ich e th ey h ad fownde in th e
I londe of Vaga zfls,2 wh ich e is not farre from th e River of
Obbe and the m ayne land of H agary e. And for th a tTh
’
em peroure ney th er any Of h is people knewe wh a t y t wasfor the strau ngenes th ereof He com m aunded th a t Soch estrau ngers as wer th ough te to h aue any Judgem ent th erinsh eld see th e sam e, and be asked th ere Opynion wh a t theyth ough te it to be. Am ou nge wh om e y t was m y ch au nce tobe. And so was it fownde
,by th e reporte Of th em
,
‘
th at
before h ad sca ns th e lyke, To be th e Hedd a nd h om e of an
Vny corne,3 wich is in no sm alle pry ce and Estym acion with
th e sa ide prynce. Then I Im agynyd with m y Self fromwhence th e said Hedd sh olde Com e
,And knowinge th a t
Vny cornes are Bredde in th e Landes of Ca thaye, Chynay e
and oth er the Orienta l] Regions, fe] into Considera tion th a t
1 Yugria , or Ugria , was th e extrem e north of S iberia,a nte
,p . 105 .
2 Th e island of Va iga ts is separa ted from th e m a inland of S iberiaby Y ugor Sh ar, ca lled “P et Stra its”, a f ter t h e explorer P et . Va i
ga ts Sound, or Y ugor Sh ar, is th e best entrance into th e Kara Sea .
N ordenskiold,i,1 7 2 .
3 P robably th e narwh a l (ill onodon m orioceros). Th e m a le h a s
usua lly a long twisted tusk projecting forward from th e u pper jawl ike a h orn , wh ence it is ca lled sea unicorn or unicorn wh a le .
JENK INSON’
s PETITION TO THE QUEEN .
ficiall to m y na tyve Country e wh ich e God graunte, Wh o
longe preseru e y our h ighnes with prosperous Successe in alle
y our Graces attem ptes.
vltim o Man 1 5 6 5 .
Youre Maiesties m oste hum ble and fa ith ful] Seru ant .
ANTHONY I ENKENSON .
Endorsed : vlt . Ma ii 1 5 6 5 . Jenkynson for y e discovery of
y e Ca th ay .
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO JENK IN SON ’
S SERVICEOFF THE COAST OF SCOTLAND 1 IN THE
QUEEN’
S SHIP “ THE AYDE”
.
ANTHONY JENKINSON To THE EARL OF BEDPORD .
2
[Sep t 25 ,
RYGHT h onnorable and m y Singler good Lorde, pleasy th y t
y our h onnour to vnderstande , th a t th is day , passinge by Ho lly
1 Th e sa m e y ear, 1 5 65 , th a t saw Jenkinson pla nn ing th e discoveryo f a north - ea st pa ssage to Ca th ay, found h im em ployed in a differentway on th e Queen ’s service . D epreda tion s com m itted by Engl ishsubjects on French m erch antm en
,and frequent com pla in ts m ade
th ereupon by th e Queen R egent, Ca th erine de Medicis,and h er son
,
Ch arles XI (Ca l. S . P .
,For. E liz . ,
N os. 139 1,1 503
,and led
to th e issue,on October 6
,1 5 65 , of a warrant under th e Grea t
Sea l aga in st, and articles for suppressing, pira cy, and th e equipm en tof vessels to a ppreh end these disturbers of th e pea ce . For th isservice E .M. sh ip th e Agde wa s com m issioned
,and lef t Queen
borough on th e 1 7 th Septem ber 1 5 65,under th e com m and of Anth ony
Jenkinson . H is orders were not m erely to stop pira cy,a lth ough th is
was th e ostensible object in view,for it appears from h is corre
spondence th a t h e wa s furn ish ed w ith secret in structions—Ca l . S . P . ,
D om . E li z .,vol . xxxvi
,7 4 ; vol . xxxvii, 47 , 48.
2 Francis Russel] , second E arl of Bedf ord, born 1 528, m a de K .B . a t
th e coronation of Edward VI . Upon th at m onarch ’s decea se,h e
,w ith
oth ers,procla im ed Lady Mary Queen of England, and took part in h er
husband’s quarrel w ith France . H e fough t a t th e ba tt le of S t .
