AFANASY NIKITIN ABOUT HOW HE DIDN’T CONVERT TO ISLAM BUT STUDYED THEIR CULTURE... HOW THEY ROBBED AND RETURNED HIM GOODS... ABOUT HOTEL MAIDS-CONCUBINES, ETC.

I read something quickly - in the ancient language (Old Church Slavonic) it is more interesting to read the aroma of mystery but it is not clear enough, but the translation is clearer and a lot of things caught my eye - why is it so brief - as if these were memories? Why is he so afraid of changing the religion of Christianity to Islam? for some reason in the old days it seemed like a tragedy - but in fact it is unimportant - if they asked to convert to their faith, then why not give in? about the presence of Turkic words and phrases - for example, the end of his manuscript shows two dozen words in Turkic (in the manuscript in Old Church Slavonic) which says that while he lived there he involuntarily became interested in the culture and absorbed it into himself and it’s a pity that this was completely omitted during translation and then the reader will and Afanasy Nikitin’s passion for exploring Eastern culture is not known - which has no justification other than the false patriotic efforts of the translator... and yet in the text of Afanasy Nikitin in one phrase both “amen” is Christian and “akbar” is Turkic (I quote: " By the grace of God he passed through three seas. Diger Khudo dono, Ollo pervodiger given. Amen! Smilna rahmam ragim. Ollo akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliqsolom. Ollo Akber. And iliagail ilello. " ) - in my opinion, he speaks of the curiosity of the Russian soul (and the broad acceptability of Dostoevsky to the whole world) and in order to consolidate his new knowledge after traveling, he brings this into his texts... his observations in India as in the hotel of the maid and in the rooms are interesting they cleaned up and shared a bed with visitors at his request for an additional fee, as I understand it... it’s also interesting to read how they were robbed on the roads and then, upon a complaint to the Sultan, strict demands were sent to the robbers and everything was returned to the traveler, apparently so that the traveler could present gifts to the Sultan, etc. .d. etc.

Tver - India - Tver

Another point of view is interesting - that " Russian and Turkic cultures in the recent past were unusually close":

Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin, who lived in the middle of the 15th century, heard about the Russian embassy being sent to Persia and went with it. Having started his journey from the Volga and reached the Persian Gulf, Afanasy decided to continue studying the East and went further. Curiosity and enterprise led him to India, where he lived for three years, begging and exposed to mortal dangers. From India he traveled by sea to Ethiopia, from there to Turkey, from which he sailed to Rus'. On the way to his native Tver, he died.

During his many years of travel, Afanasy wrote down everything he saw and experienced. The result was an interesting diary, subsequently entitled “Writing of Ofonas Tferitin the merchant who was in India for four years.” In our time, the story of Afanasy Nikitin is known as “Walking across the Three Seas.”

Fragment of the manuscript.

Nikitin's notes are very interesting. In addition to the fact that the author introduces us to the culture and history of the peoples among whom he happened to be, he left us an interesting monument of Russian speech. What is surprising about it is that Afanasy, when narrating his travels, sometimes switches from Russian to some kind of gibberish that is impossible to understand. But it can be translated if you know Turkic languages. Here is a typical example from the text of “Walking”:

The Indians call the ox father, and the cow matter. And with their feces they bake bread and cook their own food, and with that ash they smear the banner on the face, and on the forehead, and all over the body. During the week and on Monday they eat once during the day. In Yndey, as a checktur, I learn: you cut or irsen and live; akichany ila atarsyn alty zhetel take; bulara dostur. A kul koravash uchuz char funa hub, bem funa hube sia; kapkara amchyuk kichi want.

Only the first three sentences in this passage can be understood. For the rest, a translator is needed. Here is what they look like after translation into modern Russian:

... In India there are a lot of walking women, and therefore they are cheap: if you have a close connection with her, give two inhabitants; If you want to waste your money, give me six residents. That's how it is in these places. And slave concubines are cheap: 4 pounds - good, 5 pounds - good and black; black, very black, small, good (hereinafter translated by L.S. Smirnov).

Note that Afanasy Nikitin, a resident of northern Tver, writes this himself, without using the help of interpreters who know Tatar or Turkish languages. And for what purpose should he attract them? He writes down his thoughts and observations, and does it naturally, in a way that suits him. It is obvious that he is well acquainted with a foreign language, and moreover, he knows how to write in it, which is not as easy as it seems. The Turks used Arabic writing, and Afanasy, accordingly, writes in Arabic.

And I’m going to Rus', ketmyshtyr name, uruch tuttym.

Translation of the entire sentence:

And I’m going to Rus' (with the thought: my faith is lost, I fasted with the Besermen fast).

And the Podolsk land is offensive to everyone. And Rus er tangrid saklasyn; Ollo sakla, Khudo sakla! Bu daniada munu kibit er ektur.

Translation:

And the Podolsk land is abundant in everything. And Rus' (God save it! God save it! Lord save it! There is no country like it in this world.)

What is also unusual in the notes of the Russian traveler is the frequent appeal to Allah, whom he calls Ollo. Moreover, he repeatedly uses the traditional Muslim "Allahu Akbar", which clearly shows which god he is addressing. Here is a prayer tirade typical of the entire text, in which, as in other places, Russian speech alternates with non-Russian:

Ollo khodo, Ollo aky, Ollo you, Ollo akber, Ollo ragym, Ollo kerim, Ollo ragym ello, Ollo karim ello, tangresen, khodosensen. There is one God, the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth.

Let's look at the translation:

(Lord God, true God, you are God, the great God. You are a merciful God. You are a merciful God, the most merciful and the most merciful you are. Lord God). God is one, the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth.

The translator clearly could not cope with Nikitin’s “Ollo”, and Allah turned into a politically correct God, and the original text thus lost one of its meanings. Reading “Walking” in such a translation, it is no longer possible to see the originality and unusualness of the old Russian culture, and how wrong our ideas about ancient Orthodoxy are.

Almost at the very end of the story, Athanasius uses his traditional exclamations, including the Muslim “Allahu Akbar” and the Christian “Amen”, that is, in our opinion, he confuses the incompatible:

By the grace of God he passed through three seas. Diger Khudo dono, Ollo pervodiger given. Amen! Smilna rahmam ragim. Ollo akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliqsolom. Ollo Akber. And iliagail ilello.

The last phrase in this passage is the classic “There is no god but Allah,” but in the translation we see something completely different: “There is no god but the Lord.” In essence, this is one and the same thing, but the Islamic character of the author’s faith becomes invisible. This cannot be reproached to the translator, since according to traditional ideas, Orthodoxy of that time had nothing in common with Islam. And to us, the fact that the Christian Athanasius prays to Allah, and even adds that there is no other god besides Allah, seems incredible. But all this is because history, including the history of religions, is incorrect.

The religious formula “There is no god but Allah” in modern Islam necessarily ends with the phrase “And Muhammad is his prophet,” but we do not see it in Nikitin. Moreover, in the last passage cited you can find the name Isa - Jesus. Perhaps this is precisely what distinguishes the Orthodoxy of Athanasius from the orthodoxy of his Muslim contemporaries: under the same god Allah, some had Jesus, and others had Muhammad. From the author’s words, by the way, it is clear that becoming a Muslim was simple: just “exclaim Makhmet.”

The unusual text of Afanasy Nikitin can indicate only one thing: Russian and Turkic cultures in the recent past were unusually close. Back in the 19th century in the south of Russia, Turkic speech could be heard among the local Russian population. For example, the Terek Cossacks knew the Tatar language very well and sometimes switched to it in communication. Along with Russian songs, Turkish ones were also sung.

It is possible that the two cultures began to separate only during the time of Athanasius, and this began due to the split of the common right-wing faith into the followers of Christ and Muhammad. Today it seems to us that the peoples of these cultures have been fundamentally different since ancient times, but it turns out that not so long ago there was a common linguistic and religious space that stretched from the Russian north to Africa.

Old Russian literature

"Walking across three seas"

Afanasia Nikitina

(Old Russian text with minor abbreviations) (translation - below Yu.K.)

In the summer of 6983 (...) The same year I found the writing of Ofonas Tveritin, a merchant who had been in Yndei for 4 years, and went, he says, with Vasily Papin. According to the experiments, if Vasily went from Krechata as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and we said that a year before the Kazan campaign he came from the Horde, if Prince Yuri was near Kazan, then they shot him near Kazan. It is written that he did not find it, in which year he went or in which year he came from Yndei, died, but. They say that he died before reaching Smolensk. And he wrote the scripture with his own hand, and his hands brought those notebooks to the guests to Mamyrev Vasily, to the clerk to the Grand Duke in Moscow.
For the prayer of our holy fathers. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afonasy Mikitin’s son.
Behold, you have written down your sinful journey across three seas: 1st Sea of ​​Derbenskoye, Doria Khvalitskaa; 2nd Indian Sea, before the Gundustan region; 3rd Black Sea, Doria Stebolskaya.
I died from the golden-domed Savior and by his mercy, from my sovereign, from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich Tversky, and from Bishop Genady Tversky, and Boris Zakharyich.
And went down the Volga. And he came to the Kolyazin monastery to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and to the holy martyr Boris and Gleb. And the abbot blessed Macarius and the holy brothers. And from Kolyazin I went to Uglech, and from Uglech they released me voluntarily. And from there I left, from Uglech, and came to Kostroma to Prince Alexander with the Grand Duke’s diploma. And he let me go voluntarily. And you came to Pleso voluntarily.
And I came to Novgorod in Nizhnyaya to Mikhail Kiselev, to the governor, and to the duty officer to Yvan to Saraev, and they released me voluntarily. And Vasily Papin passed by the city for two weeks, and Yaz waited in Novegrad in Nizhny for two weeks for the ambassador of the Tatar Shirvanshin Asanbeg, and he was traveling from the Krechats from Grand Duke Ivan, and he had ninety Krechats.
And I came with them to the bottom of the Volga. And we passed through Kazan voluntarily, without seeing anyone, and we passed through the Horde, and we passed through Uslan, and Sarai, and the Berekezans. And we drove into Buzan. Then three filthy Tatars came at us and told us false news: “Kaisym Saltan is guarding the guests in Buzan, and with him are three thousand Tatars.” And the ambassador Shirvanshin Asanbeg gave them one piece of paper and a piece of canvas to lead them past Khaztarahan. And they, the filthy Tatars, took one by one and gave the news to the king in Khaztarahan. And I left my ship and climbed onto the ship for the envoy and with my comrades.
We drove past Khaztarahan, and the moon was shining, and the king saw us, and the Tatars called to us: “Kachma, don’t run!” But we didn’t hear anything, but fled like a sail. Because of our sin, the king sent his entire horde after us. They caught us on Bogun and taught us to shoot. And we shot a man, and they shot two Tatars. And our smaller ship got stuck, and they took us and then plundered us, and my small junk was all in the smaller ship.
And in a large ship we reached the sea, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and they took us there, and they ordered us to pull the ship back up to the bottom. And then our larger ship was plundered and the Russians took four of its heads, but they sent us with our bare heads over the sea, but they didn’t let us go up, dividing us.
And I went to Derbent, crying, two ships: in one ship Ambassador Asanbeg, and Teziks, and ten of us Rusak heads; and in another ship there are 6 Muscovites, six Tverians, cows, and our food. And the boat got up on the sea, and the smaller ship crashed on the shore. And there is the town of Tarkhi, and people went ashore, and the kaytaks came and caught all the people.
And we came to Derbent, and Vasily came back in good health, and we were robbed, and beat Vasily Papin with his forehead and the Shirvanshin ambassador Asanbeg, who came with him, so that he would grieve for the people that they were caught near Tarkhi Kaitaki. And Asanbeg was sad and went to the mountain to Bulatubeg. And Bulatbeg sent a speedboat to Shirvanshibeg, saying: “Sir, a Russian ship was broken up near Tarkhi, and when the kaytaki came, the people caught it, and their goods were plundered.”
And Shirvanshabeg of the same hour sent an envoy to his brother-in-law Alilbeg, the Kaitachevo prince, saying: “My ship was broken near Tarkhi, and your people, when they came, caught the people, and plundered their goods; and you, dividing me, send people to me and collect their goods, those people were sent in my name. And what will you need from me, and you came to me, and I don’t tell you, my brother, the harrow. And those people came in my name, and you would have released them to me voluntarily, dividing me.” And Alilbeg of that hour the people sent everyone to Derbent voluntarily, and from Derbent they sent them to the Shirvanshi in his yard - Koitul.
And we went to Shirvansha in Koitul and beat him with his forehead so that he would favor us rather than reach Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything, but there are a lot of us. And we burst into tears and dispersed in all directions: whoever had anything in Rus' went to Rus'; and whoever should, and he went where his eyes took him. Others remained in Shamakhey, while others went to work for Baka.
And Yaz went to Derbenti, and from Derbenti to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar.
Yes, here I lived in Chebokar for 6 months, and I lived in Sara for a month, in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amili, and here I lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Rey. And they killed Shausen, the Aleev children and the Makhmetev grandchildren, and he cursed them, and 70 other cities fell apart.
And from Drey to Kasheni, and here I lived for a month, and from Kasheni to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdei, and here I lived for a month. And from Diez to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom, and funiki to feed the animals, batman for 4 altyns. And from Torom to Lar, and from Lar to Bender, and here there is the Gurmyz shelter. And here there is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsean language and Hondustan Doria; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles.
And Gurmyz is on the island, and every day the sea catches him twice a day. And then you took the first Great Day, and you came to Gurmyz four weeks before the Great Day. Because I didn’t write all the cities, there are many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is sunshine, it will burn a person. And I was in Gurmyz for a month, and from Gurmyz I went across the Indian Sea along the Velitsa days to Radunitsa, to Tava with the conmi.
And we walked by sea to Moshkat for 10 days; and from Moshkat to Degu 4 days; and from Degas Kuzryat; and from Kuzryat to Konbaatu. And then paint and paint will appear. And from Konbat to Chuvil, and from Chuvil we went in the 7th week along the Velitsa days, and we walked in the tawa for 6 weeks by sea to Chivil.
And here there is an Indian country, and people walk around all naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are naked, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with their bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. And the men and women are all naked, and all are black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me, and they marvel at the white man. And their prince has a photo on his head, and another on his head; and their boyars have a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna, princesses walk around with a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna. And the servants of the princes and boyars - the photo is rounded on the guzna, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, and some with sulits, and others with knives, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; and everyone is naked, barefoot, and big-haired, but they don’t shave their hair. And the women walk around with their heads uncovered and their nipples bare; and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, not covered in rubbish.
And from Chuvil we went dry to Pali for 8 days, to the Indian Mountains. And from Pali to Umri there are 10 days, and that is an Indian city. And from Umri to Chuner there are 7 days.
There is Asatkhan Chunerskya Indian, and the slave is Meliktucharov. And he keeps, I say, this from meliktochar. And the meliqtuchar sits at 20 tmah; and he fights with the kafara for 20 years, then they beat him, then he beats them many times. Khan As rides people. And he has a lot of elephants, and he has a lot of good horses, and he has a lot of Khorosan people. And they bring them from the Khorosan lands, and some from the Orap lands, and others from the Turkmen lands, and others from the Chebotai lands, and they bring everything by sea in tavs - Indian ships.
And the sinful tongue brought the stallion to the Yndei land, and I reached Chuner, God did all the best, and became worth a hundred rubles. It has been winter for them since Trinity Day. And we spent the winter in Chyuner, we lived for two months. Every day and night for 4 months there was water and dirt everywhere. On those same days they yell and sow wheat, and Tuturgan, and nogot, and everything edible. They make wine in great nuts - Gundustan goat; and the mash is repaired in Tatna. The horses are fed with nofut, and the kichiris is boiled with sugar, and the horses are fed with butter, and the hornets are given to them for wounding. In the Yndei land, they will not give birth to horses; in their land, oxen and buffaloes will be born, and they ride goods on the same ones, carry other things, and do everything.
Chyunerey city is on a stone island, not made by anything, created by God. And they walk up the mountain every day, one person at a time: the road is tight, and it’s impossible for two to go.
In the Yndei land, the guests set up in the courtyard, and they cook food for the guests of the ruler, and they make a bed for the guests of the ruler, and sleep with the guests. Sikish iliresen the strangler of Beresin, sikish ilimes ek resident of Bersen, dostur avrat chektur, and sikish mufut; but they love white people.
In winter, people wear a photo on their head, another on their shoulder, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars of the Tolda put on trousers, and a shirt, and a caftan, and a phot on the shoulder, and gird another one, and turn the head of a third. A se Olo, Olo abr, Olo ak, Ollo kerem, Ollo ragim!
And in Chuner, the khan took a stallion from me, and found out that Yaz was not a Besermenian - a Rusin. And he says: “I will give a stallion and a thousand golden ladies, and stand in our faith - in Makhmetdeni; If you don’t join our faith, in Mahmatdeni, I will take a stallion and a thousand gold coins on your head.” And the term was imposed for four days, in Ospozhino on Savior Day. And the Lord God had mercy on his honest holiday, did not leave his mercy on me, a sinner, and did not order me to perish in Chyuner with the wicked. And on the eve of Spasov, the owner, Makhmet Khorosan, came and beat him with his forehead so that he would grieve for me. And he went to the khan in the city and asked me to leave so that they wouldn’t convert me, and he took my stallion from him. This is the miracle of the Lord on Savior Day. Otherwise, brother Rusti Christians, who wants to go to the Yndean land, and you leave your faith in Rus', and, having exclaimed Mahmet, go to the Gundustan land.
The Besermen dogs lied to me, but they said there was only a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the white goods for the Besermen land, pepper and paint, were cheap. Others are transported by sea, and they do not give duties. But other people won’t let us carry out duties. And there are a lot of duties, and there are a lot of robbers on the sea. And all the Kafars, not the peasants, not the besermen, are defeated; but they pray like a stone blockhead, but they don’t know Christ or Makhmet.
And I from Chunerya went out on Ospozhin day to Beder, to their great city. And we walked for a month to Beder; and from Beder to Kulonkerya 5 days; and from Kulonger to Kolberg 5 days. Between those great cities there are many cities; Every day there are three cities, and some days there are four cities; Kokokov, just hail. From Chuvil to Chyuner there are 20 kovs, and from Chuner to Beder there are 40 kovs, and from Beder to Kulonger there are 9 kovs, and from Beder to Kolubergu there are 9 kovs.
In Beder there is a trade for horses, for goods, and for damask, and for silk, and for all other goods, so that black people can buy them; and there are no other purchases in it. Yes, all their goods are from Gundustan, and all food is vegetables, but there is no goods for the Russian land. And all the black people, and all the villains, and the wives are all whores, yes, lead, yes, thiefs, yes, lies, and potions, having given the gift, they sip the potion.
In the Yndei land, all Khorosans reign, and all Khorosans boyars. And the Gundustanians are all pedestrians, and the Khorosans walk in front of them on horseback, while others are all on foot, walking on greyhounds, and all are naked and barefoot, with a shield in their hand, and a sword in the other, and others with great straight bows and arrows. And all of them are elephants. Yes, the foot soldiers are allowed in front, and the Khorosans are on horseback and in armor, and the horses themselves. And to the elephant they knit great swords to the snout and to the teeth according to the forged kentar, and cover them in damask armor, and towns are made on them, and in the towns there are 12 people in armor, and everyone with guns and arrows.
They have one place, shikhb Aludin pir yatyr bazaar Aladinand. There is one bazaar for a year, the whole Indian country comes to trade, and they trade for 10 days; from Beder 12 kovs. They bring horses, sell up to 20 thousand horses, bring all kinds of goods. In the land of Gundustan, the trade is the best, all kinds of goods are sold and bought in memory of Shikh Aladin, and in Russian for the Protection of the Holy Mother of God. In that Alyanda there is a bird called kukuk, which flies at night and calls: “kuk-kuk,” and on which the khoromine sits, then a person will die; and whoever wants to kill her, otherwise fire will come out of her mouth. And mammon walk all night and have chickens, but live in a mountain or in a stone. And the monkeys live in the forest. And they have a monkey prince, and he leads his army. But whoever messes with it, they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against him, and when they come to the city, they destroy the courtyards and beat the people. And their army, they say, is many, and they have their own language. And they will give birth to many children; Yes, who will be born neither as father nor mother, and they are tossed along the roads. Some Hindustanis have them and teach them all sorts of handicrafts, while others sell them nights so that they don’t know how to run back, and others teach them the bases of mikanet.
Spring began for them with the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. And they celebrate Shiga Aladina, in the spring for two weeks according to the Intercession, and they celebrate for 8 days. And spring lasts 3 months, summer 3 months, winter 3 months, autumn 3 months.
In Bederi their table is for Gundustan of Besermen. But the hail is great, and there are many great people. And the saltan is not long - 20 years, but the boyars hold it, and the Khorosans reign, and all the Khorosans fight.
There is a Khorosan meliktuchar boyar, and he has two hundred thousand of his army, and Melikhan has 100 thousand, and Faratkhan has 20 thousand, and many of those khans have 10 thousand army each. And three hundred thousand of their army come out with the saltan.
And the land is crowded with velmi, and the rural people are naked with velmi, and the boyars are strong and kind and magnificent with velmi. And they all carry them on their beds on silver, and before them horses are led in gold harnesses up to 20; and behind them there are 300 people on horseback, and five hundred people on foot, and 10 people with trumpets, and 10 people with pipe makers, and 10 people with pipes.
Saltan goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, and with him there are 10 thousand people on horses, and fifty thousand on foot, and two hundred elephants are brought out, dressed in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred pipe-makers, and a hundred people dancing, and simple horses 300 in gold gear, and behind him a hundred monkeys, and a hundred whores, and all of them are gauroks.
In Saltanov's courtyard there are seven gates, and in each gate sits a hundred guards and a hundred Kaffar scribes. Whoever goes is recorded, and whoever leaves is recorded. But the Garips are not allowed into the city. And his courtyard is wonderful, everything is carved and painted in gold, and the last stone is carved and described in gold. Yes, there are different courts in his yard.
The city of Beder is guarded at night by a thousand Kutovalov men, and they ride on horses in armor, and everyone has a light.
And he sold his stallion’s tongue in Bederi. Yes, you gave him sixty and eight hundred pounds, and you fed him for a year. In Bederi, snakes walk along the streets, and their length is two fathoms. He came to Beder about the conspiracy of Filipov and Kulonger, and sold his stallion about Christmas.
And then I went to the Great Messenger in Bederi and got acquainted with many Indians. And I told them my faith that I am not a Besermenian and a Christian, but my name is Ofonasei, and the Besermenian name of the owner is Isuf Khorosani. And they did not learn from me to hide anything, neither about food, nor about trade, nor about manaza, nor about other things, nor did they teach their wives to hide.
Yes, everything is about faith, about their trials, and they say: we believe in Adam, but the buty, it seems, is Adam and his entire race. And there are 80 faiths in India and 4 faiths, and everyone believes in Buta. But with faith one neither drinks nor eats nor marries. But others eat boranin, and chickens, and fish, and eggs, but there is no faith in eating oxen.
They were in Bederi for 4 months and agreed with the Indians to go to Pervoti, then their Jerusalem, and according to the besermensky Myagkat, where is their butkhan. There he died with the Indians and they will be killed for a month. And the butkhana trades for 5 days. But the butkhana velmi is large, half of Tver, stone, and rubble deeds are carved on it. There were 12 crowns cut around her, how the bottle worked miracles, how he showed them many images: first, he appeared in a human image; another, a man, and the nose of elephants; third, a man, but the vision is a monkey; fourthly, a man, but in the image of a fierce beast, and he appeared to them all with a tail. And it is carved on a stone, and the tail through it is fathoms.
The whole Indian country comes to Butkhan for the miracle of Butovo. Yes, old and young, women and girls shave at the butkhan. And they shave all their hair - beards, heads, and tails. Let them go to the butkhan. Yes, from every head they take two sheshkeni in buta duties, and from horses, four feet. And they come to the butkhan of all people bysty azar lek wah bashet sat azar lek.
In the butkhan, the buthan is carved from stone and black, Velmi is large, and he has a tail through it, and he raised his right hand high and extended it, like the Ustenean king of Constantinople, and in his left hand he has a spear. But he has nothing on, but his pants are the width of his fly, and his vision is that of a monkey. And some of the Butovs are naked, there is nothing, the cat is Achyuk, and the Butov women are naked and cut out with litter and children. And in front of the butte stands a great ox, Velmi, carved from stone and black, and all gilded. And they kiss his hoof, and sprinkle flowers on him. And flowers are sprinkled on the buta.
The Indians do not eat any meat, neither cowhide, nor boran meat, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, but they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice a day, but do not eat at night, and do not drink wine, nor are they full. And the Besermen neither drink nor eat. But their food is bad. And one with one neither drinks, nor eats, nor with his wife. They eat brynets, and kichiri with butter, and eat rose herbs, and boil them with butter and milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they don’t eat anything with their left hand. But they don’t shake a knife, and they don’t know liars. And when it’s too late, who cooks their own porridge, but everyone has a fork. And they hide from the demons so that they don’t look into the mountain or into the food. But just look, they don’t eat the same food. And when they eat, they cover themselves with a cloth so that no one can see it.
And their prayer is to the east, in Russian. They raise both hands high, and place them on the crown, and lie down prostrate on the ground, and let all of them fall to the ground, then they bow. But some sit down, and they wash their hands and feet, and rinse their mouths. But their butkhans do not have doors, but are placed to the east, and their buthans stand to the east. And whoever dies among them, they burn them and throw their ashes on the water. And the wife gives birth to a child, or the husband gives birth, and the father gives the name to the son, and the mother to the daughter. But they don’t have good money, and they don’t know rubbish. He went or came, they bow in the black way, both hands reach to the ground, but he doesn’t say anything.
They go to the First One about a great conspiracy, to their butu. Theirs is Jerusalem, and in Besermen it is Myakka, and in Russian it is Jerusalem, and in Indian it is Porvat. And everyone comes together naked, only on the forge of boards; and the wives are all naked, only wearing phots, and some wearing photahs, and there are a lot of pearls on their necks, and yachts, and hoops and gold rings on their hands. Ollo oak! And inside to the butkhan they go to the ox, and the ox’s horns are shod with media, and there are three hundred bells on its neck, and its hooves are shod with media. And those oxen are called achchei.
The Indians call the ox father, and the cow matter. And with their feces they bake bread and cook their own food, and with that ash they smear the banner on the face, and on the forehead, and all over the body. During the week and on Monday they eat once during the day. In Yndey, as a checktur, I learn: you cut or irsen and live; akichany ila atarsyn alty zhetel take; bulara dostur. A kul koravash uchuz char funa hub, bem funa hube sia; kapkara amchyuk kichi want.
From Pervati you came to Beder, fifteen days before the Besermensky Ulubagrya. But I don’t know the Great Day and the Resurrection of Christ, but by signs I guess the Great Day happens on the first Christian Bagram in nine days or ten days. But I have nothing with me, no book; And they took my books with them from Rus', and if they robbed me, they took them, and I forgot all the Christian faiths. Peasant holidays, I don’t know either Holy Days or the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know Wednesdays or Fridays; and in between there is a ver tangyrydan and a stirrup Ol saklasyn: “Ollo bad, Ollo aky, Ollo you, Ollo akber, Ollo ragym, Ollo kerim, Ollo ragym ello, Ollo karim ello, tangresen, khodosensen. There is one God, the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth.”
And I’m going to Rus', ketmyshtyr name, uruch tuttym. The month of March passed, and I fasted for Besermen a week, but I fasted for a month, I did not eat meat or anything fast, no Besermen foods, but I ate bread and water twice a day, avratylya yatmadym. Yes, you prayed to Christ the Almighty, who created heaven and earth, and you did not call upon anyone else by any name, God Ollo, God Kerim. God is ragim, God is bad. God aber, God the king of glory, Ollo varenno, Ollo ragim elno sensen Ollo you.<...>
Maya month 1 day Great day was taken in Beder in Besermen in Gundustan, and Besermen was taken in Bagram in the middle of the month; and I began to pray for the month of April 1 day. About the faithfulness of Christians! Those who sail a lot in many lands fall into many troubles, and let the Christians lose their faith. I, the slave of God, Afonasy, took pity on the Christian faith. The 4th Great Day has already passed and the 4th Great Day has passed, but I, a sinner, do not know what is a Great Day or a Great Day, I don’t know the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know any other holidays, I don’t know Wednesday or Friday - and I don’t have any books. If they robbed me, they took my books. Because of many troubles I went to India, I had nothing to go to Rus' with, I had nothing left for my goods. The first Great day you took in Cain, and the second Great day in Chebokara in the Mazdran land, the third Great day in Gurmyz, the fourth Great day you took in Yndei from the Besermen in Beder; the same many lamentations for the Christian faith.
Besermenin Melik, he forced me a lot into the faith of Besermen’s article. I said to him: “Master! You namaz kalarsen, men da namaz kilarmen; you beg namaz kylarsiz, men da 3 kalarmen; men garip, and sen inchay.” He said: “The truth is, you don’t seem to be a Christian, but you don’t know Christianism.” I fell into many thoughts and said to myself: “Woe to me, the accursed one, for I have lost my way from the true path and I don’t know the way, whichever way I will go. Lord God of all things, creator of heaven and earth! Do not turn your face away from your slave, for you are in sorrow. God! Look upon me and have mercy on me, as I am your creation; do not turn me away, Lord, from the true path, instruct me. Lord, take the right path, for I have not created any virtue for your need. Lord my God, for all our days have passed away in evil. My Lord, Ollo the first diger, Ollo you, karim Ollo, ragim Ollo, karim Ollo, ragim ello; ahamdulimo. I have already spent four Great Days in the land of Besermen, but I have not abandoned Christianity. God knows what will happen next. Lord my God, I have trusted in you, save me, O Lord my God.”
In Yndey Besermenskaya, in Great Beder, you looked at the Great Night on the Great Day, Hair and Kola entered the dawn, and the Elk stood with its head to the east.
The Sultan rode out on the Besermenskaya to Teferich, and with him 20 great warriors, and three hundred elephants dressed in damask armor, and the towns, and the towns were shackled. Yes, in the towns there are 6 people in armor, and with cannons and arquebuses, and on a great elephant there are 12 people. Yes, each has two great wrestlers, and great swords are tied to the teeth along the centar, and great iron weights are tied to the snout. Yes, a man sits in armor between his ears, and he has a great iron hook, and thus they rule him. Yes, there are thousands of simple horses in golden gear, and there are a hundred camels with soot, and there are 30.0 trumpeters, and there are 300 dancers, and there are 300 carpets. Yes, on the Saltan Kavtan the whole fathom of yakhonts, and on the cap there is a great Chichyak Olmaz, and there are golden saadak yakhonts, yes three sabers on it are bound with gold, and the saddle is gold, and the tackle is gold, and everything is gold. Yes, the Kafar is jumping in front of him and playing with the tower, and there are many foot soldiers behind him. Yes, a good elephant follows him, and he’s all dressed up in damask, and he beats up people, and he has a large iron chain in his mouth, and he beats up horses and people, no matter who steps close to Saltan.
And the brother of the sultans, and he sits on a bed on a golden one, and above him there is an oxamiten tower, and a poppy of gold from a yacht, and 20 people carry it.
And Makhtum sits on the bed on a golden one, and above him there is a tower of shidyans with a golden poppy tree, and they carry him on 4 horses in golden gear. Yes, there are many people around him, and there are singers in front of him, and there are many dancers; yes, all with bare swords, yes with sabers, yes with shields, yes with bows, yes with spears, yes with bows with straight ones with great ones. Yes, the horses are all in armor, and there are saadaks on them. And some are all naked, with only a robe on their backs, covered in rubbish.
In Beder, the month is full for three days. In Beder there are no sweet vegetables. In Gundustani there is no strong war. Silenus Var in Gurmyz and in Kyatobagryim, where all the pearls will be born, and in Zhida, and in Baka, and in Misyur, and in Orobstani, and in Lara. But in the land of Khorosan it’s varno, but it’s not like that. And in Chegotani Velmi Varno. In Shiryazi, and in Ezdi, and in Kashini, there is Varno, and there is wind. And in Gilyai it is stuffy and the steam is dashing, and in Shamakhey the steam is dashing; Yes, in Babylon it is Varno, yes in Khumit, yes in Sham it is Varno, but in Lyapa it is not so Varno.
And in Sevastia Guba and in the Gurzyn land, goodness offends everyone. Yes, the land of Tours is offensive to Velmi. Yes, in the Volos region everything edible is offensive and cheap. And the Podolsk land is offensive to everyone. And Rus er tangrid saklasyn; Ollo sakla, Khudo sakla! Bu daniada munu kibit er ektur; nechik Urus eri beglyari akoi tugil; Urus er abodan bolsyn; Rast kam gives. Ollo, Khudo, God, Danyir.
Oh my God! I trust in you, save me, Lord! I don’t know which way I’ll go from Gundustan: to go to Gurmyz, but there’s no way from Gurmyz to Khorosan, there’s no way to Chegotai, there’s no way to Bodatu, there’s no way to Katabogryam, there’s no way to Ezd, there’s no way to Rabostan No. Then there was bulgak everywhere; Knocked out princes everywhere. Yaisha Myrza was killed by Uzoasanbeg, and Sultan Musyait was nourished, and Uzuosanbek sat on Shchiryaz, and the earth did not hold together, and Ediger Makhmet, and he does not come to him, is being watched. And there is no other way. And go to Myakka, otherwise you will believe in the Besermen faith. Zane Christians do not go to the Myakka of faith dividing what to put into faith. But to live in Gundustani, other people eat up all the meat, everything is expensive for them: I am one man, and sometimes half a third of an altyn goes for grub per day, but I haven’t had a drink of wine, nor am I full.<...>
On the fifth Great Day we set our sights on Rus'. Idoh from Beder city a month before the ulubagryam of Besermensky Mamet deni rossulal. And the Great Day of the Christians I did not know the resurrection of Christ, but I took their shit from the besermen, and I broke my fast with them, and the Great Day took 10 kovs from Bederi in Kelberi.
The Sultan came and meliktuchar with his army on the 15th day in Ulebagryama, and in Kelberg. But the war was not successful for them, they took one Indian city, but many of their people were killed, and a lot of treasuries were lost.
But the Indian saltan kadam velmi is strong, and he has a lot of troops. And he sits in the mountain in Bichineger, and his city is great. There are three ditches around it, and a river flows through it. And from one country his zhengel is evil, and from another country he came, and the place is wonderful and pleasing to everything. There is nowhere to come to one country, there is a road through the city, and there is nowhere to take the city, a great mountain has come and a forest of evil is ticking. The army melted under the city for a month, and the people died without water, and many heads of velmi were bent due to hunger and due to lack of water. And he looks at the water, but there is nowhere to take it.
But the city took the Indian Melikyan owner, and took him by force, day and night he fought against the city for 20 days, the army neither drank nor ate, stood under the city with cannons. And his army killed five thousand good people. And they took the city, and slaughtered 20 thousand of the male and female livestock, and took 20 thousand of the great and small.
And they sold a full head for 10 tenk, and another for 5 tenk, and small ones for two tenk. But there was nothing in the treasury. But he didn’t take more cities.
And from Kelbergu I walked to Kuluri. But in Kuluri the akhik is born, and they make it, and ship it from there to the whole world. And in the Kuril Islands, three hundred diamond miners will die. And the same lasted five months, and from there Kaliki died. The same bozar velmi is great. And from there he went to Konaberg, and from Kanaberg he went to shikh Aladin. And from shikh Aladin he went to Amendriya, and from Kamendriya to Nyaryas, and from Kinaryas to Suri, and from Suri he went to Dabyli - the haven of the Indian Sea.
Dabil is a great city of Velmi, and besides, Dabyli and the whole Indian and Ethiopian coastline gathers. The same accursed slave of Athos the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth, was inspired by the Christian faith, and by the baptism of Christ, and by the holy fathers of God, according to the commandments of the apostles, and set out with his mind to go to Rus'. And I went into the tava, and talked about the naval ship, and from my head two gold dates to the city of Gurmyz. I boarded the ship from Dabyl grad to Velik days in three months of Besermen's gowein.
I spent a month in the tavern by sea, but saw nothing. The next month I saw the Ethiopian mountains, the same people all shouted: “Ollo the first digger, Ollo konkar, bizim bashi mudna nasin pain,” and in Russian they said: “God grant, God, the Most High God, the king of heaven, here judged us thou shalt perish!”
I spent five days in the same land of Ethiopia. By God's grace no evil was committed. Having distributed a lot of cheese, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians, they did not rob the ship.
And from there I walked 12 days to Moshkat. In Moshkat he took the sixth Great day. And I walked to Gurmyz for 9 days, and stayed in Gurmyz for 20 days. And from Gurmyz I went to Lari, and spent three days in Lari. It took 12 days to travel from Lari to Shiryaz, and 7 days to Shiryaz. And it took 15 days from Shiryaz to Vergu, and 10 days to Velergu. And from Vergu I went to Ezdi for 9 days, and to Ezdi for 8 days. And go to Spagan for 5 days, and to Spagan for 6 days. And is Paganipoidoh Kashini, and in Kashini there were 5 days. And Is Kashina went to Kum, and Is Kuma went to Sava. And from Sava he went to Sultan, and from Sultan he went to Terviz, and from Terviz he went to the Asanbeg horde. But the horde had 10 days, but there was no way anywhere. And he sent the army of his court to 40 thousand. Ini Sevast was taken, and Tokhat was taken and burned, Amasia was taken, and many villages were plundered, and they went to Karaman in war.
And Yaz from the horde went to Artsitsan, and from Ortsshchan he went to Trepizon.
The Holy Mother of God and the ever-Virgin Mary came to Trebizon for the Intercession, and spent 5 days in Trebizon. And he came to the ship and talked about a donation - a golden gift from his head to Kafa; and the golden one took it for grub, and gave it to the Cafe.
And in Trapizon, my Shubash and Pasha committed a lot of evil. They brought all my rubbish to the city up the mountain and searched everything - it was all good change, and they robbed it all. And they are searching for letters that came from the horde of Asanbeg.
By the grace of God I came to the third Black Sea, and in the Parsi language Doria Stimbolskaa. We walked along the sea with the wind for 10 days, reached Vonada, and there we were met by a great midnight wind, which took us back to Trabizon, and we stood in Sycamore for 15 days, in the presence of a great and evil wind. ex. The plane trees went to the sea twice, and an evil wind meets us and will not allow us to walk on the sea. Ollo ak, Ollo Khudo first digger! I don’t know the development of that other God.
And the sea crossed, and brought us from here to Balikaeya, and from there to Tokorzov, and there we stayed for 5 days. By the grace of God I came to Kafa 9 days before Philip’s plot. Ollo first digger!
By the grace of God he passed through three seas. Diger Khudo dono, Ollo pervodiger given. Amen! Smilna rahmam ragim. Ollo akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliqsolom. Ollo Akber. And iliagail ilello. Ollo the first digger. Ahamdu lillo, shukur Khudo afatad. Bismilnagi rahmam rragim. Huvo mogu go, la lasailla guiya alimul gyaibi va shagaditi. Fuck Rakhman Rahim, fuck I can lie. Lyailyaga il Lyakhuya. Almelik, alakudos, asalom, almumin, almugamine, alazizu, alchebar, almutakanbiru, alkhaliku, albariyuu, almusaviru, alkafaru, alkalhar, alvazahu, alryazaku, alfatag, alalimu, alkabizu, albasut, alhafiz, allrraviya, almavizu, almuzil, alsemi lyu, albasir, alakamu, aladulya, alyatufu.

