part at the occean see and other part at the lande of Mede In the same party of Persey be also two great cyties the one is named Nezabor the other Spahan the maner and custome of the people of this part of Persey is semblable to shâ—… of the other part aforenamed ¶ Of the realme of Mâ—de THe realme of Mâ—de is â—…ry kinge toward the Eest but it is 〈◊〉 large Towarde the East it beginneth at the 〈◊〉 of Persy at the realme of Inde the lesser in part of the same 〈…〉 deth forth by the Weest part vnto the realme of Calde Towarde the North it begynneth at the realme of Armeny extendeth 〈◊〉 by the South vnto the Aquissan which is on the Occean see and there be found the grettest and thyrest perlys In the realm of Mede be great mountaynes lytell playing rouÌ„de in the realme of Mede be mountaynâ— maner of people the one is called sarasyns and the other Gordyns And in this countrey ben ii gret cyties the one is called Sarras and the other Quereâ— and there they kepe the lawe of Mahumet And vse of Arabyke letters afore they be good archers ¶ Of the realme of Armeny IN the realme of Armeny beÌ„nit realmes of that which one lorde holdeth all the lordship the length of the lande of Armeny begynneth at the realme of Persy and extendeth forth by Oâ—â—edent to the realme of Turkey The brede of Armeny towarde Occedent begynneth at the great cytie which is called Port de ferr that is in englysshe the yren gate the which kinge Alexander coÌ„maunded shuld be shytte for bycause of dyuers nations of people that resorted into the depe Asye that which he wold nat that they shuld passe in the great Asye without his coÌ„maundemeÌ„t The sayd cytie is in the narow of Caspis see recheth to the great mountayn of Cocas The brede of the realme of Armeny from the sayd cytie extendeth forth to the realme of Mede In the realm of Armeny be dyuers gret cyties riche amonge the which Towres is the moost named in the lande of Armeny In Armeny be great mouÌ„tayns brode playnes great waters fluddes salte swete with great plenty of fysshe The peple that inhabit in the land of Armeny be named by diuerse names after the maner of the couÌ„trei that thei be inhabited and ther they be good men of warr both afore a horsbacke And as for harnes vestmeÌ„t they folowe the maner of the tartas bycause that they haue ben long vnder their lorde Ther letes be dyuers some be named Armonoses the other Alcen In Armeny is a great mountayn the which is the grettest that mouÌ„tayn is named Ararach And ther was set the arcke of Noe after the Deluge but yet ther can no man clyme vpon that mountayn for the great noyse murmure that is ther bothe wnyter somer but in the very toppe of it appereth a great blacke thinge which they say that is the arcke of Noe. ¶ Of the realme of Georgie THe realme of Georgie toward thorient hath agret mountayn which is named Abbers is inhabited with many diuers natioÌ„s of peple And for that cause it is named the countrey Alayne And from thens extendeth the realm of Georgy by thoccydeÌ„t toward SepteÌ„rrion to the prouiÌ„ce of the realme of Turky the length of the realme of Georgie exteÌ„deth all vpon the see toward the South finysshed with the great Armeni this realm of Georgi is deuydyd in two realmes the one is named Georgie the other Abcas The realm of Georgy is vnder the iurisdiction subiection of theÌ„perour of Asye The realm of Abcas is mighty of peple of strong castels was neuer subget to themê‘our of Asie nor to the tartas In the realme of Georgi appered a gret meruayle which I darre nat tell nor reherse yf I hadde nat sene it but for bycause I was ther se I dare say That in Georgi is a ê“uynce which is called Haynsen that which is well of .iii. dayes iourney of length or there about And as long as this sayd prouynce lasteth in euery place is so great obscurite that no man is so harde to coÌ„e into the sayd lande for they cannat cum out agayn And the dwellers within the same lande sayde that often tymes ther cometh noyse of men cockes crowyng horses neynge And by a fuldd that cometh out of that place come tokens appering that ther is resorting of peple Verily they fynd in thistores of Armeny redyng Georgi that ther was a cruell emê‘our in Persy named Sanorelx this emê‘our worshypped the ydols and cruelly persecuted the cristeÌ„men vpoÌ„ a day he coÌ„mauÌ„ded that all