Quin tin,Au g. 1 0, 1 5 5 7 . Bedford wa s tw ice sen t a s am ba ssador to
France by E liz abeth . In 1 5 64 h e wa s m ade Governor of th e townand ca stle of Berwick-upon -Tweed. In th e follow ing year h e trea tedwith oth er com m issioners for a m arriage between Mary Qu een of Scotsand R obert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. H e wa s god- fath er to SirFrancis Drake
,and gua rdian of George C liff ord, E arl of Cum berland,
who a f terwards beca m e h is son - in -law . H e died a t Bedford H ouse inth e S trand, July 28, 1 5 85 , a t th e age of fif ty -eigh t, and wa s buried a t
Ch en ies, Bucks, wh ere th ere is a noble m onum ent to h ism em ory —SeeAnecdotes of the H ou se of Bedf ord and Coll ins ’s P eerage, by Sir H .
Brydges, 4th ed.
,i,2 7 1 .
3 S . P . ,For. E l iz .
,N o . 121 1 N o . 1 5 2 7 in Ca l .
1 68 SERVICE IN THE AYDE”
I land,
l toward th e fry th ,in one of th e quenes Maiesties
sh ipps called th eAgde,2 abou t su ch e servy ce and a ffayres as Isuppose y ou r h onnor alredy doth vnderstande
,and m ay per
ceyve by th e Counseylls lettre h erein closed,I h ave th ough t
y t good to adverty z e y ourLordsh ip of m y arryval l , a ttendinge
y our further order and advy ce for m y furth er dy vertyon ina ll th ings, m eaninge to ly e Of and on betwyxt Holy Ilaud andth e m ow th of th e sayd fry th (except oth erwise forced bywynd)vn till by th is bearer from y our lordsh ip , I R[eceive]answer
,and a l th ough y t y s th e Counsey lls pleasure tha t I
shold ply e to th e Fry th with owt stay inge in any place“
, y et t
(savinge Correcty on)I th inke y t not best so to doo,but t
ray th er to keape of and on abowt th e say d Hol ly I land and
Barwy ck ,and not to be seene abowt th e Fry th vntill we m ust
needs, lest ou r Cu m m inge thy th er sh eld be suspected forcauses. N everth eles I m eane to folow Com yssyon,
exceptoth er order from y our h onnor, and for th a t I knowe not
wh eth er th e sayd Scot ty sh lords w ith th er provy sy on be as
y ett in Scotland arry ved, y t m ay please y ou to vnderstand
th e truths by spy es or oth erwise and to signify e vnto m e
agayn by this bearer, th e Counsells Le ttre inclosed with in
y our lordsh ips to th’
end y t m ay be kep t secrett , besech inge
y our h onnor to serty fy e m y Lords of th e Cou nsey ll of m y
arryva ll and procedinge, m eaninge by Gods grace to om y tt
1 Holy I sland ten m iles SE . of Berw ick-ou-Tweed .
Then from th e coa st th ey bore away,
And reach ed th e Holy I sland’s bay .
(Ma rm ion,canto
2 In S . P .
,Dom . E lizabeth
,1 5 65
,July 5
,an estim a te is returned for
100 m en to serve th e Queen in the sh ip Agde, and stores for th esa m e . Th is sh ip of 200 tons burth en was af terwards com m anded byS irM . Frobish er in h is second and th ird voyage s to Meta Incogn ita ,in 1 5 7 7 a nd 1 5 78. See Col linson
’s F robisher
’s Voy ages (H akl . Soc .)
for “ inventarie of th e sh y p Agde”
(ih .
,p . She carried 18
guns, a nd was com m anded by Wm . Fenner,in th e Arm ada figh t of
1 588—Fox Bourne,E ng . Sea m en
,i,137 ii
,2 1 7 .
1 7 0 SERVICE IN THE AYDE”
.
ray1now with ch ilde and looking to be shortely therof for
th e wich purpose and service to be done, I h aue appoin tedh im th e space of one m oneth wherof th ere rem ayne y et
unexpired the nom bre Of ten day es : Th is sh albe th ereforeto will and com m aunde y ou not to trouble, stay or m olestth e said Wilson h is sh ipp nor com pany nor any of th emduring th e tym e above writ ten vnexpired, bu t to lett h imand his passe qu ietely by y ou for th e Serv ice aforesa id.
2
And these m y lettres sh albe y our warrante and disch arge inth a t beh al te. Geven at Barwick this xxvith Of Septem ber1 5 6 5 .
ToAnth ony Jenkinson ,appointed for th ’
appre
h ension of P ira tes and to h is Depu tes ap
pointed in th a t Service in h is absence.
ANTHONY IENKYNSON To YE LL . OF YE CONCHEL .
3
[6 of Getah.
