CHAPTER IX.

General History of the Turks, and the Empires founded by them in Tartary and the Lower Asia. The Origin of the Country, and different Tribes or Branches of the Turkish Nation; with their public Transactions, till the Destruction of their Empire in Tartary.

TURK URK is a name known in all languages, from which the Arabs formed the plural Atrak, that is, Turks. There are three traditions concerning the origin of these people; one given by themselves, the other by the Persians and Arabs, and the third by the Chinese. The Turkish historians derived themselves from the son of Japhet. According to Mirkmond, a famous Persian historian, the Turks are derived from Tur, the seventh king of Persia; but, according to Chinese historians, the Huns and the Turks are the same people, who, at different times, went under these different names. The first is, that which they had before the Christian era; the second, that which a remnant of those Huns, re-established in Tartary, assumed afterwards; and say, that they dwelt in the neighbourhood of the great desert, extending from the country of Korea, in the East, to that of Getes, in the West.

Historians, in general, divide the ancient Turks into two classes, according to their mode of living. Some of their tribes inhabited cities, and, consequently, had permanent dwellings ;

the rest lived in tents, after the custom of the Arabs. From the latter are descended the Turcomans, the ancestors of the present Ottomans. They believed in one only God, the creator of the heavens and the earth; to whom they sacrificed horses, oxen, and sheep. They held the water, air, and fire, in high respect; and chanted hymns, in honour of the earth. Their priests pretended to the knowledge of future events. The Arabian and Persian authors give but an unfavourable representation of the natural disposition of the Turks, which they describe as gross and brutal; and cite, in support of their assertions, some proverbs little to their praise. In one of their old volumes is a distich, to the following purport: "Although a Turk, or a Tartar, should excel in every branch of the sciences, still will barbarism always remain in the ground-work of his character." They have another proverb in frequent use, viz. "Though a Turk should be a doctor of the Mussulman law, yet one might kill him without scruple." This revengeful aversion was, no doubt, the consequence of the cruel treatment the Persians have so often experienced from that nation during their bloody wars. Nor were the Arabs less oppressed and we may assert, that the same sentiments prevail among the populace of the present day, who still continue seditious and insolent. These people were always eminent for personal courage; and, in general, those Turks, who have preserved their original character, have a haughty air, and appear formed for martial deeds.

Great Tartary, the place of habitation for various Turkish tribes, or nations, in its greatest

extent, is situated between 57 and 160 degrees of longitude, and between the 37th and 55th degrees of north latitude. This vast region is divided into two parts; the one called the Western, and the other the Eastern Tartary: the latter is scarce one fourth so large as the former. Although the lands in Western Tartary, belonging to every nation or tribe, are marked out, and well known to the inhabitants, yet there are few or no cities, towns, or villages, to direct strangers; their several situations or possessions are best distinguished and ascertained by their natural marks or boundaries; such as mountains, rivers, and lakes, with which Western Tartary abounds.

The principal mountain of those which run along the northern borders, is called the Great Mountain; that which makes the southern boundary, is called the Lesser Mountain; and the third great chain is called Mount Altay, lying nearly in the middle, between the Caspian Sea and Eastern Tartary, and extending between the other two, in about the 110th degree of longitude.

The chief deserts or plains are; first, those of Kipjak, in the west, extending many days journey, on the north and north-east, on the Caspian Sea; secondly, those stretching eastward, from Kipjak to Mount Altay; thirdly, that called the Great Kobi, or Sandy Desert, by the Moguls, and Shamo, by the Chinese. It is divided, by ridges or hills, into three or four parts, and extends eastward, from Mount Altay to Eastern Tartary.

Besides the Dnieper, the Don, and the Walga, there are many other principal rivers falling

into the Caspian Sea. The principal lakes are, the Kamish, about 484 miles long, and nearly as many broad; the second is the Issikol, a lake of but small extent, but celebrated among the inhabitants for being the place where Turk, their great ancestor, fixed his royal seat.

As to the political state of Western Tartary, it may be observed, that it is entirely possessed by the Mogul nations, under several Khans, whose dominions are named after the people, or the prince who rules over them. The first and chief of these Mogul nations are, the Eluths, nick-named Kalmuks by the Mohammedan Tartars. These are divided under two Khans.

The second nation or branch of the Moguls are, the Kalka, or Halha Moguls; their country extends from Mount Altay, in the east, to the source of the river Kalka. The third branch of the Moguls, properly so called, are those whose territories lie to the south of that of the Kalka's, between them and the great wall of China; to which empire both nations are subject.

Besides these khans (who, with their subjects, are idolaters of the religion of Tibet, or the Dalay Lama,) there are two others in Great Tartary, who possessed that part called Turkestan, situate to the north of Great Bukharia and Karazm, between those countries and the dominions of the Eluths.

It may be questioned whether all the different tribes of people inhabiting Tartary are branches of the Turks; but it seems probable, that there was a particular nation among the ancient Scythians, who went by that name, since the Turks are mentioned by Pliny, who placed them among