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THere are two great Nations in the world, who live very much after the same manner, are of the same Religion, and pretend to the same ori∣ginal; these are the Arabs and the Tar∣tars, the first living in part of Asia and of Africa, and the latter possessing all the Northern Regions of Asia, and extending their Territories into Eu∣rope: some of these are more civilized then the others, have Towns and Lite∣rature, and improve their knowledge
in Arts and Sciences, but the most part of them live a wandring life up and down in the Fields and Plains, in Tents or Sheds, or else contended to have no other covering but the Heaven, not addicting themselves to Agriculture, but delight in Hunting, Fighting, Rob∣bing, and have little other Riches then their Heards and Flocks.
All these Tartars are divided into Hordes,* 1.1 and the Arabs into Heyles or Cobeyles, and almost all these people, make no allyance out of their own Lineage and Blood, from whence appa∣rently proceeds, that great resemblance which they have to one another; and some peculiar Features which doe easi∣ly distinguish them from other Nati∣ons.
The Tartars have not been known by this name, but for about four hundred years, and are properly the Scythians; some Authors, as Leunclave and others, derive this name from the River Tartar, in the Countrey where they did inhabit.
There are some who say that the name of Tartar is improper and corrupted, and that they ought to be called Tatares or Totares, a word which in the Syriack Language signifies a Remnant, suppo∣sing that these people are the remnant of the Ten Tribes which Salmanazar and his predecessors led away captive into Assyria, and who afterwards resol∣ved to separate themselves from the Gentiles, and passed into a Countrey not inhabited, there to exercise their Religion, and to observe the laws which they had formerly neglect∣ed.
Tartary is devided into five parts, the first is the lesser Tartary, or Tartary of Prezecop, called also Crim Tartary. The second is Sarmatia, Asiatica, which con∣taineth many Hordes of the Tartars sub∣ject to the Great Duke of Moscovia, as the Czeremisses, the Nagais, Zauolhaus, and those of Cazan and Astracan. The Third is Zagatay, or the Countrey of Ʋzbek, otherwise called Scythia beyond the Mount Imaus, which extends it self
between the Rivers of Chesel, otherwise Jaxarte, and Gehon, or Oxe, and com∣prehendeth Bactriana, and Sogdiana; and in this Tartary Reigned the famous Tamberlane. The Fourth is Cathay or great Tartary. And the Fifth is, That Tartary which was unknown to Ptolomy and lieth most remote in the North-east part of Asia.
The lesser Tartary formerly called Taurica Chersonesus, hath received the name of Praecopensis, from a Town cal∣led Przecop, scituated in the Istmus of the Peninsula. Przecop in the Sclavovi∣an Language, signifying a place ditch∣ed or digged; there being a Ditch which cutteth through this neck of Land; it is called also Crim, from one of its principal Towns of that name.
The Tauri were the antient inhabi∣tants, and gave name to this Countrey, many Greek Colonies came thither af∣terwards, and then some Hordes of the Tartars who came out from about the Caspian Sea, and after they had harra∣sed
a part of Asia and passed the Volga, did at length fall into this Countrey, and take possession of it all, about 460. years since, except Caffa and some other Ports which remained in the hands of the Genoeses from the year one thousand two hundred and sixty six, till one thousand four hundred and seventy four, when Mahomet the second Em∣peror of the Turks took it from them.
Taurica Chersonesus is about fifty Leagues long, and in some parts thirty Leagues broad, in others less; but the lesser Tartary is of a greater extent, comeprehending Budziak, which is a Countrey lying between the Niester and the Boristhenes, as far as the Don or Ta∣nais, and all along the Sea of Elle Za∣bacche, or Palus Maeotis.