RYGHT h onorable andm y m igtie good Lordes, Pleasy th y t y ourhonnors to
.
vnderstande th a t the xxvth Of the last passingea longe th is Coste toward th e fry th a ccordinge
' to y our order, Icerty fy ed m y Lord th
’
erle of Bedford of m y arry va ll , pcevinge
by h is Lordsh ip th a t th’
erle of Bothwell was past and landedin Scotland ii dayes before I was redy to departe owt of
quynborough wa ter wh ich was the xvii of th e last da te.
4 Th e
1 Wif e of th e . Ear] of Murray,leader of th e Reform ed party of
Scottish lords wh o rebelled aga inst Mary . Murray,or Moray
, wa s
m ade Regen t during Mary’s ca ptivity a t Loch Leven , and was assa ssina ted on the 1 4th February 1 5 69 - 70
,a t th e age of forty.
2 Charles Wilson sa iled under letters of m arque granted by th eKing Of Sweden . Th ough probably engaged in piracy, h e h ad ren
dered im portant service on severa l occa sion s.3 S . P .
, Scotland E liz .
,xi
,6 1 N o . 1 5 62 in Ca l , For. Ser.
Bothwell eluded pursuit and landed a t Eyem outh .—Bedford to
Cecil , 1 9th Sept . 1 5 65 . In h is letter to th e Queen of th e sa m e da te,Bedford writes : “Th e English m ust u se a ll the revenge th ey can
if Bothwell (wh o is now two days since landed a t Eyem outh)com esam ong the th ieves of L iddesda le .
”—S . P .,For. Eliz .
,N os. 1 201 and 1 202 .
LETTER TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL . 1 7 1
xxviii Of the sam e, beinge at an ancre vnder th e m ay e not far
from th e basse,1 th e wynde cam to theast and to th e northso veh em en tly th a t wee were forced to goe with Insky ff,2
wh er wee ancred vnder th e castell wh o sh ott a t u s. Th e
nixt day e there cam a Trum peter aborde sen t from th e kings
and qu ene to know th e cause of m y cu m m yng who h ad bene
adu erty sed of viii shyppes m ore of the quenes Maiesty es tobe on th e Coaste, requ yrynge m e also to cu m al and . To
wh om I answered th a t I was sent to th e seas to appreh endRovers
,and givings Ch ase to a pyrat t northward , by force Of
wea th er was putt thy th er h avings no oth er cau se ther tocum neth er knew I of any m oo shyppes of the quenesMaiesty es appoynted to the northward, andfor m y cu m m ynge
a lande I h ad no affayres ther to doo nor any su ch e com y ssy on
th en say d th e m essenger, th e kinge and qu ene wy ll sende to
y ou agayne y f such e as be sen t m ay safely retorne,wh ich I
th ough t good to graunte and with th is answer departedafter cam e the Trum peter agayne w ith two or three Scotysh e
gen tlem en and Standen w ith h is broth er wh om I though t not
good to staye beinge SO farre with in daunger and th e wyndecontrary ,
leaste I sh old h au e putt th e quenesMa iesty es sh ippin h a z ard andpery ll dyvers way s, h avinge no com yssyon so todoo . One Of th e Scotysh e m en brough t m e a present, andsay d
y f I h ad neede Of victu al ls or any oth er th inge for th e qu eu esh ighnes sh ipp I shold be furnysh ed, and so they departed .Th en I dowbtinge th e worste th a t m ygh t h appen brough t thesh ipp lowse and turned owt and cam thwart barwy ck th e 4thof th is present, wher gevinge m y Lorde gou vernor to vnder
stands of m y procedynge, he h a th geven order for m y furth er
1 Th e Ba ss Rock,near th e m outh of th e F irth of Forth .
2 Inchkeith,th e sm a l l island in th e Firth of Forth ; th e “ca stle
referred to is th e fort,the rem a ins of wh ich were visited in 1 7 73
by D r. Johnson,wh o found th ere th e inscription
,
“Maria Re,
l 5 64 .
”-A Journey to the Hebrides
,in vol . ix
,p . 2
,of Johnson ’s
works . Oxford,1825 .
1 7 2 BEDFORD TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL .
vy ctu al linge1 for one m ony th m ore to ende the xn th of
N ovem ber next . Th e Lorde Sea ton2 noe the m uny tyon beingenot y ett passed I m eane to folow y our h onnors Com y ssy onfor th e appreh ending of bym and taking of th e sam e accordinge to m y bounden dewty e. Tru stynge y ourhonours doo consyder th e m arvelous danger of th is coste th is wyntar wea th erand th a t for caste and north ely wyndes wee h au e no refuge
bu t the fry th ,and beinge bu t one shyppe and the Scottes not
our freindes, we sh albe in greatt daunger from tym e to tym e.
