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Excerpt: ... two had habergions, which they said they had procured from the Alani, who are excellent smiths and armourers. In my opinion, the Tartars have small store of armour, except bows and arrows, and leather jackets; some have iron plates, and skull cups from Persia, and I saw two at the court of Mangu armed with clumsy and unwieldy coats of rough hog-skin. We found one castle of the Alanians, which had been subdued by the Tartars, about which there were many vineyards, and there we drank wine for the first time. On the following day we reached Derbent or the Iron-gate, built by Alexander the Macedonian, on a small plain between the sea and the mountains, one end of the city reaching to the shore, while the other extends a mile in length to the top of the mountain, on which is a strong castle. But the breadth of the city scarcely exceeds a stones throw. It has very strong walls, and turrets of large polished stones, with no trenches; but the Tartars have demolished the tops of the turrets, and the bulwarks of the walls. Two days journey from Derbent we came to a city named Samaron3, in which there were many Jews; near which we saw walls descending from the mountains to the sea; and leaving the way by the sea, because it turns to the east, we went up into the high countries, towards the south. Next day we passed through a valley, in which we could perceive the foundations of walls, stretching quite across between two mountains, which were themselves quite impassable. All these walls were erected of old by Alexander, for restraining the fierce nations of Scythian shepherds, inhabiting the wilderness, from invading the plains and cities of the southern countries of Persia and Asia Minor. There were also other walls and inclosures inhabited by Jews. Next day we came to a great city called Samach4; and after this we entered the great plain of Moan, through which runs the river Cur or Cyrus, from which the Curgi or Curdi have their name, whom we call...

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