Chapter XXIX

HOW TOTAMANGU WAS LORD OF THE TARTARS OF THE PONENT.

You must know there was a Prince of the Tartars of the Ponent called MONGOTEMUR, and from him the sovereignty passed to a young gentleman called TOLOBUGA. But TOTAMANGU, who was a man of great influence, with the help of another Tartar King called NOGAI, slew Tolobuga and got possession of the sovereignty. He reigned not long however, and at his death TOCTAI, an able and valiant man, was chosen sovereign in the place of Totamangu. But in the meantime two sons of that Tolobuga who was slain were grown up, and were likely youths, able and prudent.

So these two brothers, the sons of Totamangu, got together a goodly company and proceeded to the court of Toctai. When they had got thither they conducted themselves with great discretion, keeping on their knees till Toctai bade them welcome, and to stand up. Then the eldest addressed the Sovereign thus: “Good my Lord Toctai, I will tell you to the best of my ability why we be come hither. We are the sons of Totamangu, whom Tolobuga and Nogai slew, as thou well knowest. Of Tolobuga we will say no more, since he is dead, but we demand justice against Nogai as the slayer of our Father; and we pray thee as Sovereign Lord to summon him before thee and to do us justice. For this cause are we come!”{1}

(Toctai agrees to their demand and sends two messengers to summon Nogai, but Nogai mocks at the message and refuses to go. Whereupon Toctai sends a second couple of messengers.)

NOTE 1.—I have not attempted to correct the obvious confusion here;
for in comparing the story related here with the regular historians
we find the knots too complicated for solution.

In the text as it stands we first learn that Totamangu by help of
Nogai kills _Tolobuga_, takes the throne, dies, and is succeeded by
Toctai. But presently we find that it is the sons of _Totamangu_
who claim vengeance from Toctai against Nogai for having aided
Tolobuga to slay their father. Turning back to the list of princes
in chapter xxiv. we find Totamangu indeed, but Tolobuga omitted
altogether.

The outline of the history as gathered from Hammer and D’Ohsson is
as follows:—

NOGHAI, for more than half a century one of the most influential of
the Mongol Princes, was a great-great-grandson of Chinghiz, being
the son of Tatar, son of Tewal, son of Juji. He is first heard of
as a leader under Batu Khan in the great invasion of Europe (1241),
and again in 1258 we find him leading an invasion of Poland.

In the latter quarter of the century he had established himself
as practically independent, in the south of Russia. There is
much about him in the Byzantine history of Pachymeres; Michael
Palaeologus sought his alliance against the Bulgarians (of the
south), and gave him his illegitimate daughter Euphrosyne to wife.
Some years later Noghai gave a daughter of his own in marriage to
Feodor Rostislawitz, Prince of Smolensk.

Mangu- or Mangku-Temur, the great-nephew and successor of Barka,
died in 1280–81 leaving nine sons, but was succeeded by his brother
TUDAI-MANGKU (Polo’s _Totamangu_). This Prince occupied himself
chiefly with the company of Mahomedan theologians and was averse to
the cares of government. In 1287 he abdicated, and was replaced by
TULABUGHA (_Tolobuga_), the son of an elder brother, whose power,
however, was shared by other princes. Tulabugha quarrelled with old
Noghai and was preparing to attack him. Noghai however persuaded
him to come to an interview, and at this Tulabugha was put to
death. TOKTAI, one of the sons of Mangku-Temur, who was associated
with Noghai, obtained the throne of Kipchak. This was in 1291. We
hear nothing of sons of Tudai-Mangku or Tulabugha.

Some years later we hear of a symbolic declaration of war sent by
Toktai to Noghai, and then of a great battle between them near the
banks of the Don, in which Toktai is defeated. Later, they are
again at war, and somewhere south of the Dnieper Noghai is beaten.
As he was escaping with a few mounted followers, he was cut down by
a Russian horseman. “I am Noghai,” said the old warrior, “take me
to Toktai.” The Russian took the bridle to lead him to the camp,
but by the way the old chief expired. The horseman carried his head
to the Khan; its heavy grey eyebrows, we are told, hung over and
hid the eyes. Toktai asked the Russian how he knew the head to be
that of Noghai. “He told me so himself,” said the man. And so he
was ordered to execution for having presumed to slay a great Prince
without orders. How like the story of David and the Amalekite in
Ziklag! (2 Samuel, ch. i.).

The chronology of these events is doubtful. Rashiduddin seems to
put the defeat of Toktai near the Don in 1298–1299, and a passage
in Wassáf extracted by Hammer seems to put the defeat and death of
Noghai about 1303. On the other hand, there is evidence that war
between the two was in full flame in the beginning of 1296; Makrizi
seems to report the news of a great defeat of Toktai by Noghai as
reaching Cairo in _Jumadah_ I. A.H. 697 or February–March, 1298.
And Novairi, from whom D’Ohsson gives extracts, appears to put
the defeat and death of Noghai in 1299. If the battle on the Don
is that recounted by Marco it cannot be put later than 1297, and
he must have had news of it at Venice, perhaps from relations at
Soldaia. I am indeed reluctant to believe that he is not speaking
of events of which he had cognizance _before_ quitting the East;
but there is no evidence in favour of that view. (_Golden Horde_,
especially 269 _seqq._; _Ilchan_. II. 347, and also p. 35;
_D’Ohsson_, IV. Appendix; _Q. Makrizi_, IV. 60.)

The symbolical message mentioned above as sent by Toktai to Noghai,
consisted of a hoe, an arrow, and a handful of earth. Noghai
interpreted this as meaning, “If you hide in the earth, I will dig
you out! If you rise to the heavens I will shoot you down! Choose
a battle-field!” What a singular similarity we have here to the
message that reached Darius 1800 years before, on this very ground,
from Toktai’s predecessors, alien from him in blood it may be, but
identical in customs and mental characteristics:—

“At last Darius was in a great strait, and the Kings of the
Scythians having ascertained this, sent a herald bearing, as gifts
to Darius, a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows.... Darius’s
opinion was that the Scythians meant to give themselves up to
him.... But the opinion of Gobryas, one of the seven who had
deposed the Magus, did not coincide with this; he conjectured that
the presents intimated: ‘Unless, O Persians, ye become birds, and
fly into the air, or become mice and hide yourselves beneath the
earth, or become frogs and leap into the lakes, ye shall never
return home again, but be stricken by these arrows.’ And thus the
other Persians interpreted the gifts.” (_Herodotus_, by Carey,
IV. 131, 132.) Again, more than 500 years after Noghai and Toktai
were laid in the steppe, when Muraview reached the court of Khiva
in 1820, it happened that among the Russian presents offered to
the Khan were two loaves of sugar on the same tray with a quantity
of powder and shot. The Uzbegs interpreted this as a symbolical
demand: Peace or War? (_V. en Turcomanie_, p. 165.)