not hold
their ground against the body of troops that Genghis Khan was bringing
against them in the open field, and so they all took shelter in and
near the fortress, and awaited their enemy there.

The winters in that latitude are very cold, and the country through
which Genghis Khan had to march was full of difficulty. The branches
of the river which he had to cross were obstructed with ice, and the
roads were in many places rendered almost impassable by snow. The
emperor did not even know the way to the fortress where Tukta Bey and
his followers were concealed, and it would have been almost impossible
for him to find it had it not been for certain tribes, through whose
territories he passed on the way, who furnished him with guides. These
tribes, perceiving how overwhelming was the force which Genghis Khan
commanded, knew that it would be useless for them to resist him. So
they yielded submission to him at once, and detached parties of
horsemen to go with him down the river to show him the way.

Under the conduct of these guides Genghis Khan passed on. In due time
he arrived at the fortress of Ardish, and immediately forced Tukta Bey
and his allies to come to an engagement. Tukta's army was very soon
defeated and put to flight. Tukta himself, and many other khans and
chieftains who had joined him, were killed; but the Prince Kushluk was
once more fortunate enough to make his escape.

He fled with a small troop of followers, all mounted on fleet horses,
and after various wanderings, in the course of which he and they who
were with him endured a great deal of privation and suffering, the
unhappy fugitive at last reached the dominions of a powerful prince
named Gurkhan, who reigned over a country which is situated in the
western part of Asia, toward the Caspian Sea, and is named Turkestan.
This is the country from which the people called the Turks, who
afterward spread themselves so widely over the western part of Asia
and the eastern part of Europe, originally sprung.

Gurkhan received Kushluk and his party in a very friendly manner, and
Genghis Khan did not follow them. Whether he thought that the distance
was too great, or that the power of Gurkhan was too formidable to make
it prudent for him to advance into his dominions without a stronger
force, does not appear. At any rate, for the time being he gave up the
pursuit, and after fully securing the fruits of the victory which he
had gained at Ardish, and receivin