“WALKING OVER THREE SEAS” AFANASY NIKITIN
(Translation by L.S. Smirnov)

In the year 6983 (1475).(...) In the same year I received the notes of Athanasius, a merchant of Tver, he was in India for four years1, and writes that he set off on a journey with Vasily Papin2. I asked when Vasily Papin was sent with gyrfalcons as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and they told me that a year before the Kazan campaign he returned from the Horde, and died near Kazan, shot with an arrow, when Prince Yuri went to Kazan3. I couldn’t find in the records in what year Afanasy left or in what year he returned from India and died, but they say that he died before reaching Smolensk. And he wrote the notes in his own hand, and those notebooks with his notes were brought by merchants to Moscow to Vasily Mamyrev, the clerk of the Grand Duke4.
For the prayer of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afanasy Nikitin’s son.
I wrote here about my sinful journey across three seas: the first sea - Derbent5, Darya Khvalisskaya6, the second sea - Indian, Darya Gundustan, the third sea - Black, Darya Istanbul.
I went from the golden-domed Savior with his mercy, from my sovereign Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich8 of Tverskoy, from Bishop Gennady of Tverskoy and from Boris Zakharyich9.
I swam down the Volga. And he came to the Kalyazin monastery to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. And he received a blessing from Abbot Macarius and the holy brethren. From Kalyazin I sailed to Uglich, and from Uglich they let me go without any obstacles. And, sailing from Uglich, he came to Kostroma and came to Prince Alexander with another letter from the Grand Duke. And they let me go without any obstacles. And he arrived in Plyos safely.
And I came to Nizhny Novgorod to Mikhail Kiselev, the governor, and to the exile Ivan Saraev, and they let me go without any obstacles. Vasily Papin, however, had already passed through the city, and I waited in Nizhny Novgorod for two weeks for Hasan Bey, the ambassador of the Shirvanshah10 of the Tatar. And he rode with gyrfalcons from Grand Duke Ivan11, and he had ninety gyrfalcons.
I swam with them down the Volga. They passed Kazan without obstacles, did not see anyone, and Orda and Uslan, and Sarai, and Berekezan sailed and entered Buzan12. And then three infidel Tatars met us and gave us false news: “Sultan Kasim is lying in wait for the merchants on Buzan, and with him are three thousand Tatars.” The Shirvanshah's ambassador, Hasan-bek, gave them a single-row caftan and a piece of linen to guide us past Astrakhan. And they, the unfaithful Tatars, took one line at a time, and sent the news to the Tsar in Astrakhan. And I and my comrades left my ship and moved to the embassy ship.
We sail past Astrakhan, and the moon is shining, and the king saw us, and the Tatars shouted to us: “Kachma - don’t run!” But we haven’t heard anything about this and are running under our own sail. For our sins, the king sent all his people after us. They overtook us on Bohun and started shooting at us. They shot a man, and we shot two Tatars. And our smaller ship got stuck at Eza13, and they immediately took it and plundered it, and all my luggage was on that ship.
We reached the sea on a large ship, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and then they overtook us and ordered the ship to be pulled up the river to the point. And our large ship was plundered here and four Russian men were taken prisoner, and we were released with our bare heads across the sea, and were not allowed back up the river, so that no news was given.
And we went, crying, on two ships to Derbent: in one ship there was Ambassador Hasan-bek, and Teziki14, and there were ten of us Russians; and in the other ship there are six Muscovites, six Tver residents, cows, and our food. And a storm arose on the sea, and the smaller ship was broken on the shore. And here is the town of Tarki15, and people went ashore, and the kaytaki16 came and took everyone prisoner.
And we came to Derbent, and Vasily arrived there safely, but we were robbed. And I beat Vasily Papin and the Shirvanshah’s ambassador Hasan-bek, with whom we came, with my brow, so that they could take care of the people whom the kaytaks captured near Tarki. And Hasan-bek went to the mountain to ask Bulat-bek. And Bulat-bek sent a walker to the Shirvanshah to convey: “Sir! The Russian ship crashed near Tarki, and the kaytaki, when they arrived, took the people prisoner and plundered their goods.”
And the Shirvanshah immediately sent an envoy to his brother-in-law, the Kaitak prince Khalil-bek: “My ship crashed near Tarki, and your people, coming, captured the people from it, and plundered their goods; and you, for my sake, people came to me and collect their goods, because those people were sent to me. And what do you need from me, send it to me, and I, my brother, will not contradict you in anything. And those people came to me, and you, for my sake, let them come to me without obstacles.” And Khalil-bek immediately released all the people to Derbent without obstacles, and from Derbent they sent them to the Shirvanshah, to his headquarters - koytul.
We went to the Shirvanshah, to his headquarters, and beat him with his forehead, so that he would favor us rather than reach Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything: they say there are a lot of us. And we parted, crying in all directions: whoever had what was left in Rus' went to Rus', and whoever had to, went wherever he could. And others remained in Shemakha, while others went to Baku to work.
And I went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baku, where the fire burns unquenchable17, and from Baku I went overseas to Chapakur.
And I lived in Chapakur18 for six months, and I lived in Sari for a month, in the land of Mazandaran19. And from there he went to Amol20 and lived here for a month. And from there he went to Damavand21, and from Damavand - to Rey22. Here they killed Shah Hussein, one of the children of Ali, the grandchildren of Muhammad23, and the curse of Muhammad fell on the killers - seventy cities were destroyed.
From Rey I went to Kashan and lived here for a month, and from Kashan to Nain, and from Nain to Yazd and lived here for a month. And from Yazd he went to Sirjan, and from Sirjan to Tarom24, livestock here is fed with dates, batman25 dates are sold for four altyns. And from Tarom he went to Lar, and from Lar to Bender - that was the Hormuz pier. And here is the Indian Sea, in Persian Daria of Gundustan; It's a four mile walk from here to Hormuz-grad.
And Hormuz is on an island, and the sea attacks it twice every day. I spent my first Easter here, and came to Hormuz four weeks before Easter. And that’s why I didn’t name all the cities, because there are many more big cities. The heat of the sun in Hormuz is great, it will burn a person. I was in Hormuz for a month, and from Hormuz after Easter on the day of Radunitsa26 I went in a tawa27 with horses across the Indian Sea.
And we walked by sea to Muscat28 for ten days, and from Muscat to Dega29 for four days, and from Dega to Gujarat30, and from Gujarat to Cambay31, Here paint and varnish will be born. From Cambay they sailed to Chaul32, and from Chaul they left in the seventh week after Easter, and they traveled by sea for six weeks in a tawa to Chaul.
And here is the Indian country, and ordinary people walk naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, everyone walks with bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. Of the common people, men and women are all naked and all black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me - they are amazed at the white man. The prince there has a veil on his head and another on his hips, and the boyars there have a veil over their shoulder and another on their hips, and the princesses walk with a veil over their shoulder and another veil on their hips. And the servants of the princes and boyars have one veil wrapped around their hips, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, some with darts, others with daggers, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; Yes, everyone is naked, and barefoot, and strong, and they do not shave their hair. And ordinary women walk around - their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, their shame is not covered.
From Chaul they went overland, walked to Pali for eight days, to the Indian mountains. And from Pali they walked ten days to Umri, an Indian city. And from Umri there is a seven-day journey to Junnar33.
The Indian khan rules here - Asad Khan of Junnar, and he serves Melik-at-Tujar34. Troops were given to him from Melik-at-Tujar, they say; seventy thousand. And Melik-at-Tujar has two hundred thousand troops under his command, and he has been fighting the infidels35 for twenty years: and they defeated him more than once, and he defeated them many times. Asadkhan rides in public. And he has many elephants, and he has many good horses, and he has many warriors, Khorasans36. And horses are brought from the Khorasan land, some from the Arab land, some from the Turkmen land, others from the Chagotai land, and they are all brought by sea in tavs - Indian ships.
And I, a sinner, brought the stallion to Indian land, and with him I reached Junnar, with God’s help, healthy, and he cost me a hundred rubles. Their winter began on Trinity Day37. I spent the winter in Junnar and lived here for two months. Every day and night - for four whole months - there is water and mud everywhere. These days they plow and sow wheat, rice, peas, and everything edible. They make wine from large nuts, goats of Gundustan38 are called, and mash - from tatna39. Here they feed the horses with peas, and cook khichri40 with sugar and butter, and feed the horses with them, and in the morning they give them hornets41. There are no horses in the Indian land; bulls and buffaloes are born in their land - they ride on them, carry goods and carry other things, do everything.
Junnar-grad stands on a stone rock, is not fortified by anything, and is protected by God. And the path to that mountain day, one person at a time: the road is narrow, it is impossible for two to pass.
In Indian land, merchants are settled in inns. The maids cook for the guests, and the maids make the bed, and sleep with the guests. (If you have a close connection with her, give two inhabitants, if you do not have a close connection, give one inhabitant. There are many wives here according to the rule of temporary marriage, and then a close connection is for nothing); but they love white people.
In winter, their common people wear a veil on their hips, another on their shoulders, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars then put on ports, a shirt, a caftan, and a veil on their shoulders, gird themselves with another veil, and wrap a third veil around their heads. (Oh God, great God. True Lord, generous God, merciful God!)
And in that Junnar, the khan took the stallion from me when he found out that I was not a Besermen, but a Rusyn. And he said: “I will return the stallion, and I will give a thousand gold coins in addition, just convert to our faith - to Muhammaddini42. If you don’t convert to our faith, to Muhammaddini, I will take the stallion and a thousand gold coins from your head.” And he set a deadline - four days, on Spasov Day, on the Assumption Fast43. Yes, the Lord God took pity on his honest holiday, did not leave me, a sinner, with his mercy, did not allow me to perish in Junnar among the infidels. On the eve of Spasov's day, the treasurer Mohammed, a Khorasanian, arrived, and I beat him with my brow so that he would work for me. And he went to the city to Asad Khan and asked for me, so that they would not convert me to their faith, and he took my stallion back from the khan. This is the Lord's miracle on Savior Day. And so, Russian Christian brothers, if anyone wants to go to the Indian land, leave your faith in Rus', and, calling Muhammad, go to the Gundustan land.
The Besermen dogs lied to me, they said that there was a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the goods were white for the Besermen land, pepper and paint were cheap. Those who transport oxen overseas do not pay duties. But they won’t let us transport goods without duty. But there are many tolls, and there are many robbers on the sea. The infidels are robbers; they are not Christians and not irreligious: they pray to stone fools and know neither Christ nor Muhammad.
And from Junnar they left for Assumption and went to Bidar, their main city. It took a month to reach Bidar, five days from Bidar to Kulongiri, and five days from Kulongiri to Gulbarga. ...

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Introduction

“Walkings” in ancient Russian literature were works that described journeys and pilgrimages to Palestine, Byzantium, and the countries of the East. The efforts of travelers were aimed at telling about the Christian East, about its connections with Russia; walks were carried out both by official representatives of the Russian Church and on the pilgrims’ own initiative or vow. They longed to see the birthplace of Jesus Christ, described in the Gospels, hills, gardens, buildings, wells, to walk the “way of the cross” of Christ to Calvary, to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Similar walks took place throughout the Middle Ages.

The most famous works of the genre of “walking” or “walking” of ancient Russian literature of the 12th-15th centuries are: “Walking” by Abbot Daniel, written in the 12th century, “Walking to Constantinople” by Dobrynya Yadreikovich, a monument of the 13th century, “Walking across the Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin , a 15th-century work. Hegumen Daniel was the first in Rus' to develop the principles of writing works of this genre, pilgrimage walks. All subsequent literature of the walks developed in this direction and with the preservation of those formal components that were set by Daniel: to write only about what the traveler himself saw and heard, not to highlight his personality, his experiences, as was the case in Western European works of this kind; write “not cleverly, but simply”, write in such a way that reading travel notes can replace the journey itself; create relatively independent essays and sketches and group them into a whole work based on a temporal or spatial-topographic principle; a biblical or apocryphal legend is a necessary element in pilgrimage, but it must be local, correlated with a specific historical and geographical area.

These principles of the genre will be observed by travel writers throughout the entire history of literature of Ancient Rus'. Afanasy Nikitin also adhered to them, except for one thing: he abandoned biblical-apocryphal motives in his notes.

More than seventy works written in the genre of “walking” are known; they constituted a significant part in the reading circle of Ancient Rus'. Among the “walks,” the so-called “travelers” are known - short route indicators that contained only a list of points through which the pilgrim’s path from Rus' to the Holy Land lay. An example of such a “traveler” is “The Tale of Epiphanius Mnich on the Path to Jerusalem”: “From the great Novograd to Velikiye Luki 300 versts, from Luki to Polotsk 180... from Tsar-grad by the Evkseni (Black) Sea... and in total from the great Novograd to Jerusalem 3420 verst. Amen". But most often the walks contained not only a description of the route, but also information of a geographical and ethnographic nature, and most importantly - the pilgrims’ personal impressions of what they saw (descriptions of cathedrals, their paintings and utensils, services, etc.) and retelling of scenes from the Holy Scriptures or apocryphal legends associated with the sights visited by the pilgrim.

In the 40s of the 15th century, travel essays about Western Europe were created (“The Walk of the Unknown Suzdalian to the Ferrara-Florentine Cathedral” and “The Exodus of Abraham of Suzdal”).

In the second half of the 15th century, a systematic and consistent description of the countries of the Muslim East, their economy and culture began, and travel notes about Egypt and Asia Minor were created. Russian travelers gave descriptions of the Egyptian-Syrian Sultanate, the cities of Karaman and the west of Ottoman Turkey. “Walking across Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin in this regard is a continuation of the travel notes of his contemporaries and together is the pinnacle in the history of ancient Russian travel writing. With his “Walk,” Afanasy Nikitin finally established a new type of narrator: instead of a pilgrim to holy places, a secular traveler appears with a broad outlook and a multifaceted interest in the life of the peoples of other countries. .

1. « Sailing across three seas» Afanasia Nikitina

The author of “The Walk,” Afanasy Nikitin, was a Tver resident, but in his work he never reveals his regional interests, and does not even mention Tver at all. Remembering his homeland in a foreign land, he remembered Rus' as a whole, the Russian land. His interests were all-Russian, and he thought of himself first and foremost as a Russian person. In this respect, he shared the views and feelings that most characterized Moscow literature and Moscow political thought of his time. Afanasy Nikitin's work was delivered to Moscow and was included not in Tver, but in Moscow chronicles. It is placed under 1475 in the second Sofia Chronicle.

By occupation, Afanasy Nikitin was a merchant. In the 15th century, especially in its second half, the merchant class already played a prominent role in the Russian state. The Russian merchants were directly interested in the centralization of the state, in the elimination of the feudal fragmentation of Rus', which hindered the development of trade both within the country and abroad.

How significant Russian trade abroad was can be judged because in Kafa and Sudak (Surozh) there was a large Russian colony in the 15th century, in which Russian merchants lived either permanently or while passing through, since from Crimea they went further to the so-called “Overseas”, that is, to the cities of the Asia Minor coast - Sinop and Trebizond, from where they traveled by land to Brusa, Tokat, and Amasia. The ruler of Amasia and Tokkat wrote at that time that “many of Grand Duke Ivan’s guests (merchants) bring various goods and carts to our Tokat.” Russian merchants traveled to Shemakha, Persia and Central Asia, buying there mainly silk, pearls, then called “Gurmyz grain” in Russia (after the island of Hormuz, where it was mined), and spices: pepper, saffron, ganjubas, musk, as well as colors for which eastern countries were famous. The items exported from Rus' were mainly furs, the so-called “soft junk”, then wax, honey, leather, canvas and hunting birds - falcons and gyrfalcons.

Therefore, it is not surprising that when an embassy from Shirvan Shah Ferukh-Yasar, the ruler of Shamakhi, arrived in Moscow in 1466, enterprising Russian merchants took advantage of this circumstance to organize a trade caravan and, under the protection of the return embassy of the Moscow government, go with their goods to Shemakha. Our great traveler and outstanding Russian writer of the 15th century, Afanasy Nikitin, was chosen as the “head” of this caravan. On the way, before reaching Astrakhan, one ship Afanasy was captured by the Tatars, the other crashed. He was forced to continue his journey to the Caspian Sea on the ship of the Shamakhi ambassador, and then by land, through Derbent and Baku, he went to Persia and then to India, where he visited the cities of Chivil, Junnar, Beder, Parvat. On the way back, before reaching Smolensk, Afanasy died. His journey lasted from 1466 to 1472.

Apparently, before his trip to India, Afanasy Nikitin had already traveled around the world. At least, listing the countries he saw in his book, he mentions Georgia, Podolia and Wallachia. If he could visit Georgia in passing during his trip to India, then he could only be in Podolia and Wallachia, which were apart from his last wanderings, during some other trip. Some hints in his book suggest that before his trip to India, he also visited Constantinople, probably even before the city was captured by the Turks in 1453.

Consequently, Afanasy Nikitin, setting off on a long journey in 1466, was not a novice in this matter, and his election as the “head” of the caravan was a recognition of his authority among the Russian merchants. It is possible that the Moscow authorities, when giving him a safe conduct to travel with the embassy, ​​did so because Afanasy Nikitin was a well-known person to them. Only the existence of a preliminary agreement between Afanasy Nikitin and the clerks of the Moscow Grand Duke can explain the at first glance mysterious fact of including Afanasy Nikitin’s “Walk” in such an official state document as the Russian chronicle was in the 15th century.

Nikitin’s “Walking across Three Seas” was a completely unofficial monument; It was, thanks to this, devoid of traditional features characteristic of church or official literature. Only a few features connected it with the “walkings” and “pilgrims” of previous centuries: listings of geographical points with indications of the distances between them, an indication of the wealth of a particular country. In general, Nikitin’s “Walking” was a travel diary, notes about his adventures, talking about which the author still had no idea how they would end: “Two great days (Easter) have already passed (passed) in the land of Beseremen, but I have not abandoned Christianity ; Then God knows what will happen... I don’t know the way (where) I’ll go from Gundustan...” Subsequently, Nikitin nevertheless headed to Rus' and found a way “from Gundustan,” but here, too, the record of his wanderings exactly follows the course of the journey and ends at his arrival in Kafa (Feodosia).

Writing down his impressions in a foreign land, the Tver merchant probably hoped that his “Walking” would someday be read by “Russian Christian brothers”; fearing unfriendly eyes, he wrote down the most risky thoughts not in Russian. But all these readers were foreseen by him in the future, perhaps after death (as happened). In the meantime, Nikitin simply wrote down what he really felt: “And here there is an Indian country, and people walk around all naked... And they have a lot of children, and the men and women are all naked, and all are black: wherever I go, people follow me many, let them marvel at the white man..."

Finding himself in a foreign country, the Tver merchant did not understand everything about his surroundings. Like most people who found themselves abroad, he was ready to see in any, even the most unusual case, the manifestation of peculiar local customs. Some of the author's gullibility is evidenced by his stories about the bird "gukuk", which emits fire from its mouth, and about the monkey - the "prince of the monkeys", which has its own army and which sends a large army to its opponents.

But where Afanasy Nikitin relied not on the stories of his interlocutors, but on his own observations, his view turned out to be correct and sober. India, seen by Nikitin, is a distant country, with a special nature and its own customs, but its structure is the same as all the lands known to the Russian traveler: “And the land is populated by velmi (very crowded), and the rural people are naked velmi, and the boyars are strong for good and magnificent lords.” Nikitin clearly realized the difference between the conquerors - the “Besermans” and the main population - the “Hundustanis”. He also noticed that the Muslim Khan “rides on people,” although “he has a lot of good elephants and horses,” and “the Gundustanis are all pedestrians... and everyone is naked and barefoot.” A disenfranchised stranger, offended by the “Besermen” khan, Nikitin told the “Indians” that he was “not a Besermen”; he noted, not without pride, that the “Indians,” who carefully concealed their daily lives from Muslims, did not “conceal anything from him, Athanasius, neither about food, nor about trade, nor about prayer, nor about other things, nor They didn’t teach their wives to cover themselves.”

However, despite his sympathy for the “naked rural people” of India, Nikitin, naturally, was sad and lonely in a foreign land. The theme of homesickness is perhaps the main theme of “Walking.” This theme is present not only in Nikitin’s words that there is no country in the world similar to the Russian land. The feeling of homeland is heightened in a foreign land, and although there are many disorders in Rus', his homeland is dear to him, and he exclaims: “Russian land, may God protect it!” There is no country like it in this world, although the nobles of the Russian land are unjust. May the Russian land become prosperous and may there be justice in it!” (this remark was stated in Turkic just in case). Nikitin scolds the “besermen dogs” who assured him that in India “there is a lot of our goods” and prompted him to make this difficult journey, complains about the high cost: “But to live in Hindustan, otherwise all the sobina (cash) will be wasted, since everything is expensive for them.” : “I am one man, but sometimes I go for half a third of an altyn’s worth of grub for the day, but I have not drunk wine...” The main trouble that most oppressed Nikitin was the distance from his native language and from faith, which for him was inextricably linked with his usual life. Nikitin was oppressed not only by direct attempts to convert him to the Muslim faith, but also by the impossibility of observing the customs of his homeland in a foreign land: “But I have nothing with me, no books, and I took the books with me from Rus', otherwise if they robbed me, or they took them...” The Turkic language, which Nikitin used in India, gradually began to displace his native language from his memory. Particularly expressive in this regard are those “thoughts” into which Nikitin fell after one of his “besermen” interlocutors told him that he did not seem to be a “besermen”, but did not know Christianity: “I fell into many thoughts and I said to myself: woe to me, the damned, for I have lost my way from the true path... Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth! Do not turn your face away from your slave, for I am in sorrow... My Lord, ollo pervodiger, ollo you, karim ollo, ragim ollo, karim ollo, regimello (in Arabic: save me, Lord, my God, beats with his forehead)..." The last ties with his native land are severed: starting with a conversion to the Christian God, Nikitin (perhaps unbeknownst to himself) switches to Muslim prayer. Most of all in his essay, the traveler talks about India, the way of life, customs, economic life and nature of which he depicts in great detail, reporting a lot of real information, but sometimes, however, introducing elements of fantasy into his description. Thus, he is struck by the “black” skin color of the local residents, their clothes: “... people walk around naked, but their heads are not covered, their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid.” The sight of “plain-haired” married women was especially strange and unusual for a Russian person. After all, for a Russian woman to “go wild” - to reveal her hair - was the greatest disgrace. Indians do not eat “any meat”, but eat twice during the day, and at night they do not eat or drink wine. They eat “brynets” (rice) and “kichiri” (carrots) with butter, and “they eat rose herbs.” Before eating, wash your hands, feet and rinse your mouth. They eat with their right hand, but do not know a spoon or a knife. While eating, many cover themselves with a blanket so that no one can see them.

In equal detail, he lists all the places he visited, accurately indicating the time of stay in them and determining the distance between them by the number of days spent moving from one point to another. Afanasy's presentation is not distinguished by its harmonious composition; In this presentation, in addition, there are frequent repetitions. The “Walking” style is a style of diary entries that the author, a person who has not received special training, was unable or did not have time to organize.

The Russian merchant is attracted by the annual grand bazaar held near Beder. “The whole Indian country comes to this bazaar to trade,” “let them trade for 10 days,” they bring all sorts of goods. From place to place, Athanasius wanders around India in trade concerns. But trade is going badly; Nikitin is looking for goods “for our land” and finds nothing: “The Beserman’s dogs lied to me,” he complains, “but they told me there was a lot of our goods, but there is nothing for our land... pepper and paint are cheap: otherwise they transport them by sea, “Some people won’t let us carry the duties, and there are a lot of duties, and there are a lot of robbers at sea.”

The Russian traveler is interested in the weapons of the Indian army and combat techniques. However, he condemns the senselessness and destructiveness of wars.

Afanasy also notes the peculiarities of the climate of India: “...they have had winter since Trinity Day,” and there is water and mud everywhere, and then they plow and sow wheat, millet, peas and everything edible. Spring comes with the Intercession of the Day, when the first winters begin in Rus'. Nikitin is amazed that in India “horses will not give birth,” but oxen and buffaloes will be born.

Athanasius reached Trebizond in September 1472; under the pretext that he came from the horde of Uzun-Hasan, he was searched and completely robbed. However, Afanasy Nikitin managed to negotiate with the shipbuilders to move to the Crimean city of Kafa (Feodosia), where he agreed to pay for the passage. Autumn storms delayed the ship on which the Russian traveler was sailing to his homeland. Only on November 6, 1472, he was able to land on shore in Cafe and there, in the Russian colony, hear his native speech and complete his work on the book “Walking the Three Seas.”

“The Journey” ends with the author’s lyrical reflection: “After many thoughts, I became sad and said to myself: woe to me, the damned. I have lost my way and don’t know where I will go. Lord God, Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, do not turn your face away from your servant, for I am a walking creature, your creation. Do not turn me away from the true path and guide me on the right path.”

Afanasy Nikitin probably left Kafa along the usual route of that time: to the Oleshka pier, located in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. From there he went along the Dnieper to Smolensk, before reaching which he died somewhere. The Russian people, among whom Afanasy Nikitin died, were able to appreciate the significance of his book. It was carefully sent to Moscow, where it was immediately copied into the chronicle. The great work of the Russian traveler did not perish.

2. The image of the traveler in the work, language, style, composition of the work

Nikitin composition image traveler

Afanasy Nikitin is a well-educated person; he knew the book tradition of the Middle Ages well, but in his book he almost does not resort to quoting the Middle Ages or quoting biblical texts. But he freely uses the construction of colloquial speech, building the narrative-descriptive part of his book on the basis of simple sentences connected by repeated conjunctions “a”, “yes” or beginning with the present tense verb “is”. For example: “but their head is not covered... and their hair is braided in one braid...”, “and they have many children.” Or: “yes, there are towns trained on them, and in the town there are 12 people in armor, and everyone with guns and arrows...” Or: “they have one place...”, “there is in that aland...”, “there is a Khorosan man.” and so on.

The high literary excellence in Afanasy Nikitin’s book lies in the fact that it opens a new page in the history of the Russian literary language. Afanasy Nikitin, as a writer, created his own literary style, his own special, unique literary style. And this became possible because he was the first to boldly turn to the living imagery of the Russian spoken language of his time. So, for example, when talking about the robbery of Russian merchants by the Tatars, he will emphatically say that the Tatars released the robbed merchants “with their heads naked.” Describing his visit to India, he noted: “wherever I go, there are many people behind me, they are amazed at the white man.”

Along with this, Afanasy Nikitin is not afraid to introduce into his speech purely business-like expressions of official documents of Moscow orders, which are apparently also well known to him. He briefly writes, for example: “I beat you with my brow... so that I would grieve for the people...” The special local flavor of Afanasy Nikitin’s speech was achieved by the skillful introduction of foreign words into the text of his book: Turkic, Arabic and Persian. That he did this deliberately, for literary purposes, and not because over many years of wandering he had become accustomed to thinking in the language of the country where he was at that time, is clear from the explanations and translations he immediately gave. For example, citing the words of the Arabic and Persian prayer “ollo bervogydir, ollo konkar, bizim bashy mudna nasip bolmyshty,” he immediately translates it himself: “and in Russian they say: God bless, God, the highest God, to the king of heaven, here Thou hast destined us to perish.”

V.P. Adrianova-Peretz rightly notes that “the abundance of autobiographical elements in Afanasy Nikitin’s “Walking” - in the form of stories about the events of his life on the road and in the form of lyrical episodes - distinguishes these travel notes from all travel literature of the Russian Middle Ages. But at the same time, it is precisely this feature that connects Nikitin with new trends in the biographical genres of Russian literature of the 15th century. Interest in the inner world of the hero and analysis of his emotional experiences burst into the traditional form of “life” and historical narrative in the 15th century; the personality of the author himself, contrary to the traditions of the past, appears to readers mainly in the form of lyrical digressions, moralizing maxims and assessments of the depicted facts. The framework of a purely epic narrative is expanded, giving room for the expression of emotions and reflections of both the hero and the author. Afanasy Nikitin appears before us as a writer of his time, when he colors and enlivens the epic fabric of travel notes with stories about his impressions, moods, appeals to contemporary readers with moralizing warnings, comparative assessments of his own, native and foreign."

All this makes Afanasy Nikitin’s book one of the most remarkable monuments of Russian medieval literature.

Conclusion

Although the commercial goal that prompted the pioneer to undertake such a dangerous journey was not achieved, the result of the wanderings of this observant, talented and energetic man was the first real description of an unknown distant country. Before this, in Ancient Rus', the fabulous country of India was known only from legends and literary sources of that time.

A man of the 15th century saw the legendary country with his own eyes and managed to talentedly tell his compatriots about it. In his notes, the traveler writes about the state system of India, the religions of the local population (in particular, about the “belief in buts” - this is how Afanasy Nikitin heard and wrote down the name of Buddha, sacred to the majority of the inhabitants of India at that time).

He described the trade of India, the armament of the army of this country, talked about exotic animals (monkeys, snakes, elephants), local customs and Indian ideas about morality. He also recorded some Indian legends.

The Russian traveler also described cities and areas that he himself had not visited, but which he had heard about from the Indians. Thus, he mentions Calcutta, the island of Ceylon and Indochina, places that at that time were still completely unknown to Russian people. The information carefully collected by the pioneer allows us today to judge the military and geopolitical aspirations of the Indian rulers of that time, the state of their armies (down to the number of war elephants and the number of chariots).

His “Walking across Three Seas” was the first text of its kind in Russian literary literature. The fact that he did not describe only holy places, as pilgrims did before him, gives the work a unique sound. It is not the objects of the Christian faith that fall into the field of his attentive vision, but people with a different religion and a different way of life. His notes are devoid of any officiality and internal censorship, and this is why they are especially valuable. The story about Afanasy Nikitin and his discoveries - video Map of Afanasy Nikitin's journey.

WITHlist of used literature

1. Vodovozov, N.V. History of ancient Russian literature [Text]: textbook / N.V. Vodorezov. - Moscow: Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, 1958. - 357 p.

2. Ancient Russian literature [Text]/Comp. N.I. Prokofiev. - 2nd ed., additional - Moscow: Education, 1988. - 479 p.

3. Kuskov, V.V. history of ancient Russian literature [Text]: textbook / V.V. Kuskov. - 4th ed., rev. and additional - Moscow: Higher School, 1982. - 296 p.

4. Walking beyond the three seas of Afanasy Nikitin, 1466-1472. [Text]/ Ed. V.P. Adrianova-Peretz and B.D. Grekova; Ed. publishing house A.A. Vorobyova; Artist I.F. Rerberg. - Moscow; Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1948. - 229 p.: ill.

5. Walking beyond the three seas by Afanasy Nikitin [Text]/Preface, prepared. text, trans. and comment. N.I. Prokofiev; artist A.S. Bakulevsky. - Moscow: Sov. Russia, 1980. - 208 p., ill.