they that dwelled in Asye shuld come to do sacrifice to the ydols they that wold nat come shuld be put to deth Among the which it happened that some true cristeÌ„men receyued the martyrdom or thei wold sacrifice the ydols some sacrified for fere of deth for fere of losyng of thir teÌ„porall goodes the other fledd a way into the mountayns In that tyme inhabyted dyuers good cristeÌ„men in a couÌ„trey which is called Morgan which cristeÌ„men for soke their goodes fled away toward Grece And whan thei wer in the contrey abouesayd the sayd cruell emê‘our met with theÌ„ coÌ„maunded that all the sayd cristen men shuld be cut all to peces and thaÌ„ the sayd cristeÌ„meÌ„ made a gret cry to our lord god And sone after came this great darknes that blinded theÌ„perour all his men so the cristeÌ„men scaped the sayd emê‘our with his meÌ„ caryd in the sayd darknes â–ª and ther thei shall abyd as they beleue to the worldê ende ¶ Of the realme of Caldee THe realme of Caldees toward thorient begynneth at the mountayns of Mede exteÌ„deth to the great Ninyue the olde cytie which is nygh to the fludde of Tygres This Ninyue is the cytie of the which the holy scripture speketh And in that which was Ionas the profet sende to prech the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t of god This cytie is nowe all wasted but for cause that it is yet well apparauÌ„t it is sene that it is one of the moste grettest cyties of all the world the brebe of the realme of Calde toward SepteÌ„trion begyÌ„neth at a cytie that is called Maraga and exteÌ„deth to the South to thoccean see The grettest cyte in the realme of Calde is called Babylone In this lande Nagabudonosor brought Anthetinoyson the chyldren of Israell whan he toke IherusaleÌ„ In the realme of Calde be great playnes fewe mouÌ„tayÌ„s not moch coÌ„ming waters the people that is inhabyted in Calde be called Nostoryus and vsed of Arabe letters kepe the false lawe of Mahomet ¶ The realme of Mesopotamy THe realme of Mesopotamy toward orâ—â—r begiÌ„neth at the gret cytie Mosell that is nigh to the flud of Tigres exteÌ„deth by thoccydent to the cyte of Rohais which is set vpoÌ„ the flud named Eufrates this
.ix. knelynges and of the .ix. fote that the see went backe from the coost and made way of .ix. fote Where they passed all they mountayn of Belgyan by the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of god the Tartas haue the noÌ„bre of .ix. in great reuereÌ„ce Wherfore he that wyll present any thinge to his lorde and wolde that his present sholde be receyued graciously He must present the nombre of ix and so is the vsage of the Tartas vnto this day ¶ How Hoctoca Can made war in Asie HOctoca Can that was emê‘oure of the Tartas after the deth of his father CaÌ„gius CaÌ„ which was valyaÌ„t good and wyse also his people loued hym well were to hym faythfull and true euermore Hoctoca Can thought to conquere all the lande of Asie and before that he deê‘ted from the lande ther as he was he wolde knowe the power of all the kynges that were in Asie wold knowe which was the moost pusaunt Purposynge to fyght fyrst with hym for he thought that he sholde lightly ouercome the other if he might coÌ„quer the moost mighty ThaÌ„ Hoctoca Can send a wise and a valiant captayn which was named Gebesabada and sende with hym .x. thousande fightynge men and coÌ„mauÌ„ded them that they shold entre into the landes of Asie And to viewe the state and condicyon of the sayd lande and if thei fouÌ„d any mighty lorde whom thei wer nat able to resyst they shold shortly retorne backe agayn As Hoctoca Can coÌ„maunded it was acomplysshed for the sayd captayn with his x. thousand Tartas entred sodeÌ„lye into the landes of Asie there he toke cyties and landes Or the inhabitauntes were ware or before that thei coude make them redy to batayle or defende theÌ„ they kylde all the men of armes but they dyde no harme to the people They toke horse harnes vitayle and all suche thynges that they neded and went so farre in the land that they came to the mouÌ„tayn of Cocas For this mouÌ„tayn of Cocas one can nat passe the depe of Asie into great Asie but by the lycence of the peple of a cyte that the kynge Alexander closed vpon a narowe see that toucheth the mouÌ„tayne of Cocas This sayd cytye was taken by these .x. thousande Tartas in suche maner that