Tibet, Tartary and Mongolia; Their Social and Political Condition, and the Religion of Boodh, as There Existing

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 8 is any trace of this letter among the archives of France! There are records of older times than this still subsisting in England, and the letter which led to the mission of father Rubruquis is said to be extant. The next account of these regions obtained by Europe was furnished through the relation of the travels of Marco Polo. Two noblemen of the Venetian family of Polo had relations of commerce and friendship with the Tartar chiefs of the northern shores of the Euxine, at the very period of the journey of Rubruquis, above noticed. By some vicissitudes they were led to Bukhara, at the time when Alan Khan, better known by the name of Hulakoo, sent an ambassador to Kublai Khan, whom he acknowledged as the head of the entire Tartar and Mongol races. By that ambassador the Venetians were invited to make the journey in company. It occupied an entire year, but we have no record of the line of route followed from Bokhara. Kublai Khan received them well, and having kept them some time at his court, sent them back with letters and a message to the Pope inviting him to open communications with him. Some troubles and changes of the papacy prevented a prompt acknowledgment of this overture; but at last, in A.d. 1269, as nearly as can be ascertained, the two Polos, Nicolo and Maffei, taking with them Marco, the young son of the former, set out on their return, along with a priest, who soon left them, delivering the Pope's letters into their hands. Starting from Acre, on the coast of Syria, the Polos were three years and a half upon this journey. Upon their arrival at Pekin, which they call Cambala, which is the Tartar name Khanbaliq, young Marco was taken immediately into favour, and was for twenty-six years afterwards a nobleman of the great Khan's court, employed in several missi...