Thus com y ttinge y ourh onours to God who long preserve y ou .
Am en .
From aborde th e qu eu es m aiesties shyppe th’a yde this 6th
of October 1 5 6 5 thwart barwy ck .
Your honnors h um ble servant to
com m au nde ANTHONY JENKYNSON .
E ndorsed—To th e Righ t honnorable and h is especia l] goodLordes th e LL. of th e qu enes m aiesties m ost h onnorable
privye counsel l .
1 On Oct . 6 Bedford writes to Cecil from Berw ick Jenkinsonh as been in th e F irth , and wha t h e h as done th ere and h ow h e
was used sh a ll appear unto h im by h is own letters . Th e m an h ad no
evil m ean ing, but th e writer w ish es h e h ad not been th ere . Jenkinson is victua lled h ere asCeci l desired.” Andon th e 13th OctoberDrurywrites to Cecil Jenk inson ’s victua ls h ave fa iled sith ense h is com inginto th is coa st
,wh ich th e writer h as supplied.” Ca l . of S . P .
,For.
E liz . ,1 5 65
,N os. 1 5 60
,1 588.
2 Lord Seton incurred the enm ity of cert a in powerful Scotch lordsby h is quarrel w ith D ougla s, and fled to France
,wh ere h e j oined
Bothwe ll and Suth erland . He equipped and arm ed a vessel for thepurpose of landing on th e Scottish coa st
,but was prevented by
E liz abeth . I t wa s a t Lord Seton ’s h ouse th a t Queen Mary slept onth e nigh t of h er m arriage w ith D arnley . Randolph writes th a t “ twoworse friends to England th an Earl Bothwell and Lord Seton th erea re not in Scotland. " - Ca l. S . P .
,For. E l iz .
,1044
,1 280 1 298,
i 4se (sy
1 7 4 BEDEOPD’
S COMPLAINTS
th ere before y ou)h e was th ough t m eete (becau se we h ad
none oth er eh oy se)to be em ployed, and th erof did I botheadverty sc h erMajestic and m r. Secretarie a lso by m y lettresof th e first Of Septem ber. And so was I forced to em ploy e bym ,
for th e Service aforesa id , or for any oth er Event th a t m igh th appen, as for Transporta tion to Ay em ou th e if th e Qu enes
Maiesties pleasure h ad so bene to h ave h ad i t interceptedfrom th e Scotts. And i t was as lykely th a t Wilson woldelles h aue gone into Scot landc to h aue seru ed
,and th erefore
as I say e was th e ray th cr to be em ploy ed h ere because we h adno boa te nor oth er vessel to em pech e1 bym ,
h e being seaboard .
And a t th a t tym e th e troubles of Scotland began to waxeh otte
,a nd som e a ide was looked for to h ave bene gyven to
th e lordes Of th e Realm e h er Maiesties frendes, wich th enm igh t best h aue bene sent th em by Sea , but ch iefly was h isService to be em ployed to bring by th er th e Countesse ofMu r;
ray ,being in great distresse for th e h ard sh ippe Of h er good
h u sbandc, they both looking to be dryvcn out of th eircountrey ,
sh e being grea te w ith ch il de and desy ereng to com e by th er tobe delyvered. Wilson was preparing for h er transportaconwh en Jenkynson cam e by th er with a sh ipp of th e Qu encs
Maiestie call ed the Agde, h aving com ission to apprh ende
pira tes,and a s h e sa id h im self, Wilson above al l other
,
albeit it appered not in his com ission from y our lordsh ippes.
Jcnkynson wold h aue taken Wilson, wh om I protest to y ourh onors I ku ewe not to h aue com itted piracie, y et dea l t Ih erin so with Jenkynson as th a t Wilson m igh t folowe the
purposed service, and h e receyvd disch arge for h is su ffring of
bym so to do,w ich I prou ided for bym by gy ving bym m y
writing vnder m y h ande and sca le in su ch form e as by th e
copie enclosed appereth , and h e th inking it good did both eaccept it and prom isd and by h is h ande in m yne not to dea lewith Wilson till th is service a foresa id were ended .
Th e wynde served not to folowe th is voy age, and I seing1 E mpeche, to h inder, from t h e Fr. empécher.