the inhabytantes of the sayd cyte had no space nor tyme to defend them selfe And than they toke this cyte and all that was therin and put all the meÌ„ and women to the swerd And after that they brake downe all the walles of the cyte bycause that whaÌ„ they sholde come agayn they shold fynde nothing agaynst them This cytie was in the olde tyme called Alexander but nowe it is called porte de ferre The renowne of the Tartas was sprede ouer all the countreis and landes wherof it fortuned that the kynge of Georgi which was caled ynaims brought his hoost togyder came agaynst the tartas fought with them in a playne that is called Morgam The batayle lasted longe but at th ende the Georgyens were constrayned to fle away as discomfyt The tartas passed so ferre that they came to a cyte of turkey that is called Arseon and than they vnderstod that the sowdan of turkey was nere and how he had assembled his hoost togyder Therfore the tartas durst go no farther seynge that they were nat able to encounter agaynst the sowdaÌ„ of turkey they went backe agayne by an other way to theyr lorde The which they founde in a cyte that is called Amelect and tolde hym all that they had done and founde in the lande of Asie ¶ Whan the tartas lerned fyrst letters WHan Hoctoca Can vnderstode the maner condicyon of the lande of Asie He thought that there was no prynce that was able to withstand hym And than he called thre sonnes that he had and gaue them great ryches with a great nombre of men of armes And coÌ„mauÌ„ded them to entre into the lande of Asie conquering all the realmes landes And coÌ„maunded to his sonÌ„ Iochi that he sholde go toward the parties of Occident vnto the flode of Physon And to his second sonne that was called Bacho he coÌ„mauÌ„ded that he shold kepe his way towarde SepteÌ„trion and to the leest that was called Chasada coÌ„mauÌ„ded that he sholde ryde toward the South In this maner he departed his thre chyldren and send theÌ„ for to conquer these landes prouynces After that Hoctoca Can sprede his hoost abrode by the couÌ„treis so moche that the fore fronte of his hoost rought to the realme of Cathay the other front to the realme of Trase In those partes the tartas lerned leters for before that tyme thei had no letters and therfore the dwellers of the sayde couÌ„trey were all ydolatours The tartas began to honour the ydols but many of them confessed the immortall god gretter than the other ¶ After that themê‘our Hoctoca Can gaue to his eldest sonne that was called Bacho .xxx. thousande tartas that were called Tanachy that is to say conquerers and coÌ„maunded that they shold go that way that the .x. thousaÌ„d tartas kept and that they shold tary in no lande tyll they sholde come into the realm of Turky more ouer he coÌ„mauÌ„ded that thei shold proue if thei wer able to fyght agaynst the sowdan of Turky if that they dyde se that the sowdans power wer to great they sholde nat fyght with hym but they sholde do so moche to one of his chyldren which sholde be next them that he wolde gyue them helpe and men of warr And than after they met began the batayle of Bacho with .xxx. thousand tartas went so moche by theyr iourneis that they came to the realme of Turkey there he vnderstode that the sowdan that had dryued away the .x. M. tartas was deed After hym one of his sonÌ„es that was called Giriacadyn was made lorde this sodan was in great fere for the tartas coÌ„mynge and than he gathered and waged all maner of men that he coude haue as Barbarins and Latyns that had two captayns of the which one was called Iohn de la limynate which was of the ple of Cipre And the other was called Bonyface de moulins and he was of the cyte of Venyse ¶ Of the batayle the was betwene the sowdan of Turky the tartas WHan the sowdan of Turky had gathered his hoost of all the parties He came fought with the tartas in a place that is called Asadache the batell was grete and many men slain of bothe parties but at the laterend the tartas had the victory entred into the landes of Turky coÌ„quered the sayd landes In the yer of our lorde god M.CC.xliii And than nat longe tyme after Hoctoca Can themê‘our of the tartas dyed And after hym one of his sonnes was made lorde which was called Guyot CaÌ„ this Guyot CaÌ„ lyued nat long after hym One of his cosyns was made lord which was called MaÌ„go Can the which was moche valyant
