Marco Polo
translation: Henry Yule, Henri Cordier

THE TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO
Volume I.
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CHAPTER XLVI.

OF THE CITY OF CARACORON.

Caracoron is a city of some three miles in compass. [It is surrounded by a strong earthen rampart, for stone is scarce there. And beside it there is a great citadel wherein is a fine palace in which the Governor resides.] 'Tis the first city that the Tartars possessed after they issued from their own country. And now I will tell you all about how they first acquired dominion and spread over the world.[NOTE 1]

Originally the Tartars[NOTE 2] dwelt in the north on the borders of CHORCHA.[NOTE 3] Their country was one of great plains; and there were no towns or villages in it, but excellent pasture-lands, with great rivers and many sheets of water; in fact it was a very fine and extensive region. But there was no sovereign in the land. They did, however, pay tax and tribute to a great prince who was called in their tongue UNC CAN, the same that we call Prester John, him in fact about whose great dominion all the world talks.[NOTE 4] The tribute he had of them was one beast out of every ten, and also a tithe of all their other gear.

Now it came to pass that the Tartars multiplied exceedingly. And when Prester John saw how great a people they had become, he began to fear that he should have trouble from them. So he made a scheme to distribute them over sundry countries, and sent one of his Barons to carry this out. When the Tartars became aware of this they took it much amiss, and with one consent they left their country and went off across a desert to a distant region towards the north, where Prester John could not get at them to annoy them. Thus they revolted from his authority and paid him tribute no longer. And so things continued for a time.

NOTE 1.—KARÁKORUM, near the upper course of the River Orkhon, is said by Chinese authors to have been founded by Búkú Khan of the Hoei-Hu or Uigúrs, in the 8th century, In the days of Chinghiz, we are told that it was the headquarters of his ally, and afterwards enemy, Togrul Wang Khan, the Prester John of Polo. ["The name of this famous city is Mongol, Kara, 'black,' and Kuren, 'a camp,' or properly 'pailing.'" It was founded in 1235 by Okkodai, who called it Ordu Balik, or "the City of the Ordu," otherwise "The Royal City." Mohammedan authors say it took its name of Karákorum from the mountains to the south of it, in which the Orkhon had its source. (D'Ohsson, ii. 64.) The Chinese mention a range of mountains from which the Orkhon flows, called Wu-te kien shan. (T'ang shu, bk. 43b.) Probably these are the same. Rashiduddin speaks of a tribe of Utikien Uigúrs living in this country. (Bretschneider, Med. Geog. 191; D'Ohsson, i. 437. Rockhill, Rubruck, 220, note.)—Karákorum was called by the Chinese Ho-lin and was chosen by Chinghiz, in 1206, as his capital; the full name of it, Ha-la Ho-lin, was derived from a river to the west. (Yuen shi, ch. lviii.) Gaubil (...)

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