a Turkomanian emir of the black-weather
tribe. Miran-shah having been made prisoner and beheaded by Kara-Joseph,
Schildtberger followed the standards of Abubekr, the son of Miran-shah.

At this time, there lived in the court of Abubekr, a prince named Zegra, a
son of the khan of Great Tartary, to whom Ideku[2] sent word that he would
resign to him the sovereignty of Kiptschak. Zegra accordingly set out for
Great Tartary, accompanied by Schildtberger, and four others. Their route
lay through _Strana_[3], which produces good silk; then through _Gursey_,
Gurghia, or Georgia, which is inhabited by Christians; after this, through
the country of, _Lahinsham_[4], where silk is cultivated; and through
_Schurban_, or Shirvan, where the silk is produced from which the silk
stuffs of Damascus and _Kaffer_[5] are made. They next passed through
_Bursa_[6], which is situated in Turkey, and from whence the fine silk, of
which velvet is manufactured, is sent to Venice and Lucca: This is an
unhealthy country. Their route next lay through _Temur-capit_, Demir-Kapi
or, Derbent, which signifies, in the Tartarian language, the Iron-gate, and
which separates Persia from Tartary. They then went through a town of great
strength, called _Origens_[7], situated in the middle of the _Edil_. After
this, their way was through the mountainous country of Setzalet, in which
there are many Christians, who have a bishop and some Carthusian monks, who
perform the service in the Tartarian language, that the common people may
understand what is sung and read. They were now arrived in Great Tartary,
at the camp of Ideku, who had just assembled all his forces and was going
to march into the land of _Ibissibur_[8]. In this expedition, they employed
two months of continual marching; in the course of which, they crossed a
range of mountains, thirty-two days journey in length, and at their
extremity, there is a desert, which is the end of the world[9]; which
desert is uninhabitable from the number of reptiles and wild beasts with
which it is infested. These mountains are inhabited by roaming savages, who
are hairy all over, except their faces and hands[10], and who subsist on
green leaves and roots, or whatever they can procure. In this country,
also, there, are wild asses as large as horses. The inhabitants employ
dogs, as large as asses, to draw carts and sledges, and some times feed
upon them. They are Christians, and they bury, their young people who die
in ce