brought prysoners One of Ginbogas neuiewes was in that couÌ„trey went after the christen men with a smale coÌ„pany a horsebacke and as he began to blame them of that that thei had done and wold take the prey that they brought Some of the christen men ranne vpon hym and so kylde hym whaÌ„ Ginboga vnderstode that the christen men of Saiect had slayn his neuiewe He rode with his men came to Sarepte and as many christen men as he founde put theÌ„ to the swerde but the peple of Sarepte wente away in the yle but fewe slayne Ginboga dyde putte fyre in the cyte and brake the walles and neuer sythe Ginboga had neuer trust nor loue with the christen men of Syrie nor his men After that the Tartas were dryuen oute of the realme of Syrie by the power of the sowdaÌ„ of Egipt As it shal be declared here after ¶ How the sowdaÌ„ of Egipt droue the Tartas out of Syri IN that tyme the Barca began warre agaynst Helcone as we haue sayd before the sowdan of Egipt gathered his armye and came into the Palestins countreys In a place that is called Haymelot and ther he fought with the Tartas but they coude nat abyde the sowdans power so they fled backe with theyr captayns It was sayd that Gynboga was slayne in the batayle the Tartas that scaped from the said batayle went into Armenie At the tyme the realme of Syrie torned to the sowdans power but some cytes that were by the see that the christen men kept Whan Helcon vnderstode that the sowdan of Egipt was entred into the realme of Syrie and that he had betyn his meÌ„ and kylde them He gathered his hoost and sende to the kynge of Armenie to the kynge of Georgy and to the other christen men of the parties of Syrie that they sholde be redy to go with hym agaynst the sowdan of Egipt And whan Halcon had all his army redy for to go to the realme of Syri a sharpe synenesse toke hym that helde hym .xv. dayes of which he dyed and so his deth lette the goynge into the holy lande After hyÌ„ his sonne Albaca heâ—deÌ„ the lordeshippe of Halcon This Albaga wolde the Ambyla his vncle sholde confirme hym his lordship which thinge he dyde with a good wyll bycause that he knewe well the Albaga was the best and the wysest sonne that Halcon had and so he was called Albaga Can. And began as raygne in the yere of our lorde god a thousand CC.lxiiii ¶ How Albaga wolde nat become christen which fortuned hym yll ALbaga that was moch valyant kept wysely his lordeshyp and was moche fortunat in all maner of thinges saue that he wold nat become christeÌ„ as his father HalcoÌ„ was and so he was any doâ—…er And an other thing was that he made warr vpon his neyghbours whiche caused hym that he coude nat ouercome the sodan of Egipt and bycause of that the â—…dan of Egiptes power encreases moche yet the sowdan of Egipt dyd an other subtyll poynt for he sende his messangers to the taâ—tas that were in the realme of Comany and of Roussy made couenable peace and loue with them And ordayned if Albaga wolde come into the lande of Egipt that they shold inuade his landes and that they shold warre vpon hym And for this coÌ„posicyon the sowdan had great â—y to haue the christeÌ„mens landes of Syri and for that cause the christeÌ„men loste the cyte of Antyoch and many other As it is wryten in the cronicle boke of the holy lande ¶ Bendonedar which was sowdan of Egipt was moche mighty and puysaunt He sende his hoost into Armeny but the kynge was gone to the tartas Than his two sonnes gathared the hoost of Armeny which was at that tyme of great power and came agaynste their ennemys fought with theÌ„ The batayle was great but at the ende the christenmen were ouer come of the two sonnes the one was takeÌ„ prisoner and the other slayn in batayle And than the sarasyns entred in the lande wasted all the playn of Armeny The christeÌ„mens power was moch minyshed bycause of that the puytaunce of the sarasyns power was moche enhaunced Whan the kyng of Armeny vnderstod this tidynges of his sonnes and of the lande he was moch sorowfull thought in his mynde how that he myght do harme to his ennemys Thanne went he to Albaga and to the other tartas desiryng and prayeng theÌ„ that they wolde come to helpe the christeÌ„men The kyng trauayled moch but Albaga wold nat go for bycause that he had warre with his neyghbours The kyng seyng that he