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"Walking across Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin

(Old Russian text with minor abbreviations)

In the summer of 6983 (...) The same year I found the writing of Ofonas Tveritin, a merchant who had been in Yndei for 4 years, and went, he says, with Vasily Papin. According to the experiments, if Vasily went from Krechata as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and we said that a year before the Kazan campaign he came from the Horde, if Prince Yuri was near Kazan, then they shot him near Kazan. It is written that he did not find it, in which year he went or in which year he came from Yndei, died, but. They say that he died before reaching Smolensk. And he wrote the scripture with his own hand, and his hands brought those notebooks to the guests to Mamyrev Vasily, to the clerk to the Grand Duke in Moscow.

For the prayer of our holy fathers. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afonasy Mikitin’s son.

Behold, you have written down your sinful journey across three seas: 1st Sea of ​​Derbenskoye, Doria Khvalitskaa; 2nd Indian Sea, before the Gundustan region; 3rd Black Sea, Doria Stebolskaya.

I died from the golden-domed Savior and by his mercy, from my sovereign, from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich Tversky, and from Bishop Genady Tversky, and Boris Zakharyich.

And went down the Volga. And he came to the Kolyazin monastery to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and to the holy martyr Boris and Gleb. And the abbot blessed Macarius and the holy brothers. And from Kolyazin I went to Uglech, and from Uglech they released me voluntarily. And from there I left, from Uglech, and came to Kostroma to Prince Alexander with the Grand Duke’s diploma. And he let me go voluntarily. And you came to Pleso voluntarily.

And I came to Novgorod in Nizhnyaya to Mikhail Kiselev, to the governor, and to the duty officer to Yvan to Saraev, and they released me voluntarily. And Vasily Papin passed by the city for two weeks, and Yaz waited in Novegrad in Nizhny for two weeks for the ambassador of the Tatar Shirvanshin Asanbeg, and he was traveling from the Krechats from Grand Duke Ivan, and he had ninety Krechats.

And I came with them to the bottom of the Volga. And we passed through Kazan voluntarily, without seeing anyone, and we passed through the Horde, and we passed through Uslan, and Sarai, and the Berekezans. And we drove into Buzan. Then three filthy Tatars came at us and told us false news: “Kaisym Saltan is guarding the guests in Buzan, and with him are three thousand Tatars.” And the ambassador Shirvanshin Asanbeg gave them one piece of paper and a piece of canvas to lead them past Khaztarahan. And they, the filthy Tatars, took one by one and gave the news to the king in Khaztarahan. And I left my ship and climbed onto the ship for the envoy and with my comrades.

We drove past Khaztarahan, and the moon was shining, and the king saw us, and the Tatars called to us: “Kachma, don’t run!” But we didn’t hear anything, but fled like a sail. Because of our sin, the king sent his entire horde after us. They caught us on Bogun and taught us to shoot. And we shot a man, and they shot two Tatars. And our smaller ship got stuck, and they took us and then plundered us, and my small junk was all in the smaller ship.

And in a large ship we reached the sea, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and they took us there, and they ordered us to pull the ship back up to the bottom. And then our larger ship was plundered and the Russians took four of its heads, but they sent us with our bare heads over the sea, but they didn’t let us go up, dividing us.

And I went to Derbent, crying, two ships: in one ship Ambassador Asanbeg, and Teziks, and ten of us Rusak heads; and in another ship there are 6 Muscovites, six Tverians, cows, and our food. And the boat got up on the sea, and the smaller ship crashed on the shore. And there is the town of Tarkhi, and people went ashore, and the kaytaks came and caught all the people.

And we came to Derbent, and Vasily came back in good health, and we were robbed, and beat Vasily Papin with his forehead and the Shirvanshin ambassador Asanbeg, who came with him, so that he would grieve for the people that they were caught near Tarkhi Kaitaki. And Asanbeg was sad and went to the mountain to Bulatubeg. And Bulatbeg sent a speedboat to Shirvanshibeg, saying: “Sir, a Russian ship was broken up near Tarkhi, and when the kaytaki arrived, people caught it and plundered their goods.”

And Shirvanshabeg of the same hour sent an envoy to his brother-in-law Alilbeg, the Kaytachevo prince, saying: “My ship was broken up near Tarkhi, and your people, when they came, caught people, and robbed their goods; and so that, dividing me, you send people to me and I collected their goods, and those people were sent in my name. And what will you need from me, and you came to me, and I will tell you, your brother, not to fight. And those people went to my name, and you would have let them go come to me voluntarily, sharing me." And Alilbeg of that hour the people sent everyone to Derbent voluntarily, and from Derbent they sent them to the Shirvanshi in his yard - Koitul.

And we went to Shirvansha in Koitul and beat him with his forehead so that he would favor us rather than reach Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything, but there are a lot of us. And we burst into tears and dispersed in all directions: whoever had anything in Rus' went to Rus'; and whoever should, and he went where his eyes took him. Others remained in Shamakhey, while others went to work for Baka.

And Yaz went to Derbenti, and from Derbenti to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar.

Yes, here I lived in Chebokar for 6 months, and I lived in Sara for a month, in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amili, and here I lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Rey. And they killed Shausen, the Aleev children and the Makhmetev grandchildren, and he cursed them, and 70 other cities fell apart.

And from Drey to Kasheni, and here I lived for a month, and from Kasheni to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdei, and here I lived for a month. And from Diez to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom, and funiki to feed the animals, batman for 4 altyns. And from Torom to Lar, and from Lar to Bender, and here there is the Gurmyz shelter. And here there is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsean language and Hondustan Doria; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles.

And Gurmyz is on the island, and every day the sea catches him twice a day. And then you took the first Great Day, and you came to Gurmyz four weeks before the Great Day. Because I didn’t write all the cities, there are many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is sunshine, it will burn a person. And I was in Gurmyz for a month, and from Gurmyz I went across the Indian Sea along the Velitsa days to Radunitsa, to Tava with the conmi.

And we walked by sea to Moshkat for 10 days; and from Moshkat to Degu 4 days; and from Degas Kuzryat; and from Kuzryat to Konbaatu. And then paint and paint will appear. And from Konbat to Chuvil, and from Chuvil we went in the 7th week along the Velitsa days, and we walked in the tawa for 6 weeks by sea to Chivil.

And here there is an Indian country, and people walk around all naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are naked, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with their bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. And the men and women are all naked, and all are black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me, and they marvel at the white man. And their prince has a photo on his head, and another on his head; and the boyars have a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna, princesses walk around with a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna. And the servants of the princes and boyars - the photo is rounded on the guzna, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, and some with sulits, and others with knives, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; and everyone is naked, barefoot, and big-haired, but they don’t shave their hair. And the women walk around with their heads uncovered and their nipples bare; and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, not covered in rubbish.

And from Chuvil we went dry to Pali for 8 days, to the Indian Mountains. And from Pali to Umri there are 10 days, and that is an Indian city. And from Umri to Chuner there are 7 days.

There is Asatkhan Chunerskya Indian, and the slave is Meliktucharov. And he keeps, I say, this from meliktochar. And the meliqtuchar sits at 20 tmah; and he fights with the kafara for 20 years, then they beat him, then he beats them many times. Khan As rides people. And he has a lot of elephants, and he has a lot of good horses, and he has a lot of Khorosan people. And they bring them from the Khorosan lands, and some from the Orap lands, and others from the Turkmen lands, and others from the Chebotai lands, and they bring everything by sea in tavs - Indian ships.

And the sinful tongue brought the stallion to the Yndei land, and I reached Chuner, God did all the best, and became worth a hundred rubles. It has been winter for them since Trinity Day. And we spent the winter in Chyuner, we lived for two months. Every day and night for 4 months there was water and dirt everywhere. On those same days they yell and sow wheat, and Tuturgan, and nogot, and everything edible. They make wine in the great nuts of the Gundustan goat; and the mash is repaired in Tatna. The horses are fed with nofut, and the kichiris is boiled with sugar, and the horses are fed with butter, and the hornets are given to them for wounding. In the Yndei land, they will not give birth to horses; in their land, oxen and buffaloes will be born, and they ride goods on the same ones, carry other things, and do everything.

Chyunerey city is on a stone island, not made by anything, created by God. And they walk up the mountain every day, one person at a time: the road is tight, and it’s impossible for two to go.

In the Yndei land, the guests set up in the courtyard, and they cook food for the guests of the ruler, and they make a bed for the guests of the ruler, and sleep with the guests. Sikish iliresen the strangler of Beresin, sikish ilimes ek resident of Bersen, dostur avrat chektur, and sikish mufut; but they love white people.

In winter, people wear a photo on their head, another on their shoulder, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars of the Tolda put on trousers, and a shirt, and a caftan, and a phot on the shoulder, and gird another one, and turn the head of a third. A se Olo, Olo abr, Olo ak, Ollo kerem, Ollo ragim!

And in Chuner, the khan took a stallion from me, and found out that Yaz was not a Besermenian - a Rusin. And he says: “I will give a stallion and a thousand gold ladies, and stand in our faith - in Mahmetdeni; if you don’t stand in our faith, in Mahmatdeni, I will take the stallion and a thousand gold coins on your head.” And the term was imposed for four days, in Ospozhino on Savior Day. And the Lord God had mercy on his honest holiday, did not leave his mercy on me, a sinner, and did not order me to perish in Chyuner with the wicked. And on the eve of Spasov, the owner, Makhmet Khorosan, came and beat him with his forehead so that he would grieve for me. And he went to the khan in the city and asked me to leave so that they wouldn’t convert me, and he took my stallion from him. This is the miracle of the Lord on Savior Day. Otherwise, brother Rusti Christians, who wants to go to the Yndean land, and you leave your faith in Rus', and, having exclaimed Mahmet, go to the Gundustan land.

The Besermen dogs lied to me, but they said there was only a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the white goods for the Besermen land, pepper and paint, were cheap. Others are transported by sea, and they do not give duties. But other people won’t let us carry out duties. And there are a lot of duties, and there are a lot of robbers on the sea. And all the Kafars, not the peasants, not the besermen, are defeated; but they pray like a stone blockhead, but they don’t know Christ or Makhmet.

And I from Chunerya went out on Ospozhin day to Beder, to their great city. And we walked for a month to Beder; and from Beder to Kulonkerya 5 days; and from Kulonger to Kolberg 5 days. Between those great cities there are many cities; Every day there are three cities, and some days there are four cities; Kokokov, just hail. From Chuvil to Chyuner there are 20 kovs, and from Chuner to Beder there are 40 kovs, and from Beder to Kulonger there are 9 kovs, and from Beder to Kolubergu there are 9 kovs.

In Beder there is a trade for horses, for goods, and for damask, and for silk, and for all other goods, so that black people can buy them; and there are no other purchases in it. Yes, all their goods are from Gundustan, and all food is vegetables, but there is no goods for the Russian land. And all the black people, and all the villains, and the wives are all whores, yes, lead, yes, thiefs, yes, lies, and potions, having given the gift, they sip the potion.

In the Yndei land, all Khorosans reign, and all Khorosans boyars. And the Gundustanians are all pedestrians, and the Khorosans walk in front of them on horseback, while others are all on foot, walking on greyhounds, and all are naked and barefoot, with a shield in their hand, and a sword in the other, and others with great straight bows and arrows. And all of them are elephants. Yes, the foot soldiers are allowed in front, and the Khorosans are on horseback and in armor, and the horses themselves. And to the elephant they knit great swords to the snout and to the teeth according to the forged kentar, and cover them in damask armor, and towns are made on them, and in the towns there are 12 people in armor, and everyone with guns and arrows.

They have one place, shikhb Aludin pir yatyr bazaar Aladinand. There is one bazaar for a year, the whole Indian country comes to trade, and they trade for 10 days; from Beder 12 kovs. They bring horses, sell up to 20 thousand horses, bring all kinds of goods. In the land of Gundustan, the trade is the best, all kinds of goods are sold and bought in memory of Shikh Aladin, and in Russian for the Protection of the Holy Mother of God. There is a bird in that Alyanda, a gukuk, that flies at night and calls: “kuk-kuk,” and on which the khoromine sits, then a person will die; and whoever wants to kill her, otherwise fire will come out of her mouth. And mammon walk all night and have chickens, but live in a mountain or in a stone. And the monkeys live in the forest. And they have a monkey prince, and he leads his army. But whoever messes with it, they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against him, and when they come to the city, they destroy the courtyards and beat the people. And their army, they say, is many, and they have their own language. And they will give birth to many children; Yes, who will be born neither as father nor mother, and they are tossed along the roads. Some Hindustanis have them and teach them all sorts of handicrafts, while others sell them nights so that they don’t know how to run back, and others teach them the bases of mikanet.

Spring began for them with the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. And they celebrate Shiga Aladina, in the spring for two weeks according to the Intercession, and they celebrate for 8 days. And spring lasts 3 months, summer 3 months, winter 3 months, autumn 3 months.

In Bederi their table is for Gundustan of Besermen. But the hail is great, and there are many great people. And the saltan is not long - 20 years, but the boyars hold it, and the Khorosans reign, and all the Khorosans fight.

There is a Khorosan meliktuchar boyar, and he has two hundred thousand of his army, and Melikhan has 100 thousand, and Faratkhan has 20 thousand, and many of those khans have 10 thousand army each. And three hundred thousand of their army come out with the saltan.

And the land is crowded with velmi, and the rural people are naked with velmi, and the boyars are strong and kind and magnificent with velmi. And they all carry them on their beds on silver, and before them horses are led in gold harnesses up to 20; and behind them there are 300 people on horseback, and five hundred people on foot, and 10 people with trumpets, and 10 people with pipe makers, and 10 people with pipes.

Saltan goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, and with him there are 10 thousand people on horses, and fifty thousand on foot, and two hundred elephants are brought out, dressed in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred pipe-makers, and a hundred people dancing, and simple horses 300 in gold gear, and behind him a hundred monkeys, and a hundred whores, and all of them are gauroks.

In Saltanov's courtyard there are seven gates, and in each gate sits a hundred guards and a hundred Kaffar scribes. Whoever goes is recorded, and whoever leaves is recorded. But the Garips are not allowed into the city. And his courtyard is wonderful, everything is carved and painted in gold, and the last stone is carved and described in gold. Yes, there are different courts in his yard.

The city of Beder is guarded at night by a thousand Kutovalov men, and they ride on horses in armor, and everyone has a light.

And he sold his stallion’s tongue in Bederi. Yes, you gave him sixty and eight hundred pounds, and you fed him for a year. In Bederi, snakes walk along the streets, and their length is two fathoms. He came to Beder about the conspiracy of Filipov and Kulonger, and sold his stallion about Christmas.

And then I went to the Great Messenger in Bederi and got acquainted with many Indians. And I told them my faith that I am not a Besermenian and a Christian, but my name is Ofonasei, and the Besermenian name of the owner is Isuf Khorosani. And they did not learn from me to hide anything, neither about food, nor about trade, nor about manaza, nor about other things, nor did they teach their wives to hide.

Yes, everything is about faith, about their trials, and they say: we believe in Adam, but the buty, it seems, is Adam and his entire race. And there are 80 faiths in India and 4 faiths, and everyone believes in Buta. But with faith one neither drinks nor eats nor marries. But others eat boranin, and chickens, and fish, and eggs, but there is no faith in eating oxen.

They were in Bederi for 4 months and agreed with the Indians to go to Pervoti, then their Jerusalem, and according to the besermensky Myagkat, where is their butkhan. There he died with the Indians and they will be killed for a month. And the butkhana trades for 5 days. But the butkhana velmi is large, half of Tver, stone, and rubble deeds are carved on it. There were 12 crowns cut around her, how the bottle worked miracles, how he showed them many images: first, he appeared in a human image; another, a man, and the nose of elephants; third, a man, but the vision is a monkey; fourthly, a man, but in the image of a fierce beast, and he appeared to them all with a tail. And it is carved on a stone, and the tail through it is fathoms.

The whole Indian country comes to Butkhan for the miracle of Butovo. Yes, old and young, women and girls shave at the butkhan. And they shave all their hair - beards, heads, and tails. Let them go to the butkhan. Yes, from every head they take two sheshkeni in buta duties, and from horses, four feet. And they come to the butkhan of all people bysty azar lek wah bashet sat azar lek.

In the butkhan, the buthan is carved from stone and black, Velmi is large, and he has a tail through it, and he raised his right hand high and extended it, like the Ustenean king of Constantinople, and in his left hand he has a spear. But he has nothing on, but his pants are the width of his fly, and his vision is that of a monkey. And some of the Butovs are naked, there is nothing, the cat is Achyuk, and the Butov women are naked and cut out with litter and children. And in front of the butte stands a great ox, Velmi, carved from stone and black, and all gilded. And they kiss his hoof, and sprinkle flowers on him. And flowers are sprinkled on the buta.

The Indians do not eat any meat, neither cowhide, nor boran meat, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, but they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice a day, but do not eat at night, and do not drink wine, nor are they full. And the Besermen neither drink nor eat. But their food is bad. And one with one neither drinks, nor eats, nor with his wife. They eat brynets, and kichiri with butter, and eat rose herbs, and boil them with butter and milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they don’t eat anything with their left hand. But they don’t shake a knife, and they don’t know liars. And when it’s too late, who cooks their own porridge, but everyone has a fork. And they hide from the demons so that they don’t look into the mountain or into the food. But just look, they don’t eat the same food. And when they eat, they cover themselves with a cloth so that no one can see it.

And their prayer is to the east, in Russian. They raise both hands high, and place them on the crown, and lie down prostrate on the ground, and let all of them fall to the ground, then they bow. But some sit down, and they wash their hands and feet, and rinse their mouths. But their butkhans do not have doors, but are placed to the east, and their buthans stand to the east. And whoever dies among them, they burn them and throw their ashes on the water. And the wife gives birth to a child, or the husband gives birth, and the father gives the name to the son, and the mother to the daughter. But they don’t have good money, and they don’t know rubbish. He went or came, they bow in the black way, both hands reach to the ground, but he doesn’t say anything.

They go to the First One about a great conspiracy, to their butu. Theirs is Jerusalem, and in Besermen it is Myakka, and in Russian it is Jerusalem, and in Indian it is Porvat. And everyone comes together naked, only on the forge of boards; and the wives are all naked, only wearing phots, and some wearing photahs, and there are a lot of pearls on their necks, and yachts, and hoops and gold rings on their hands. Ollo oak! And inside to the butkhan they go to the ox, and the ox’s horns are shod with media, and there are three hundred bells on its neck, and its hooves are shod with media. And those oxen are called achchei.

The Indians call the ox father, and the cow matter. And with their feces they bake bread and cook their own food, and with that ash they smear the banner on the face, and on the forehead, and all over the body. During the week and on Monday they eat once during the day. In Yndey, as a checktur, I learn: you cut or irsen and live; akichany ila atarsyn alty zhetel take; bulara dostur. A kul koravash uchuz char funa hub, bem funa hube sia; kapkara amchyuk kichi want.

From Pervati you came to Beder, fifteen days before the Besermensky Ulubagrya. But I don’t know the Great Day and the Resurrection of Christ, but by signs I guess the Great Day happens on the first Christian Bagram in nine days or ten days. But I have nothing with me, no book; And they took my books with them from Rus', and if they robbed me, they took them, and I forgot all the Christian faiths. Peasant holidays, I don’t know either Holy Days or the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know Wednesdays or Fridays; and between the ver tangyrydan and the stirrup Ol saklasyn: “Ollo bad, Ollo aky, Ollo you, Ollo akber, Ollo ragym, Ollo kerim, Ollo ragym ello, Ollo karim ello, tangresen, khodosensen. There is one God, you are the king of glory, the creator of heaven and land."

And I’m going to Rus', ketmyshtyr name, uruch tuttym. The month of March passed, and I fasted for Besermen a week, but I fasted for a month, I did not eat meat or anything fast, no Besermen foods, but I ate bread and water twice a day, avratylya yatmadym. Yes, you prayed to Christ the Almighty, who created heaven and earth, and you did not call upon anyone else by any name, God Ollo, God Kerim. God is ragim, God is bad. God aber, God the king of glory, Ollo varenno, Ollo ragim elno sensen Ollo you.<...>

Maya month 1 day Great day was taken in Beder in Besermen in Gundustan, and Besermen was taken in Bagram in the middle of the month; and I began to pray for the month of April 1 day. About the faithfulness of Christians! Those who sail a lot in many lands fall into many troubles, and let the Christians lose their faith. I, the servant of God, Afonasy, took pity on the Christian faith. The 4th Great Day has already passed and the 4th Great Day has passed, but I, a sinner, do not know what is a Great Day or a Great Day, I don’t know the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know any other holidays, I don’t know Wednesday or Friday - and I don’t have any books. If they robbed me, they took my books. Because of many troubles I went to India, I had nothing to go to Rus' with, I had nothing left for my goods. The first Great day you took in Cain, and the second Great day in Chebokara in the Mazdran land, the third Great day in Gurmyz, the fourth Great day you took in Yndei from the Besermen in Beder; the same many lamentations for the Christian faith.

Besermenin Melik, he forced me a lot into the faith of Besermen’s article. I said to him: “Lord! You are the namaz kalarsen, men and namaz kilarmen; you are the namaz kylarsiz, men and 3 kalarmen; men garip, and sen inchay.” He said to me: “The truth is that you don’t seem to be a Christian, but you don’t know Christianism.” I fell into many thoughts and said to myself: “Woe to me, the accursed one, for I have gone astray from the true path and do not know the way before I go. I am of sorrow. Lord! Look upon me and have mercy on me, as I am your creation; do not turn me away, Lord, from the true path, guide me. Lord, on the right path, for I have not created any virtue for your needs. Lord my God , for all our days have been spent in evil. My Lord, Ollo the first diger, Ollo you, karim Ollo, ragim Ollo, karim Ollo, ragim ello; ahamdulimo. I have already spent four great days in the land of Besermen, but I have not abandoned Christianity. God only knows. what will happen. Lord my God, in you I trust, save me, Lord my God."

In Yndey Besermenskaya, in Great Beder, you looked at the Great Night on the Great Day, Hair and Kola entered the dawn, and the Elk stood with its head to the east.

The Sultan rode out on the Besermenskaya to Teferich, and with him 20 great warriors, and three hundred elephants dressed in damask armor, and the towns, and the towns were shackled. Yes, in the towns there are 6 people in armor, and with cannons and arquebuses, and on a great elephant there are 12 people. Yes, each has two great wrestlers, and great swords are tied to the teeth along the centar, and great iron weights are tied to the snout. Yes, a man sits in armor between his ears, and he has a great iron hook, and thus they rule him. Yes, there are thousands of simple horses in golden gear, and there are a hundred camels with soot, and there are 30.0 trumpeters, and there are 300 dancers, and there are 300 carpets. Yes, on the Saltan Kavtan the whole fathom of yakhonts, and on the cap there is a great Chichyak Olmaz, and there are golden saadak yakhonts, yes three sabers on it are bound with gold, and the saddle is gold, and the tackle is gold, and everything is gold. Yes, the Kafar is jumping in front of him and playing with the tower, and there are many foot soldiers behind him. Yes, a good elephant follows him, and he’s all dressed up in damask, and he beats up people, and he has a large iron chain in his mouth, and he beats up horses and people, no matter who steps close to Saltan.

And the brother of the sultans, and he sits on a bed on a golden one, and above him there is an oxamiten tower, and a poppy of gold from a yacht, and 20 people carry it.

And Makhtum sits on the bed on a golden one, and above him there is a tower of shidyans with a golden poppy tree, and they carry him on 4 horses in golden gear. Yes, there are many people around him, and there are singers in front of him, and there are many dancers; yes, all with bare swords, yes with sabers, yes with shields, yes with bows, yes with spears, yes with bows with straight ones with great ones. Yes, the horses are all in armor, and there are saadaks on them. And some are all naked, with only a robe on their backs, covered in rubbish.

In Beder, the month is full for three days. In Beder there are no sweet vegetables. In Gundustani there is no strong war. Silenus Var in Gurmyz and in Kyatobagryim, where all the pearls will be born, and in Zhida, and in Baka, and in Misyur, and in Orobstani, and in Lara. But in the land of Khorosan it’s varno, but it’s not like that. And in Chegotani Velmi Varno. In Shiryazi, and in Ezdi, and in Kashini, there is Varno, and there is wind. And in Gilyai it is stuffy and the steam is dashing, and in Shamakhey the steam is dashing; Yes, in Babylon it is Varno, yes in Khumit, yes in Sham it is Varno, but in Lyapa it is not so Varno.

And in Sevastia Guba and in the Gurzyn land, goodness offends everyone. Yes, the land of Tours is offensive to Velmi. Yes, in the Volos region everything edible is offensive and cheap. And the Podolsk land is offensive to everyone. And Rus er tangrid saklasyn; Ollo sakla, Khudo sakla! Bu daniada munu kibit er ektur; nechik Urus eri beglyari akoi tugil; Urus er abodan bolsyn; Rast kam gives. Ollo, Khudo, God, Danyir.

Oh my God! I trust in you, save me, Lord! I don’t know which way I’ll go from Gundustan: to go to Gurmyz, but there’s no way from Gurmyz to Khorosan, there’s no way to Chegotai, there’s no way to Bodatu, there’s no way to Katabogryam, there’s no way to Ezd, there’s no way to Rabostan No. Then there was bulgak everywhere; Knocked out princes everywhere. Yaisha Myrza was killed by Uzoasanbeg, and Sultan Musyait was nourished, and Uzuosanbek sat on Shchiryaz, and the earth did not hold together, and Ediger Makhmet, and he does not come to him, is being watched. And there is no other way. And go to Myakka, otherwise you will believe in the Besermen faith. Zane Christians do not go to the Myakka of faith dividing what to put into faith. But to live in Gundustani, other people eat up all the meat, everything is expensive for them: I am one man, and sometimes half a third of an altyn goes for grub per day, but I haven’t had a drink of wine, nor am I full.<...>

On the fifth Great Day we set our sights on Rus'. Idoh from Beder city a month before the ulubagryam of Besermensky Mamet deni rossulal. And the Great Day of the Christians I did not know the resurrection of Christ, but I took their shit from the besermen, and I broke my fast with them, and the Great Day took 10 kovs from Bederi in Kelberi.

The Sultan came and meliktuchar with his army on the 15th day in Ulebagryama, and in Kelberg. But the war was not successful for them, they took one Indian city, but many of their people were killed, and a lot of treasuries were lost.

But the Indian saltan kadam velmi is strong, and he has a lot of troops. And he sits in the mountain in Bichineger, and his city is great. There are three ditches around it, and a river flows through it. And from one country his zhengel is evil, and from another country he came, and the place is wonderful and pleasing to everything. There is nowhere to come to one country, there is a road through the city, and there is nowhere to take the city, a great mountain has come and a forest of evil is ticking. The army melted under the city for a month, and the people died without water, and many heads of velmi were bent due to hunger and due to lack of water. And he looks at the water, but there is nowhere to take it.

But the city took the Indian Melikyan owner, and took him by force, day and night he fought against the city for 20 days, the army neither drank nor ate, stood under the city with cannons. And his army killed five thousand good people. And they took the city, and slaughtered 20 thousand of the male and female livestock, and took 20 thousand of the great and small.

And they sold a full head for 10 tenk, and another for 5 tenk, and small ones for two tenk. But there was nothing in the treasury. But he didn’t take more cities.

And from Kelbergu I walked to Kuluri. But in Kuluri the akhik is born, and they make it, and ship it from there to the whole world. And in the Kuril Islands, three hundred diamond miners will die. And the same lasted five months, and from there Kaliki died. The same bozar velmi is great. And from there he went to Konaberg, and from Kanaberg he went to shikh Aladin. And from shikh Aladin he went to Amendriya, and from Kamendriya to Nyaryas, and from Kinaryas to Suri, and from Suri he went to Dabyli - the haven of the Indian Sea.

Dabil is a great city of Velmi, and besides, Dabyli and the whole Indian and Ethiopian coastline gathers. The same accursed slave of Athos the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth, was inspired by the Christian faith, and by the baptism of Christ, and by the holy fathers of God, according to the commandments of the apostles, and set out with his mind to go to Rus'. And I went into the tava, and talked about the naval ship, and from my head two gold dates to the city of Gurmyz. I boarded the ship from Dabyl grad to Velik days in three months of Besermen's gowein.

I spent a month in the tavern by sea, but saw nothing. The next month I saw the Ethiopian mountains, the same people all shouted: “Ollo pervodiger, Ollo konkar, bizim bashi mudna nasin bolmyshti,” and in Russian they said: “God bless, God, the Most High God, the king of heaven, here he judged us thou shalt perish!"

I spent five days in the same land of Ethiopia. By God's grace no evil was committed. Having distributed a lot of cheese, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians, they did not rob the ship.

And from there I walked 12 days to Moshkat. In Moshkat he took the sixth Great day. And I walked to Gurmyz for 9 days, and stayed in Gurmyz for 20 days. And from Gurmyz I went to Lari, and spent three days in Lari. It took 12 days to travel from Lari to Shiryaz, and 7 days to Shiryaz. And it took 15 days from Shiryaz to Vergu, and 10 days to Velergu. And from Vergu I went to Ezdi for 9 days, and to Ezdi for 8 days. And go to Spagan for 5 days, and to Spagan for 6 days. And is Paganipoidoh Kashini, and in Kashini there were 5 days. And Is Kashina went to Kum, and Is Kuma went to Sava. And from Sava he went to Sultan, and from Sultan he went to Terviz, and from Terviz he went to the Asanbeg horde. But the horde had 10 days, but there was no way anywhere. And he sent the army of his court to 40 thousand. Ini Sevast was taken, and Tokhat was taken and burned, Amasia was taken, and many villages were plundered, and they went to Karaman in war.

And Yaz from the horde went to Artsitsan, and from Ortsshchan he went to Trepizon.

The Holy Mother of God and the ever-Virgin Mary came to Trebizon for the Intercession, and spent 5 days in Trebizon. And he came to the ship and talked about a donation - a golden gift from his head to Kafa; and the golden one took it for grub, and gave it to the Cafe.

And in Trapizon, my Shubash and Pasha committed a lot of evil. They brought all my rubbish to the city up the mountain and searched everything - it was all good change, and they robbed it all. And they are searching for letters that came from the horde of Asanbeg.

By the grace of God I came to the third Black Sea, and in the Parsi language Doria Stimbolskaa. We walked along the sea with the wind for 10 days, reached Vonada, and there we were met by a great midnight wind, which took us back to Trabizon, and we stood in Sycamore for 15 days, in the presence of a great and evil wind. ex. The plane trees went to the sea twice, and an evil wind meets us and will not allow us to walk on the sea. Ollo ak, Ollo Khudo first digger! I don’t know the development of that other God.

And the sea crossed, and brought us from here to Balikaeya, and from there to Tokorzov, and there we stayed for 5 days. By the grace of God I came to Kafa 9 days before Philip’s plot. Ollo first digger!

By the grace of God he passed through three seas. Diger Khudo dono, Ollo pervodiger given. Amen! Smilna rahmam ragim. Ollo akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliqsolom. Ollo Akber. And iliagail ilello. Ollo the first digger. Ahamdu lillo, shukur Khudo afatad. Bismilnagi rahmam rragim. Huvo mogu go, la lasailla guiya alimul gyaibi va shagaditi. Fuck Rakhman Rahim, fuck I can lie. Lyailyaga il Lyakhuya. Almelik, alakudos, asalom, almumin, almugamine, alazizu, alchebar, almutakanbiru, alkhaliku, albariyuu, almusaviru, alkafaru, alkalhar, alvazahu, alryazaku, alfatag, alalimu, alkabizu, albasut, alhafiz, allrraviya, almavizu, almuzil, alsemi lyu, albasir, alakamu, aladulya, alyatufu.

"WALKING OVER THREE SEAS" AFANASY NIKITIN

(Translation by L.S. Smirnov)

In the year 6983 (1475).(...) In the same year I received the notes of Athanasius, a merchant of Tver, he was in India for four years1, and writes that he set off on a journey with Vasily Papin2. I asked when Vasily Papin was sent with gyrfalcons as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and they told me that a year before the Kazan campaign he returned from the Horde, and died near Kazan, shot with an arrow, when Prince Yuri went to Kazan3. I couldn’t find in the records in what year Afanasy left or in what year he returned from India and died, but they say that he died before reaching Smolensk. And he wrote the notes in his own hand, and those notebooks with his notes were brought by merchants to Moscow to Vasily Mamyrev, the clerk of the Grand Duke4.

For the prayer of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afanasy Nikitin’s son.

I wrote here about my sinful journey across three seas: the first sea is Derbent5, Darya Khvalisskaya6, the second sea is Indian, Darya Gundustan, the third sea is Black, Darya Istanbul.

I went from the golden-domed Savior with his mercy, from my sovereign Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich8 of Tverskoy, from Bishop Gennady of Tverskoy and from Boris Zakharyich9.

I swam down the Volga. And he came to the Kalyazin monastery to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. And he received a blessing from Abbot Macarius and the holy brethren. From Kalyazin I sailed to Uglich, and from Uglich they let me go without any obstacles. And, sailing from Uglich, he came to Kostroma and came to Prince Alexander with another letter from the Grand Duke. And they let me go without any obstacles. And he arrived in Plyos safely.

And I came to Nizhny Novgorod to Mikhail Kiselev, the governor, and to the exile Ivan Saraev, and they let me go without any obstacles. Vasily Papin, however, had already passed through the city, and I waited in Nizhny Novgorod for two weeks for Hasan Bey, the ambassador of the Shirvanshah10 of the Tatar. And he rode with gyrfalcons from Grand Duke Ivan11, and he had ninety gyrfalcons.

I swam with them down the Volga. They passed Kazan without obstacles, did not see anyone, and Orda and Uslan, and Sarai, and Berekezan sailed and entered Buzan12. And then three infidel Tatars met us and gave us false news: “Sultan Kasim is lying in wait for the merchants on Buzan, and with him are three thousand Tatars.” The Shirvanshah's ambassador, Hasan-bek, gave them a single-row caftan and a piece of linen to guide us past Astrakhan. And they, the unfaithful Tatars, took one line at a time, and sent the news to the Tsar in Astrakhan. And I and my comrades left my ship and moved to the embassy ship.

We sailed past Astrakhan, and the moon was shining, and the king saw us, and the Tatars shouted to us: “Kachma - don’t run!” But we haven’t heard anything about this and are running under our own sail. For our sins, the king sent all his people after us. They overtook us on Bohun and started shooting at us. They shot a man, and we shot two Tatars. And our smaller ship got stuck at Eza13, and they immediately took it and plundered it, and all my luggage was on that ship.

We reached the sea on a large ship, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and then they overtook us and ordered the ship to be pulled up the river to the point. And our large ship was plundered here and four Russian men were taken prisoner, and we were released with our bare heads across the sea, and were not allowed back up the river, so that no news was given.

And we went, crying, on two ships to Derbent: in one ship there was Ambassador Hasan-bek, and Teziki14, and there were ten of us Russians; and in the other ship there are six Muscovites, and six Tver residents, and cows, and our food. And a storm arose on the sea, and the smaller ship was broken on the shore. And here is the town of Tarki15, and people went ashore, and the kaytaki16 came and took everyone prisoner.

And we came to Derbent, and Vasily arrived there safely, but we were robbed. And I beat Vasily Papin and the Shirvanshah’s ambassador Hasan-bek, with whom we came, with my brow, so that they could take care of the people whom the kaytaks captured near Tarki. And Hasan-bek went to the mountain to ask Bulat-bek. And Bulat-bek sent a speedboat to the Shirvanshah to convey: “Sir! The Russian ship crashed near Tarki, and the kaytaki, when they arrived, took the people captive and plundered their goods.”