There are no Towns nor yet Villa∣ges, but in the Chersonesus, the rest being only incultivated Plains, yet of them∣selves very fruitful, and the Tartars encamp up and down in them as they find more or less forrage, and make use
of their Huts, and their travelling sheds, onely in the winter to defend themselves against the great cold and snow, which we mean also of those onely who are left to keep the Herds and Flocks; as for the rest they are ordinarily employed about this time, when the Rivers and Marshes are fro∣zen up, to make their inroads, and plun∣der in Ʋkrain, and upon the frontiers of Moscovy.
The Towns of this Peninsula are first Przecop, called Or by the Tartars, where there are about four hundred Houses; it is scituated upon the Eastern part of the Istmus, being half a League about: Coslow, seated on one of the Capes of the Peninsula upon the Black Sea, having about two thousand Houses, and is a Town of Trade belonging to the Cham: Crim, another Town of the Cham's, sci∣tuated upon a Bay which the Palus Mae∣otis maketh, and is inhabited by few else but by the Tartars. Baciasary where the Cham ordinarily keepeth his Court of about two thousand Houses. Al∣masaray,
another Palace belonging to the Cham, whither he often goeth, but the Town by it hath not above three or fourscore Houses.
The places possessed by the Turk, are the Port of Baluelawa, very much esteemed, where the Ships and Galleys are made for him, but there are not there above two hundred Houses at most. Ingermen, and Mancup, Castles with ruined Towns, but the most considera∣ble place is Caffa, formerly called Theo∣dosia, when the Genoeses were Masters of it, it was one of the most trading Towns of the Levant, but it is since faln from its Grandeur, and hath run the same fortune with most of those Towns, which have fallen under the Ottoman Dominion; yet there are still remaining about five or six thousand Houses: the Inhabitants are Greeks, Ita∣lians; the remainder of the Genoeses, Armenians, Jews, Turks and Tartars, but the most part of them are Christians, who have had to the number of five and forty Churches there, either Greek, Ar∣minian, or Latine.
Taurica Chersonesus consisteth partly of fruitful Plains, and partly of Woods and Hills, it produceth all sort of Grain and excellent Fruit and Wine. The Chri∣stians and Jews Till the Ground; the Tartars imploy their Slaves in the same labor, esteeming it an employment be∣low them, but the Tartars without, de∣spise it more, and choose rather to be Shepheards and Robbers: Their Hor∣ses and Cattel are their Riches, with the Booty and Slaves of both Sexes, which they take in their incursions and sell to the Merchants of Caffa, af∣ter they have provided for themselves, and furnished the Cham, who hath the priviledge to take first what Men and Women he pleaseth; these Slaves are afterwards carried away by the Mer∣chants of Constantinople, Synopa and Trebisonde, and other places of the East, especially the Women and Maids of Poland, who are carried away some∣times as far as Persia and India, to fur∣nish the Serraglio's of those Countreys where they are much esteemed; for∣merly the Soldans of Aegypt did furnish
themselves with Soldiers out of Taurica Chersonesus, composing their Militia of Slaves taken by the Tartars in Russia, Podolia, Moscovia, and Circassia. But since the ruine of that Military Em∣pire by Selim, that Commerce with Aegypt hath ceased. The Tartars re∣ceive from the Christian and Jewish Merchants in exchange for their Slaves and Cattel which they bring them, Turkish Horses, Arms, Stuffs for cloath∣ing and other Commodities.
The Praecopian Tartars are most of them of a middle stature, strong, and thick Limbs, short Neck, broad Face, their Eyes small, but very black, and opening wide, their complexion Taw∣ny, and other particular Lineaments they have which doe easily distinguish them from among many other men, har∣dened to all sort of Labour and Pains from their very infancy. Their Mo∣thers hath them almost every day in water, in which Salt is dissolved, to make their bodies more strong, and less apt to be penetrated by the injuries of
the Air, which I have seen also practi∣sed by the Polish Women, but these are contented to prepare this Lye one∣ly once a week, their Fathers teach them very early to draw the bowe, and from the age of twelve or fifteen years they carry them with them to the wars.