coude nat haue helpe so shortly of the tartas send his messaÌ„gers to the sowdan of Egipt and coÌ„firmed peace with hym to thyntent that he myght haue his sonne out of prison And the SowdaÌ„ made poyntment with the kyng that he shuld rendre vnto hym one of his felowes which was called Sangolagar that the tartas kept and that he shold yelde to hym agayn the castell of the lande of Halap that he helde he shulde gyue to hym his sonne agayn The kyng dyde so moch that the tartas gaue hym SaÌ„golagar the sowdans felowe aboue sayd and the kynge yelded to the sayd felowe the castell of Trepessache two other castels that he brake downe at the sowdaÌ„s request And in this maner the king of Armenis sonne Baron Lynon was delyuerd out of the prison of the sarasyns ¶ After that the kyng Hayton of good remeÌ„brauÌ„ce which had donÌ„ grete good to the christeÌ„dom iÌ„ his lyfe gaue his realme lordship to his sonÌ„ Lynon aboue named and left the pryde of this world toke the order of relygion chauÌ„ged his name after the gife of the Armins and was called Macayres than the kyng HaytoÌ„ dyed monke In the yere of oure lorde god a thousande two honderd .lxx. ¶ How Albaga toke the traitour Pernana and put hym to deth THe sonÌ„ of kyng Hayton Baron Lynonâ— was wise and valy 〈◊〉 and gouerned his realme and his lordship wisely He was well beloued of his people the tartas dyde to hym great honour This fayd kyng LynoÌ„ toke moche labour for to graue the sarasyns by the tartas And diuers tymes send his messangers to Albaga that he shold come for to helpe to recouer the holy lande and to confound the power of Egipt At that tyme the sowdan of Egipt entred with his power into the realme of Turky he kyld and drope out all the tartas that were ther toke many landes and countreys By a traitour that Albaga had made chefe captain of Turky that was called Parnana whiche torned was obeydient to the sowdan of Egipt and toke moch labour for to dryue the tartas out of Turky Whan Albaga vnderstod this tydinges He gathered his hoost rodde hastely for of .xl. dayes iornay he made but .xv. and came to Turky WhaÌ„ the sowdan knewe of the tartas
yeres After that the sarasyns toke the landê and the Medyens that be called Cordins ocupied the lordshyppe of Egypt as we shall say here after ¶ How the christenmen were driuen out of Egypt IN the yere of our lord god a thousand .liii. kyng Almaur kynge of HierusaleÌ„ of good mynd gathered his hoost in all the lande of Hierusalem and entred into Egypt and conquered many landes and cytes as it is wrytten in the boke of the holy lande conquestes The Calyfe seynge that he coude abyde agayn the christeÌ„meÌ„s power send his messangers to the sowdan of Halap that kept Mahometez lawe And thought to haue a great treasour of the Calyfe that was called Saraton he and a great coÌ„pany of men a war came to helpe the Calyfe those men dyd so moch that they droue the christeÌ„men out of the lande of Egypt riche and delectable And the power of the Calyf was smale the sowdan coueyted the lordship wherfore he toke hym and put hyÌ„ in pryson than after he set vpon the lande valyantly and put it in his subiection and made hym sodan and lorde of Egypt this Paraton was of the Corasmyns nacion and was the fyrst lorde in Egypt of his nation ¶ After the dethe of SaratoÌ„ one of his sonnes was made lorde of Egipt that was called Salzadin And this Salzadyn dyd so moch that he vndyde the kyng of Hierusalem and toke his cyties byforce and toke dyuers other landes of the christeÌ„mens as it apperith by the boke of the coÌ„questes of the holy lande After the deth of Salzadyn his brother and one of his neuiewes one after an other kept the lordship of Egypt tyll the sowdaÌ„s tyme that was called Mellecasa This Mellecasa was sowdan of Egypt at that tyme that the Tartas toke the realme of Cumany the sowdan herde say that the tartas solde the Cumayns that they had takeÌ„ to a good shyppe And thaÌ„ he sende dyuers marchauntes with a great quantite of good for to by some of the sayd Cumayns and iÌ„ specylly of the yongest and many of them was brought into Egypt Malacasa dyde norysshed them loued them moche and lerned theÌ„ to ryde and to the armes and tru sted them well and kept them euer nygh him And in that tyme that the kyng of Fraunce Loys passed ouer the see and was taken of