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Authors: Dr. Paul-Thomas Ferguson

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Salabadi traders
at
the edge of the Gobi found much the same reaction amongst the herdsmen along that rock
ie
desert
.  T
he
se tribal
villagers
,
like the people of Ergyan,
still told legends of that time when Majumin and his followers had
left for the west, never to
be seen
again
; though it must be said that the
se tales little resembled realitie after
such a
passage of time.
  A band of Gobi dwellers thus followed the precedent of those in Ergyan, leaving their homes for the pilgrimage west.

     The Zelaznids of Salabad were scarcelie prepared for the arrival of
pilgrims in
such number
s; for, i
n addition to the Ginyu from
Ergyan and the
Gobi, there came others with no kinship to the travelers who had followed Majumin, but
who
yet
felt their hearts and minds gladdened by the teachings of Zelaznu.  These, too, made the
ir way
to Salabad
, so that they might
join others
of their ilk and visit the places known to Zelaznu in his day.

     These places, which included the pass in the mountains and the hut where the prophet recovered after his
strange
journie, became so crowded with visitors that a
n enterprising soul established a
business
wherein visitors paid some few coins to take part
in
pilgrimage tours.  Even those who did not cho
o
se to move their families to Salabad
yet
began t
o travel to the cittie on an annual basis
in order to
honour
the memorie of Zelaznu and those
followers who had vanished with him
so long ago
.

     In all of this, the governor-g
eneral was much pleased.  Monies from frequent visitors and the e
xpansion of trade made Salabad the
wealthie
st
cittie
in the Takla Makan.  Qutughai was thus
able to send vast a
mounts of tribute to the great k
han.  T
his in no little measure greatlie
enhanced the reputation of Qutughai in the eyes of
his leader
.

 

A

nd yet, all was not goodness and light in the streets of Salabad, for there were in that cittie no few schemers of jealous complexion who saw
little
benefit to
themselves in consequence of
the religious freedoms supported by Qutughai
.  Rather, they believed that too much favour
had been
visited
upon the Zelaznids.
  In addition,
in the court of
Kublai K
han
were
burea
ucrats of similar colour who believed that
too much favour
had been
visited
upon the distant Qutughai.

     As is the way of great men, Qutughai thus found himself pinned between factions and plotted against by both the disgruntled souls of Salabad and the corrupt officials of
the khan’s
court.  For their part, those
jealous
Salab
adi wr
o
te secretlie to the k
han
to
declar
e
their dismay over Qutughai’s abandonment of traditional religious teachings. 
At the same time
, envious bureaucrats whispered in the
ear of the khan that his favourite
general had,
due to
his popularitie amongst the peoples at the
far edge of
the
wasteland, sought to elevate himself
,
a mocking aff
ront to the power of the great k
han himself.

     The k
han was not at first inclined to listen to such slanders. 
But
,
being a man jealous of his
own
exalt
ed position
, it
came to pass that
the
powerful leader
decided to
visit war upon the people of Salabad, ordering Qutughai to be brought before him. 
But
this was not to be.

     The armie of the k
han, arrogant and certain of its strength, traveled in comfort along the Tarim, never riding too hard or too fast, al
ways res
ting in
town
s
or cittie
s
from which entertainment
mig
ht be had
.  Unlike the k
han, who was
but a distant ruler known for
little but
the
callousness of
his
arm
ie
, Qutughai was beloved throughout the settlements of
the Tarim basin by virtue of those
traders and missionaries who never failed to speak of the
g
overnor-
g
eneral with great reverence.

     As such, village traders brought word to Qut
ughai
that
the soldiers of the khan
were on their way
several
days before th
ose
forces
at last
set
their eyes on the loftie
walls of Salabad.  The great and wise Qutughai, finding himself in a difficult position, made for himself
,
and
for
those who would heed his wor
ds
,
a fateful and difficult decision

     Following the example of Zelaznu, Qutughai summoned all of the Zelaznids to come before him at the grounds of the governor’s palace.  The
y assembled there
in
a
large courtyard, whereupon Qutughai
stood
before them.  He
informed the crowd, which numbered in the tens of thousands, about the coming danger and
what he
thought
they should do to protect themselves
;
for all feared
the wanton slaughter and destruction that
might
otherwise befall them at the hands of the armie.