AGAINST JENKINSON . 1 7 5
Wilsons tym e granted bym by m e before Jenkinsons com ingto drawe towarde an ende, and perceyving Jcnkinson to bedesirous to h au e bym , gaue afterward to Wilson m y l ikewriting, th e viiith of October for xxtie dayes m ore, m akingJenkynson priuie th erein ,
and I h au ing sone after to gotowards Carlile to see and com fort th ese a fflicted lords of
Scotland,in th e m eane tym e of m y absence and before h alf
h is license were expired h e apph ended bym going towardsh er as farre as Donbarre in Scotlandc and cary ed bym
away . SO as th e good lady h au ing bene abou e fy u e sondry
tym es a t th e Fife sy de w ith h er trayne away ting for h er
passage som etim es viii day es togy th er, not ly ing one nigh twh ere sh e lay e th
’oth er, andryding in th a t case so neere h erch ilding above v ixx m y les to and fro
,h aving m oste of h er
stu ffe as pla te and oth er th ings with h er, wich wh ether thesam e be lost or not is not y et knowen . All wh ich was takenin h and vpon Mr. Randolph s prom y s and m yne . And th is
(I say e)way ting for h er passage was a fter so grea t travaileand troubles in th
’
endc disappointed ; wich I m ust needesthinke Jenkynson did ra ith er for th e h ope of spoile th en forany good m eaning of faith efu l l service to h erMaiestie (as
h is doing in the fry th c can testifie)and in som e parte also todespite and defa ce m e. And wh eras Jenkynson a lledgeth
th a t h e wold h aue done th a t seru ice h im sel fe,wh eth er
could he with so grea t a sh ippe as th at was h aue disch argedth e sam e (for a m uche lesse burden if it h ad bene but iiiM or
iiii XX tu nne a t th e m ost could scarcely h ave done it, andth ere fore would not I h aue sent nor adven tured so grea t ash ippe th erabou t as th is Of h erMaiestie was)nor y et was itever offred to h aue bene done by bym . So as I saye to y ourh onors th ere was never none ey th er of th a t Board or th ath ad the ch arge vnder HerMa iestie th a t I h aue, was ever so
touch ed in h onor and credite or so tray terou sly sough t vponto be defaced as th a t vile m an did m e. I trust y our lordsh ippes h au e considera tion tha t if Au th oritie be not counte
EEDFORD’
S COMPLAINTS AGAINST JENKINSON .
nanced it will be neglected by a ll m en , and sach e a breachc
m ade in ‘
m y credite as th is is, will cause m en th a t sh al l
h aue any dealing by way e of Au thoritie vnder the Prince torefuse th e sam e as farre as th ey dare, or ells to be in feare toextende it wh en i t sh ould do best service. I com itte m y selfe
,
m y cause and m yne estim acon h erin to y our Lordsh ippes
goodnes, praicng h um bly th e sam e to tender it,as sh al l be
m eetest for Her Maiesties service And thu s praicngforHerMaiesties m ost prosperous esta te I hum bly take m y
leave Of y our good from Barwicke th is xiith of N ovember 1 5 6 5 .
Your Lordsh ipps h um ble a t Com aundem ent,
F . BEDFORD .
1 Jenkinson ’s subsequent service in the Ayde
”m ay be tra ced in th e
S ta te P apers, a s follows . On October 1 4, SirW . Drury,Marsh a l of
Berw ick , writes to Ceci l th a t Jenkinson h a s boarded Wilson ’s sh ipand h astened southwards, tak ingWi lson’s sh ip w ith h im
,wh ereby th e
service th a t R andolph wrote for is disappointed . On th e 1 7 th of
the sam e m onth,Bedford writes to Cecil th a t Jenkinson h as gone out
of th ese parts on th e 1 9th , h e desires th a t th is disorder by Jenkinson be rem em bered
,for a vil er part could not h ave been played
,
th ings standing in th is extrem ity and th e lady so near h er tim e in
such danger a s sh e is” aga in , on th e 8th N ovem ber,
“ tha t neverwas any so abused by a villa in a s h e h as been by Jenkin son
,of wh om
h e m eans to write to th e Lords” of th e Privy Council). I t doesnot a ppear wh a t judgm ent was pa ssed on th is action of ou r traveller
,
wh o,in arresting Wilson ,
m erely carried out h is instructions—Ca l . ofS . P .
,For. Series
,1 5 96
,1 603
,1 607 , 1 65 9 .
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