And the Shirvanshah immediately sent an envoy to his brother-in-law, the Kaitak prince Khalil-bek: “My ship crashed near Tarki, and your people, having arrived, captured the people from it, and plundered their goods; and you, for my sake, the people and goods came to me gather them, because those people were sent to me. And whatever you need from me, send it to me, and I will not contradict you, my brother, in anything. And those people came to me, and you, me for my sake, let them come to me without hindrance." And Khalil-bek immediately released all the people to Derbent without obstacles, and from Derbent they sent them to the Shirvanshah, to his headquarters - koytul.

We went to the Shirvanshah, to his headquarters, and beat him with his forehead, so that he would favor us rather than reach Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything: they say there are a lot of us. And we parted, crying in all directions: whoever had what was left in Rus' went to Rus', and whoever had to, went wherever he could. And others remained in Shemakha, while others went to Baku to work.

And I went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baku, where the fire burns unquenchable17, and from Baku I went overseas to Chapakur.

And I lived in Chapakur18 for six months, and I lived in Sari for a month, in the land of Mazandaran19. And from there he went to Amol20 and lived here for a month. And from there he went to Damavand21, and from Damavand - to Rey22. Here they killed Shah Hussein, one of the children of Ali, the grandchildren of Muhammad23, and the curse of Muhammad fell on the killers and seventy cities were destroyed.

From Rey I went to Kashan and lived here for a month, and from Kashan to Nain, and from Nain to Yazd and lived here for a month. And from Yazd he went to Sirjan, and from Sirjan to Tarom24, livestock here is fed with dates, batman25 dates are sold for four altyns. And from Tarom he went to Lar, and from Lar to Bender - that was the Hormuz pier. And here is the Indian Sea, in Persian Daria of Gundustan; It's a four mile walk from here to Hormuz-grad.

And Hormuz is on an island, and the sea attacks it twice every day. I spent my first Easter here, and came to Hormuz four weeks before Easter. And that’s why I didn’t name all the cities, because there are many more big cities. The heat of the sun in Hormuz is great, it will burn a person. I was in Hormuz for a month, and from Hormuz after Easter on the day of Radunitsa26 I went in a tawa27 with horses across the Indian Sea.

And we walked by sea to Muscat28 for ten days, and from Muscat to Dega29 for four days, and from Dega to Gujarat30, and from Gujarat to Cambay31, Here paint and varnish will be born. From Cambay they sailed to Chaul32, and from Chaul they left in the seventh week after Easter, and they traveled by sea for six weeks in a tawa to Chaul.

And here is the Indian country, and ordinary people walk naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, everyone walks with bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. Of the common people, men and women are all naked and all black. Wherever I go, many people behind me are amazed at the white man. The prince there has a veil on his head and another on his hips, and the boyars there have a veil over their shoulder and another on their hips, and the princesses walk with a veil over their shoulder and another veil on their hips. And the servants of the princes and boyars have one veil wrapped around their hips, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, some with darts, others with daggers, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; Yes, everyone is naked, and barefoot, and strong, and they do not shave their hair. And ordinary women walk around - their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, their shame is not covered.

From Chaul they went overland, walked to Pali for eight days, to the Indian mountains. And from Pali they walked ten days to Umri, an Indian city. And from Umri there is a seven-day journey to Junnar33.

The Indian khan rules here - Asad Khan of Junnar, and he serves Melik-at-Tujar34. Troops were given to him from Melik-at-Tujar, they say; seventy thousand. And Melik-at-Tujar has two hundred thousand troops under his command, and he has been fighting the infidels35 for twenty years: and they defeated him more than once, and he defeated them many times. Asadkhan rides in public. And he has many elephants, and he has many good horses, and he has many warriors, Khorasans36. And horses are brought from the Khorasan land, some from the Arab land, some from the Turkmen land, others from the Chagotai land, and they are all brought by sea in tavs - Indian ships.

And I, a sinner, brought the stallion to Indian land, and with him I reached Junnar, with God’s help, healthy, and he cost me a hundred rubles. Their winter began on Trinity Day37. I spent the winter in Junnar and lived here for two months. Every day and night - for four whole months - there is water and mud everywhere. These days they plow and sow wheat, rice, peas, and everything edible. They make wine from large nuts, goats of Gundustan38 are called, and mash - from tatna39. Here they feed the horses with peas, and cook khichri40 with sugar and butter, and feed the horses with them, and in the morning they give them hornets41. There are no horses in the Indian land; bulls and buffaloes are born in their land - they ride on them, carry goods and carry other things, do everything.

Junnar-grad stands on a stone rock, is not fortified by anything, and is protected by God. And the path to that mountain day, one person at a time: the road is narrow, it is impossible for two to pass.

In Indian land, merchants are settled in inns. The maids cook for the guests, and the maids make the bed, and sleep with the guests. (If you have a close connection with her, give two inhabitants, if you do not have a close connection, give one inhabitant. There are many wives here according to the rule of temporary marriage, and then a close connection is for nothing); but they love white people.

In winter, their common people wear a veil on their hips, another on their shoulders, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars then put on ports, a shirt, a caftan, and a veil on their shoulders, gird themselves with another veil, and wrap a third veil around their heads. (Oh God, great God. True Lord, generous God, merciful God!)

And in that Junnar, the khan took the stallion from me when he found out that I was not a Besermen, but a Rusyn. And he said: “And I will return the stallion, and I will give a thousand gold coins in addition, just convert to our faith - to Muhammaddini42. If you don’t convert to our faith, to Muhammaddini, I will take the stallion, and I will take a thousand gold coins from your head.” And he set a deadline - four days, on Spasov Day, on the Assumption Fast43. Yes, the Lord God took pity on his honest holiday, did not leave me, a sinner, with his mercy, did not allow me to perish in Junnar among the infidels. On the eve of Spasov's day, the treasurer Mohammed, a Khorasanian, arrived, and I beat him with my brow so that he would work for me. And he went to the city to Asad Khan and asked for me, so that they would not convert me to their faith, and he took my stallion back from the khan. This is the Lord's miracle on Savior Day. And so, Russian Christian brothers, if anyone wants to go to the Indian land, leave your faith in Rus', and, calling Muhammad, go to the Gundustan land.

The Besermen dogs lied to me, they said that there was a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the goods were white for the Besermen land, pepper and paint were cheap. Those who transport oxen overseas do not pay duties. But they won’t let us transport goods without duty. But there are many tolls, and there are many robbers on the sea. The infidels are robbers; they are not Christians and not irreligious: they pray to stone fools and know neither Christ nor Muhammad.

And from Junnar they left for Assumption and went to Bidar, their main city. It took a month to reach Bidar, five days from Bidar to Kulongiri, and five days from Kulongiri to Gulbarga. Between these large cities there are many other cities; every day three cities passed, and other days four cities: as many cities as there are kov44. From Chaul to Junnar there are twenty kovas, and from Junnar to Bidar forty kovas, from Bidar to Kulongiri there are nine kovas, and from Bidar to Gulbarga there are nine kovas.

In Bidar, horses, damask45, silk and all other goods and black slaves are sold at the auction, but there are no other goods here. The goods are all Gundustan, and only vegetables are edible, but there are no goods for the Russian land. And here the people are all black, all villains, and the women are all walking, and sorcerers, and thieves, and deception, and poison, they kill the gentlemen with poison.

In the Indian land, all Khorasans reign, and all the boyars are Khorasans. And the Gundustanians are all on foot and walk in front of the Khorasans, who are on horses; and the rest are all on foot, walking quickly, all naked and barefoot, with a shield in one hand, a sword in another, and others with large straight bows and arrows. More and more battles are fought on elephants. In front are foot soldiers, behind them are Khorasans in armor on horses, themselves in armor and horses. They tie large forged swords to the heads and tusks of the elephants, each weighing a centar46, and they dress the elephants in damask armor, and turrets are made on the elephants, and in those turrets there are twelve people in armor, all with cannons and arrows.

There is one place here - Aland, where Sheikh Ala-ad-din (the saint lies) and a fair takes place. Once a year, the whole Indian country comes to trade at that fair; they trade here for ten days; from Bidar there are twelve kovs. They bring horses here - up to twenty thousand horses - to sell and bring all sorts of goods. In the land of Gundustan, this fair is the best, every product is sold and bought on the days of memory of Sheikh Ala-ad-din, and in our opinion on the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God47. And there is also a bird called gukuk in that Åland, it flies at night: it screams: “kuk-kuk”; and on whose house she sits, the person will die, and whoever wants to kill her, she lets fire out of her mouth at him. Mamons48 walk around at night and grab chickens, and they live on the hills or among the rocks. And monkeys live in the forest. They have a monkey prince who goes about with his army. If someone offends monkeys, they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against the offender, and when they come to the city, they destroy houses and kill people. And the army of monkeys, they say, is very large, and they have their own language. Many cubs are born to them, and if one of them is born as neither the mother nor the father, they are abandoned on the roads. Some Gundustanis select them and teach them all sorts of crafts; and if they sell, then at night, so that they cannot find their way back, and they teach others (to amuse people).

Their spring began with the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God. And they celebrate the memory of Sheikh Ala-ad-din and the beginning of spring two weeks after the Intercession; The holiday lasts eight days. And their spring lasts three months, and summer three months, and winter three months, and autumn three months.

Bidar is the capital city of Gundustan of Besermen. The city is big and there are a lot of people in it. The Sultan is young, twenty years old - the boyars rule, and the Khorasans reign and all the Khorasans fight.

A Khorasan boyar, Melik-at-Tujar, lives here, so he has two hundred thousand of his army, and Melik Khan has one hundred thousand, and Faratkhan has twenty thousand, and many khans have ten thousand troops. And with the Sultan comes three hundred thousand of his troops.

The land is populous, and the rural people are very poor, but the boyars have great power and are very rich. The boyars are carried on silver stretchers, in front of the horses they are led in golden harness, up to twenty horses are led, and behind them are three hundred horsemen, and five hundred foot soldiers, and ten trumpeters, and ten people with drums, and ten people playing pipes.

And when the Sultan goes for a walk with his mother and his wife, he is followed by ten thousand horsemen and fifty thousand foot soldiers, and two hundred elephants are brought out, all in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred trumpeters, a hundred dancers, and three hundred dancers. riding horses in golden harness, and a hundred monkeys, and a hundred concubines, they are called gauryks.

There are seven gates leading to the Sultan’s palace, and at the gates sit one hundred guards and one hundred infidel scribes. Some write down who goes into the palace, others - who leaves. But strangers are not allowed into the palace. And the Sultan’s palace is very beautiful, there are carvings and gold on the walls, the last stone is very beautifully carved and painted in gold. Yes, in the Sultan’s palace the vessels are different.

At night, the city of Bidar is guarded by a thousand guards under the command of a kuttuwal49, on horses and in armor, and each holding a torch.

I sold my stallion in Bidar. I spent sixty-eight feet on him and fed him for a year. In Bidar, snakes crawl along the streets, two fathoms long. I returned to Bidar from Kulongiri on Filippov Post50, and sold my stallion for Christmas.

And I lived here in Bidar until Lent51 and met many Hindus. I revealed my faith to them, said that I am not a Besermen, but (of the Jesus faith), a Christian, and my name is Athanasius, and my Besermen name is Khoja Yusuf Khorasani. And the Hindus did not hide anything from me, neither about their food, nor about trade, nor about prayers, nor about other things, and they did not hide their wives in the house.

I asked them about faith, and they told me: we believe in Adam, and the buty52, they say, are Adam and all his race. And all the faiths in India are eighty and four faiths, and everyone believes in Buta. But people of different faiths do not drink with each other, do not eat, and do not marry. Some of them eat lamb, chickens, fish, and eggs, but no one eats beef.

I stayed in Bidar for four months and agreed with the Hindus to go to Parvat, where they have a butkhana53 - that is their Jerusalem, the same as Mecca54 for the Besermen. I walked with the Indians to the bay for a month. And there is a fair near that bay that lasts five days. The buthana is large, half the size of Tver, made of stone, and the deeds of the buthana are carved in the stone. Twelve crowns are carved around the butkhana - how the butkhana performed miracles, how it appeared in different images: the first - in the form of a man, the second - a man, but with an elephant trunk, the third - a man, and the face of a monkey, the fourth - half man, half fierce beast, appeared all with a tail. And it is carved on a stone, and the tail, about a fathom long, is thrown over it.

The whole Indian country comes to that butkhana for the Butha55 holiday. Yes, old and young, women and girls shave at the butkhana. And they shave off all their hair, shave both their beards and their heads. And they go to the butkhana. From each head they take two sheshkens56 for buta, and from the horses - four feet. And all the people come to the butkhana (twenty thousand lakhs57, and sometimes one hundred thousand lakhs).

In the butkhan, the buthan is carved out of black stone, huge, and his tail is thrown over it, and his right hand is raised high and extended, like Justinian, the king of Constantinople, and in the buthan’s left hand there is a spear. He is wearing nothing, only his thighs are wrapped in a bandage, and his face is like a monkey. And some butovs are completely naked, they don’t have anything on (their shame is not covered), and the butov’s wives are cut out naked, with shame and with children. And in front of the bute there is a huge bull, carved from black stone and all gilded. And they kiss his hoof and sprinkle flowers on him. And flowers are sprinkled on the buta.

Hindus do not eat any meat, neither beef, nor lamb, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, although they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice during the day, but at night they don’t eat, and they don’t drink wine or have enough to eat. And with the Besermen60 they don’t drink or eat. And their food is bad. And they don’t drink or eat with each other, not even with their wife. And they eat rice, and khichri with butter, and they eat various herbs, and they boil them with butter and with milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they do not take anything with their left. They don't know a knife or a spoon. And on the way, to cook porridge, everyone carries a bowler hat. And they turn away from the besermen: none of them would look into the pot or at the food. And if the Besermen looks, they don’t eat that food. That’s why they eat covered with a scarf so that no one can see.

And they pray to the east, like the Russians. Both hands will be raised high and placed on the crown of the head, and they will lie prostrate on the ground, all stretched out on the ground - then they bow. And they sit down to eat, wash their hands, feet, and rinse their mouths. Their buthans have no doors, face east, and the buthans face east. And whoever dies among them is burned and the ashes are poured into the water. And when the child is born, the husband accepts it, and the father gives the name to the son, and the mother to the daughter. They have no good morals and know no shame. And when someone comes or leaves, he bows like a monk, touches the ground with both hands, and everything is silent.

They go to Parvat, to their buta, during Lent. Here is their Jerusalem; What is Mecca for the Besermen, Jerusalem for the Russians, is Parvat for the Hindus. And they all come naked, only a bandage on their hips, and the women are all naked, only a veil on their hips, and the others are all in veils, and there are a lot of pearls on their necks, and yahonts, and gold bracelets and rings on their hands. (By God!) And inside, to the butkhana, they ride on bulls, the horns of each bull are bound with copper, and there are three hundred bells on its neck and its hooves are shod with copper. And they call those bulls achche.

Hindus call the bull father and the cow mother. They bake bread and cook food with their droppings, and with that ash they make marks on the face, on the forehead and all over the body. On Sunday and Monday they eat once a day. In India, there are a lot of walking women, and therefore they are cheap: if you have a close connection with her, give two residents; if you want to waste your money, give six residents. That’s the way it is in these places. And slave-concubines are cheap: 4 pounds - good, 5 pounds - good and black; black-very black amchyuk small, good).

I arrived from Parvat to Bidar fifteen days before the Besermen Ulu Bayram61. And I don’t know when Easter is the feast of the resurrection of Christ; I’m guessing by signs - Easter comes nine or ten days earlier than Besermen Bayram. But I have nothing with me, not a single book; I took the books with me to Rus', but when I was robbed, the books disappeared, and I did not observe the rituals of the Christian faith. I don’t observe Christian holidays - neither Easter nor Christmas - and I don’t fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. And living among non-believers (I pray to God, may he protect me: “Lord God, true God, you are God, the great God. God is merciful. God is merciful, you are the most merciful and most merciful. Lord God). God is one, then the king of glory, the creator heaven and earth."

And I’m going to Rus' (with the thought: my faith is lost, I fasted with the Besermen fast). The month of March passed, I began fasting with the Besermen on Sunday, fasted for a month, did not eat any meat, did not eat anything modest, did not take any food from the Besermen, but ate bread and water twice a day (I did not lie with a woman). And I prayed to Christ Almighty, who created heaven and earth, and did not call on another god by name. (Lord God, God is merciful, God is merciful, God is Lord, God is great). God is the king of glory (the Creator God, the most merciful God - that’s all you, O Lord).<...>

On the first day of the month of May, I celebrated Easter in Hindustan, in Besermen Bidar, and the Besermen celebrated Bayram in the middle of the month; and I began fasting on the first day of the month of April. O faithful Russian Christians! He who sails across many lands gets into many troubles and loses his Christian faith. I, God’s servant Athanasius, have suffered according to the Christian faith. Four Great Lents have already passed and four Easters have passed, and I, a sinner, don’t know when Easter or Lent is, I don’t observe the Nativity of Christ, I don’t observe other holidays, I don’t observe Wednesdays or Fridays: I have no books. When I was robbed, they took my books. And because of many troubles, I went to India, because I had nothing to go to Rus' with, I had no goods left. I celebrated the first Easter in Cain, and the second Easter in Chapakur in the land of Mazandaran, the third Easter in Hormuz, the fourth Easter in India, among the Besermen, in Bidar, and here I grieved a lot because of the Christian faith.

Besermenin Melik strongly forced me to accept the Besermen faith. I told him: “Sir! You are praying (you are praying and I am also praying. You are praying five times, I am three times. I am a foreigner, and you are from here).” He tells me: “It is truly evident that you are not a Germanic, but you also do not observe Christian customs.” And I thought deeply and said to myself: “Woe to me, the accursed one, I have lost my way from the true path and I no longer know which path I will take. Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth! Do not turn your face away from your slave, for I am in sorrow.” . Lord! Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am your creation; do not let. Lord, turn me away from the true path, guide me, Lord, on the right path, for in need I was not virtuous before you, Lord my God, all the days lived his own in evil. My Lord (Patron God, you, God, merciful Lord. The Lord is merciful, merciful and merciful. Praise be to God). Four Easters have already passed since I was in the land of Besermen, and I have not left Christianity. Further, God knows "What will happen? Lord my God, I have trusted in you, save me, Lord my God."

In Bidar the Great, in Besermen India, on the Great Night on the Great Day, I watched how the Pleiades and Orion entered at dawn, and the Big Dipper stood with its head to the east.

On Besermen Bayram, the Sultan made a ceremonial departure: with him twenty great viziers and three hundred elephants, dressed in damask armor, with turrets, and the turrets were bound. In the turrets there were six people in armor with cannons and arquebuses, and on large elephants there were twelve people. And on each elephant there are two large banners, and large swords weighing a centar are tied to the tusks, and on the neck there are huge iron weights62. And between his ears sits a man in armor with a large iron hook - he uses it to guide the elephant. Yes, a thousand riding horses in golden harness, and a hundred camels with drums, and three hundred trumpeters, and three hundred dancers, and three hundred concubines. The Sultan wears a caftan all trimmed with yakhonts, and a cone hat with a huge diamond, and a golden saadak63 with yakhonts, and three sabers on it, all in gold, and a golden saddle, and a golden harness, all in gold. In front of him the infidel is running, skipping, leading the tower64, and behind him there are many foot soldiers. Behind him comes an angry elephant, all dressed up in damask, driving people away; he has a large iron chain in his trunk, using it to drive away horses and people so that they don’t come close to the Sultan.

And the Sultan’s brother sits on a golden stretcher, above him is a velvet canopy, and a golden crown with yachts, and twenty people carry him.

And the makhdum65 sits on a golden stretcher, and above him there is a silk canopy with a golden crown, and he is carried by four horses in golden harness. Yes, there are a great many people around him, and singers walk in front of him and there are many dancers; and all with naked swords and sabers, with shields, javelins and spears, with large straight bows. And the horses are all in armor, with saadaks. And some people are all naked, only a bandage on their hips, their shame is covered.

In Bidar, the full moon lasts for three days. There are no sweet fruits in Bidar. There is no great heat in Hindustan. It is very hot in Hormuz and Bahrain, where pearls are born, in Jeddah, in Baku, in Egypt, in Arabia, and in Lara. But it’s hot in the land of Khorasan, but not like that. It is very hot in Chagotai. It’s hot in Shiraz, Yazd, and Kashan, but there is wind there. And in Gilan it is very stuffy and steamy, and in Shamakhi it is steamy; It’s hot in Baghdad, and it’s hot in Khums and Damascus, but it’s not so hot in Aleppo.

In the Sevas district and in the Georgian land, everything is in abundance. And the Turkish land is abundant in everything. And the Moldavian land is abundant, and everything edible there is cheap. And the Podolsk land is abundant in everything. And Rus' (God save it! God save it! God save it! There is no country like it in this world. But why don’t the princes of the Russian land live with each other like brothers! May the Russian land be established, otherwise there is little justice in it ! God, God, .God, God!).

Oh my God! I trusted in you, save me, Lord! I don’t know where to go from Hindustan: to go to Hormuz - there is no way from Hormuz to Khorasan, and there is no way to Chagotai, there is no way to Baghdad, there is no way to Bahrain, there is no way to Yazd, there is no way to Arabia. Everywhere the strife knocked out princes. Mirza Jehanshah was killed by Uzun Hasan-bek, and Sultan Abu Said was poisoned, Uzun Hasan-bek Shiraz subjugated, but that land did not recognize him, and Muhammad Yadigar does not go to him: he is afraid. There is no other way. To go to Mecca means to accept the Besermen faith. That is why, for the sake of faith, Christians do not go to Mecca: there they convert to the Besermen faith. But to live in Hindustan means to spend a lot of money, because here everything is expensive: I’m one person, and food costs two and a half altyns a day, although I haven’t had a drink of wine or been full.<...>

On the fifth Easter I decided to go to Rus'. He left Bidar a month before the Besermen Ulu Bayram (according to the faith of Muhammad, the messenger of God). And when Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, I don’t know, I fasted with the Besermen during their fast, broke my fast with them, and celebrated Easter in Gulbarga, ten miles from Bidar.

The Sultan came to Gulbarga with Melik-at-Tujar and his army on the fifteenth day after Ulu Bayram. The war was unsuccessful for them - they took one Indian city, but many people died and they spent a lot of treasury.

But the Indian Grand Duke is powerful and has a large army. His fortress is on a mountain, and his capital city Vijayanagar is very large. The city has three moats, and a river flows through it. On one side of the city there is a dense jungle, and on the other side the valley approaches - an amazing place, suitable for everything. That side is impassable - the path goes through the city; The city cannot be taken from any direction: there is a huge mountain there and an evil, thorny thicket. The army stood under the city for a month, and people died of thirst, and a lot of people died of hunger and thirst. We looked at the water, but didn’t go near it.

Khoja Melik-at-Tujar took another Indian city, took it by force, fought with the city day and night, for twenty days the army neither drank nor ate, stood under the city with guns. And his army killed five thousand of the best warriors. And they took the city, slaughtered twenty thousand males and females, and twenty thousand - both adults and children - were taken captive. They sold prisoners for ten tenki66 per head, and others for five, and children for two tenki. They didn’t take the treasury at all. And he did not take the capital city.

From Gulbarga I went to Kallur. Carnelian is born in Kallur, and here it is processed, and from here it is transported all over the world. Three hundred diamond workers live in Kaldur (they decorate their weapons). I stayed here for five months and went from there to Koilkonda. The market there is very big. And from there he went to Gulbarga, and from Gulbarga to Aland. And from Aland he went to Amendriye, and from Amendriye - to Naryas, and from Naryas - to Suri, and from Suri he went to Dabhol - the pier of the Indian Sea.

The very large city of Dabhol - people come here from both the Indian and Ethiopian coasts. Here I, accursed Athanasius, slave of the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth, thought about the Christian faith, and about Christ’s baptism, about the fasts established by the holy fathers, about the apostolic commandments, and I set my mind on going to Rus'. He went up to the tawa and agreed on the ship's payment - from his head to Hormuz the city would be two gold dals. I sailed on a ship from Dabhol-grad to the Besermen post, three months before Easter.

I sailed in the sea for a whole month, not seeing anything. And the next month I saw the Ethiopian mountains, and all the people cried out: “Ollo pervodiger, Ollo konkar, bizim bashi mudna nasin bolmyshti,” and in Russian it means: “God, Lord, God, the Most High God, the king of heaven, has judged us here you will die!"

We were in that land of Ethiopia for five days. By the grace of God, no evil happened. They distributed a lot of rice, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians. And they didn’t rob the ship.

And from there it took twelve days to reach Muscat. I celebrated the sixth Easter in Muscat. It took nine days to get to Hormuz, but we spent twenty days in Hormuz. And from Hormuz he went to Lar, and was in Lar for three days. From Lar to Shiraz it took twelve days, and in Shiraz it was seven days. From Shiraz I went to Eberka, I walked for fifteen days, and it was ten days to Eberka. It took nine days from Eberku to Yazd, and eight days in Yazd. And from Yazd he went to Isfahan, walked for five days and was in Isfahan for six days. And from Isfahan I went to Kashan, and I was in Kashan for five days. And from Kashan he went to Qom, and from Qom to Save. And from Save he went to Soltaniya, and from Soltaniya he went to Tabriz, and from Tabriz he went to the headquarters of Uzun Hasan-bek67. He was at headquarters for ten days, because there was no way anywhere. Uzun Hasan-bek sent forty thousand troops to his court against the Turkish Sultan. They took Sivas. And they took Tokat and burned it, and they took Amasia, plundered many villages and went to war against the Karaman ruler.

And from Uzun Hasan Bey’s headquarters I went to Erzincan68, and from Erzincan I went to Trabzon69.

He came to Trabzon for the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God and the Ever-Virgin Mary and was in Trabzon for five days. I came to the ship and agreed on payment - to give gold from my head to Kafa70, and for grub I borrowed gold - to give it to Kafa.

And in that Trabzono subashi71 and pasha did me a lot of harm. Everyone ordered me to bring my property to their fortress, to the mountain, and they searched everything. And what little good there was - they all robbed it. And they were looking for certificates, because I was coming from Uzun Hasan-bey’s headquarters.

By the grace of God I reached the third sea - the Black Sea, which in Persian is Darya of Istanbul. We sailed by sea for ten days with a fair wind and reached Vona,72 and then a strong north wind met us and drove the ship back to Trabzon. Because of a strong headwind, we stood in Platan for fifteen days73. We went out to sea from Platana twice, but the wind blew against us and did not allow us to cross the sea. (True God. Patron God!) I don’t know any other God besides Him.

We crossed the sea and brought us to Balaklava, and from there we went to Gurzuf, and we stood there for five days. By the grace of God I came to Kafa nine days before the Philippian fast. (God the creator!)

By the grace of God I crossed three seas. (God knows the rest, God is the patron.) Amen! (In the name of the merciful, merciful Lord. The Lord is great, the good God. The good Lord. Jesus is the spirit of God, peace be with you. God is great. There is no God but the Lord. The Lord is the Provider. Praise be to the Lord, thanks be to the all-conquering God. In the name of the merciful, merciful God. He is the God besides whom there is no God, knower of all things secret and manifest. He is merciful, merciful. He has no like. There is no God but the Lord. He is the king, holiness, peace, guardian, judge of good and evil, omnipotent, healing, exalting , creator, creator, imager, he is the absolver of sins, the punisher, the resolver of all difficulties, the nourisher, the victorious, the all-knowing, the punishing, the correcting, the preserving, the elevating, the forgiving, the overthrowing, the all-hearing, all-seeing, right, just, good.)

NOTES by L.A. Dmitriev

1 Afanasy Nikitin was in India from mid-1471 to early 1474.

2 Vasily Papin - no other information about this Russian after, except for those reported in “Walking”, has reached us.

3 Obviously, this refers to the campaign of 1469 (the chronicles do not say that the leader of the campaign was Yuri Vasilyevich, the brother of Ivan III).

4 Vasily Mamyrev (1430-1490) - Grand Duke's clerk. It is unknown who is the author of the entry about Afanasy Nikitin.

5 Derbent - Caspian Sea.

6 Daria Khvalisskaya - Caspian Sea; "Darya" (pers.) - sea.

7 Spassky Cathedral in Tver (modern Kalinin).

8 Mikhail Borisovich - Grand Duke of Tver in 1461-1485.

9 Boris Zakharyich - Tver governor.

10 Shirvanshah is the title of the rulers of the Shirvan state, located in the northeastern part of modern Azerbaijan.

11 Ivan III Vasilyevich (1440-1505) - Grand Duke of Moscow.

12 The cities of the Horde along the lower reaches of the Volga are listed.

13 Ez - a barrier on the river for fishing.

14 Teziki - Iranian merchants.

15 Tarki is a fortress on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

16 Kaytaki - a people in Dagestan.

17 This refers to the releases of burning gases and oil in the vicinity of Baku.

18 Chapakur is a city on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.

19 Mazandaran land - area in Iran - Mazandaran.

20 Amol is the center of the Mazandaran region.

21 Damavand is the highest point of the Elbrus ridge.

22 Rey is a city located in the vicinity of modern Tehran.

23 Muhammad (c. 570-632) - Arab religious and political figure. founder of Islam.

24 The cities located along the route from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz are listed.

25 Batman (pers.) - a measure of weight equal to several pounds.

26 Radunitsa - the ninth day after Easter.

27 Tawa is a sailing ship without an upper deck.

28 Muscat is a port on the Oman coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

29 Degas is a port on the Iranian shore of the Persian Gulf.

30 Gujarat is a region in western India.

31 Cambay is a port in the Gulf of Cambay.

32 Chaul is a port on the west coast of India, south of modern Bombay.

33 Junnar is a city east of Bombay.

34 Malik-at-Tujar is a title that means “lord of merchants.”

35 Kafirs are infidels (non-believers).

36 Khorosans are Muslims of non-Indian origin.

37 Trinity Day - 50th day after Easter; falls in May - June (depending on the day of Easter).

38 Gundustan kozi - coconuts.

39 Tatna juice extracted from the bark of palmyra (palmyra is a type of palm tree).

40 Khichri is an Indian rice dish.

41 Hornets are leaves used to feed horses.

42 Muhammaddini (Turkic) - faith of Muhammadov, Islam.

44 Kov (ind.) - a measure of length equal to approximately 10 km.

45 Kamka - silk fabric embroidered with gold.

46 Kentar - a measure of weight, more than 3 pounds.

48 Mamons are small predatory animals.

49 Kuttuval - commandant of the fortress.

51 Lent - a seven-week fast until Easter, begins in February and early March.

52 Booth (pers.) - idol, idol; here are Indian gods.

53 Butkhana - an idol, a pagan prayer house.

54 Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia, a place of Muslim pilgrimage.

55 This refers to the holiday in honor of the Indian deity Shiva, celebrated in February - March.

56 Sheksheni - silver coin.

57 Lakh (ind.) - one hundred thousand; countless.

58 Afanasy Nikitin compares the statue of Shiva with the statue of Justinian I (527-565) in Constantinople, which was destroyed in the 16th century.

59 Sita - honey diluted with water, as well as an intoxicating drink made from honey.

60 Besermenin is a non-religious.

61 Ulu Bayram is one of the main annual Muslim holidays.

62 This refers to the large bells that are hung around the neck of an elephant.

63 Saadak - a set consisting of a bow in a case and a quiver with arrows.

64 Teremets - here: ceremonial umbrella.

65 Makhdum - sir.

66 Tenka - small silver coin.

67 Here are listed the cities in Iran through which Athanasius’ return journey lay. Tabriz was the capital of the power of Uzun Hassan.

68 Erzincan is a city in the Armenian Highlands, west of Erzurum.

69 Trabzon is a port on the southern coast of the Black Sea.

70 Kafa is the modern city of Feodosia in Crimea.

71 Subashi is the head of the city security.

72 Bona is a port at Cape Cham, west of Trabzon.

73 Platana - port near Trabzon.

http://lib.ru/HISTORY/RUSSIA/afanasij_nikitin.txt
Afanasy Nikitin. Sailing across three seas.
OCR: Konstantin Sokolov

“WALKING OVER THREE SEAS” AFANASY NIKITIN

Afanasy Nikitin (aka Khoja Yusuf Khorasani - merchant from Tver; 1467-1469 - was in Persia, 1469-1473 - in India, author of “Walking across 3 seas”: Caspian, Indian Ocean - Arabian, Black; d. 1473 to Smolensk without reaching).

WALKING OVER THREE SEAS

Per year 6983 (1475). In the same year, he received the notes of Afanasy, a merchant of Tver, he was in Yndei (India) for four years***, and writes that he set off on a journey with Vasily Papin. I asked when Vasily Papin was sent with gyrfalcons as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and they told me that a year before the Kazan campaign* (i.e. in the spring-summer of 1468) he returned from the Horde (i.e. in the spring-summer of 1468 Vasily Papin returned from the Lower Volga region - which means he could have gone down the Volga with Afanasy Nikitin no later than the summer of 1467), and died near Kazan, shot with an arrow, when Prince Yuri* went to Kazan (August-September 1469). I couldn’t find in the records in what year Afanasy left or in what year he returned from India and died***, but they say that he died before reaching Smolensk. And he wrote the notes in his own hand, and those notebooks with his notes were brought by merchants to Moscow to Vasily Mamyrev, the clerk of the Grand Duke.
* The campaign against Kazan by Russian troops led by Prince Yuri Vasilyevich Dmitrovsky (brother of Ivan III Vasilyevich (lived 1440-1505, reigned 1462-1505) = Timofey = Bekbulat), ended in September 6978 (1469).
** Vasily Papin returned from the Horde (Volga region) a year before the Kazan campaign - i.e. 1469 - 1 = 1468 (summer), which means he went there (with Afanasy Nikitin) no later than 1467.
*** Af. Nikitin was in Yndei for 4 years - i.e. 1467-1468 (1st year), 1468-1469 (2nd year), 1469-1470 (3rd year), 1470-1471 (4th year). Afanasy Nikitin himself writes: “In Muscat I celebrated the sixth Easter” - i.e. traveled for 6 years (1467-1473).
__________

For the prayer of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afanasy Nikitin’s son. I wrote here about my sinful journey across three seas: the first sea - Derbent, Daria Khvalisskaya, the second sea - Indian, Daria Gundustan, the third sea - Black, Daria Istanbul.

August 1467

I went from the golden-domed Savior (in 1467-1469: c. August 14 - honey Savior, c. August 19 - Transfiguration = apple Savior, c. August 29 - Savior on the canvas was transferred to Constantinople) with his mercy, from his great sovereign Prince Mikhail Borisovich Tverskoy (*), from Bishop Gennady Tverskoy and from Boris Zakharyich.
(*) Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich Tverskoy lived 1453 - after 1505, ruled in Tver 1461-1485, son of Boris Alexandrovich and Anastasia Alexandrovna Glazataya-Shuiskaya. 1st wife Sofia Semyonovna Kyiv - daughter of the Kiev prince Semyon Olelkovich. The 2nd wife - the granddaughter of Casimir IV - had a daughter from her, who was married to one of the Radziwills. 1462 - Tver boyars on behalf of 8-9-year-old M.B.T. signed an agreement with Moscow and M.B.T. became dependent on Ivan III. 1471 and 1477 - M.B.T. helped Ivan III in the Novgorod campaigns. 1480 - M.B.T. sent troops against Akhmat to the Ugra. 1483 - M.B.T. concluded an agreement with Casimir, for which Tver was devastated by the city. Prince Ivan III Vasilyevich. 1485 - M.B.T. communicates with Lithuania and, when the troops of Ivan III Vasilyevich approach Tver, flees to Lithuania to Casimir. 1485-1505 - M.B.T. wandered around the Polish possessions. 1505 - disappears from the pages of chronicles.