The Tartars who live abroad, are ha∣bited in Sheep-skins with a Cap of the same Stuffe; their Arms are ordinarily a Cimeter, a Bow and a Quiver, with about twenty Arrows; they make them∣selves these Arms, thus, their Bows out of Horses Pizzels, their Quiver, out of his skin, and tye the heads of their Arrows with little Thongs cut out of the same skin of the same Ani∣mal, of which also they make their Whips so neatly, by a particular Art which they have, that our Sadlers in France and Germany, have not yet been able to imitate them; they begin to use Fire-arms, and all of them are fur∣nish'd with Knives and Instruments to mend their Bridles and Saddles, which they also make themselves; they carry
with them a Steel to strike fire, and a Mariners Compass, a Sun-dyal to guide them through the desart Plains where there is no beaten way or path. The chief among them wear Cloth of di∣vers colours, have Linnen made of Cot∣ton, Coats of Mail, Turkish Saddles, and are in an handsome equipage, pur∣chased either of the Armenian Mer∣chants, or taken in War; all ride very short, and carry their Legs bended and high, after the manner of the Poles, Turks, Arabs, and of all the Eastern Na∣tions, and the Africans. Their Hor∣ses which they call Bacmates, are long, ugly, and lean, have the Hair of their Neck thick, and great Tayls which hang down to the ground; but Na∣ture hath very well repaired their ug∣liness by their swiftness, and their in∣comparable and indefatigable service they perform in travelling, being able to carry their Riders whole days jour∣neys without drawing Bit; they feed at all times, and when in winter the Earth is covered with Snow, and the Tartars make their incursions, they live
either upon what is under the Snow, or upon the Branches or sprouts of Trees, Pine tops, Straw, or any thing they can find; the chief of the Tartars have Turkish and Arabian Horses, and their Cham very good Race-horses.
The travelling Tartars scarce eat any bread coming seldom into places, where it is to be had, but they make use of Millet, which is very common amongst them, with which they make their Drink and Pottage; and eat ordinarily Horse∣flesh which they boil when they are at leisure, either alone or with their Mil∣let, but when they goe to war and are upon their March, they make it ready, or rather mortify, or just heat it, under their Saddles▪ and eat it after∣wards in this condition without any o∣ther sauce then the froth upon the Flesh, made by the sweating of the Horse; neither doe they choose the most fat or the most sound and whol∣some Horses to make their Provision of, but they take such as are spent with their long marches, or are sick and
lame, and I have seen at my being in Poland, divers Tartar prisoners come and take away dead Horses out of the Stables to feast one another with, so that there is no fear in those Coun∣treys that the carcasses of dead Beasts should infect the Air, they will take an order for that, and not fail to carry them away, assoon as they know where they are; the use of Wine being for∣bidden them by the Law of Mahomet, their drink is ordinarily clear water, and in winter snow, when the Brooks and Rivers are frozen over, and some∣times the broth made with their Horseflesh, and the Skumme, or else Breha, which is a drink made with boil∣ed Millet, but those who are better ac∣commodated, and more delicate, drink Mares milk, Mead, and Strong waters, and eat Lamb, Kid, Fowls, and all sort of Game which they take; they de∣lighting much in Hunting and Fowling; but all abstain from Swines-flesh, and one may say this of them in general, that they are sober and continent; as for the Cham himself he keeps a
better Table, and fares more delici∣ously, is nobly lodged, and lives mag∣nificently, and as becomes one of his Quality.
Their Language is much like the Turkish, both of them having the same original, onely the Turkish is more mix∣ed with Persian and Arabick words; their Religion is the Mahumetan.
As to their Morals, there are very few Nations to be found less viti∣ous, for besides their continence, they are extremely sincere, and faithful, they have no Thieves or false witnesses a∣mongst them, little injustice or vio∣lence, and live in Union and great tran∣quility; as to their harasing the Chri∣stian Countreys, they doe not think they commit any fault or injustice in doing it, seeing that they are esteemed by them as people that are Infidels and abominable.
