ASIA CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION ON CHINA AND THE CHINESE Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023035177 : THE AECHER MD.THE STEPPE; oc, THE EMPIRES OF SCYTHIA A HISTOET OF RUSSIA AND TARTAHY, FEOM THE EARLIEST AGES TILL THE FALL OF THE MONGUL POWEK IN EUROPE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. BY F, K. GEAHAME. The seat Of mlgbtiest empire, from the destined walla Of Cambala, seat of Cathaian khan, And Saraarcand by Oxas, TImur's throng To Pekin. by Slndean kings, and thence To Agra and Lahore of great Mogul, Down to the golden Chersonese, or where The Persian in Ecbatan sat, or since In Hi^ahan, or where the Busslan czar In Moscow, or the Sultan In ByzEUice, Turkestan boviL-~Para4ise Lost, LONDON^ JAMES BLACKWOOD, PATEENOSTEE EOW. [TKe Eight of Translation is Reserved.^ W^^is" CONTENTS. EOOK I. Fa05I THE EAELIEST AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF SCTTHIA TO THE CONQUESTS OF THE MONGUL TAKTABS. CHAPTEK I. Introduction . ... CHAPTER n. Russia and iier Earliest Inhattitants CHAPTER IIL Ttie Asiatic ScytMans—Tlie Hans—Attila ... CHAPTER IV. Ttie Igours—Avars—Bulgarians—fSlavonians—Cliazars CHAPTEK V. The Cancasus—Georgia . CHAPTER VI. Tlie Finns—Russians—Novogorod and KioC-Burik—Oieg—Igor—Oiga CHAPTER VIL Europe In the Nlntli Century—Blarmaland—tlie Crimea ... CHAPTEK VIIL—FEOM 056 TO 071. Sviatozlaf—He subdues the Chazars—Invades the Greeit Empire—The Principalities —Defeat and Death of 8 viatozlaf . ... ... — 4 CONTENTS. Pace CHAPTEK IX.—FEOM 971 TO lOlS. Vladimir the Great^Tlie Riisaiana are converted to Cliristianity WS CHAPTEK X—FeOM 1015 TO 1053. 123 Svlatopolk—The Poles Invade Bnssia—Jaroslaf . CHAPTER Xr.—Fbom'4bOOT 800 to 1070. The AvaraorTurks—MahmoudofGhiznl—He invades India—The SeljuS Turks— 136 Togrul Beg—Alp Arslan-Malek Shall—The Polotzl . .... CHAPTEE XII.—Feom loss TO 1078. Iziaslaf—The Poles invade Kussia—SviatozIafII.—Vyzevold—irovogorod . .152 CHAPTEE XIII.—Fkom 1078 TO 1126. Vyzevold Jaroslafovitz—Svlatopolk Iziaslafovitz—Vladimir Monomachns . ,160 CHAPTER XIV.—Feom 1125 to U57. The Poles invade Russia-Yonrii Dolgoronki—^Moscow founded—Kingdom of Halich 167 CHAPTEK XV.—Feosi 1157 TO 1214. Continuation of the History of Russia—Invasion of the Poles—State of Society . 175 CHAPTEK XVX Affairs of Poland—Esthonia—Llvouia-Courland—The Teutonic Knights—Lithu- ania—Tlie Ottoman Turks—The Origin of the Monguls 184 BOOK n. FROM THE CONQUESTS OF THE MOHTGUIS TO THE RISE OF TIMUE. CHAPTER I._FS0M 1175 TO 1227. ZlngisKhan—The Conqnests of the Monguls . CHAPTEK n.—Feom 1214 TO 1246. The Princes of Kiof—Batti Khan—He conquers Russia, and ravages Poland and Hungary-^Embassy sent by the Pope to the Grand Khan—^Election of Couynk Karacorum—Camp of BatU at Serai 214 CHAPTER III.—Feom 1246 TO 1263. Yaroslaf of Novogorod—Mangou Khan—Kublai conquers China—Holagou conquers Persia—The Monguls Of China—Khans of Kipzak . 233 CONTENTS. 5 CHAPTEE IT.—FnOM 1240 TO 1302. EeienofAlexanderNCTskolinKussla—Noghai'sEebellloil—The Mongols of Persia— Abaga—Argun—yoyage ofthe Chinese Princess to Persia—Kazan . 249 CHAPTEE v.—Fedm 12n TO 1340. Continnation of the History of Enssla-Reigns of Taroslaf, DemeWns, and Andrea— Lithuania—The Genoese Colonies—Uzbek Khan—Executions of Michael, Deme- trius, and Alexander— .'."". Ivan L . 264 CHAPTER VI—FKOJHS40 TO 1352. l-'iiaracterof the Rnssiang—The Black Death . .275 CHAPTER VII,—Feom 1352 to 1392. Eeign of Demetrius Donskol—Klpzak—Lithnanla—Battle of the Don—Moscow burned—Monasteries—Literature—Poland—The Teutonic Knights . .281 BOOK III. THE HISTORY OP TIMUE AKD HIS SUCCESSOES. CHAPTER L—Fkom 1336 TO 1404. Timnr Bek or Tamerlane—His Conquests—Toktamish . CHAPTER n.—rEOM 1398 To 1400. Tiniur invades India—The Gipsies .... CHAPTEE III.—Fkom 1399 TO 1403. Timur marches against Georgia, Syria, and the Ottomans—Captures Bajazet CHAPTEE IV.—Feom M08 To 1530. Timur returns to Samarcand—Sets out for China—His Death—Troubles in the Em- pire—His Successors—The Emperor Baber . BOOK IV. CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA, TO THE FINAL EXTINCTION OF THE MONGUL POWER IN EUROPE. CHAPTER L TheFifleenthCenttiry-FallofConstnntlnople-TheMonguls—Their Conquerors and Descendants—The Cossacks ... ... 357 CHAPTEE IL The Horde of Tonshi—Eelgnof Vassill,or Bazll the Blind—Manners and Customs of the Russians . .368 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IIL ThcEeignOflvanVassilovitz—His Conquests—Marriage with Sopliiaof Byzantiam —State of the Churoli—A new Code of laws—War -witli Kipzak—Embassies to Moscow . 382 CHAPTER IV. Embassy to Vienna and Copenhagen—War with Finland . 413 CHAPTER V. .Survey of Russia-Siberia—Its Conquest—The Crimea—Her Khan submits to the Tnrl£s . 4ir CHAPTER VI. War between Moscow and Poland—Coronation of Demetrius—Death of Ivan III.— Accession of Bazil IV.