August-September 1467

I swam down the Volga (August-September 1468). And he came to the Kalyazin monastery to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. And he received a blessing from Abbot Macarius and the holy brethren. From Kalyazin I sailed to Uglich, and from Uglich they let me go without any obstacles. And, having sailed from Uglich, he arrived in Kostroma and came to Prince Alexander with another letter from the Grand Duke (the letter from Mikhail Borisovich Tverskoy). And they let me go without any obstacles. And he arrived in Plyos without any obstacles.

September-October 1467

And I came to Nizhny Novgorod to Mikhail Kiselev, the governor, and to the exile Ivan Saraev, and they let me go without any obstacles. But Vasily Papin, however, had already passed through the city (Nizhny Novgorod), and I waited in Nizhny Novgorod for two weeks (until November 1467) for Hasan Bey, the ambassador of the Shirvanshah of the Tatar. And he rode with gyrfalcons from Grand Duke Ivan (**), and he had ninety gyrfalcons.
(**) Grand Duke - Khan of Moscow and Vladimir Ivan III Vasilyevich = Tsar Timofey Vasilyevich the Great = Frederick III Habsburg = Bekbulat lived 1440-1505, reigned 1462-1505.
His father is Vasily II Vasilyevich the Dark (lived 1395/1415-1462, reigned 1425-1462) = Khan Mahmud = Sultan Mehmet II = Mohammed II the Conqueror (ruled 1451-1481, died/killed 1481) = Khan Mahmet = Khan Akhmat.
His mysterious and all-powerful relative is the boyar Ivan Dmitrievich Vsevolzhsky = Ivan Ivanovich Shibansky.
His paternal grandfather is Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy.
His maternal grandfather is Prince Vitovt of Lithuania.
His grandmother is Sofya Vitovtovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt Keistutovich Gediminovich - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.
His mother, Maria Yaroslavna, is the daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav (Afanasy) Vladimirovich (from the family of Prince Olgerd Gediminovich of Lithuania) and Maria Fedorovna (daughter of the boyar Fyodor Fedorovich Goltaya-Koshkin).
His 1st wife is Maria Borisovna (d. 1467), mother of 9-year-old Ivan Ivanovich the Young (lived 1458-1489).
His 2nd wife - Zoe Palaeologus = Sophia Palaeologus (ruled 1485-1489, d. 1503) - a Greek princess from the Palaeologus dynasty, from the clan of Sephardic Jews, niece of the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI.

November 1467

I swam with them down the Volga. They passed Kazan without obstacles, did not see anyone, and Orda, and Uslan, and Sarai (Saratov?), and Berekezan (Tsaritsyn = Stalingrad = Volgograd?) sailed through and entered Buzan. And then three infidel Tatars met us and gave us false news: “Sultan Kasim is lying in wait for the merchants on Buzan, and with him are three thousand Tatars.” The Shirvanshah's ambassador, Hasan-bek, gave them a single-row caftan and a piece of linen to guide us past Astrakhan. And they, the unfaithful Tatars, took one line at a time, and sent the news to the Tsar in Astrakhan. And I and my comrades left my ship and moved to the embassy ship.

November-December 1467

We sail past Astrakhan, and the moon is shining, and the king saw us, and the Tatars shouted to us: “Kachma - don’t run!” But we haven’t heard anything about this and are running under our own sail. For our sins, the king sent all his people after us. They overtook us on Bohun and started shooting at us. They shot a man, and we shot two Tatars. But our smaller ship got stuck near the Ez, and they immediately took it and plundered it, and all my luggage was on that ship.

December 1467

We reached the sea (Caspian = Farsiyskoe = Khvalynskoe = Khvalisskoe) on a large ship, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and then they overtook us and ordered the ship to be pulled up the river to the point. And our large ship was robbed here and four Russian men were taken prisoner, and we were released with our bare heads overseas (Caspian = Farsian = Khvalynskoe = Khvalisskoe), and were not allowed back up the river (Volga), so that no news was given.

And we went, crying, on two ships to Derbent (south-east of Dagestan near Azerbaijan, south-west coast of the Caspian Sea): in one ship - Ambassador Hassan-bek, and Teziki, and ten of us Russians; and in the other ship there are six Muscovites, six Tver residents, cows, and our food.
And a storm arose on the sea, and the smaller ship was broken on the shore. And here is the town of Tarki, and people went ashore, and the kaytaki came and took everyone prisoner.

January-March 1468

And we came to Derbent (southeast of Dagestan near Azerbaijan, southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea), and Vasily arrived there safely, and we were robbed. And I beat Vasily Papin and the Shirvanshah’s ambassador Hasan-bek, with whom we came, with my brow, so that they could take care of the people whom the kaytaks captured near Tarki. And Hasan-bek went to the mountain to ask Bulat-bek. And Bulat-bek sent a walker to the Shirvanshah to convey: “Sir! The Russian ship crashed near Tarki, and the kaytaki, when they arrived, took the people prisoner and plundered their goods.”

April-May 1468

And the Shirvanshah immediately sent an envoy to his brother-in-law, the Kaitak prince Khalil-bek: “My ship crashed near Tarki, and your people, coming, captured the people from it, and plundered their goods; and you, for my sake, people came to me and collect their goods, because those people were sent to me. And what do you need from me, send it to me, and I, my brother, will not contradict you in anything. And those people came to me, and you, for my sake, let them come to me without obstacles.” And Khalil-bek released all the people to Derbent (southeast of Dagestan near Azerbaijan, southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea) immediately without obstacles, and from Derbent they were sent to the Shirvanshah at his headquarters - koytul.

We went to the Shirvanshah’s headquarters and beat him with our foreheads so that he would favor us rather than reach Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything: they say there are a lot of us. And we parted, crying in all directions: whoever had what was left (of the goods) in Rus', he went to Rus', and whoever had to (pay), he went wherever his eyes looked. And others remained in Shemakha, while others went to Baku (a port city in the southwest of the Caspian Sea, now the capital of Azerbaijan) to work.

June-July 1468

And I went to Derbent (Dagestan), and from Derbent - to Baku (Azerbaijan), where the fire burns unquenchable (oil and gas torches); and from Baku he went overseas (Caspian = Farsian = Khvalynskoe = Khvalisskoe) - to Chapakur (Iran = Persia).

July-December 1468

And I lived in Chapakur for six months (July-December 1468), and in Sari (Soumee-Sera, southern Caspian, northern Iran-Persia?) I lived for a month, in Mazandaran land (Mazandaran is the Caspian region in northern Iran, the center of the Mazandaran region - Amol).

January 1469

And from there he went to Amol (the center of the Mazandaran region, the very south of the Caspian Sea, the north of Iran - Persia) and lived here for a month. And from there I went to Damavand (Demavend is the highest point of the Elbrus ridge, northern Iran - Persia), and from Damavand - to Ray (where is it?). Here they killed Shah Hussein, one of the children of Ali, the grandchildren of Muhammad, and the curse of Muhammad fell on the killers - seventy cities were destroyed.

January - February 1469

From Rey I went to Kashan and lived here for a month, and from Kashan to Nain, and from Nain to Iezd and lived here for a month. And from Yazd I went to Sirjan, and from Sirjan to Tarom, livestock here are fed dates, batman dates are sold for four altyns.

February 1469

And from Tarom he went (1469) to Lar, and from Lar to Bender - that was the Hormuz pier. And here is the Indian Sea, in Persian Daria of Gundustan; It's a four mile walk from here to Hormuz-grad.

February-April 1469

And Gurmyz is on the island, and every day the sea catches him twice a day. (And Hormuz is on an island, and every day the sea attacks it twice - 2 high tides and 2 low tides). And then you took the first Great Day, and you came to Gurmyz four weeks before the Great Day. (Here, outside of Rus', I spent the first Easter (April 1469), and came to Hormuz four weeks before Easter (February-March 1469)).
Because I didn’t write all the cities, there are many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is a sun, it will burn a person. = And that’s why I didn’t name all the cities, because there are still many big cities. The heat of the sun in Hormuz is great, it will burn a person. And I was in Gurmyz for a month, and from Gurmyz I went across the Indian Sea along the Velitsa days (Resurrection of I.Kh.) to Radunitsa (spring pagan holiday of the Slavs, associated with the cult of ancestors - a week after the Resurrection of I.Kh. - approx. 20 -April 28), to tawa with konmi. = I was in Hormuz for a month, and from Hormuz after Easter on the day of Radunitsa (spring pagan holiday of the Eastern Slavs, associated with the cult of ancestors: 1st Sunday after Easter - approx. April 20-28) I went in a tawa with horses across the Indian Sea .

April-May 1469

And we walked by sea to Moshkat for 10 days = And we walked by sea to Muscat for ten days (May 1469), and from Moshkat = Muscat to Deg - four days (May 1470), and from Deg to Kuzryat = and from Deg - to Gujarat, a from Kuzryat to Konbaat = a from Gujarat to Cambay. This is where paint and varnish are born.

May-July 1469

And from Konbat to Chuvil, and from Chuvil we went in the 7th week of Velitsa days (Resurrection of I.Kh.), and we walked in tawa for 6 weeks by sea to Chivil. = From Cambay they sailed to Chaul, and from Chaul they left in the seventh week after Easter (June 1469), and by sea they sailed for six weeks in a tawa to Chaul (until August 1469).

August 1469

And here is the Indian country, and people walk naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, everyone walks with bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. Both men and women are all naked and all black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me - they are amazed at the white man.
The prince there has a veil on his head and another on his hips, and the boyars there have a veil over their shoulder and another on their hips, and the princesses walk with a veil over their shoulder and another veil on their hips. And the servants of the princes and boyars have one veil wrapped around their hips, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, some with darts, others with daggers, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; Yes, everyone is naked, and barefoot, and strong, and they do not shave their hair.
And women walk - their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, their shame is not covered.
And from Chuvil we went dry to Pali for 8 days, to the Indian Mountains. = From Chaul they went overland, walked to Pali for eight days, to the Indian mountains (August 1469).
And from Pali to Umri there are 10 days, and that is an Indian city. = And from Pali to Umri it took ten days, then an Indian city. And from Umri to Chuner there are 7 days. = And from Umri to Junnar is seven days’ journey (August-September 1469).
There is Asatkhan Chunerskya Indian, and the slave is Meliktucharov. = The Indian khan rules here - Asad Khan of Junnar, and he serves Melik-at-Tujar. Melik-at-Tujar gave him troops, they say, seventy thousand. And Melik-at-Tujar has two hundred thousand troops under his command, and he has been fighting the Kafars for twenty years: and they have defeated him more than once, and he has defeated them many times.
Khan As rides people. = Assad Khan rides in public. And he has a lot of elephants, and he has a lot of good horses, and he has a lot of warriors, Khorasans. And horses are brought from the Khorasan land, some from the Arab land, others from the Turkmen land, others from the Chagotai land, and they are all brought by sea in tavs - Indian ships.
And I, a sinner, brought the stallion to the Indian land, and with him I reached Chuner = Junnar, healthy, with God’s help, and he cost me a hundred rubles.

July-August 1469
Their winter began on Trinity Day (now Pentecost - the 50th day after the resurrection of I.Kh. - end of May - beginning of June 1469). I wintered in Chyuner = Junnar, lived here for two months (July-August 1469). Every day and night - for four whole months (June-September 1469) - there was water and mud everywhere. These days they plow and sow wheat, rice, peas, and everything edible.
They make wine from large nuts - they are called Gundustan goats, and mash - from tatna.
Here they feed the horses peas, and cook khichri with sugar and butter, and feed the horses with them, and in the morning they give them hornets. There are no horses in the Indian land; bulls and buffaloes are born in their land - they ride on them, carry goods and carry other things, do everything.

Chyunerey city is on a stone island, not made by anything, created by God. = Junnar-city stands on a stone rock, is not fortified by anything, and is fenced by God. And the path to that mountain is a day, only one person walks at a time: the road is narrow, it is impossible for two to pass.

In Indian land, merchants are settled in farmsteads. The housewives cook for the guests, and the housewives make the bed, and sleep with the guests. Sikish iliresen du shitel beresin, sikish ilimes ek resident bersen, dostur avrat chektur, and sikish mufut (If you have a close connection with her, give two shitels, if you don’t have a close connection, give one shitel. There are many wives here according to the rule of temporary marriage, and then a close connection is for nothing); but they love white people.

In winter (June-July-August) their common people wear a veil on their hips, another on their shoulders, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars then put on ports, a shirt, a caftan, and a veil on their shoulders, gird themselves with another veil, and wrap a third veil around their heads. And this is Olo, Olo abr, Olo ak, Ollo kerem, Ollo ragim (Oh God, great God, true Lord, generous God, merciful God!)!

And in that Chuner = Junnar Khan (Asad Khan of Junnar, serves Melik-at-Tujar) took the stallion from me when he found out that I was not a Besermen, but a Rusyn. And he said: “I will return the stallion, and I will give a thousand gold coins in addition, just convert to our faith - to Muhammaddini. If you don’t convert to our faith, to Muhammaddini, I will take the stallion and a thousand gold coins from your head.” And he set a deadline - four days, on Spasov Day, on the Assumption Fast. Yes, the Lord God took pity on his honest holiday, did not leave me, a sinner, with his mercy, did not allow me to perish in Junnar among the infidels.

On the eve of Spas Day (the day of the Ascension of Christ the Savior into heaven - the 40th day after the Resurrection of Christ = Easter, early June 1469) the treasurer Mohammed, a Khorasanian, arrived, and I beat him with my forehead so that he would work for me. And he went to the city to Asad Khan and asked for me, so that they would not convert me to their faith, and he took my stallion back from the khan. This is the Lord's miracle on Savior Day (the day of the Ascension of Christ the Savior into heaven - the 40th day after the Resurrection of Christ = Easter, early June). And so, Russian Christian brothers, if anyone wants to go to the Indian land, leave your faith in Rus', and, calling Muhammad, go to the Gundustan land.

The Besermen dogs lied to me, they said that there was a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the goods were white for the Besermen land, pepper and paint, then they were cheap. Those who transport oxen overseas do not pay duties. But they won’t let us transport goods without duty. But there are many tolls, and there are many robbers on the sea. The Kafars are robbers; they are not Christians and are not irreligious: they pray to stone fools and know neither Christ nor Muhammad.

August 1469

And from Chuner = Dzhunnar they went to Assumption (August 15/28, 1469) and went to Bidar, their main city. It took a month to reach Bidar, and five days from Bidar to Kulongiri, and five days from Kulongiri to Gulbarga (September-October 1470). Between these large cities there are many other cities, every day three cities passed, and other days four cities: how many kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian miles of 1.067 km) - so many cities.

From Chaul to Junnar there are twenty kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1.067 km), and from Junnar to Bidar - forty kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1.067 km), from Bidar to Kulongiri - nine kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1.067 km), and from Bidar to Gulbarga - nine kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1.067 km).

In Bidar, horses, damask, silk and all other goods and black slaves are sold at the auction, but there are no other goods here. The goods are all Gundustan, and only vegetables are edible, but there are no goods for the Russian land. And here the people are all black, all villains, and the wives are all walking, and sorcerers, and thieves, and deception, and poison, they kill the gentlemen with poison.

In the Indian land, all Khorasans reign, and all the boyars are Khorasans. And the Gundustanians are all on foot and walk in front of the Khorasans, who are on horses; and the rest are all on foot, walking quickly, all naked and barefoot, with a shield in one hand, a sword in the other, and others with large straight bows and arrows. More and more battles are fought on elephants. In front are foot soldiers, behind them are Khorasans in armor on horses, themselves in armor and horses. They tie large forged swords to the heads and tusks of the elephants, each weighing a centar (how much in kg?), and they dress the elephants in damask armor, and turrets are made on the elephants, and in those turrets there are twelve people in armor, and all with guns, yes with arrows.

They have one place, shikhb Aludin pir yatyr bazaar Aladinand. = There is one place here - Aland, where Sheikh Alaeddin (the saint) lies, and a fair. Once a year, the whole Indian country comes to trade at that fair; they trade here for ten days; from Bidar - twelve kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1,067 km). They bring horses here - up to twenty thousand horses - to sell and bring all sorts of goods. In the land of Gundustan, this fair is the best, every product is sold and bought on the days of memory of Sheikh Alaeddin, and in our opinion - on the Intercession of the Holy Virgin (October 1/14).

And there is also a bird called gukuk in that Åland, it flies at night and shouts: “kuk-kuk”; and on whose house she sits, the person will die, and whoever wants to kill her, she lets fire out of his mouth.
Mamons walk at night and grab chickens, and they live on hills or among rocks.
And monkeys live in the forest. They have a monkey prince who goes about with his army. If anyone offends the monkeys, they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against the offender, and when they come to the city, they destroy houses and kill people. And the army of monkeys, they say, is very large, and they have their own language.
They will have many cubs, and if one of them is born as neither the mother nor the father, they are abandoned on the roads. Some Gundustanis select them and teach them all sorts of crafts; and if they sell, it is at night, so that they cannot find their way back, and others are taught to amuse people.

October 1469

Their spring began with the Intercession of the Holy Virgin (October 1/14, 1469). And they celebrate the memory of Sheikh Alaeddin and the beginning of spring two weeks after the Intercession (October 1/14 + 14 = October 15/28, 1469); The holiday lasts eight days. And their spring lasts three months, and summer - three months, and winter - three months, and autumn - three months.

In Bederi their table is for Gundustan of Besermen. = Bidar is the capital city of Gundustan of Besermen. The city is big and there are a lot of people in it. The Sultan is young, twenty years old - the boyars rule, and the Khorasans reign and all the Khorasans fight.

There is a Khorosan meliktuchar boyar, and he has two hundred thousand of his army, and Melikhan has 100 thousand, and Faratkhan has 20 thousand, and many of those khans have 10 thousand army each. = A Khorasan boyar, Melik-at-Tujar, lives here, so he has two hundred thousand of his army, and Melik Khan has one hundred thousand, and Farat Khan has twenty thousand, and many khans have ten thousand troops. And with the Sultan comes three hundred thousand of his troops.

The land is populous, and the rural people are very poor, but the boyars have great power and are very rich. The boyars are carried on silver stretchers, in front of the horses they are led in golden harness, up to twenty horses are led, and behind them are three hundred horsemen, and five hundred foot soldiers, and ten trumpeters, and ten men with drums, and ten dudars.

Saltan goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, and with him there are 10 thousand people on horses, and fifty thousand on foot, and two hundred elephants are brought out, dressed in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred pipe-makers, and a hundred people dancing, and simple horses 300 in gold gear, and behind him a hundred monkeys, and a hundred whores, and all of them are gauroks. = And when the Sultan goes for a walk with his mother and his wife, then he is followed by ten thousand horsemen and fifty thousand foot soldiers, and two hundred elephants are brought out, all in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred trumpeters and a hundred dancers , let them lead three hundred riding horses in golden harness, and a hundred monkeys, and a hundred whores (concubines), they are called gauryks.

There are seven gates leading to the Sultan’s palace, and at the gates sit one hundred guards and one hundred Kaffar scribes. Some write down who goes into the palace, others - who leaves. But the Garips are not allowed into the city. = But strangers are not allowed into the palace. And his courtyard is wonderful, everything is carved and painted in gold, and the last stone is carved and described in gold. = And the Sultan’s palace is very beautiful, there are carvings and gold on the walls, the last stone is very beautifully carved and painted in gold. Yes, there are different courts in his yard. = Yes, in the Sultan’s palace the vessels are different.

The city of Beder is guarded at night by a thousand Kutovalov men, and they ride on horses in armor, and everyone has a light. = At night, the city of Bidar (the capital of Gundustan of Besermen with the palace of the Sultan) is guarded by a thousand guards under the command of a kuttaval, on horses and in armor, and each holding a torch.

I sold my stallion in Bidar (the capital of Gundustan of Besermen with the Sultan's palace). I spent sixty-eight feet on him and fed him for a year. In Bidar, snakes crawl along the streets, two fathoms long. I returned to Bidar from Kulongiri for the Filippov Fast (also known as the Nativity Fast, November 28, 1469 – January 6, 1470), and sold my stallion for Christmas (December 25/January 7, 1469).

January-March 1470

And I lived here, in Beder = Bidar, until Lent (until February-March 1470, V. fast begins 40 days before the Resurrection of I.H. = Easter; V. fast in 2012: February 27 - April 14) and from met many Indians. I revealed my faith to them, said that I am not a Besermen, but a Christian (of the Jesus faith), and my name is Athanasius, and my Besermen name is Khoja Yusuf Khorasani (host Isuf Khorasani). And the Hindus did not hide anything from me, neither about their food, nor about trade, nor about prayers, nor about other things, and they did not hide their wives in the house.
I asked them about faith, and they told me: we believe in Adam, and the Buti (Buddha), they say, are Adam and his entire race.
And all the faiths in India are eighty and four faiths, and everyone believes in Buta (Buddha). But people of different faiths do not drink with each other, do not eat, and do not marry. Some of them eat lamb, chickens, fish, and eggs, but no one eats beef.
I stayed in Bidar (the capital of Gundustan of the Besermen with the palace of the Sultan) for four months and agreed with the Hindus to go to Parvat, where they have a butkhana - that is their Jerusalem, the same as Mecca for the Besermen. I walked with the Indians until Butkhana for a month. And at that butkhana there is a fair that lasts five days. The butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata) is large, from half of Tver, stone, and the deeds of the buta (Buddha) are carved in stone. Twelve crowns are carved around the butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata) - how the but (Buddha) performed miracles, how he appeared in different images:
the first - in the form of a man,
the second is a man, but with an elephant trunk,
the third is a man, and the face is a monkey,
the fourth - half man, half fierce beast, appeared with a tail. And it is carved on a stone, and the tail, about a fathom long, is thrown over it.
For the festival of Buta (Buddha), the entire Indian country comes to that Butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata). Yes, at the butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Bidar), old and young, women and girls shave. And they shave off all their hair, shave both their beards and their heads. And they go to butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata). From each head they take two sheshkens for the buta (Buddha), and from the horses - four feet. And a total of twenty thousand lakh people come to Butkhana (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata), and sometimes even one hundred thousand lakh.
In the buthan (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvata), the but (Buddha) is carved out of black stone, huge, and his tail is thrown over it, and his right hand is raised high and extended, like Justinian, the king of Constantinople, and in his left hand the but (Buddha) ) a spear. He is wearing nothing, only a bandage is wrapped around his hips, and his face is like a monkey. And other buts (buddhas) are completely naked, they don’t have anything on (their shame is not covered), and the buts’ wives are cut out naked, with shame and with children. And in front of the but (Buddha) there is a huge bull, carved from black stone and all gilded. And they kiss his hoof and sprinkle flowers on him. And flowers are sprinkled on the buta (Buddha).
Hindus do not eat any meat, neither beef, nor lamb, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, although they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice during the day, but at night they don’t eat, and they don’t drink either wine or food (what is that?). And they don’t drink or eat with besermen. And their food is bad. And they don’t drink or eat with each other, not even with their wife. And they eat rice, and khichri with butter, and they eat various herbs, and they boil them with butter and with milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they do not take anything with their left. They don't know a knife or a spoon. And on the way, to cook porridge, everyone carries a bowler hat. And they turn away from the besermen: none of them would look into the pot or at the food. And if the Besermen looks, they don’t eat that food. That’s why they eat covered with a scarf so that no one can see.
And they (Hindu-Buddhists) pray to the east, like Russians. Both hands will be raised high and placed on the crown of the head, and they will lie prostrate on the ground, all stretched out on the ground - then they bow.
And they sit down to eat, wash their hands, feet, and rinse their mouths. Their buthans (the dwellings of Hindu Buddhists in the likeness of the Buddha’s dwelling) are without doors, facing east, and butas (buddha statues) face east.
And whoever they (Hindu-Buddhists) dies is burned and the ashes are thrown into the river. And when the child is born, the husband accepts it, and the father gives the name to the son, and the mother to the daughter. They have no good morals and know no shame. And when someone comes or leaves, he bows like a monk, touches the ground with both hands, and everything is silent.

They go to the First One about a great conspiracy, to their butu. = To Parvat (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvat), to their butu (Buddha), they go for Lent. Here is their Jerusalem; What is Mecca for the Besermen, Jerusalem for the Russians, and Parvat for the Hindus (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvat). And they all come naked, only a bandage on their hips, and the women are all naked, only a veil on their hips, and the others are all in veils, and there are a lot of pearls on their necks, and yahonts, and gold bracelets and rings on their hands. Ollo oak! (By God!) And inside, to the butkhana (house-temple of the Buddha), they ride on bulls, the horns of each bull are shod with copper, and on the neck there are three hundred bells and the hooves are shod with copper. And they (Hindu-Buddhists) call bulls achche.
Hindus call the ox the father and the cow the mother. They bake bread and cook food with their droppings, and with that ash they make marks on the face, on the forehead and all over the body. On Sunday and Monday they eat once a day.

In Yndey, as a checktur, I learn: you cut or irsen and live; akichany ila atarsyn alty zhetel take; bulara dostur. A kul koravash uchuz char funa hub, bem funa hube sia; kapkara amchyuk kichi want. (In India, there are a lot of walking women, and therefore they are cheap: if you have a close connection with her, give two residents; if you want to waste your money, give six residents. That’s how it is in these places. And slave-concubines are cheap: 4 pounds - good, 6 pounds - good and black, black-black amchyuk small, good.)

March-April 1470

From Parvat (Indian Buddhist Jerusalem in Parvat) I arrived in Beder = Bidar fifteen days before the Besermen Ulu Bayram (March-April 1470). And I don’t know when Easter, the feast of the resurrection of Christ, is; I’m guessing by signs - Easter comes nine or ten days earlier than Besermen Bayram. But I have nothing with me, not a single book; I took the books with me to Rus', but when I was robbed, the books disappeared, and I did not observe the rituals of the Christian faith. I don’t observe Christian holidays - neither Easter nor the Nativity of Christ, I don’t fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and in between I am ver tangyrydan and stirrup Ol saklasyn: “Ollo bad, Ollo aky, Ollo you, Ollo aqber, Ollo ragym, Ollo kerim, Ollo ragym ello, Ollo karim ello, tangresen, khodosensen. There is one God, the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth.” (And living among the non-believers, I pray to God, may he save me: “Lord God, true God, you are God, great God, merciful God, merciful God, most merciful and most merciful you are, Lord God. There is only one God, then the king of glory, the creator of heaven and land").

April 1470

And I’m going to Rus', ketmyshtyr name, uruch tuttym (with the thought: my faith perished, I fasted with the Besermen fast). The month of March (1470) passed, I began fasting with the Besermen on Sunday, fasted for a month, did not eat meat, did not eat anything modest, did not take any Besermen food, but ate bread and water twice a day (I did not lie with a woman). And I prayed to Christ Almighty, who created heaven and earth, and did not call on another god by name, God Ollo, God Kerim. God is ragim, God is bad. God aber (Lord God, merciful God, merciful God, Lord God, great God), God the king of glory, Ollo varenno, Ollo ragim elno sensen Ollo you. (God the king of glory, God the creator, God the most merciful - it’s all you, oh Lord).

From Hormuz (Ormuz Island - in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, Iran, Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea) by sea to Qalhat (Oman, Ash-Sharqiyah) ten days, and from Qalhat to Deg (?) - six days and from Deg to Muscat (the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman, the main city of Mintaki (government) Muscat, a port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman) - six days, and from Muscat to Gujarat (a state in western India, the capital - Gandhinagar, the largest city is Ahmedabad) - ten days, from Gujarat to Cambay (a city in India on the coast of the Arabian Sea, Gujarat state) - four days, and from Cambay to Chaul (?) - twelve days, and from Chaul to Dabhol ( India, about 170 km south of Bombay) - six days. Dabhol in Hindustan is the last pier of Besermen.

And from Dabyl = (Dabhol, India, approx. 170 km south of Bombay) to Kelekot = (Kozhikode, also known as Calicut - a city on the Malabar coast in the Indian state of Kerala) - twenty-five days of travel, and from Kelekot = Kozhikode to Silyan = Ceylon (aka Sri Lanka, native Singhala - a large island in the Indian Ocean, a crown colony of Great Britain, to the southeast of the Hindustan peninsula) - fifteen days, and from Silyan = Ceylon to Shabbat (Sandoway, Shabbat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh) - a month to go, and from Shabbat to Pevgu = Pegu (a city in the south of Myanmar) - twenty days, and from Pevgu = Pegu to Chini and to Machin = South China a month go, by sea all that walking (a month to go - by sea all that way).

And from Chini (modern China) to Kitaa (Russian Volga region) it takes 6 months to travel by land, and 4 days to travel by sea, arast is a long way (may God build a roof over my head).

Hormuz (Ormuz Island - in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf) - a large pier, people come here from all over the world, all sorts of goods are available here; whatever is born in the whole world, everything is in Hormuz. The duty is large: they take a tenth of every product.

Cambay (a city in India on the coast of the Arabian Sea, Gujarat state) is the harbor of the entire Indian Sea. Here they make alachi, motleys, and kindyaks for sale, and they make blue paint here, and varnish, and carnelian, and salt will be born here.

Dabyl = Dabhol (India, about 170 km south of Bombay) - also a very large pier, horses are brought here from Egypt, from Arabia, from Khorasan, from Turkestan, from Ben der Hormuz; From here they go by land to Bidar (a city in South India, Karnataka state, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the Bahmani state) and to Gul-barga (Tajikistan?) for a month.

And Kelekota = Kozhikode (aka Calicut - a city on the Malabar coast in the Indian state of Kerala) - the harbor of the entire Indian Sea. God forbid any ship to pass by it: whoever lets it pass will not pass safely further along the sea. And pepper, and ginger, and nutmeg flowers, and nutmeg, and calanfur - cinnamon, and cloves, spicy roots, and adriak, and a lot of all kinds of roots will be born there. And everything is cheap here. (And male and female slaves are numerous, good and black.)

And Silana = Ceylon (aka Sri Lanka, native Singhala - a large island in the Indian Ocean, a crown colony of Great Britain, to the southeast of the Hindustan peninsula) - a considerable pier on the Indian Sea, and there lies on a high mountain forefather Adam. And near the mountain they mine precious stones: rubies, fatis, agates, binchai, crystal, and sumbadu. Elephants are born there, and they are priced according to their height, and cloves are sold by weight.

And the Shabat pier (Sandoway town, Shabat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh) on the Indian Sea is very large. Khorasans are paid there a salary of tenka per day, both large and small. And when a Khorasanian marries, the prince of Shabat gives him a thousand teneks for sacrifice and a salary of fifty teneks every month. On Shabbat, silk, sandalwood, and pearls will be born - and everything is cheap.

And Pegu (a city in the south of Myanmar) is also a big port. Indian dervishes live there, and precious stones are born there: manik, yes yakhont, and kirpuk, and the dervishes sell those stones.

But the Chinskoye and Machinskoye shelter is great, and they do repairs in it, but they sell the repairs by weight, but cheaply. = The Chinese pier is very large. They make porcelain there and sell it by weight, cheaply. And their wives and their husbands sleep during the day, and at night their wives go to bed with the garip and sleep with the garip, and give them alaf, and bring with them sugar food and sugar wine, and feed and give water to the guests, so that they love her, but they love guests of white people, and their people are black velmi.= And their wives with their husbands sleep during the day, and at night they go to visiting strangers and sleep with them, and they give the strangers money for their maintenance, and bring with them sweet dishes and sweet wine, Yes, they feed and water merchants so that they are loved, and they love merchants, white people, because the people of their country are very black. And whose wives conceive a child from a guest, and the husbands give the alaf; and a white child will be born, otherwise the guest will pay a fee of 300 teneks, and a black child will be born, otherwise there will be nothing for him, what he drank and ate is free for him. = If a wife conceives a child from a merchant, then the husband gives the merchant money for maintenance. If a white child is born, then the merchant is paid three hundred teneks, and a black child is born, then the merchant is not paid anything, and whatever he drank and ate was halal (free according to their custom).

Shabbat (Sandoway city, Shabbat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh) from Bidar (a city in South India, Karnataka state, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century was the capital of the Bahmani state) in three months paths; and from Dabhol (India, about 170 km south of Bombay) to Shabbat it takes two months to go by sea, and to South China from Bidar it takes four months to go by sea, they make porcelain there, and everything is cheap. And it takes two months to get to Silyan = Ceylon by sea, and a month to go to Kozhikode.

On Shabbat (Sandoway, Shabbat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh) silk, inchi - ray pearls, and sandalwood will be born; Elephants are priced according to their height.

In Silyan = Ceylon (aka Sri Lanka, native Singhala - a large island in the Indian Ocean, a crown colony of Great Britain, to the southeast of the Hindustan peninsula) ammons, rubies, fatis, and crystal will be born. agates

In Lekote = Kozhikode (aka Calicut - a city on the Malabar coast in the Indian state of Kerala) pepper, nutmeg, cloves, fufal fruit, and nutmeg flowers will be born.

In Kuzrat = Gujarat (a state in western India, the capital is Gandhinagar, the largest city is Ahmedabad) paint and varnish are born, and in Cambay (a city in India on the coast of the Arabian Sea, the state of Gujarat) - carnelian.

In Rachur = Raichur (India, Karnataka state, administrative center of the district) birthstone diamonds and new diamonds (old mine and new mine) will be born. Diamonds are sold for five rubles per kidney, and very good ones for ten rubles. The bud of a diamond from a new mine is more than a kenya, but this charm is a sheshe kenya, and a sipit is ek tenka (five kenya each, a black one - four to six kenya each, and a white diamond - one tenka). Diamonds are born in a mountain of stone, and they pay for the cubit of that mountain of stone: a new mine - two thousand pounds of gold, and an old mine - ten thousand pounds. And Melik Khan owns that land and serves the Sultan. And from Bidar (a city in South India, Karnataka state, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the Bahmani state) - thirty kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian miles of 1,067 km).

And what the Jews say that the inhabitants of Shabbat (Sandoway, Shabbat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh) are of their faith (Jewish), then it is not true: they are not Jews, not demons, not Christians, other They have an Indian faith; they don’t drink or eat with Jews or Besermen, and they don’t eat any meat. Everything is cheap on Shabbat. Silk and sugar will be produced there, and everything is very cheap. They have mamons and monkeys walking through the forest, and they attack people on the roads, so because of the mamons and monkeys they don’t dare drive on the roads at night.

From Shabbat (Sandoway, Shabbat pier, Bay of Bengal, Arakan national region, bordering Bangladesh), it is a ten-month journey by land, and four months by sea. Domestic deer's navels are cut - musk will be born in them, and wild deer's navels are dropped across the field and through the forest, but they lose their smell, and the musk is not fresh.