The marvellous fidelity of the Cap∣tive Tartars in Poland is every day to be
observed, who never fail to return at the time appointed, when they are let loose upon their word to goe and pro∣cure their Liberties by the exchange of Polish prisoners, which they exe∣cute punctually, or return themselves not failing a minute; and I have obser∣ved that the Polish Gentlemen doe ra∣ther trust the young Tartars, which are in their service, with the keys of their Money and Jewels, then any o∣ther of their Houshold.
These People obey one Prince whom they call their Cham or King; the Po∣landers name him the Czar or Caesar, he is much respected by his own People and Reigneth despotically, as almost all other Mahumetan Princes do; the Cham hath power of nominating his suc∣cessor, who is ordinarily his Son or one of his Brothers, he that is to succeed, is called the Galga; the Nobles or most considerable of his Subjects are named Murzas. Since that Selim, Emperor of the Turks brought a part of Taurica Cher∣sonesus under his obedience; the Chams
are not become Tributaries, as some say, but Vassals to the Grand Signior, in such sort, as for a mark of his Sove∣raignty over them, they receive a Stan∣dard from him at the change or instal∣lation of every Cham. The first King or Cham of these People was one Ʋlan, whose birth they report to be miracu∣lous; his Successors were supplanted about two hundred years agoe by the Geereys, a Family which at this day sits upon the Throne, yet their are some left of the former, still called Ʋlans, and are to succeed in the Go∣vernment when the House of the Gee∣reys shall be extinct.
The Religion of the Praecopian Tar∣tars being Mahumetan, and their Lan∣guage the Turkish, together with their nearness to Constantinople; the Govern∣ment also is very like to that of the Turks; the Cham's first Minister of State is called the Vizier, the same as the Grand Signior's; they have also Priests and Caditi's to doe justice, for the administration of which they have
no other Code but the Alcoran, and no other interpreter of that but their own common Sense; the parties plead their own Cases, which are briefly and rea∣dily dispatched; the Cham himself doth Justice, and determines Controversies, especially when he goeth forth in pub∣lick, without acception of persons, hearing the poor as well as the rich. Drunkenness, Murder, Adultery, and Theft are most rigorously punished, and though they be much accustom∣ed to rob in War, yet they totally ab∣stain from it in their own Countrey, where wearing of any Arms is prohi∣bited them, even in the Cham's Court.
The forces of this Prince are very numerous, for gathering together all the hords, of the Tartars, who doe either obey him or are his Allies, he is able to bring into the field many thousand Horse; they have no Foot but some Janisaries which they receive from the Turk upon any expedition which they make by his Order or A∣greement; there are some few Garri∣sons
in the Castles and strong places of Taurica Chersonesus, the most considera∣ble is in the Fortress of Przecop, or Or, which hath notwithstanding but a bad Ditch four or five fathoms over, and a Rampart of seven or eight foot high, and two fathoms and half over; here lieth always a strong Guard to defend the entrance of the Peninsula, and he that is Governor is Commander of all the Hordes of the Tartars, as far as the Boristhenes.
The wars which the Tartars ordinarily make, are rather an inroad then any thing else.
How strict peace soever they have with the Christians their neighbors, they doe not fail to visit them often, either upon their inclination, or upon the Command of the Cham, who always pretends to a Tribute from the Mosco∣vites and Polanders, which they have paid sometimes when necessity hath forced them, and refused at others, as not being willing to subject themselves to these acknowledgements towards
Infidels, and those whom they dispise.