    
Qutughai’s decision, in
essence,
was
to follow the path Zelaznu
had once taken in
to the
m
ounta
ins and, barring an otherworldlie
encounter, cross the peaks into the lands of Kaasmir.
[32]

     “After all,” the great leader explained
,

d
id not the Hellenes of old come through those same mountains to find a welcome home in Salabad? 
We
must now retrace th
at
historic passage
,
return
ing
to the lands from whence they came.”

     “Are you to guide us there, Governor-General Qutughai?”

     The wise leader then bowed his head and spoke so that all
those assembled
had to strain their ears to hear h
im
. “I was not
of a mind
to leave this place before called from my post by my master, the Great Khan.
 
And
I would have
bowed to his will
in humilitie
even
had he order
ed
me to return to court
and
answer for my actions. 
But
, by sending an armie to seize his servant by
force
, the Grea
t Kha
n has made an
enemie of the
loyal Qutughai
.
  Even so, I
would
yet have done my
dutie to the emperor, though it cost me my life, were
no other lives at risk
in this business.”

     The crowd murmured
,
as some no doubt grew nervous
to hear
the extent of
the
governor-general’s
loyalt
ie to the k
han.  Then Qutughai lifted his
head
and his voice high, so that all
might
know the strength of the man who stood before them.

     “Grateful though I have been for your good service to me and to your fair cittie,
I
have
not
been
led
to adopt your ways,
though I respect greatlie the sum of your beliefs.  I was, rather,
content to follow the path that my ancestors laid before me
and
to leave
the question of faith to those who are inclined to studie
such
matters. 
And
yet
. . .

     “My avowed enemie, the Great Khan, declares war not alone up
on me but upon you, and upon your ideas, indeed even your right to have
idea
s
.  Is this the act of a wise leader?  Is this the act of a kind soul?  No. 
I
am
not a man to stand aside whilst
an idea
is crushed
beneath the leather boot
s
of
the soldier
.  Therefore I declare unto you that, though I
do not s
ay that I am one of you, I shall
yet lead you from this place
.”

     A great cheer r
o
se up from the multitudes, but no celebration, for there was much to do and little time with which to accomplish a
ll that lay before them.  Throughout
the cittie, families loaded all that they
could
into satchels
and bags,
sometimes piling clothing and food onto
blankets which
they then tied into the semblance of bundles.  Riches that
could not be carried
with ease were sold to
whatever
merchants intended to stay behind.

    
But
the
Zelaznids
did not
impoverish themselves in order to escape; on the contrarie, they designated several of their number to haul such gold and silver and riches as the band possessed.  Moreover, the herdsmen
amongst them fashioned
strong ropes with which to tie their livest
ock together for the coming
expedition
.

     At last,
several hundred
Zelaznids
stood in preparation,
steeled
for their
trek into the unknown. 
T
heir enemies were not idle during the
se
preparations, but sen
t
word
to the armie
that those whom they sought would soon flee
.
 
Yet, the forces of the Great Khan did not concern themselves with this news, knowing as they did that the
high m
o
untains were perilous and sure
to turn back all but the most stalwart travelers.

     This is why, when the soldiers
arrived at Salabad, they
were not alarmed to find that
their prey
had fled
in
to the mountains. 
Imagine their surprise, however, when a
thorough
search
of the vari
ous
trails
reveal
ed
no sign of the fugitives whatsoever
.

    
Qutughai and the
Zelaznids had vanished
.

 

T

he disappearance of Qutughai and his Zelaznid followers, inexplicable though it was to
both
the Mongol warriors and
the
Salabadi enemies who s
earched for them, was
not quite so mysterious as it seemed.  Consider that the year
had reached late
spring,
a time when the snows clung
to the highest peaks
alone
, and then
in patches
, as if the heavens
had neglected to evenlie spread the vast white blanket
across the land
.
[33]
  Consider that, within an hour’s walk up the mountain path, dirt gave way to bare stone, thus providing difficult gr
ound through which to track the travelers
.  Consider
also
that the fleeing Zelaznids, in fear
for their lives, were much more interested in escaping than the
complacent
armie was
in capturing them.

BOOK: The Ports and Portals of the Zelaznids
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