On the first day of the month of May (May 1471), I celebrated Easter in Hindustan, in Bidar Besermen (a city in South India, Karnataka, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century was the capital of the state of Bahmani), and Besermen celebrated Bayram in the middle of the month; and I began to fast in the month of April on the first day (April 1471).

O faithful Russian Christians! He who sails across many lands gets into many troubles and loses his Christian faith. I, God’s servant Athanasius, have suffered according to the Christian faith.

Four Great Lents have already passed and four Easters have passed (1468, 1469, 1470, 1471), and I, a sinner, do not know when Easter or Lent is, I do not observe the Nativity of Christ, I do not observe other holidays, I do not observe Wednesday or Friday: I don't have any books. When I was robbed, they took my books. And because of many troubles, I went to India, because I had nothing to go to Rus' with, I had no goods left.

The first Great Day = the First Easter (April-May 1468) I celebrated in Cain, and the other Easter (April-May 1469) in Chapakur (a city on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, Persia = Iran) in Mazandaran land, the third Easter (April -May 1470) - in Hormuz (the island of Hormuz - in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf), the fourth Easter (April-May 1471) - in India, among the Besermen, in Bidar (a city in South India, Karnataka state, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the state of Bahmani), and here I grieved a lot because of the Christian faith.

Besermenin is Melik (Melik Khan = Melik-at-Tujar, Besermenin, serves the 20-year-old sultan, has a hundred thousand army, owns land in Ceylon, in Raichur with diamond mines, took 2 Indian cities that were plundered on the Indian Sea, 7 captured the princes and took their treasury) strongly forced me to accept the Besermen faith. I told him: “Mister! You namaz kalarsen, men da namaz kilarmen; you beg namaz kylarsiz, men da 3 kalarmen; men garip, and sen inchay (you say a prayer and I also say a prayer. You say a prayer five times, I say three times. I am a foreigner, and you are from here).” He tells me: “It is truly clear that you are not a Germanic, but you also do not observe Christian customs.” And I thought deeply and said to myself: “Woe to me, wretched one, I have lost my way from the true path and I no longer know which path I will take. Lord, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth! Do not turn your face away from your servant, for I am in sorrow. God! Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am your creation; Lord, do not let me turn away from the true path, guide me, Lord, on the right path, for in need I was not virtuous before you, my Lord God, I lived all my days in evil. My Lord, Ollo the first diger, Ollo you, karim Ollo, ragim Ollo, karim Ollo, ragim ello; ahamdulimo (Lord is my patron god, you, God, the merciful Lord, the merciful Lord, the merciful and the merciful. Praise be to God). Four Easters have already passed since I was in the land of Besermen, and I have not left Christianity. God knows what will happen next. My God, I trusted in you, save me, my Lord God.”

In Bidar the Great (a city in South India, the state of Karnataka, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the state of Bahmani), in Besermen India, on the Great Night of the Great Day (April 1471) I watched Volosyn da Kola (Pleiades and Orion) entered at dawn, and the Elk (Ursa Major) stood with its head to the east.

On the Bagryam (Bayram) of Besermen (May 1471), the Sultan went to Teferich (the Sultan made a ceremonial departure): with him - 20 great vozyrs (twenty great viziers) and three hundred elephants dressed in damask armor and from towns (with turrets), and and the turrets are chained. In the turrets there were six people in armor with cannons and arquebuses, and on large elephants there were twelve people. And on each elephant there are two great fighters (large banners), and large swords weighing a centar are tied to the tusks, and on the neck there are huge iron weights (bells, bells?). And between his ears sits a man in armor with a large iron hook - he uses it to guide the elephant. Yes, a thousand riding horses in golden harness, and a hundred camels with nagars (with drums), and three hundred trumpeters, and three hundred dancers, and three hundred carpets (concubines). The Sultan wears a caftan all decorated with yakhonts, and a cone hat with a huge diamond, and a golden saadak with yakhonts, and three sabers on it, all in gold, and a golden saddle, and a golden harness, all in gold. In front of him the infidel is running, skipping, leading the tower, and behind him are many foot soldiers. Behind him is a good (evil, mad) elephant, all dressed up in damask, driving away people, a large iron chain in his trunk, driving away horses and people with it so that they don’t come close to the Sultan.
And the Sultan’s brother sits on a golden stretcher, above him is an oxamiten tower (a velvet canopy), and a golden crown with yachts, and twenty people carry him.
And the makhdum sits on a golden stretcher, and above him there is a silk canopy with a golden crown, and he is carried by four horses in golden harness. Yes, there are a great many people around him, and singers walk in front of him and there are many dancers; and all - with naked swords and sabers, with shields, darts and spears, with large straight bows. And the horses are all in armor, with saadaks. And the rest of the people are all naked, only a bandage is on their hips, their shame is covered.

In Bidar (a city in South India, Karnataka state, from 1429 to the end of the 15th century it was the capital of the Bahmani state) the full moon lasts for three days. There is no sweet vegetable in Bidar.

There is no great heat in Hindustan. It is very hot in Hormuz (the island of Hormuz is in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf) and in Bahrain, where pearls are born, and in Jeddah, and in Baku, and in Egypt, and in Arabia, and in Lara.

But in the land of Khorasan (the northwestern part of modern Iran with the adjacent territories of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan) it is hot, but not so hot. It is very hot in Chagotai. It’s hot in Shiraz, Yazd, and Kashan, but there is wind there. And in Gilan it is very stuffy and steamy, and in Shamakhi it is steamy; It’s hot in Baghdad, and it’s hot in Khums and Damascus, but it’s not so hot in Aleppo.

In Sevastia Guba = Sivas Guba (Sivash?) and in Gurzynskaya = Georgian land there is everything in abundance.

And Turskaya = Turkish land is abundant in everything.

And Voloska = Moldavian land is abundant, and everything edible is cheap there.

And the Podolsk land is abundant in everything.

And Rus er tangrid saklasyn; Ollo sakla, Khudo sakla! Bu daniada munu kibit er ektur; nechik Urus eri beglyari akoi tugil; Urus er abodan bolsyn; Rast kam gives. Ollo, Khudo, God, Danyir (And may God save Rus'! God save it! Lord save it! There is no country like it in this world, although the emirs of the Russian land are unjust. May the Russian land be established and may there be justice in it! God, God, God, God!).

Oh my God! I trusted in you, save me, Lord! I don’t know the way - where should I go from Hindustan: to go to Hormuz - there is no way from Hormuz to Khorasan, and there is no way to Chagotai, there is no way to Baghdad, there is no way to Bahrain, there is no way to Yazd, there is no way to Arabia . Everywhere the strife knocked out princes.
Mirza Jehan Shah was killed by Uzun Hasan-bek, and Sultan Abu Said was poisoned, Uzun Hasan-bek Shiraz subjugated, but that land did not recognize him, and Muhammad Yadigar does not go to him: he is afraid. There is no other way.

To go to Mecca means to accept the Besermen faith. That is why, for the sake of faith, Christians do not go to Mecca: there they convert to the Besermen faith.

But to live in Hindustan means to spend a lot of money, because here everything is expensive: I’m one person, and food costs two and a half altyns a day, although I haven’t had a drink of wine or been full.

Melik-at-Tujar (Melik-khan = Melik-at-Tujar, Besermen, serves the 20-year-old sultan, has one hundred thousand troops, owns land in Ceylon, in Raichur with diamond mines, took 2 Indian cities that were plundered on the Indian Sea , captured 7 princes and took their treasury) took two Indian cities that were plundering on the Indian Sea. He captured seven princes and took their treasury: a load of yachts, a load of diamonds, rubies, and a hundred loads of expensive goods, and his army took countless other goods. He stood near the city for two years (1471-1473), and with him there were two hundred thousand army, one hundred elephants, and three hundred camels.

Melik-at-Tujar returned to Bidar with his army on Kurban Bayram, or in our opinion - on Peter’s Day (June 29, 1471). And the Sultan sent ten viziers to meet him ten kovas (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1,067 km), and in a kova - ten versts, and with each vizier he sent ten thousand of his army and ten elephants in armor.

At Melik-at-Tujar, five hundred people sit down to a meal every day. Three viziers sit down with him for a meal, and with each vizier - fifty people, and another hundred of his neighbor boyars. In the stable of Melik-at-Tujar there are two thousand horses and a thousand saddled horses kept ready day and night, and a hundred elephants in the stable. And every night his palace is guarded by a hundred men in armor, and twenty trumpeters, and ten men with drums, and ten large tambourines - beaten by two men each.

August-October 1471

Nizam-al-mulk, Melik Khan and Fathullah Khan took three large cities. And with them there were a hundred thousand men and fifty elephants. And they captured countless yachts, and many other precious stones. And all those stones, yachts, and diamonds were bought on behalf of Melik-at-Tujar, and he forbade the craftsmen to sell them to the merchants who came to Bidar on the Dormition (end of August 1471).

The Sultan goes for a walk on Thursday and Tuesday, and three viziers go with him.

The Sultan's brother leaves on Monday with his mother and sister. And two thousand wives ride out on horses and on gilded stretchers, and in front of them are a hundred riding horses in golden armor. Yes, there are many foot soldiers, two viziers and ten viziers, and fifty elephants in cloth blankets. And on the elephants sit four naked people, only a bandage on their hips. And the women on foot are naked, they carry water for them to drink and wash, but one does not drink water from the other.

October 1471

Melik-at-Tujar with his army set out from the city of Bidar against the Hindus on the day of remembrance of Sheikh Alaeddin, or in our opinion - on the Intercession of the Holy Virgin (October 1471), and his army came out with fifty thousand, and the Sultan sent his army fifty thousand, let three viziers go with them and with them another thirty thousand soldiers. And a hundred elephants in armor and with turrets went with them, and on each elephant there were four men with arquebuses. Melik-at-Tujar went to conquer Vijayanagar, the great Indian principality.

And the prince of Vijayanagar has three hundred elephants and a hundred thousand troops, and his horses are fifty thousand.

November-December 1471

The Sultan set out from the city of Bidar in the eighth month after Easter (November-December 1471). Twenty-six viziers went with him: twenty Besermen viziers and six Indian viziers. The army of one hundred thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, three hundred elephants in armor and with turrets, and one hundred fierce beasts on double chains marched out with the Sultan of his court.

And with the Sultan’s brother, a hundred thousand horsemen, a hundred thousand foot soldiers, and a hundred elephants in armor came out to his court.
And with Mal-khan came twenty thousand cavalry, sixty thousand foot, and twenty armored elephants.
And with Beder Khan and his brother came thirty thousand cavalry, one hundred thousand foot, and twenty-five elephants in armor and with turrets.
And with Sul Khan came ten thousand horsemen, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and ten elephants with turrets.
And with Vezir Khan came fifteen thousand horsemen, thirty thousand foot soldiers, and fifteen armored elephants.
And with Kutuval Khan, fifteen thousand horsemen, forty thousand foot soldiers, and ten elephants came out to his court.
And with each vizier there came out ten thousand, and with some even fifteen thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers.

With the prince of Vijayanagar came his army of forty thousand cavalry, and one hundred thousand foot soldiers and forty elephants, dressed in armor, and on them four people with arquebuses.
And with the Sultan came twenty-six viziers, and with each vizier - ten thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and with another vizier - fifteen thousand horsemen and thirty thousand foot soldiers.
And there were four great Indian viziers, and with them came an army of forty thousand cavalry and one hundred thousand foot soldiers. And the Sultan was angry with the Hindus because few people came out with them, and he added twenty thousand more foot soldiers, two thousand horsemen, and twenty elephants. Such is the power of the Indian Sultan, Besermensky. (Muhammad's faith is good.) And the rise of days is bad, but God knows the right faith. And the right faith is to know one God and to call upon his name in every clean place.

April-August 1472

On the fifth Great Day = the fifth Easter (April 10, 1472, the beginning of the Ramadan fast was on January 20) I decided to go to Rus'. He left Bidar a month (i.e., in July 1472) before the Besermen ulu Bayram (August 1472) Mamet deni rozsulal (according to the faith of Muhammad, the messenger of God). And when Easter, the resurrection of Christ, I don’t know, I fasted with the Besermen during their fast, broke my fast with them, and celebrated Easter in Gulbarga, ten kovas from Bidar (1 kova = 10 Russian versts of 1,067 km).

September 1472

The Sultan came to Gulbarga with Melik-at-Tujar and his army on the fifteenth day after Ulu Bayram (September 1472). They did not succeed in the war - they took one Indian city (the city of Belgaon was besieged and taken in 1473), but many people died and they spent a lot of treasury.
But the Indian Grand Duke is powerful and has a large army. His fortress is on a mountain, and his capital city Vijayanagar is very large. The city has three moats, and a river flows through it. On one side of the city there is a dense jungle, and on the other side there is a valley - an amazing place, suitable for everything. That side is not passable - the path goes through the city; The city cannot be taken from any direction: there is a huge mountain there and an evil, thorny thicket. The army stood under the city for a month (an unsuccessful siege of the city of Vijayanagar), and people died of thirst, and a lot of people died of hunger and thirst. We looked at the water, but didn’t go near it.

Khoja Melik-at-Tujar took another Indian city, took it by force, fought with the city day and night, for twenty days the army neither drank nor ate, stood under the city with guns. And his army killed five thousand of the best warriors. And he took the city - they slaughtered twenty thousand males and females, and twenty thousand - both adults and children - were taken captive. They sold prisoners for ten tenki per head, some for five, and children for two tenki. They didn’t take the treasury at all. And he did not take the capital city.

From Gulbarga (a city in South India in the northeast of Karnataka, on the Deccan plateau) I went to Kallur (?). Carnelian is born in Kallur, and here it is processed, and from here it is transported all over the world. Three hundred diamond workers live in Kallur (they decorate their weapons). I stayed here for five months and went from there to Koilkonda. The market there is very big.

And from there he went to Gulbarga, and from Gulbarga to Aland.

And from Aland he went to Amendriye, and from Amendriye - to Naryas, and from Naryas - to Suri, and from Suri he went to Dabhol - the pier of the Indian Sea.

January 1473

The large city of Dabhol - people come here from both the Indian and Ethiopian coasts. Here I, accursed Athanasius, slave of the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth, thought about the Christian faith, and about Christ’s baptism, about the fasts established by the holy fathers, about the apostolic commandments, and I set my mind on going to Rus'. He entered the tawa and agreed on the ship's payment - from his head to Hormuz-city (Ormuz Island - in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, Iran, Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea) two gold dal. I sailed by ship from Dabhol-grad to the Besermen post, three months before Easter (January 1473).

January-February 1473

I sailed in the sea on the sea for a whole month (until February 1473), without seeing anything. And the next month (February 1473) I saw the Ethiopian mountains (Africa, Somalia, the Arabian Sea), and all the people cried out: “Ollo pervodiger, ollo konkar, bizim bashi mudna nasin bolmyshti,” and in Russian this means: “God, Lord “O God, God Most High, King of Heaven, here you have destined us to perish!” We were in that land of Ethiopia (Africa, Somalia, Arabian Sea) for five days. By the grace of God, no evil happened. They distributed a lot of rice, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians. And they didn’t rob the ship.

March-May 1473

And from there it took twelve days to Muscat (Oman, Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea). In Muscat I celebrated the sixth Easter (April 1473).

It took nine days to reach Hormuz (the island of Hormuz - in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea), but it was twenty days in Hormuz. And from Hormuz he went to Lar, and was in Lar for three days.

It took twelve days from Lar to Shiraz, and seven days in Shiraz. From Shiraz I went to Eberka, I walked for fifteen days, and it was ten days to Eberka.

It took nine days from Eberku to Yazd, and eight days in Yazd (about 230 km southeast of Isfahan, the center of Persia - Iran).

And from Yazd I went to Isfahan (the center of Persia - Iran), walked for five days, and was in Isfahan (the center of Persia - Iran) for six days.

And from Isfahan (the center of Persia - Iran) I went to Kashan, and I spent five days in Kashan.

August-September 1473

And from Kashan he went to Qom, and from Qom to Save. And from Save he went to Soltaniya, and from Soltaniya he went to Tabriz, and from Tabriz he went to the headquarters of Uzun Hasan-bek (August-September 1473). He was at headquarters for ten days, because there was no way anywhere.
Uzun Hasan-bek sent forty thousand troops to his court against the Turkish Sultan. They took Sivas. And they took Tokat and burned it, and they took Amasia, and plundered many villages, and went to war against the Karaman ruler.

And from Uzun Hasan Bey’s headquarters I went to Erzincan, and from Erzincan I went to Trabzon.

October 1473

He came to Trabzon for the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary (October 1473) and was in Trabzon for five days. I came to the ship and agreed on payment - to give gold from my head to Kafa, and for grub I borrowed gold - to give it to Kafa.
And in that Trabzon the subashi and pasha did me a lot of harm. Everyone ordered me to bring my property to their fortress, to the mountain, and they searched everything. And what little good things there were, they robbed them all. And they were looking for letters, because I was coming from Uzun Hasan-bey’s headquarters.

By the grace of God I reached the third sea - the Black Sea, which in Parsi (in Persian) is Darya of Istanbul. We sailed by sea for ten days with a fair wind and reached Bona, and then a strong north wind met us and drove the ship back to Trabzon. Because of a strong headwind, we stood in Platan for fifteen days. We went out to sea from Platana twice, but the wind blew against us and did not allow us to cross the sea. Ollo ak, Ollo Khudo first digger! (True God, patron God!) I don’t know the development of that other God (Besides him, I don’t know any other god).

November 1473

We crossed the (Black) Sea and brought us to Balaklava, and from there we went to Gurzuf, and we stood there for five days. By the grace of God, I came to Kafa (Crimea, Feodosia) nine days before the Philippian fast (November 19, 1473, since this fast lasts November 28 - January 6). Ollo first digger! (God is the creator!)

By the grace of God I crossed three seas (Caspian, Arabian, Indian Ocean, Black). Diger Khudo dono, Ollo pervodiger given. (God knows the rest, God the patron knows.) Amen! Smilna rahmam ragim. Ollo akbir, akshi Khudo, ilello aksh Khodo. Isa ruhoalo, aaliqsolom. Ollo Akber. And iliagail ilello. Ollo the first digger. Ahamdu lillo, shukur Khudo afatad. Bismilnagi rahmam rragim. Huvo mogu go, la lasailla guiya alimul gyaibi va shagaditi. Fuck Rakhman Rahim, fuck I can lie. Lyailyaga il Lyakhuya. Almelik, alakudos, asalom, almumin, almugamine, alazizu, alchebar, almutakanbiru, alkhaliku, albariyuu, almusaviru, alkafaru, alkalhar, alvazahu, alryazaku, alfatag, alalimu, alkabizu, albasut, alhafiz, allrraviya, almavizu, almuzil, alsemi lyu, albasir, alakamu, aladulya, alyatufu. (In the name of the merciful, merciful Lord. The Lord is great, the good God, the good Lord. Jesus the spirit of God, peace be with you. God is great. There is no god but the Lord. The Lord is the Provider. Praise be to the Lord, thanks be to the all-conquering God. In the name of the merciful, merciful God. He is the god besides whom there is no god, the knower of everything hidden and manifest. He is merciful, merciful. He has no like. There is no god but the Lord. He is the king, holiness, peace, guardian, appraiser of good and evil, omnipotent, healing, exalting , creator, creator, imager, he is the absolver of sins, the punisher, the resolver of all difficulties, the nourisher, the victorious, the omniscient, the punishing, the corrective, the preserving, the exalting, the forgiving, the overthrowing, the all-hearing, all-seeing, right, just, good.)

(http://www.bibliotekar.ru/rus/6.htm). Persia (Iran) - India.
For prayer... Afonasy Mikitin's son. - The patronymic ("last name") of the author of "Walking the Three Seas" is mentioned only in the initial phrase of the monument, filled in in the edition according to the Trinity list (it is not in the chronicle).
...Derbenskoe Sea, Doria Khvalitskaa... - Caspian Sea; Daria (pers.) - sea.
...the Indian Sea, the Gundustan region... - Indian Ocean.
...Doria Stebolskaya. - The Black Sea is also called Stebolsky (Istanbul) after the Greek folk and Turkish name of Constantinople - Istimpoli, Istanbul.
...from the Holy Golden-Domed Savior... - The Main Cathedral of Tver (XII century), according to which the Tver land was often called the “house of the Holy Savior”.
...Kolyazin Monastery to the Holy Trinity... Boris and Gleb. - The Trinity Monastery in the Tver city of Kalyazin on the Volga was founded by Abbot Macarius, mentioned by Nikitin; The Church of Boris and Gleb was located in the Makaryevsky Trinity Monastery.
...to Uglech - Uglich, the city and inheritance of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
...came... to Kostroma to see Prince Alexander... - Kostroma on the Volga was one of the direct possessions of the Grand Duke of Moscow.
...on the ezu... - Ez (stab) - a wooden fence on the river for fishing.
...thesis... - This is what merchants from Iran were usually called.
...kaitaks came... - Kaitak is a mountainous region in Dagestan.
...to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable... - We are probably talking about flames in places where oil and gases come out or about a temple of fire worshipers.
And she was killed by Shausen... - On the days of remembrance of Imam Hussein (who died in Mesopotamia in the 7th century), the participants in the procession exclaim: “Shahsey!” Wahsey!′ (Shah Hussein! Wah Hussein!): these days are celebrated by Shiites at the beginning of the year according to the Muslim lunar calendar (in 1469, Oshur Bayram fell at the end of June - beginning of July). The desolation of the Rhea district is associated with the wars of the 13th century.
...batman for 4 altyns... - Batman (pers.) - a measure of weight that reached several pounds; altyn - a monetary unit of account that contained six money.
...and every day you can catch it in the sea twice a day... - Sea tides in the Persian Gulf are semi-diurnal.
And then you took the first Great Day... - From the further presentation it follows that in Hormuz Nikitin celebrated the third Easter outside Rus'.
...to Radunitsa. - Radunitsa is the ninth day after Easter.
...and tavu, with konmi. - Tava (Marathi daba) - a sailing ship without an upper deck. The massive import of horses to India was carried out to replenish the cavalry and the needs of the local nobility for many centuries.
...paint and lek. - We are talking about blue indigo paint (cf. below “yes, they fix nil paint”) and the preparation of varnish.
...a photo is on the head, and another is on the guzn... - The traveler talks about the turban (Persian photo) and dhoti (Indian), which, like women's clothing, saris, were made from unstitched fabric.
...kafars... - Kafir (Arabic) - infidel, that’s how Nikitin first called Hindus, using a term accepted among Muslims; later he calls them “Hundustanis” and “Indians”.
Khorosans - hereinafter: Muslims of non-Indian origin, people from various regions of Asia.
It has been winter for them since Trinity Day. - This refers to the period of monsoon rainfall, which lasts in India from June to September. Trinity - the fiftieth day after Easter; falls in May-June.
...Gundustani kozi... - Gouz-i Hindi (> Persian) - coconuts.
...to Tatna. - We are talking about juice extracted from palmyra bark.
..let them cook kichiris... - Khichri is an Indian dish of rice with seasonings.
Hornets are apparently the green leaves of the Dalbergia sissor tree, which in India have been used as horse feed since ancient times.
...in Ospozhino shit on Spasov Day. - Spasov Day falls on August 6; The Assumption Fast lasts from August 1 until the Assumption.
...on Ospozhin's day... - Assumption, falls on August 15th.
...to Beder, to their great city. - Bidar was at that time the capital of the Bahmanid Sultanate.
Kulonker, Kulonger... - It is unclear which city A. Nikitin means; giri (ind.) - city.
... how many kovs... - Kov (ind.) is a measure of length, on average about ten kilometers.
Kamka - colored silk fabric, embroidered with gold, brocade.
...according to kentar... - Kantar (Arabic) - a measure of weight that exceeded three pounds.
...shihb Aludin... - Sheikh Alaeddin, a local Muslim saint.
...and in Russian, on the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God. - Intercession falls on October 1st. Further, however, Nikitin points out that the days of memory of Sheikh Alaeddin are celebrated two weeks after the Intercession.
There is in that Alyanda... - Nikitin conveys local beliefs that reflect the cult of the owl (ghukuk) and the cult of the monkey.
Mammons - hereinafter: a medium-sized predator.
Spring began for them with the Intercession... - This means the beginning of the new season in October after a period of monsoon showers.
There is a Khorasan meliktuchar boyar... - This is what Nikitin calls the great vizier Mahmud Gavan, a native of Gilan.
...thousands of Kutuval people... - Kutuval (pers.) - commandant of the fortress.
...futunov... - It is possible that Nikitin calls the gold coin that way to the fans.
...about the conspiracy about Filipov... - Filipov's fast lasts from November 14 to Christmas, which falls on December 25.
...before the Great Lent... - Lent begins seven weeks before Easter, that is, in February - early March.
...and my name is Ofonasey, and the host’s Besermen name is Isuf Khorosani. - The custom of using eastern names, consonant with Christian ones, was widespread among Europeans living in the East.
...booths... - Booth (pers.) - idol, idol; here: gods of the Indian pantheon.
...butkhana. - Butkhane (pers.) - house of idol, idol.
...wonderfully butovo. - Here: the annual festival in honor of Shiva, celebrated in February-March.
...two sheshkenis... - Sheshkeni is a silver coin, six kenis.
...lek... - Lakh (ind.) - one hundred thousand.
In the butkhan the buthan is carved... - Here: a statue of Shiva; his attributes: a snake entwining his body (Nikitin’s has a “tail”) and a trident.
...the bull is great, and carved from stone... - Statue of the bull Nandi, the companion of Shiva.
...full. - Sita is a honey drink.
...resident... -Resident is a copper coin.
...until the besermensky ulubagry. - Ulu Bayram is a great holiday, the same as Kurban Bayram (the holiday of sacrifice) - one of the main holidays in Islam, celebrated on the 10-13th of the month of Dhu-l-Hijjah according to the Muslim lunar calendar, the relationship of which with the solar calendar changes annually. Nikitin further indicates that the holiday took place in mid-May; this allows us to set the year to 1472.
...and from Moshkat... - Apparently, an insertion by a chronicler; these words contradict the indicated travel time; they are not included in the Trinity list.
...alachi, yes pestredi, and kindyaki... - Alacha is a fabric made of silk and paper threads; motley - cotton fabric made of multi-colored threads; kindyak - cotton fabric.
...yes adriak... - Adrak (pers.) - a type of ginger.
. yes fatis, yes babuguri, yes binchai, yes crystal, yes sumbada. - Fatis - a stone used to make buttons; babaguri (pers.) - agate; binchai - probably banavsha (pers.) - garnet: crystal - possibly beryl; sumbada - corundum.
...at the elbow. - Elbow is an ancient Russian measure of length equal to 38-47 cm.
...Shabbat refuge... - It is believed that this is either Bengal or the Chamba country in Indochina.
...one tenka per day... - Tanka - a silver coin; in different areas of different dignity.
...manik, yes yakhut, yes kirpuk... - Mani (Sanskrit) - ruby; Yakut (Arabic) - yakhont, often sapphire (blue yakhont), less often ruby ​​(lal); kirpuk (distorted carbuncle) - ruby.
...ammons will be born... - Ammon is a precious stone, possibly a diamond.
They sell a kidney for five rubles... - A kidney is a measure of weight for precious stones ("heavy" - one twentieth and "light" - one twenty-fifth of the spool, respectively: 0.21 g and 0.17 g).
...aukyikov (in the Trinity list: aukykov) - the text is unclear. They assume an indication of a) the type of ships (Arabic - gunuk); b) distance.
Month Maya 1st day Great day took you in Beder... - Nikitin celebrated the fourth Easter outside Rus' at the wrong time: Easter does not happen later than April 25th.
...and the Beserman Bagram was taken on the middle of the month... - Kurban Bayram in 1472 fell on May 19th.
Saadak - a set of weapons: a bow in a case and a quiver with arrows.
...plays with a tower... - This refers to the ceremonial umbrella chhatra (ind.), a symbol of power.
...runaways. - Run (Turkic, plural from run, beat) - representatives of the feudal nobility (> Arabic synonym - emir).
...and God gives out the right faith. But the faith of the God of the only nobility is right, and his name is pure and pure to call upon in every place. - This statement by Afanasy Nikitin, directly adjacent to the phrase written in Persian: “But Muhammad’s faith is good,” testifies to the originality of his worldview. It cannot be reduced to the simple idea of ​​toleration: the words “God knows” elsewhere in Nikitin mean uncertainty - “God reveals what will happen.” Nikitin considers only monotheism and moral purity to be mandatory properties of the “right faith”. In this respect, his worldview comes close to the views of Russian heretics of the late 15th century, who argued that a representative of any “language” could become “pleasant to God”, as long as he “does the truth.”
...a month before ulubagryam... - In 1473, the beginning of this holiday fell on May 8th.
...and broke the fast with them, and took the Great Day to Kelberi... - Consequently, Nikitin celebrated the sixth Easter in May, that is, not on time, just like the previous one.

For centuries, people have strived to discover new lands. The Vikings reached North America, the Jesuits penetrated China and Japan, which were closed to foreigners, sea pirates were carried away by storms and currents, sometimes irrevocably, to uncharted areas of the Pacific Ocean... But there was one wonderful country where every enterprising European was irresistibly drawn. Its carpets and silks, saffron and pepper, emeralds, pearls, diamonds, gold, elephants and tigers, inaccessible mountains and forest thickets, milk rivers and jelly banks have equally deprived both romantic and selfish hearts of peace for many centuries. This country is India. They searched for it, dreamed about it, the best of the navigators paved the way to it. Columbus discovered his “India” (which turned out to be America) in 1492, Vasco da Gama reached real India in 1498. But he was a little late - a quarter of a century -: India was already “discovered”. And the impetus for this was a combination of initially unhappy personal circumstances of the not very rich, but energetic and inquisitive Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin. In 1466, he collected (on credit!) goods and set off from Moscow to the Caucasus. But when he went down the Volga to Astrakhan, one of his ships was captured by robbers, and the other was wrecked by a storm off the Caspian coast. Nikitin continued his journey. He did not dare to return home: for the loss of goods he was threatened with a debt trap. He reached Derbent by land, moved to Persia and entered India by sea. Afanasy stayed there for three years and returned to Russia through Africa (Somalia), Turkish lands (Trebizond) and the Black Sea, but died before reaching Smolensk. His notes (“notebooks”) were delivered by merchants to Moscow and included in the chronicle. This is how the famous “Walking across Three Seas” was born - a monument not only literary, historical and geographical, but a monument to human courage, curiosity, enterprise and perseverance. More than 500 years have passed, but even today this manuscript opens the doors to unknown worlds for us - ancient exotic India and the mysterious Russian soul. The Appendices to the book contain interesting stories about travels made in different years (before and after Nikitin) to the same regions of India and neighboring countries: “Journey to the Eastern Countries of Guillaume de Rubruk”, “Walking of the merchant Fedot Kotov to Persia”, “Travel to Tana” by Josaphat Barbaro and “Journey to Persia” by Ambrogio Contarini. Thanks to this composition, this volume of the “Great Travels” series, beloved by domestic readers, is distinguished by its amazing factual richness and abundance of material. The electronic publication includes all the texts of the paper book and the main illustrative material. But for true connoisseurs of exclusive publications, we offer a gift classic book. Numerous ancient images of the described places give a clear idea of ​​how our travelers saw them. The richly illustrated publication is intended for everyone who is interested in the history of geographical discoveries and loves authentic stories about real adventures. This edition, like all books in the Great Journeys series, is printed on beautiful offset paper and elegantly designed. Editions of the series will adorn any, even the most sophisticated library, and will be a wonderful gift for both young readers and discerning bibliophiles.

A series: Great Journeys

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The given introductory fragment of the book Walking beyond three seas (Afanasy Nikitin) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

Afanasy Nikitin. WALKING OVER THREE SEAS

Old Russian text Trinity list of the 16th century.

Z and the prayer of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afonasy Mikitin, son. He wrote about his sinful journey across three seas: the first sea of ​​​​Derbenskoye, Doriya Khvalitska; the second Indian Sea, Doria Hondustanska; Third Black Sea, Doria Stembolska. I departed from the Holy Golden-Domed Savior with his mercy, from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich and from Bishop Gennady of Tver, went to the bottom of the Volga and came to the monastery of the holy life-giving Trinity and the holy martyr Boris and Gleb; and the brothers blessed the abbot at Macarius; and from Kolyazin he went to Uglech, from Uglech to Kostroma to Prince Alexander, with his new diploma. And the Great Prince released me from all Rus' voluntarily. And on Yeleso, in Nizhny Novgorod, to Mikhail, to Kiselyov, to the governor, and to the fee-paying agent Ivan Saraev, they were allowed in voluntarily. And Vasily Papin rode into the city, and Yaz waited in the Khiov city for two weeks for the ambassador of the Tatar Shirvashin Asambeg, and he was traveling from the Krechat from Grand Duke Ivan, and he had ninety Krechat. And you went with him to the bottom of the Volga. And Kazan, and the Horde, and Uslan, and Sarai, and the Verekezans passed through voluntarily. And we drove into the Vuzan River.

And then three filthy Tatars came to us and told us false news: Kaisym Soltan is guarding the guests in Buzan, and with him are three thousand Totars. And the ambassador Shirvashin Asanbeg gave them one row and a piece of canvas to lead them past Aztarkhan. And they took each other and gave the news to the king in Khazatorokhan. And I left my ship and climbed onto the ship for a word and with my comrades. Aztarkhan sailed for a month at night, the king saw us and the Tatars called to us: “Kachma, don’t run!” And the king sent his entire horde after us. And because of our sins, they overtook us on Bugun, they shot a man, and we shot two of them; and our smaller ship got underway, and they took it about that hour and plundered it, and all my junk was in the smaller ship. And the larger ship reached the sea, but it became aground at the mouth of the Volga, and they took us there, and pulled the ship back to the bottom. And then our larger ship was taken, and the Russians took 4 heads, and we were released with our naked heads over the sea, and the news of the division did not let us in. And two ships went to Derbenti: in one ship there was Ambassador Asambeg, and the Teziks, and the Rusaks with 10 heads of us; and in the other ship there are 6 Muscovite and 6 Tverich.

And the furship arose on the sea, and the smaller ship crashed on the shore, and the kaitaks came and caught all the people. And we came to Derbent. And then Vasily came to say hello, and we were robbed. And he beat with his forehead Vasily Papin and the Shirvanshin ambassador Asanbeg, who had come with him, so that he would grieve about the people that they were caught under Tarkhy Kaitaki. And Osanbeg was sad and went to the mountain to Bultabeg. And Bulatbeg quickly sent word to Shirvanshebeg: that a Russian ship was wrecked near Tarkhi, and the kaytaks came and captured the people, and plundered their goods. And the Shirvanshabeg of that hour sent an envoy to his brother-in-law Alilbeg, the Kaitak prince, that my ship was broken near Tarkhy, and your people came, captured the people, and plundered their goods; and you would have sent people to me and collected their goods, since those people were sent in my name; and what would you need from me, and you came to me, and I don’t stand for you, my brother, and you would have let them go voluntarily if I were to share them with you. And Alilbeg of that hour sent all the people to Derbent voluntarily, and from Derbent they sent them to the Shirvanshi in his quarters. And we went to Shirvansha in Koitul and beat him with his forehead so that he would favor us rather than get to Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything, but there are a lot of us. And we cried and dispersed in all directions: whoever had anything in Rus' went to Rus'; and some should, and he went wherever his eyes took him, while others remained in Shamakhi, and others went to work for Baka.