When the Tartars would make any great inroad either into Poland or Mos∣covy; they choose ordinarily the full Moon of January, all the Rivers, Lakes and Marshes, being then frozen, and the Earth, especially in the plain De∣sarts covered with Snow, which is ve∣ry commodious for their Horses which are not shod; every Tartar carrieth two with him, either for change, or to car∣ry his booty and provision; neither is his provision very weighty, consisting onely of a little Millet, dried Flesh powdered after the manner of the Turks, and some Garlick, which they hold ve∣ry proper to digest so many crude Meats as they eat, and many times they car∣ry nothing, feeding onely upon the flesh of their Horses which perish in their march; they take their way through the Valleys and most obscure passages, that they may not be disco∣vered by the Cossacks, who always keep Centry and Watch, and are out upon parties to hear news of them, and so to allarm the Countrey. That which is
most surprising is, That in the middle of winter they incamp without fire, for fear of being discovered, and eat lit∣tle but Horseflesh stewed under their Saddles; when they are arrived at those places where they intended, whi∣ther it be in Ʋkrain or elsewhere, their Generals let loose one third part of their Army, which is divided into di∣vers Troops, and these over-run and pillage all the Countrey five or six Leagues about the wings of their Ar∣my; their main body in the mean time keeping close together, to be in a po∣sture to fight their Enemies, if their should be occasion; afterwards this party being returned, they let loose another in its turn, observing always this Order, That all their Troops which run up and down, may in a few hours return to the body of their Army: af∣ter they have pillaged and harrased the Countrey five or six days, they re∣turn as fast as they can, that they may not be set upon in their retreat, and ha∣ving regained the open desart Plains, where their Body consisting of Horse,
they have great advantage in fight; they make a halt to refresh themselves a∣while, and to share the Booty and Prisoners. They make their incursi∣ons also in Summer, but not in such great numbers, seldom so many as ten thousand together, and these are the Tartars of Budziak, who at that season lead their Horses and Cattel into the Plains to feed, and so getting ground, they of a suddain run out and take a∣way all they meet; nor is it easie to stop them but with a thousand men, march∣ing always in Tabor.
The Tartars fight not but in great Troops of two, three, or four thousand Horse, and seldom give battle but when they are much the stronger, and when their Army is forced and broken up by the enemy, they scatter and disperse themselves into so many little Troops, that the Polanders and Germans, who march close and by squadrons, know not which to set upon in their retreat; they shoot their Arrows from behind them, with such exactness as to hit
those who pursue them at two hundred paces distance, and at a quarter of a League from thence rally their forces again and return presently to charge; this they repeat often, it being their manner of fighting, but it is onely thus, when they are the greatest number, for otherwise when they once run, it is full speed, and not to return again, and it is difficult to surprise them, they keeping strict watch all night, not easie to defeat them, unless it be in some streight, or upon some pass of a River.
The prisoners which they take, they make Slaves and sell them to the Mer∣chants of Constantinople and Caffa, and other places of the East, who either keep them to wait upon themselves, or to look after their Cattle, or till the Ground, entertaining with the same face as we have formerly spoken of, as divers Polish and French Officers have related unto me; amongst others, Lieu∣tenant-Collonel Nicolai, and Captain Croustade, who most unfortunately fell into their hands; but the Poles are e∣ven
with them, for except those Chil∣dren whom they choose to wait upon them, and Baptize and instruct in the Christian Religion, or some Murza which they shut up and treat well e∣nough, and hope to exchange for some Polish Nobleman, prisoner in Tartary; the rest are kept as Slaves, having al∣ways Irons upon their feet, and are made use of as Beasts to carry all man∣ner of burthens, Lime, Brick, and all other materials for building, Wood for their Kitchins and Chambers, and to make clean their Houses, and Plough, and other labors, being always follow∣ed by one who keeps them to their work, yet these poor people get some time to make Whips, which they sell and buy provisions with the Money, their ordinary allowance being onely Bread and Water, unless when they get a dead Horse; when I was at War∣saw, I had opportunity to take notice of two or three hundred of them, who lived after this manner, either under the King, or some great Polish Nobleman.
Horde signifies a Con∣gregati∣on.