—Prince Ghnski—Pillage of Moscow—War with Kazan- Death ofBazil—Accession ofIvan the Terrible—Capture ofKazan and Astralshan- Extinctionof the Mongul power in Europe ... 437 APPENDIX. Poems describinq the Places and Manners of the People, and the Country op Russia, bt Master George Turbervtu^, 1568 .471 PcsHKiH's Lay of the Wise Oleg . 477 BOOK I. FEOM THE EAELIEST AUTHENTIC HISTOEY OF SCTTHIA TO THE CONQUESTS OF THE MONGUL TAETAES. First then from henoe Turn to the orient sun, and pass the height Of these ancultored mountains ; thence descend To where the wandering Scythians, tradn'd to beat The distant wounding bow, on wheels aloft Eoll on their wattled cottages. Poitek's " Translation of Eschylus.' THE ARCHER AND THE STEPPE. CHAPTER I. |:rfnjbjtdicrn. Oft o'er the trembling nations from afar, Has Scythia breathed the llvhig cloud of war.^GEAT. Cubing the century before, and that succeeding the Chris- tian era, the whole power, influence, and civilisation of the entire known world were centred in one proud and despotic militaiy state. Eome, by conquest and intimidation, had rendered herself mistress of all the explored and most favoui-ed parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe; heriegions held in obedience every nation, from the extremities of Greece to the British isles and the Atlantic ocean ; her eagles were borne and dreaded from the sands of Egypt and Arabia, to where the barbarous Teuton, on the shores of the Baltic, encountered the rough weapons of the Goth ; the wide wastes of Scythia alone were to her unknown and untrodden plains, and from Scythia her final invaders and conquerors came. This name was the vague and general appellation bestowed by the Greeks and the Romans upon aU the countries that extended from the banks of the Dnieper to the borders of the almost fabulous Cathay.* In those days they were divided by the ancients into European and Asiatic Scythia; to modern geographers they are known as Russia and Tartary. The former, as the barrier between Asia and Europe, the theatres of present action and civilisation, and past grandeur and fame, has been agitated from time to time by the revolu- tions with which both have been convulsed ; and over her has the first fury of every tempest rolled, that has so frequently burst forth from the centre of the greater con- tinent, and rushed like a whirlwind over half the earth. • The ancient name of China. 10 THE ARCHER AND THE STEPPE. From the depths of Tartary, or Asiatic Scythia, has ori- ginally issued every torrent of invading barbarians that have overrun Eastern Europe for the last nine hundred years. Ci-adled on the gloomy steppes of Mongolia, where the earth for nine mohtTia remains buned under a thick bed of siiow, and where the Sole vegetation consists of short grass, and a few scanty tufts of heath, these hordes of martial shepherds have periodically poured down in search of a richer country and more grateful soil, and, spreading over the barren plains of Tartary and Eussia, have formed themselves into moving empires, who for a few years have domineered over the sur- rounding trembling nations, and then vanished and melted away ; leaving little other trace of their existence than the record of destruction. Such were the monarchies of the Huns, the Igoura, and Avars ; the Chazars, Polotzi,, and Monguls ; while the Ottoman Turks, who. are also Scythian in origin and descent, more fortunate than their pr,edecessors, have maintained a position in one of the finest countries of Europe for the last four hundred years. As the most enduring, most powerful, and the most known, both in ancient ami modern times, of these turbulent nations of the north, -Russia occupies hy far th« most prominent part in the history of the Scythian empires ; amd I shall thSEefore make the. annals of that country my principal subject. Afteu tracing the origin of her people, I shall glance at the progress of the Huns, the Chazars, and the numerous other Tartac tribes, whosei names were only known, by their inroads in the middle ages, to the countries and inhabitants of eastern, Europe. Then, sketching, the rise of the Russian monarchy, I shall proceed to thei conquests of Zingis Khan and the Monguls, and ther wars of his descendant, and still; more formidable cQvuitiymaai Timur, with the short-livedi domination of Samaccand. , The: ancient patrimony of the Tartars is now included in. the empire* of Russia and China ; but, their conquests, which extended qvcb India^ China^ Russia, Siberia, and Greece, have? left upon the inhabitants of both, those corantries a deep impress- of their long and tyrannical sway ; and there is great resemblance in many of their customs * and laws,, their jealousy of foreign nations, dEess, appearance, and character, * AmonggC thpso mny bBmentlbned one which prevails alike In St. Petersburff, Pekin, and Constantinople, which calls on the Emperor or Sultan, whenever a flre breaks out in the capital, to assist personally iU' its extinctJoja.