the sarasyns the aboue sayd CucumaÌ„s that were bought and solde kylde there lorde Malecasa and made one of them lorde that was called Turkmen and by the reason of this the kyng of Fraunce and his brother that were in the sarasyns pryson were the soner bought agayn and delyuerd out of pryson In this maner began the CucumaÌ„s to haue lordship in Egypt this kinred of the CucumaÌ„s is called chapchap into the OrieÌ„t partê nat many dayes after one of this Sclauons which was called Cochos kylled the sayd TurkemeÌ„t made hym sowdan and was called Melomees This man went into the realme of Syrie and driued out Gynbago and .x. thousaÌ„d tartas the which Halcon had left for to kepe the lande of Syrie As he retorned to Egypt an other of the sayde Cucumans kylde hym Which was called BeÌ„docdar and made hym sowdaÌ„ and made hym calle Meldaer This was moche wise and valyant to the armes to his power he rose moche the sarasyns power in the realme of Sirie and Egypt And toke many cyties and landes that the christenmen kept And toke byforce the noble cyte of Antyoch In the yere of our lorde god M.CC.lxviii ¶ In the realme of Cucumanie this maÌ„ dyde moch harme in this Bendocdar dayes Whan syr Edwarde kyng of Englande passed ouer the see The sowdaÌ„ thought to haue kylde hym by an Assasyn by the which Assasyn the kyng was hurt with a knyfe that was poysoned but he was hole agayne by the grace of god ThaÌ„ after it happened that the sowdan had a drinke with mortall venym and dyed in the cyte of Damas. After his deth his sonne that was called Melecsart was mad sowdaÌ„ but he kept nat long the lordshippe of Egypt for an other Cucumant that was called Elsy dryue hym oute of the lordship and the lande of Egypt made him sodan This Elsy was he that layd sege before the cyte of Triple and toke it byforce In the yere of our lorde god a thousand two hondred foureskore nyne ¶ How Elsy was poysoned IN the yer after the sayd Elsy brought all his power to gyder nygh Babylone taryenge forto put sege afore Acre Vpon a day as he put hym in a pleasaunte place for to ease hym selfe yt fortuned that a seruaunt the whiche he trusted well and had made hym constable of his hoost gaue hym poyson to drynke and dyed soone after This coÌ„stable occupyed the lordshyp but the other ran vpon hym and cutte hym all in pecys After that one of Elsy soÌ„nes was made sowdan that was named Melecasseraph the which toke the cytie of Acre and put out of the landes of Syrie all the christenmen This was in the yere of our lorde god a thousande CC. lxxxxi ¶ How Melcuaser was made sowdan of Egypt WHaÌ„ Melecasseraph was retorned into Egipt vpoÌ„ a day he went a huntyng and ther a seruaunt kylde hym in the wode and soone after the seruaunt was kylde by the other And after that he that is sowdan nowe was made sowdan in Egypt that is called Melcuaser which was Melecasseraph brother And bycause that this Melecuaser was yonge he was put vnder an ouersear which was of the tartas nacion and was called Ginboga this Gynboga putte away this chyld Melecuase and put hym inward into the crake of mouÌ„t royall and toke the lordship made hymselfe sowdan and was called Melecadell In this Melechadels dayes was so grete nede of vitayles that all the sarasyns dyed for hunger if it had nat ben for the false christenmen that brought them vitayle Inough for couytes of money Aft that it happened the tidynges came of the tartas coÌ„mynge thaÌ„ Ginboga gathered his hoste went into the realme of Syrie forto defend the lande agaynst the tartas This Ginboga honoured moch those that had beÌ„ tartas kept theÌ„ nere hym of this the CucumaÌ„s had great enuy Wherfore it happed that as Ginboga retorned to Egypt the Cucumans put hym out of his lordeship and made one of thaÌ„ sowdan that was called Lachyn was called after Melecuaser This Lachyn wold nat kyll Gynboga bycause that he wolde be his felowe but gaue him a couÌ„trey that was called Sarta and after that he gaue hym the lordshyp of Haman but he wolde nat suffre that Ginboga shuld dwell in Egypt This sowdan taryed .iii. yeres in the castell of Cayre for fere of his men except a day that he came downe to the playn and came there to play at the foreball his horse fyll vnder hym and brake his legge After it happed that vpon a day this sowdan Lachyn played at cheker had putte his