And Yaz went to Derbenti, and from Derbenti to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar, and here you lived in Chebokar for 6 months, and in Sara you lived for a month in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amili, and here you lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Rey. And they killed the Shausen Aleyevs’ children and the Makhmetevs’ grandchildren, and he cursed them, and 70 other cities collapsed. And from Drey to Kasheni, and here it was a month. And from Kasheni to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdiya, and here you lived for a month. And from Dies to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom, and funiki to feed the animals, batman for 4 altyns. And from Torom to Lar, and from Lar to Bender. And here there is the Gurmyz refuge, and here there is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsean language and the Hondustan Doriya; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles. And Gurmyz is on the island, and every day the sea catches him twice a day. And then I took 1 Great Day, and I came to Gurmyz four weeks before Great Day. Because I didn’t write all the cities, there are many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is a boiled sun that can burn a person. And I was in Gurmyz for a month, and from Gurmyz I went across the Indian Sea, along the Velitsa days in St. Thomas' week, to Tava, with horses.

And they walked by the sea Degu for 4 days; from Dega Kuzryatu; and from Kuzryat Konbat, and here it’s easy to give birth to paint. And from Kanbat to Chivil, and from Chivil we went this week according to Velitsa days, and we walked in Tava for 6 weeks by sea to Chivil. And here there is Indian country, and people walk around naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with bellies, they give birth to children every year, and they have many children, and all husbands and wives black; No matter where I go, there are a lot of people behind me, they are amazed at the white man. And their prince is a photo on his head, and a friend on his hips; and the boyars walk with a photo on their shoulder, and others on their hips, and the princesses walk with a photo on their shoulder, and another on their hips; and the prince's and boyar's servants have a hood on their hips, a shield and a sword in their hands, and some with bows and arrows; and everyone is naked, barefoot, and tall; and the women walk with their heads uncovered and their breasts bare; and boys and girls walk around naked until they are 7 years old, and not covered in rubbish. And from Chuvil we went dry to Pali, 8 days to the Indian Mountains. And from Pali to Die there are 10 days, that is, an Indian city. And from Umri to Chuneyr is 6 days, and here there is Asatkhan Chunersky Indian, and the slave Meliktucharov, and keep, say, seven times from Meliktuchar.

And Meliktuchar sits at 20 tmah; and he has been fighting with the Kaffarah for 20 years, and then he beats him, then he beats them many times. The Khan rides on people, and he has a lot of good elephants and horses, and he has a lot of Khorozans as people; and bring them from the Khorosan land, and some from the Oraban land, and some from the Tukarmes land, and others from the Chegotan land, and bring everything by sea in tavs, Indian lands ships. And the sinner brought the stallion to the Yndey land, he reached Chuner, God gave him everything in good health, and he became a hundred rubles. It became winter for them from Trinity Day. And we spent the winter in Chyuneira, we lived for two months; every day and night for 4 months, and there was water and dirt everywhere. On those same days they howl and sow wheat, and tuturgan, and nogot, and everything edible. They make wine in the great nuts of the goats of Gundustan; and they make the mash in the tatna, feed the horses with nochot, and boil the kichiris with sugar, and feed the horses with butter, and give the seeds early. In the Indian land they will not give birth to horses, their lands will give birth to oxen and water buffalos, and they can ride on them and carry other goods, they do everything. Chyuner is a city on a stone island, not made by anything, created by God; but to walk up the mountain every day, one person at a time, the road is narrow, it is impossible to get water.

In the Indian land, the guests put them in the courtyard, and cook food for the guests of the ruler, and make the bed, and sleep with the guests, sikish ileresn du resident bersen, dostur avrat chektur and sikish mufut love white people. In winter, people walk around with a photo on their hips, another on their shoulder, and a third on their head; and the princes and boyars then put on trousers, a shirt, a kavtan, and a photo on the shoulder, and another girdle, and a third photo to wrap around the head; and se olo, olo, abr olo ak, olo kerim, olo ragym. And in that Chyuner, the Khan took a stallion from me, and found out that Yaz was not a Besermenin, a Rusin, and he said: “And I will give a stallion and a thousand gold ladies, and stand in our faith on Makhmet Day; If you don’t join our faith in Mahmet day, I will take the stallion and a thousand pieces of gold on your head.” And the deadline was set for 4 days, in the shitty time of day of Savior. And the Lord God had mercy on his honorable holiday, do not leave his mercy to me, a sinner, and did not order me to perish in Chuner with the wicked; on the eve of Spasov days, the owner Makhmet Khorosan arrived and beat him with his forehead so that he would grieve for me; and he went to the khan in the city, and asked me to leave, so that they would not convert me, and he took my stallion from him.

Such is the Lord’s miracle on Savior Day! Otherwise, brothers of Russian Christians, who wants to go to the Yndey land, and you leave your faith in Rus', let me cry out to Makhmet, and go to the Gustan land. The Beserman's dogs lied to me, and they told me that there was a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land; all the goods were white on the land of God, pepper and paint, then cheap; Others are transported by sea, and other duties are not given. But other people will not allow us to carry out the duties, and there are many duties, and there are many robbers at sea. And it is neither the peasants nor the madmen who break all the kofars; but they pray like a stone blockhead, but they don’t know Christ. And from Chunerya I went out to the Assumption of the Most Pure Ones to Beder, to their larger city. And we walked for a month; and from Beder to Kulonkerya 5 days; and from Kulonger to Kelberg is 5 days. Between those great cities there are many cities; on every day there are three degrees, and on another day there are 4 degrees; koko kov'v, koko gradov. And from Chuvil to Chuneyr there are 20 kovs, and from Chuner to Beder there are 40 kovs, and from Beder to Kolungor there are 9 kovs, and from Beder to Kolungor there are 9 kovs. In Bederi there is trade for horses, and for goods, and damask, for silk and for all other goods, so that black people can buy it; but there is no other purchase in it. Yes, all their goods are from the Gundostan region, and they are all vegetables, but there are no goods for the Russian land.

And all are black, and all are villains, and the wives are all whores, but yes, yes, thiefs, yes, lies, and potions, to kill the ruler. In the Indian land, all Khorosans reign, and the boyars are all Khorosans; and the Gundustanians are all pedestrians, and greyhounds walk, and all are naked and barefoot, and have a shield in one hand, and a sword in the other, and other servants with great straight bows and arrows. And all of them fight with elephants, and let the infantry go ahead, the Khorosans on horseback and in armor, and the horses themselves; and great swords are knitted to the snout and to the teeth of the elephant, forged in kendar, and they are covered in damask armor, and towns are made on them, and in the town there are 12 people in armor, and all with guns and arrows. They have one place, shikhb Aludin pir atyr bozar alyadinand, for a year there is only one bozar, the whole country of Indian trade is gathered, and they trade for 10 days; from Beder 12 kovov, bring horses up to 20 thousand to sell, bring all kinds of goods; in the Hondustan land of that market there is the best trade, any goods can be sold, bought, in memory of Shikh Aladin, for the Russian holiday of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God. There is also a gukuk bird in that Alanda, it flies at night and calls “gukuk”.

And on which mansion one sits, then a person dies; and whoever wants to kill her, otherwise fire will come out of her mouth. And mamon walk at night and have chickens, but live in a mountain or in a stone. And the monkeys live in the forest, but they have a prince of the monkeys, and they march with their army, and who can get them and they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against him, and they, coming to the city, destroy the courts and beat people. And their armies, I say, are many, and their languages ​​are their own, and they bear many children; but who will be born neither to his father nor to his mother, they will move them along the roads; Some Hondustans have them and teach them all kinds of handicrafts, and others sell the night so that they don’t know how to run back, and others teach the bases to mikanet. Spring began for them with the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God; and we celebrate Shikha Aladin and spring for two weeks after the Intercession, and celebrate 8 days; and keep spring for 3 months, and summer for 3 months, and winter for 3 months, and autumn for 3 months. In Bederi, their table is for Gundustan of Besermen. And the city is great, and there are a lot of people; and Saltan is great for 20 years, and the boyars hold, and the Farasans rule, and all the Khorosans fight. There is a Khorosan boyar, Meliktuchar, who has an army of two hundred thousand, and Melik Khan has 100 thousand, and Kharat Khan has 20 thousand; and many of those khans had 10 thousand armies.

And 300 thousand of their army come out with the saltan. And the land is crowded with velmi, and the rural people are naked with velmi, and the boyars are strong in kindness and magnificent with velmi; and carry them all on their beds on silver, and before them they lead horses in gold harnesses up to 20; and on horseback behind them there are 300 people, and on foot 500 people, and 10 pipe-makers, and 10 people with pipe-makers, and 10 people with flutes. The Sultan goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, and with him there are 10 thousand people on horseback, and 50 thousand on foot, and the elephants are led by 200 dressed in gilded armor, and in front of him are 100 pipe-makers, and 100 dancers, and simple horses 300 in golden gear, and behind him there are 100 monkeys, and 100 whores, and all are gauryks. There are 7 gates in the Sultan's courtyard, and at each gate sit 100 guards and 100 scribes; whoever goes, write it down, and whoever goes out, write it down; but the Garips are not allowed into the city. And his courtyard is wonderful, everything is carved and in gold, and the last stone is carved and described in gold; Yes, there are different courts in his yard. The city of Beder is guarded at night by a thousand Kutovalov men, and they ride on horses and in armor, and everyone has a light. And he sold his stallion’s ulcer in Bederi, and I gave him 60 and 8 feet, and I fed him for a year.

In Bederi, snakes walk along the streets, and its length is two fathoms. He came to Beder about the conspiracy about Filipov and Kulongerya and sold his stallion about the Nativity, and here he was until the great conspiracy in Bederi and got acquainted with many Indians and told them my faith that I am not a besermenian and a Christian, but my name is Ophonaseus, a Besermensky name of the owner Isuf Khorosani. And they did not learn to hide anything from me, neither about food, nor about trade, nor about manaza, nor about other things, nor did they learn to hide their wives. But everything about faith is about their trials, and they say: we believe in Adam, and the Buts, it seems, are Adam and his entire race. And there are 80 and 4 faiths in India, and everyone believes in Buta; and faith with faith neither drinks nor eats, nor marries, but others eat boran, and chickens, and fish, and eat eggs, but not eat oxen, no faith. They stayed in Bederi for 4 months and decided to go to Pervoti with the Indians, then their Jerusalem, and according to the Besermensky Myagkat, their butkhan. There he went out with the Indians and there will be a month of khana, and there will be 5 days of trading at the butkhana. And the butkhana velmi is large from half of Tver, stone, and Butov’s deeds were carved on it, all 12 crowns were carved around it, how Butov worked miracles, how he showed them many images: the first appeared in a human image; the other is a man, and the nose is that of elephants; the third is a man, and the vision is a monkey; fourthly, a man, and the image of a fierce beast, appeared to them all with a tail, and was carved on stone, and the tail through it was a fathom.

The whole Indian country is flocking to the loaf for the miracle of Butovo; Yes, old wives and girls shave at the butkhan, and shave all their hair, beards, and heads, and go to the butkhan; Yes, from each head there will be two shekshens of duty on But, and from horses, four feet; and it comes together to the loaf of all people to become azar lek waht bashet sat azar lek. In the loaf But But is carved from stone, he is great, and he has a tail through it, and he raised his right hand high and stretched out, like Ustyan the king of Tsaryagrad, and in his left hand he has a spear, and there is nothing on him, but he has a goat wide, and the vision is like a monkey's, and some of Buta are naked, there is nothing, a cat is achyuk, and Butava's zhonki are naked, and are carved with litter, and with children, and Buta's peret is worth a great ox, and is carved from stone and black, and is all gilded, and they kiss him on the hoof, and they sprinkle flowers on him, and they sprinkle flowers on Booth.

The Indians do not eat any meat, neither cowhide, nor boran meat, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, but they have a lot of pigs; but they eat twice during the day, and do not eat at night, and do not drink wine, nor are they full; and from besermen do not drink or eat. But their food is bad, and one with the day neither eats nor eats, nor with his wife; but they eat brynets, and kichiri with butter, and eat rose herbs, all with the right hand, but with the left they do not eat anything; but don’t hold a knife, and don’t know how to lie; and when it’s too late, who cooks their own porridge, and everyone has a mountain. And they will hide from the Besermen, so that they will not look into the mountain or the food; But the besermen looked at the food, and he did not eat, but other people ate, they covered themselves with a cloth so that no one would see him. And they pray to the east in Russian style, raise both hands high, and place them on the crown, and lie prone on the ground, and let everyone fall to the ground, then their bows. And they sit down to eat, wash their hands and feet, and rinse their mouths. But their butukhans have no doors, but are placed to the east, and their butukhans stand to the east. And whoever they have to die, they burn them and sprinkle their ashes on the water. And the wife will give birth to a child, or the husband will give birth, and the name of the son will be given by the father and the daughter by the mother; but they don’t have a good tomorrow, and they don’t know the rubbish. Or he came, and others bowed in Chernech style, touching both hands to the ground, and not saying anything.

To the First, to sneer about the Great Conspiracy, to your butt, that is their Jerusalem, and in the Besermen’s way it’s Myakka, and in Russian it’s Jerusalem, and in Indian Parvat. And all the naked people are eaten, only on the threshing floor; and the wives are all naked, only they have phots on their heads, and some wear phots, and there are pearls on their necks, a lot of yakhonts, and on their hands there are hoops and rings of gold, ollo oak, and inside to the butkhan there is a yoke on the will, and the ox has horns bound with copper, and on There are 300 neck bells, and shod hooves; and those oxen call achche. The Indians call the ox father, and the cow mother, and with their dung they bake bread and cook food for themselves, and with this they smear their banner on the face, and on the forehead, and all over the body. Eat once a week and on Monday, once a day. In Yndey, it’s like pack-tour, and uchyuze-der: sikish ilarsen iki shitel; akechany ilya atyrsenyatle zhetel take; bulara dostor: a kul karavash uchuz char funa khub bem funa khubesiya; kapkara am chyuk kichi want. From Pervati you came to Beder, 15 days before the Besermensky Ulubagrya. But I don’t know the Great Day of the Resurrection of Christ, but I guess by signs - the Great Day will happen on the first Christian day in 9 days or 10 days.

But there is nothing with me, no book, but I took the books with them from Rus'; otherwise, if they robbed me, or took them, and I forgot all the Christian faiths and Christian holidays, I don’t know either Great Days or the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know Wednesdays or Fridays; and in between I am the ver tangridan and the stirrup olsaklasyn; ollo khoda, ollo ak, ollo you, ollo akber, ollo ragym, ollo kerim, ollo ragymello, ollo kari mello, tan tangrysen, khodosensen. God alone is the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth. And I’m going to Rus', my name is uruch, here you are. The month of March has passed, and I did not eat the month of meat, I fasted from the devil a week, and I fasted nothing meager, I did not eat any dishonest dishes, and I still fed bread and water twice a day, I returned to madam; Yes, you prayed to the Almighty God, who created heaven and earth, and you did not call on anyone else’s name, God Ollo, God Kerim, God Ragym, God Evil, God Ak Ber, God the King of Glory, Ollo Varenno, Ollo Ragymello Sensen Ollo you.

And from Gurmyz to go by sea to Golat 10 days, and from Kalata to Degu 6 days, and from Deg to Moshkat to Kuchzryat to Kombat 4 days, from Kambat to Chivel 12 days, and from Chivil to Dabyl - 6. Dabyl is a refuge in Gundustani is the last thing to be lackadaisical. And from Dabyl to Kolekot it’s 25 days, and from Selekot to Silyan it’s 15 days, and from Silyan to Shibait it’s a month, and from Sibat to Pevgu it’s 20 days, and from Pevgu to Chini and to Machin it’s a month walk, all that walking by sea. And from Chini to Kytaa it takes 6 months to travel by land, and four days to travel by sea, but the journey is short. Gurmyz is a great haven, people from all over the world visit it, and there are all sorts of goods in it, whatever is born in the whole world, everything is in Gurmyz; Tamga is great, there is a tenth of everything. And Kamblyat is a haven for the entire Indian Sea, and all the goods in it are made by alachis, pestreds, and kandaks, and they repair the paint of the nil, so that lek and ahyk and lon will be born in it. So there was a great refuge for the velmi, and they could bring horses from Misyur, from Rabast, from Khorosan, from Turkustan, from Negostan and walk dry for a month to Bederi and to Kelberg. But Kelekot is the refuge of the entire Indian Sea, and God forbid that any bastard should penetrate it. And whoever sees him will have a hard time crossing the sea.

And pepper and zenzebil, and flowers, and midges, and calafur, and cinnamon, and cloves, and spicy roots, and adryak, and a lot of all kinds of roots will be born in it. Yes, everything in it is cheap, yes, it’s cool and a loaf of crap is this. And Silyan is a haven of the Indian Sea, a lot, and in it Baba Adam is on a mountain at a height, and near it precious stones will be born, and worms, and fatis, and baboguri, and binchai, and crystal and sumbada, and elephants will be born, and to sell in cubit and nine pieces of wood sold by weight. And the Shabait refuge of the Indian Sea is great. And the Khorosans give the Alaf tenka per day, both great and small; and whoever in it marries a Khorosan and the prince of the Sabbath, give a thousand teneks for the sacrifice, and for Olaf, let him eat for every month for ten days; May silk, sandalwood, and pearls be born in Shabot, and everything is cheap. But in Pegu there is quite a refuge, and all the Indians live in it, and dear stones, manik, yes yakhut, and kyrpuk will be born in it; and sell stone derbyshes. But the Chinsky and Machinsky refuge is great, but they do repairs in it, and sell the repairs by weight, but cheaply.

And their wives and their husbands sleep during the day, and at night their wives go to the garip and sleep with the garip, give them Olaf, and bring with them sugar food and sugar wine, and feed and water the guests, so that he will love her, and love the guests white people, but their people are black velmi; and whose wives conceive a child from a guest, and give the husband to the alaf; if he is born white, then the guest will pay 18 teneks; but he will be born black, otherwise he has nothing to do with what he drank and ate, it was halal for him. It takes 3 months to get from Beder, and 2 months to go by sea from Dabyl to Shaibat, Machim and Chim from Beder takes 4 months to go by sea, and they make it there and everything is cheap; and it takes 2 months to get to Silyan by sea. On Shabait, silk, inchi, pearls, and sandalwood will be born; sell elephants per cubit. In Silyan, ammons, hearts, and fatis will be born. In Lekota pepper will be born, and midges, and carnations, and fufal, and flowers. In Kuzryat, paint and hatch will be born. Yes, an ahik will be born in Kambat. In Rachyur, a Birkon diamond and a Novykon diamond will be born; sell a kidney for five rubles, and a good one for ten rubles, but sell a new kidney to a diamond for coins, and this is for charsheshkeni, and it’s hissing for a tenka. The diamond will be born in a mountain of stone, and the same mountain of stone will be sold for two thousand pounds of gold to a new diamond, and a horse to the diamond will be sold a cubit for 10 thousand pounds of gold. And the land is Melikkhanov, and the slave is Saltanov, and from Beder there are 30 kovs.

But the Jews are fed up with calling Shabbat their own, otherwise they lie; and on the Sabbath, neither the Jews, nor the Besermen, nor the Christians, of any other faith are Indians, nor the poor, nor the Besermen, drink or eat, and do not eat any meat. Yes, everything is cheap on Shabbat, but silk and sugar are produced cheaply; Yes, they have mamons and monkeys in the forest, and they tear people apart along the roads; Otherwise they don’t dare to drive on the roads at night, monkeys and monkeys. And from Shaibat it’s 10 months by land, and 4 months by sea. And cut the navels of fed deer, and musk will be born in the navel; and drop wild deer belly buttons across the field and through the forest, otherwise a stench comes out of them, and that is, it is not fresh. The month of Maa the Great Day took place in Beder Besermensky and in Hondustan; and in Besermen they took Bogram on Wednesday of the month Maa; and I spoke for the month of April 1 day.

O faithful Christians! Those who sail a lot across many lands, fall into many sins and lose their Christian faith. And I, the servant of God Athos, and were moved by faith; Having already passed four great days and 4 Great Days, I am a sinner and I don’t know what a Great Day is, or a day of shit, I don’t know the Nativity of Christ, I don’t know other holidays, I don’t know Wednesday or Friday; but I don’t have any books, since they robbed me, or took my books, and because of many troubles I went to India, and then I went to Rus' with nothing, there was nothing left for the goods. I took the first Great Day in Cain, another Great Day in Chebukara in the Mazdran land, the third Great Day in Gurmyz, the fourth Great Day in India from Besermena in Bederi; and the same many cries for the Christian faith.

Besermenin Melik, he forced me a lot into the faith of Besermen’s article. I said to him: “Mister! You namar kylaresen menda namaz kilarmen, you be namaz kilarsizmenda 3 kalaremen garip asen inchay”; He said to me: “The truth is that you don’t seem to be a Christian, but you don’t know Christianity.” I fell into many thoughts and said to myself: “Woe to me, for I have lost my way from the true path and I don’t know the way; I will go on my own.” Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth! Do not turn your face away from your slave, for sorrow is near. God! Look upon me and have mercy on me, as I am your creation; do not turn me away, Lord, from the true path and guide me, Lord, on your right path, for I have created no virtue for your need, my Lord, for all my days have passed in evil, my Lord, ollo the first diger, ollo you, karim ollo, ragym ollo, karim ollo, ragymello; ahalim dulimo.” 4 Great days passed in the land of Besermen, but I did not abandon Christianity; God knows what will happen. Lord my God, I trusted in you, save me, Lord my God!

In Besermen's India, in the great Bederi, you looked at the Great Night on the Great Day - Hair and Kola were in the dawn, and the Elk stood with its head to the east. The Sultan rode out to Teferich on Bagram on Besermenskaya, and with him were 20 great warriors, and three hundred elephants dressed in damask armor and from the towns, and the towns were chained, and in the towns there were 6 people in armor, and with cannons and arquebuses; and on the great elephant there are 12 people, on each elephant there are two great wrestlers, and there are great swords tied to the tooth according to the centar, and great iron swords are tied to the snout, and a person sits in armor between the ears, and he has a hook in his hands of an iron great, yes to rule it; Yes, there are a thousand simple horses in golden gear, and a hundred camels with soot, and 300 pipe-makers, and 300 dancers, and 300 carpets. Yes, the Sultan has a whole fathom of yacht on his kovtan, and on his hat there is a large diamond chichak, and a sagadak of gold from the yacht, and 3 sabers he is shackled with gold, and the saddle is gold, and in front of him a kofar is jumping and playing with a tower, and there are many foot soldiers behind him, and a good elephant is following him, and he is all dressed up in damask, and he is beating people, and he has a great iron in his mouth, Yes, beat up horses and people so that no one steps on the Sultan too close. And the brother of the sultans, he sits on a bed on a golden one, and above him there is an oxamiten tower, and a poppy of gold from a yacht, and 20 people carry it. And Makhtum sits on the bed on a golden one, and above him there is a tower with a golden poppy tree, and they carry him on 4 horses in golden gear; Yes, there are a lot of people around him, and there are singers in front of him, and there are a lot of dancers, and everyone with naked swords, and with sabers, and with shields, and with bows, and with spears, and with bows with straight ones with great ones, and the horses are all in armor , and they have sagadaki on them, and some are all naked, one cloth on a cloth, covered with rubbish.

In Bederi, a month costs 3 days. In Bederi there are no sweet vegetables. In Gundustan there is no strong war; there is a lot of war in Gurmyz and in Katobagryim, where all the pearls are born, and in Zhida, and in Baka, and in Misyur, and in Ostana, and in Lara; but in the Khorosan land it’s Varno, but it’s not like that; and in Chegotani Velmi Varno; and in Shiryaz, and in Ezdi, in Kashini, it’s hot and windy, and in Gilan it’s stuffy and velmi, and in Shamakhi it’s steamy; yes in Babylon it is Varno, yes in Khumita and in Sham it is Varno, but in Lyapa it is not so Varno. And in Sevastia Guba and in the Gurzyn land goodness is abundant for everyone; Yes, the land of Torsk is abundant with great things; Yes, in the Volos region everything edible is abundant and cheap; Yes, the land of Podolsk is abundant in everything; and the Urus are tangras saklaeyn; ollo sakla, khodo sakla, budonyada munukybit er ektur; nechik ursu eri begyalari akai tusil; Urus er abadan bolsyn; grow up and fight. Ollo, bad, god, god of dangra. Oh my God! I trust in you, God save me! I don’t know which way I’ll go from Gundustan: go to Gurmyz, but from Gurmyz to Khorosan there’s no way, there’s no way to Chegotai, there’s no way to Katobagryam, there’s no way to Ezd. Then there was bulgak everywhere; the princes disappeared everywhere, Yaisha Murza was killed by Uzuosanbek, and Soltamusait was fed, and Uzuasanbek sat on Shiryazi and the land did not fall, and Ediger Makhmet, and he does not go to him, is observed; there is no other way to get anywhere.

And go to Myakka to drink, otherwise you will believe in a faithless faith, since Christians do not go to Myakka sharing the faith that they put in faith. And to live in Gundustan, other people will eat up all the meat, but everything is expensive for them: I am one man, and it takes half a third of an altyn a day to get grub, but I have not drunk wine, nor sondy. Meliktuchar took two Indian cities that were scattered across the Indian Sea, and he captured the princes 7 and took their treasury, yuk yakhontov, and yuk olmazu and kirpukov, and 100 yuks of goods were expensive, and an army took countless other goods; and he stood near the city for two years, and with him an army of two hundred thousand, and 100 elephants, and 300 camels. Meliktuchar came with his army to Beder on the Kurbant, and in Russian on Peter’s Day. And the Sultan sent 10 vazyrs to meet him for ten kovs, and in a kov there are 10 versts, and with each vozyr there were 10 thousand of his army and 10 elephants in armor.

And at Meliktuchar, every day 5 hundred people sit at the sufrei, and with him 3 vzyri sit at his tablecloth, and with the vozyr there are fifty people, and his 100 people are boyars of the sheret. Meliktuchar has 2 thousand and a thousand saddled horses in his stable, standing ready day and night, and 100 elephants in his stable; Yes, every night his courtyard will be guarded by 100 people in armor, and 20 pipe-makers, and 10 nagar, and 10 great tambourines, two people each. We took 3 great cities, and with them 100 thousand and 50 elephants, and many precious stones; and they bought all that stone and yachts and olmaz from Meliktuchar, he commanded the dealer not to sell it to a guest, and then the days came from Ospozhin to the city of Beder.

The Sultan goes out for fun on Thursday and Tuesday, and goes out with him three times; and the brother drives out the sultans on Monday, with his mother and sister; and the zhonk rides out 2 thousand on horses and beds on gold, and in front of her there are a hundred simple horses in golden gear, and there are many velmas on foot with her, and two vozyrs, and 10 gazers, and 50 elephants in cloth blankets, and 4 people sit on an elephant naked, with only a cloak on their back, and the women on foot are naked, and they carry water after them to drink and wash themselves, but one of them does not drink water. Meliktuchar left to fight the Indians with his army from the city of Beder in memory of Shikh Iladin, and in Russian for the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, and 50 thousand army came out with him; and the Sultan sent his army 50 thousand and 3 arques went with him, and with them 30 thousand, and 100 elephants went with them from the towns and in armor, and on each elephant there were 4 people with arquebuses.

Meliktuchar went to fight the great Indian reign of Chunedar. And the Binedarsky prince has 300 elephants and a hundred thousand of his army, and he has 50 thousand horses. The Sultan left the city of Bederya in the 8th month according to Velitsa days, and with him 20 and 6 Vezyrev left, 20 Besermensky Vezyrev, and 6 Indian Vezyrev. And with the Sultan of his court came 100 thousand of his army of horsemen, and 200 thousand foot soldiers and 300 elephants from the town and in armor, and 100 fierce beasts. And with his brother and Sultanov, 100 thousand horsemen, 100 thousand people on foot, and 100 elephants dressed in armor came out of his courtyard.

And behind Malkhan came 20 thousand horsemen, sixty thousand foot soldiers, and 20 dressed elephants. And with Bederkhan came 30 thousand mounted people, with his brother, and 100 thousand on foot, and 25 elephants dressed up from the mountain. And with the Sultan, 10 thousand horsemen came out to his court, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and 10 elephants from the town. And 15 thousand horsemen came out from Vozyrkhan, 30 thousand on foot, and 15 dressed elephants. And with Kutarkhan came 15 thousand horsemen, 40 thousand on foot, and 10 elephants. And with every sight there are 10 thousand, and with each other there are 15 thousand horsemen, and there are 20 thousand foot soldiers. And with the Indian avdonom came his army of 40 thousand horsemen, and 100 thousand people on foot, and 40 elephants dressed in armor, and 4 people per elephant with arquebuses. And with the Sultan came out 26 men on horseback, and with each man 10 thousand, and with another man 15 thousand on horseback, and 30 thousand on foot. And the Indian 4 great warriors, and with them their army of 40 thousand horsemen, and 100 thousand foot soldiers. And the Sultan turned against the Indians because little happened to him, and he also added 20 thousand foot people, two hundred thousand horsemen, and 20 elephants. Such is the power of the Sultan of the Indian Besermensky Mamet deni Iaria, and Rast den denies bad things. But God knows the right faith, and the right faith of God is the only one to know, his name is to be called upon in every place, pure and pure.

On the fifth Great Day, he set his sights on Rus'. He died from the city of Beder a month before the Ulubagram of the Besermen Mamet spent his day, and the Great Day of the Christians I did not know the resurrection of Christ, but they were shitty from the Besermen, and having broken the fast with them, on the Great Day I took 20 kovs to Kelberkha from Beder. The Sultan came to Meliktuchar with his army on the 15th day according to Ulubagry, and all to Kelberg; and the war was not successful for them, they took one Indian city, but many people perished, and many treasuries were lost. But the Indian Sultan Kadam Velmi is strong, and he has a lot of army, but he sits in the mountain in Bichenegir. And its city is great, there are three ditches around it, and a river flows through it; and on one side of it there is an evil zhengel, and on the other side came a valley, a wonderful place for velmi and good for everything, on one side there is nowhere to come, there is a road through the city, and there is nowhere to take the city, a great mountain has come and the wilds of evil ticken. The army stood under the city for a month, and people died from lack of water, and many great heads died from hunger and lack of water; and look at the water, but there’s nowhere to take it. The city took the Indians Melikchan by walking, but took it by force, day and night it fought with the city for 20 days, the army neither drank nor yoke, stood under the city with cannons; and his army killed 5 thousand good people, and took the city, others flogged 20 thousand male and female heads, and took 20 thousand heads of both great and small, and sold a full head for 10 tenecks, and another for 5 tenecks, and the young for 2 shadows, but there was nothing in the treasury, and he didn’t take a large city. And from Kelbergu he walked to Kuruli; and in Kuruli an ahik will be born; and they make it and distribute it all over the world; and in Kuryli there are three hundred diamond miners, hopefully it will pass away.

And there was 5 months, and from there Kaliki departed, and the same bozar was great; and from there Konaberg disappeared; and from Kanaberg they died to Aladin; and from them Aladin died to Amindriya; and from Kamendrey to Naryas; and from Kynaryasu to Suri; and from Suri he went to Dabili, the refuge of the great Indian Sea. The city of Velmi was great, and besides, Dabili is shrinking all the coasts of Indian and Ethiopian. And that akan and yaz, slave Athanasius, God on high, creator of heaven and earth, conceived in the Christian faith, and in the baptism of Christ, and in accordance with the holy fathers of God, and in accordance with the commandments of the apostles, and set their minds to drink in Rus'; I went into the tava and agreed to ship it with a ship, and from my head I would give 2 gold to the city of Gurmyz. And he got into the ship from Dabyl city to Velik days in 3 months, the devilish shit; I died in Tava by sea for a month and saw nothing; the next month I saw the mountains of Ethiopia. And those people all cried out “ollo bervogydir, ollo konkar, bizim bashi mudna nasip bolmyshti” and in Russian they said: “God to the sovereign, God, the highest God, the king of heaven! Is this where you destined us to perish?”

And in the same land of Ethiopia there were 5 days, by God’s grace no evil was committed, distributing a lot of cheese, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians, and they did not rob the ships. And from there I walked 12 days to Moshkat, and in Moshkat I took the sixth Great Day, and walked to Gurmyz for 9 days, and in Gurmyz I spent 20 days. And then Gurmyza went to Lari, and there were 3 days. I traveled from Lari to Shiryazi for 12 days, and in Shiryazi for 7 days. And from Shiryaz it took 15 days to get to Verkh, and to Vergu it took 10 days. And from Vergu I went to Ezdi for 9 days, and to Ezdi for 8 days. And from Ezdi I went to Spagan for 5 days, and to Spagan for 6 days. And from Spagani Kashani died, and in Kashani there were 5 days. And Is Koshani went to Kum. And Is Kuma went to Sava. And from Sava he went to Sultania. And from Sultaniya I went to Terviz. And Is Terviza went to the horde of Asanbe, he was in the horde for 10 days, but there was no way anywhere. And he sent his army of 40 thousand to Turskav, some took Sevast, and they took Tokhan and burned it, they took Amasia and plundered many villages, and they went to Karaman in war. And Yaz from the horde went to Artsitsin; and from Ratsan you went to Trepizon.

And the Holy Mother of God and the ever-virgin Mary came to Trepizon for the Protection of the Intercession, and stayed in Tripizon for 5 days, and came to the ship and agreed to pay a golden sum from my head to Kafa, and I took the gold for grub, and the money to Kafa. And in Trepisoni, my fur coat and Pasha did a lot of evil, they brought all my rubbish to the city on the mountain, and searched everything, and to search the letter that I came from the horde of Asanbeg. By the grace of God I came to the third sea, to Chermnago, and in the Parsi language Doria Stimbolskaya. I walked along the sea in the wind for five days, and reached Vonada; and then the great wind met us at midnight, and returned us to Tripizon; and we stood in Platan for 15 days, there was a great wind and evil. The plane trees went to the sea twice, and the wind met us with evil, and did not allow us to walk on the sea; Ollo ak ollo bad first deger, because we don’t know that other god. And the sea passed and carried us to Syk Balykae, and from there to Takrzof, and there they stood for 5 days. By the grace of God I came to the Cafe 9 days before Filipov’s conversation, Ollo Pervodigyr.

By the grace of God he passed through three seas; digyr khudo dono, ollo pervodigir dono, amen; smilna rahmam ragym, ollo akber, akshi khudo ilello akshi hodo, isa ruhollo aaliksolom; ollo akber ailyagyala illello, ollo pervodiger ahamdu lillo shukur khodo afatad; bismilna girakhmam rragym: khuvomugulezi lailyaga illyaguya alimul gyaibi vashagaditi; huarakhmanu ragymu huvomogulyazi la ilyaga illyakhuya almelik alakudosu asalom almumin almugamine alazizu alchebaru almutakan biru alkhaliku albariyu almusaviryu alkafar alkahar alvahad alryazak alfatag alalima alkabizu albasut alhafiz alrafiyu almav If almuzil alsemiyu alvasir alakam aladul allatuf.

N. S. Chaev. Translation of Old Russian text

Z and the prayer of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, your sinful servant Afanasy Nikitin’s son.

I wrote about my sinful journey across three seas: the first Derbent Sea - the Khvalynsk Sea, the second Indian Sea - the Hindustan Sea, the third Black Sea - the Istanbul Sea. I went from the Holy Golden-Domed Savior, with his mercy, from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich and from Bishop Gennady of Tverskoy and from Boris Zakharyich down the Volga.

Arriving in Kalyazin and being blessed by the abbot of the monastery of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb Macarius and his brothers, he went to Uglich, and from Uglich to Kostroma, to Prince Alexander with another letter from the Grand Duke (Tver), and released me freely. They also freely let me through to Pleso in Nizhny Novgorod, to the governor Mikhail Kiselev and to the duty officer Ivan Saraev.

Vasily Papin had already passed by then, and I waited in Novgorod for two weeks for the Tatar, Shirvanshah’s ambassador, Hassan-bek. He was traveling from Grand Duke Ivan with gyrfalcons, and he had ninety of them. And I went with him to the bottom of the Volga. We drove freely through Kazan, Ordu, Uslan, Saray, and Berekezan.

And we drove into the Vuzan River. Here we met 3 filthy Tatars and told us false news that Khan Kasim and with him 3 thousand Tatars were guarding the merchants in Vuzan. Shirvanshah's ambassador Hassan-bek then gave them a single row and a piece of linen so that they would lead us past Astrakhan. The Tatars took it one by one, and gave the news to the Astrakhan king. I left my ship and went with my comrades onto the ship to the ambassador. We drove past Astrakhan, and the moon was shining. The king saw us, and the Tatars shouted to us: “Don’t run!” But we didn’t hear anything about that. And we sailed. And the king then sent his entire horde after us, and for our sins they overtook us on Vugun, shot a man from us, and we shot two from them. Our small ship stopped on the boat, they took it and immediately plundered it; and all my luggage was on a small ship.

With a large ship we reached the sea and stood at the mouth of the Volga, running aground. The Tatars then took us and pulled the ship back to the crossing. Here they took away our large ship, taking also four Russians, and sent us robbed overseas. They did not let us go up so that we would not give the message. And we went to Derbent in two ships: in one ship there was Ambassador Hassan-bek with the Iranians and there were only 10 of us Russians, and in the other ship there were 6 Muscovites, and 6 Tver residents, and cows, and our food. We were caught in a storm at sea. A small ship crashed on the shore, and here there is the town of Tarki, and people went ashore, and the kayak came and caught all the people from it.

When we arrived in Derbent, it turned out that Vasily arrived safely, and we were robbed. And I beat with my forehead Vasily Papin and the Shirvanshah’s ambassador Hasanbek, with whom they came, so that they would ask for the people caught by the kaytaks near Tarki. And Hasan-bek was busy; he went to the mountain to Bulat-bek, who sent a speedboat to Shirvansha-bek with the news that a Russian ship had crashed near Tarki and that the kaytaks had caught the people from it and plundered their goods. And Shirvansha-bek immediately sent an envoy to his brother-in-law Khalil-bek, the prince of Kaitak: that my ship was broken near Tarki, and your people, having arrived, caught people, and robbed their goods, and you, for my sake, would bring people to me sent and collected their goods, because those people were sent to me; and what do you need from me, and you came to me, and I will not stand up for you, my brother, if only you would let them go freely for my sake. And Khalil-bek immediately sent all the people freely to Derbent, and from there they were sent to Shirvan Shah in the horde of his koytul.

We also went to Shirvan Shah in Koitul and beat him with our foreheads so that he would favor us rather than get to Rus'. And he didn’t give us anything, since there were many of us. And we, crying, went our separate ways: who had something in Rus', and he went to Rus'; and whoever was supposed to be there went wherever his eyes looked; others remained in Shemakha, while others went to work in Baku.

And I went to Derbent; and from Derbent to Baku, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baku he went overseas to Chapakur, and lived here, in Chapakur, for 6 months, and in Sari, in Mazandaran land, he lived for a month. And from there he went to Amul and lived here for a month; and from there - to Damavand, and from Damavand - to Ray, here they killed Shah Hussein, the Aleev children and the grandchildren of the Muhammadovs, and he cursed them so that 70 cities fell apart. And from Rey he went to Kashan and there was a month; and from Kashan to Nayin, and from Nayin to Yazd, and here he lived for a month. And from Yazd to Sirjan, and from Sirjan to Tarum, where dates are fed to livestock, batman for 4 altyns. And from Tarum he went to Lar, and from Lar to Vendor.

And here there is the Hormuz refuge; there is also the Indian Sea, or the Hindustan Sea in Persian. And from there go by sea to Hormuz for 4 miles. And Hormuz is on an island, and the sea floods it twice every day. Here I met the first Great Day, and I came to Hormuz 4 weeks before the Great Day. I didn’t name all the cities above – there are many great cities. The sun in Hormuz is scorching and can burn a person. And he was in Hormuz for a month and went from there after the Great Day, during the week of St. Thomas, across the Indian Sea in a tava with horses.

And we walked by sea to Muscat for 10 days; and from Muscat to Degas 4 days; and from Degas to Gujerat; and from Gujerat to Kambai, there will be born indigo and a lakh; and from Kambay to Chaul. We left Chaul in the seventh week after the Great Day, and it took 6 weeks to reach Chaul in Tawa by sea.

And there is an Indian country here, and people walk around all naked: their heads are not covered, their breasts are bare, their hair is braided in one braid. Everyone is pregnant, they give birth to children every year, and they have many children. The husbands and wives are all black. Wherever I go, there are a lot of people following me - they are amazed at the white man.

And their prince has a veil on his head, and another on his hips; Their boyars wear a veil on their shoulder and another on their hips; The princesses walk with a veil wrapped around their shoulders and another around their hips. The princely and boyar servants have a veil around their hips, a shield and a sword in their hands, and others with spears, or knives, or sabers, or with bows and arrows. And everyone is naked, barefoot and strong. And the women walk with bare heads and bare breasts; boys and girls go naked until they are 7 years old, and their shame is not covered.

From Chaul we went by land to Pali for 8 days, then Indian cities; and from Pali to Umru 10 days - this is an Indian city; and from Umri to Junir is 6 days. And the Junir, Indian Asad Khan, Meliktuchar’s servant, lives here; they say that he keeps 7 themes from Meliktuchar. And Meliktuchar has 20 themes; For 20 years he has been fighting with infidels - sometimes they beat him, sometimes he beats them often. Khan rides on people; He has a lot of elephants and good horses. He also has a lot of people - Khorasans, and they are brought from the land of Khorasan, or from Arabia, or from Turkmen and Chagatai; They are all brought by sea, in tawas - Indian ships.

And I, a sinner, brought a stallion to Indian land; I reached Junir, thank God, healthy - it cost me a hundred rubles. Their winter began on Trinity Day, and we spent the winter in Junir, living for 2 months; for 4 months, day and night, there was water and mud everywhere. Then they plow and sow wheat, rice, peas and everything edible. They prepare wine in large coconut palm nuts, and mash in tatna. The horses are fed peas and rice is cooked for them with sugar and butter; early in the morning they give them more rice cakes. Horses will not be born in Indian land; oxen and buffaloes will be born here. They ride on them and sometimes transport goods - they do everything.

The city of Junir is located on a stone island, which was not built by anyone, but was created by God; one person climbs the mountain all day, the road is narrow, two cannot pass. In Indian land, guests stay at farmsteads, and food is cooked for them by the ladies of the land; They also make the bed for the guests and sleep with them. If you want to have a close connection with one or another of them, you will give two shetels; if you do not want to have a close connection, you will give one shetel; after all, this is a wife, a friend, and a close relationship is for nothing - they love white people. In winter, people wear them with a veil on their hips, another on their shoulders, and a third on their head. And the princes and boyars then put on trousers, a shirt and a caftan, and they have a veil over their shoulders, they gird themselves with another, and wrap a third around their head. God, great God, true God, good God, merciful God.

And in that Junir, Khan took a stallion from me. When he found out that I was not a Busurman, but a Russian, he said: “I’ll give you a stallion and a thousand gold ladies, just accept our faith, Muhammad’s; if you do not accept our Mohammedan faith, then I will take the stallion and a thousand gold pieces on your head.” And he gave me a term of 4 days, on Savior Day, during the fast of the Most Holy Theotokos. And the Lord God had mercy on his honest holiday, did not deprive me, a sinner, of his mercy and did not command me to perish in Junir with the wicked. On the eve of Spasov's Day, the Khorasanian Khoja Mohammed arrived, and I hit him with my forehead to ask for me. And he went to the khan in the city and persuaded him not to convert me; He also took my stallion from him. This is the Lord's miracle on Savior Day. So, Russian Christian brothers, which of you wants to go to the Indian land, then leave your faith in Rus' and, calling Muhammad, go to the Hindustan land.

The Busurman dogs deceived me: they talked about a lot of goods, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land. All goods are white only for the Busurman land. Cheap pepper and paint. Some transport goods by sea, while others do not pay duties for them. But they won’t let us transport it without duty. But the duty is high, and there are many robbers at sea. And all the kafirs, not Christians and not Muslims, break; They pray to stone blockheads, but they do not know Christ.

And on the day of the Dormition of the Most Pure One they left Junir to Bidar, their large city, and walked for a month; and from Bidar to Kulungir is 5 days, and from Kulungir to Kulbarga is also 5 days. Between these large cities there are many other cities; every day there were 3 cities, and on another day 4; There are as many cities as there are cows. From Chaul to Junir there are 20 kovs, and from Junir to Bidar there are 40 kovs, and from Bidar to Kulungir there are 9 kovs, and from Bidar to Kulbarg there are also 9 kovs.

In Bidar there is a trade for horses and for goods: for damask, for silk and for any other goods; You can also buy black people on it. There is no other purchase here. And all their goods are from Hindustan. Edibles are all vegetables. There are no goods for Russian land. The people are all black and all villains, and the women are all shameless; everywhere there is witchcraft, theft, lies and the potion that is used to kill the rulers.

The princes in the Indian land are all Khorasans, and all the boyars as well. And the Hindus are all on foot, walking quickly, and all are naked and barefoot, with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. And other servants walk with large and straight bows and arrows. And they all fight on elephants, and let the foot soldiers go forward; the Khorasans are on horses and in armor, and the horses themselves. The elephants are tied to their trunks and tusks with large forged swords weighing a centar, they are dressed in damask armor and have towns made on them; and in each town there are 12 people in armor, with guns and arrows.

They have one place - the tomb of Sheikh Alaeddin in Alanda, where once a year a bazaar is held, where the entire Indian country comes to trade, and they trade there for 10 days. From Bidar there are 12 kovs. And they bring horses, sell up to 20 thousand, and bring in all other goods. In the land of Hindustan this is the best bargain; Every product is sold here and bought in memory of Sheikh Alaeddin, on the Russian holiday of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. There is an eagle owl bird on that Alanda, it flies at night and shouts “gukuk”; on which mansion she sits, then the person will die; and whoever wants to kill her, then fire will come out of her mouth. And mammon walk at night and grab chickens; they live in the mountain or in stones. Monkeys live in the forest, and they have a monkey prince who goes about with his army. And if someone offends them, then they complain to their prince, and he sends his army against him. And the monkeys, attacking the city, destroy courtyards and beat people. They say that their army is very large and they have their own language; They will give birth to many children, but those who are not born like their father or mother are thrown along the roads. Then the Indians pick them up and teach them all kinds of handicrafts, some are sold, but at night, so that they cannot run back, and some are taught to imitate the actors.

Spring has come here with the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God; in the spring, two weeks after the Intercession, Sheikh Alaeddin is celebrated for eight days. Spring lasts 3 months, summer 3 months, winter 3 months, and autumn 3 months. In Bidar is the throne of the Busurman Hindustan. This city is large, and there are many people in it. Their Sultan is young, only 20 years old, and the princes and boyars - Khorasans - rule, and all Khorasans also fight.

There is a Khorasanian Meliktuchar, a boyar, - so he has an army of 200 thousand. And Melik Khan has 100 thousand, and Kharat Khan has 20 thousand. But many khans have an army of 10 thousand. The Sultan's army comes out to 300 thousand. The earth is very populous; the rural people are very poor, and the boyars are rich and luxurious; they carry them on a silver stretcher and lead in front of them up to 20 horses in golden harnesses; and behind them there are 300 people on horseback, 500 people on foot, 10 trumpet players, 10 timpani players, and 10 pipe players. The Sultan goes out for fun with his mother and wife, and with him are 10 thousand people on horseback, and 50 thousand on foot. And the elephants are led by 200 people dressed in gilded armor. Yes, in front of the Sultan there are 100 pipe-makers, and 100 dancers, and 300 simple horses in golden harnesses, and behind him are 100 monkeys, and 100 concubines, and all young maidens.

There are seven gates leading to the sultan's palace, and at the gates there are a hundred guards and a hundred kafirs scribes: some write down who will enter, others - who will leave; Foreigners are not allowed into the palace. And his palace is very beautiful, there is carving and gold everywhere, and the last stone is carved and very beautifully painted with gold; Yes, there are different vessels in the palace.

The city of Bidar is guarded at night by a thousand people appointed by the mayor, and they all ride on horses, in armor and with torches. I sold my stallion in Bidar, and spent 68 feet on him, feeding him for a year. In Bidar, snakes two fathoms long crawl along the streets. And he came to Bidar from Kulungir to Filippovo, and sold his stallion for Christmas. And I stayed in Bidar until the great spell. Here I met many Indians and announced to them that I was a Christian, not a Busurman, and my name was Afanasy, or in Busurman Khoja Isuf Khorasani. They did not hide anything from me - neither in food, nor in trade, nor in prayer, nor in other things; They also did not hide their wives.

I asked everything about their faith, and they said: we believe in Adam, and the Booths, they say, this is Adam and his entire family. There are 84 faiths in India, and everyone believes in Buta. Vera with faith does not drink, does not eat, does not marry; some eat lamb, chickens, fish and eggs, but no faith eats oxen.

I stayed in Bidar for 4 months and agreed with the Indians to go to Parvat - their Jerusalem, and in Busurmanian Mecca, where their main idol temple (butkhana). I went there with the Indians for a month before the butkhana. Bargaining at the butkhana lasts 5 days. And the butkhana is very large, half the size of Tver, made of stone, and Butov’s deeds are carved on it, a total of 12 crowns are carved, how But worked miracles, how he appeared to the Indians in many images: the first - in the form of a man; the second - in the form of a man, but with the trunk of an elephant; the third - by a man in the form of a monkey; fourth - by a man in the form of a fierce beast. He always appeared to them with a tail, and the tail on the stone was carved as big as a fathom. The whole Indian country comes to Butkhana, to see Butov’s miracles.

Near the butkhana, old wives and girls shave and shave off all their hair; They also shave their beards and heads. Then they go to the butkhana; from each head they take a tax on But - 2 sheksheni, and from horses - 4 feet. And 20 thousand people come to the butkhana, and there are times when 100 thousand. The buthan's buthan is carved from stone and is very large, its tail is thrown over its shoulder, and its right hand is raised high and extended, like King Justinian in Constantinople, and in his left hand he has a spear; and he has nothing on, only his bottom is tied with a fly, he looks like a monkey. And the other Booths are completely naked, there is nothing, with their bottoms open; and Booth's wives are cut naked and with shame and with children. And in front of But stands a huge ox, and it is carved from black stone and all gilded. They kiss him on the hoof and sprinkle flowers on him, and flowers are also sprinkled on Booth.

Indians do not eat meat at all: neither cowhide, nor lamb, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, although they have a lot of pigs. They eat 2 times a day, but do not eat at night; They neither drink wine nor have enough to eat. They don’t drink or eat with busurmans. But their food is bad, and they don’t drink or eat with each other, even with their wife. They eat rice and kichiri with butter, and various herbs, and cook them with butter and milk. And they eat everything with their right hand, but they will never take hold of anything with their left; They don’t hold a knife and don’t know a spoon. On the road, everyone has a forge and cooks their own porridge. And they hide from the busurman so that they don’t look at the highlander or the food. If the Busurman looked at the food, the Indian no longer eats. And when they eat, some cover themselves with cloth so that no one can see.

And when they pray to the east, in Russian, they raise both hands high and place them on the crown of their head, and lie down on the ground and stretch out on it - that’s their bows. And when they sit down to eat, some wash their hands and feet, and rinse their mouths. And their buthans have no doors and are placed to the east; Buty also stands to the east. And whoever dies among them is burned, and the ashes are sprinkled on the water. And when a wife gives birth to a child, the husband receives it; The son is named by the father, and the daughter by the mother. They have no good morals and know no shame. When coming or leaving, they bow like a monk, pointing both hands to the ground and saying nothing.

They go to Parvat for the great ritual, to their But, here is their Jerusalem, and in Busurman - Mecca, in Russian - Jerusalem, in Indian - Parvat. And they all come together naked, only on the backs of their clothes; and the women are all naked, only with a veil on their backs, and others in veils, and on their necks there are pearls and many yachts, and on their hands there are gold hoops and rings, by God. And inside, to the butkhana, they ride on oxen, and each ox has horns bound with copper, about 300 bells on its neck, and shod hooves. And those oxen are called “fathers.” The Indians call the ox “father” and the cow “mother”; They bake bread and cook their food with their feces, and smear the ashes on their face, forehead and entire body. This is their sign. On Sunday and Monday they eat once during the day. In India, wives are considered to be of low value and cheap: if you want to meet a woman, two shetels; If you want to throw money away for nothing, give me six shetels. This is their custom. Slaves and female slaves are cheap: 4 pounds - good, 5 pounds - good and black.

I arrived from Parvat to Bidar, 15 days before the great Busurman holiday. But I don’t know the Great Day of the Resurrection of Christ and I guess by signs: for Christians the Great Day happens before the Busurman Bayram by 9 or 10 days. I have nothing with me, no book; and we took the books with us from Rus', but when they robbed me, they took them too. And I forgot the whole Christian faith and Christian holidays: I don’t know either the Great Day, or the Nativity of Christ, or Wednesday, or Friday. And among faiths, I pray to God to protect me: “Lord God, true God, God, you are a merciful God, you are a creator God, you are Lord. God is one, the king of glory, the creator of heaven and earth.” And I return to Rus' with the thought: my faith perished, I fasted like a Busurman. The month of March passed, and I didn’t eat meat for a month, started a weekly fast with the Busurmans and didn’t eat anything modest, no Busurman food, but ate 2 times a day, all bread and water, and had no connection with my wife. And I prayed to God Almighty, who created heaven and earth, and did not call on any other name: God is our creator, God is merciful, God, you are the Most High God.

And from Hormuz it takes 10 days to go by sea to Galata, and from Galata to Deg - 6 days, and from Deg to Muscat - 6 days, and from Muscat to Gujarat - 10 days, and from Gujarat to Kambay - 4 days, and from Kambay to Chaula is 12 days, and from Chaula to Dabul is 6 days. Dabul is a pier in Hindustan, the last of the Busurmans. And from Dabul to Calicut is 25 days, and from Calicut to Ceylon is 15 days, and from Ceylon to Shabbat is a month, and from Shabbat to Pegu is 20 days, and from Pegu to Chin and to Machin is a month. And then all the way by sea. And from Chin to China it takes 6 months to go by land, and 4 days to go by sea. May God decorate my cover.

Hormuz is a great haven. People from all over the world visit it, and all sorts of goods are available here. Everything that is born in the world is in Hormuz. The duty is high; tithes are taken from everything. And Kambay is a harbor for the entire Indian Sea, and the goods in it are all made by alachi, and motley workers, and coarse woolen fabric, and they make indigo dye; a lakh, carnelian and cloves will be born in it. Dabul is a very large harbor, and horses are brought here from Egypt, Arabia, Khorasan, Turkestan and Old Hormuz; and they walk on dry land for a month to Bidar and to Kulbarg.

And Calicut is a pier for the entire Indian Sea, and God forbid any ship to pass through it; whoever passes it will not sail safely through the sea. And it will produce pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cinnamon, cloves, spicy roots, adryak and a lot of other roots will be born in it. And everything about it is cheap; Yes, the male and female slaves are very good, black.

But Ceylon is a considerable pier of the Indian Sea, and in it, on a high mountain, Father Adam. Yes, precious stones, rubies, crystals, agates, resin, crystal, emery will be born around him. Elephants are also born, and they are sold by the cubit, and ostriches are sold by the weight.

And the Shabat pier of the Indian Sea is very large. The Khorasans here are given a salary, one money per day, big and small. And whoever of the Khorasans gets married here, and the Shabbat prince gives them a thousand money for sacrifice, and gives them a salary, and 10 money for food every month. And silk, sandalwood, pearls will be born on Shabbat - and everything is cheap.

In Pegu there is a considerable pier, and all the Indian dervishes live in it. And precious stones, rubies, and yachts will be born in it. Dervishes sell these stones.

And Chinskaya and Machinskaya are very large piers, and they make porcelain here, and sell it by weight and cheaply.

And their wives sleep with their husbands during the day, and at night they go to strangers and sleep with them; they (the wives) give them (the guests) a salary and bring with them sweets and sugar wine, feed and drink them to the guests so that they are loved. Wives love guests - white people, since their people are very black. And whose wife conceives a child from a guest, then her husband gives a salary, and if a white man is born, then the guest receives a duty of 18 money, and if a black man is born, then he has nothing; and what he drank and ate was what was permitted to him by law.

Shabbat from Bidar is 3 months, and from Dabul to Shabbat is 2 months, travel by sea. Machin and Chin from Bidar 4 months, go by sea. And they make pearls of the highest quality there, and everything is cheap. And it takes 2 months to get to Ceylon by sea. On Shabbat, silk, porcelain, pearls, sandalwood are born, elephants are sold by the cubit.

Monkeys, rubies and crystals will be born in Ceylon. Pepper, nutmeg, cloves, fufal and flower are born in Calicut. Indigo and lac are born in Gujarat, and carnelian in Vambai. In Raichur, a diamond will be born, from the old and new mines; a diamond kidney is sold for 5 rubles, and a very good one - for 10 rubles; the kidney of a new diamond is only 5 kenyas, a blackish diamond is from 4 to 6 kenyas, and a white diamond is 1 money.

A diamond will be born in a stone mountain; and they sell that stone mountain, if the diamond is from a new mine, then for 2 thousand gold pounds, but if the diamond is from an old mine, then they sell it for 10 thousand gold pounds per cubit. And the land is the sultan’s slave Melik Khan, and from Bidar 30 kov.

And what Jews consider Shabbat to be theirs, Jewish, is a lie. The Shabaites are not Jews, not Muslims, not Christians - they have a different faith, Indian. They do not drink or eat with Jews or Busurmans, and they do not eat any meat. Yes, everything is cheap on Shabbat, but silk and sugar are born there - very cheap. And in the forest they have wild cats and monkeys and attack people on the roads, so because of the monkeys and wild cats they don’t dare drive on the roads at night.

And from Shabbat it takes 10 months to travel by land, and 4 months by sea on large ships. The navels of fattened deer are cut off because they contain musk. And wild deer themselves drop their navels in the field and in the forest, and a scent comes out of them, but not so fragrant, since they are not fresh.

In the month of May, I celebrated the Great Day in Busurman Bidar in Hindustan. The Busurmans celebrated Bayram on Wednesday in the month of May, and I began the month of April on the first day. O faithful Christians, whoever sails a lot in many lands falls into many sins and deprives himself of the Christian faith. I, the servant of God Athanasius, have suffered through faith: 4 great spells and 4 Great days have already passed, and I, a sinner, do not know when the Great Day or the spell is, I don’t know when the Nativity of Christ and other holidays are, I don’t know the Wednesday, neither Friday. But I don’t have any books; when they robbed me, they took my books. And because of many troubles, I went to India, since I had nothing to go to Rus' with, there were no goods left. I met the first Great Day in Cain, another Great Day in Chepakur in Mazanderan land, the third day in Hormuz, and the fourth Great Day in Bidar, in India, together with the Busurmans. And then I cried a lot because of the Christian faith.

The Busurman Medic forced me a lot to convert to the Busurman faith. I answered him: “Sir, you pray, and I also do it; you read 5 prayers, I read 3 prayers; I am a foreigner, and you are from here.” He told me: “Truly, although you seem to be not a busurman, you don’t know Christianity either.” And then I fell into many thoughts and said to myself: “Woe to me, the accursed, because I have lost my way from the true path and I don’t know any other way, I’ll go myself. Lord God, Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, do not turn your face away from your servant who is in sorrow. Lord, look upon me and have mercy on me, because I am your creation; do not turn me away, Lord, from the true path and guide me, Lord, on your right path, because in that need I did not do anything virtuous for you, my Lord, because I spent all my days in evil. My Lord, patron god, most high god, merciful god, merciful god. Praise be to God! 4 Great days have already passed in the Busurman land, but I have not left Christianity; and then God knows what will happen. Lord, my God, I trust in you, save me, Lord, my God!”

In Busurman India, in Great Bidar, I looked at the great night: on the Great Day the Pleiades and Orion entered the dawn, and the Big Dipper stood with its head to the east. On Busurman Bayram, the Sultan went for a walk, and with him 20 great viziers and 300 elephants, dressed in damask armor with towns, and the towns were shackled. In the towns there are 6 people in armor, with cannons and arquebuses, and on the great elephant there are 12 people. Each elephant has 2 large banners, and large swords are tied to the tusks, along the centar, and heavy iron weights are tied to the trunks; Yes, a man in armor sits between his ears, and in his hands he has a large iron hook, which he uses. Yes, a thousand simple horses in golden harness rode out, and 100 camels with kettledrums, and 300 pipe players, and 300 dancers, and 300 slaves.

And the Sultan is wearing a caftan, all studded with yakhonts, and on his hat there is a cone - a huge diamond, and a golden sidek with yakhonts, and on it there are 3 sabers, bound in gold, and a golden saddle. And in front of him an infidel runs and plays with an umbrella, and behind him there are many foot soldiers. A trained elephant follows him, dressed all in damask, with a large iron chain in its mouth, and he beats off people and horses with it so that they do not come close to the Sultan. And the Sultan’s brother sits on a golden stretcher, and above him is a velvet canopy, with a golden top with yahonts. And 20 people carry it. And the sovereign sits on a golden stretcher, and above him is a silk canopy with a golden top. And they carry him on 4 horses in golden harnesses. Yes, there are a great many people around him, and in front of him there are singers and many dancers. And all with drawn swords and sabers, with shields, with spears and with bows, straight and large; and the horses are all in armor, and they have sideks on them. Others go all naked, only with a cloth on their backs, shame covered.

The moon in Bidar is full for 3 days. There are no sweet vegetables in Bidar. There is no intense heat in Hindustan; intense heat in Hormuz, and in Bahrain, where pearls are born, and in Jiddo, and in Baku, and in Egypt, and in Arabstan, and in Lara. It’s hot in the land of Khorasan, but it’s not like that. And in Chagatai it is very hot. In Shiraz and in Yazd and Kashan it is hot, but there is a wind. And in Gilani it is very stuffy and steamy, and in Shamakhi there is strong steam. It’s sultry in Babylon (Baghdad), and also in Khums and Damascus. It's not so hot in Aleppo. And in Sevaste Bay and in the Georgian land there is great abundance. And the Turkish land is very abundant. In Voloshskaya land everything edible is also abundant and cheap. Podolsk land is also abundant in everything. May the Russian land be protected by God! God forbid! God forbid! There is no country like it in this world, although the nobles (boyars) of the Russian land are unjust (not kind). May the Russian land become prosperous, and may there be justice in it. Oh god, god, god, god, god.

Lord my God, I trust in you, save me, Lord! I don't know the way. And where will I go from Hindustan: to go to Hormuz, but from Hormuz to Khorasan there is no way, and there is no way to Chagatai, and there is no way to Bahrain, and there is no way to Yazd. There is rioting everywhere. The princes were driven out everywhere. Mirza Jehanshah was killed by Uzun-Hasan-bek, Sultan Abu Said was poisoned; Uzun-Hasan-bek sat down in Shiraz, but this land did not recognize him. But Yadigar Mohammed does not go to him - he is afraid. And there is no other way. And to go to Mecca means to convert to the Busurman faith; For the sake of faith, Christians do not go to Mecca, since there they convert people into turkmenism. Living in Hindustan means spending everything you have, since everything is expensive for them: I am one person, but a day’s grub costs 2 and a half altyn. But I didn’t drink wine and was full.

Meliktuchar took 2 Indian cities that were robbing the Indian Sea. And he captured 7 princes and their treasury: a load of yachts, a load of diamonds and rubies, and 100 loads of expensive goods. And the army captured countless other goods. And he stood near the city for 2 years, and with him there were 200 thousand army, 100 elephants and 300 camels. And Meliktuchar came with his army to Vidar on Kurban Bayram, in Russian, on Peter’s Day. And the Sultan sent 10 viziers to meet him, for 10 kovs, and 10 versts in a kov. And with each vizier 10 thousand of his army, and 10 elephants in armor.

And at Meliktuchar, 500 people sit at the table every day. And with him, at his meal, 3 viziers sit down, and with the vizier there are 50 people, and 100 sworn boyars. Meliktuchar has 2 thousand horses in his stable; Yes, a thousand saddled people stand ready day and night, and there are 100 elephants in the stable. Every night his courtyard is guarded by 100 people in armor, 20 pipe players and 10 kettledrum players, and 2 people beat 10 large tambourines.

And Nizam-al-mulk, Melik Khan, and Farhad Khan took 3 large cities, and the army with them was 100 thousand and 50 elephants. Yes, they took a huge amount of all kinds of expensive stones, and they bought all those stones, yachts, and diamonds for Meliktuchar; he forbade the craftsmen to sell them to merchants who came to the city of Bidar on the day of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Sultan goes out for fun on Thursday and Tuesday, and 3 viziers go with him. And the sultans’ brother leaves on Monday with his mother and sister. Yes, 2 thousand wives ride out on horses and on golden stretchers. Yes, there are just 100 horses in front of them in golden harnesses, and there are a lot of foot soldiers with them, and 2 viziers and 10 viziers, and 50 elephants in cloth blankets. And on an elephant there are 4 people sitting naked, only with clothes on their backs. Yes, naked women on foot, and they carry water after them to drink and wash, but one does not drink water from the other.

Meliktuchar set out to conquer the Indians with his army from the city of Bidar on the day of memory of Sheikh Alaeddin, and in Russian on the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, and 50 thousand army came out with him. And the Sultan sent 50 thousand to his army, and 3 viziers went with him, and with them 30 thousand; Yes, 100 elephants in armor and with towns went with them, and on each elephant there were 4 people with arquebuses. Meliktuchar went to conquer the great Indian kingdom of Vijayanagara.

And the Vijayanagar prince has 300 elephants, 100 thousand of his army, and 50 thousand horses. The Sultan left the city of Bidar in the eighth month after the Great Day, and 26 Busurman viziers and 6 Indian viziers left with him. And with the Sultan of his court they left: 100 thousand army - horsemen, and 200 thousand foot soldiers, and 300 elephants in armor and with towns, and 100 evil animals, each with two chains. And with his brother Sultanov his court came out: 100 thousand horsemen, 100 thousand foot people, and 100 elephants dressed in armor. And behind Mal-khan came his court: 20 thousand horsemen, 60 thousand foot soldiers, and 20 dressed elephants. And with Beder Khan and his brother came 30 thousand horsemen, 100 thousand foot soldiers, and 25 dressed elephants, with towns. And with Sul Khan his court came out: 10 thousand horsemen, 20 thousand foot soldiers, and 10 elephants with towns. And with Vezir Khan came 15 thousand horsemen, 30 thousand foot soldiers, and 15 dressed elephants. And with Kutar Khan his court came out: 15 thousand horsemen, 40 thousand foot soldiers, and 10 elephants. Yes, with each vizier 10 thousand came out, and with another 15 thousand horsemen, and 20 thousand foot soldiers.

And with the Indian Avdonom came his army of 40 thousand horsemen, 100 thousand foot people, and 40 elephants dressed in armor, and on an elephant 4 people with arquebuses. And with the Sultan came 26 viziers, and with each vizier 10 thousand of his army, and 20 thousand foot soldiers; and with another vizier 15 thousand horsemen, and 30 thousand on foot. And the four great Indian viziers had 40 thousand horsemen and 100 thousand foot soldiers. And the Sultan became angry with the Indians because little happened to him; and he also added 20 thousand foot people, 2 thousand horsemen and 20 elephants. Such is the strength of the Indian Sultan, the Busurman; Muhammad's faith is still good. But God knows the right faith, and the right faith is to know the one God, to call on his name in purity in every pure place.

On the fifth Great Day I decided to go to Rus'. He left the city of Bidara a month before the Busurman Ulu Bayram, according to the faith of Muhammad, the prophet of God. But I don’t know about the Great Christian Day - Christ’s Resurrection, but I fasted with the Busurmans in their ritual and broke my fast with them. I met a great day in Kulbarga, 20 kovs from Bidar.

The Sultan reached Meliktuchar with his army on the 15th day after Ulu Bayram, and everyone was in Kulbarga. And the war was not successful for them, they took one Indian city, but many people died, and they spent a lot of treasury. But the Indian governor is very strong, and he has a lot of troops, and he sits on a mountain in Vijayanagar. And his city is very large, there are 3 ditches around it, and a river flows through it; and on one side of the city there was an evil forest wilderness, on the other side there was a valley, very wonderful in places and suitable for everything. There was nowhere to come to the other side, the road through the city, and there was nowhere to take the city from, a great mountain and an evil wildland approached, thickets of thorny bushes. The army stood under the city for a month, and people died from lack of water, and many people died from hunger and lack of water; and they look at the water, but there’s nowhere to get it from. The Indian city was taken by Khoja Meliktuchar, and he took it by force, he fought with the city day and night, for 20 days the army did not drink, did not eat, stood under the city with guns. And his army killed 5 thousand selected people. And when they took the city, they killed 20 thousand men and women, and took 20 thousand people, adults and children, captive. And they sold the prisoners for 10 money per head, and for another for 5 money, and the boys for 2 money. There was nothing in the treasury. But they didn’t take the big city.

And from Kulbarg he went to Kulur; and in Kulur the carnelian is born, and here it is trimmed, and then transported from there to the whole world. 300 diamond workers live in Kulur and decorate their weapons. And I stayed here for five months and went from here to Koilkonda, and there is a very large bazaar. And from there he went to Gulbarga, and from Gulbarga he went to Sheikh Alaeddin, and from Sheikh Alaeddin - to Kamendriya, and from Kamendriya - to Kynaryas, and from Kynaryas - to Suri, and from Suri he went to Dabul - the pier of the great Indian Sea.

Dabul is a very large city, and the entire coastline, Indian and Ethiopian, comes to it. And then I, the accursed slave of the Most High God, the creator of heaven and earth, Athanasius, thought about the Christian faith, about the baptism of Christ, about the orders arranged by the holy fathers and about the apostolic commandments, and my mind rushed to go to Rus'. And, sitting down in the tawa and agreeing on the ship's payment, he gave 2 gold pieces from his head to Hormuz.

But I boarded a ship in Dabul 3 months before the Great Day, the Busurman ritual. And I sailed in the sea for a month and did not see anything, only the next month I saw the Ethiopian mountains. And then the people all exclaimed: “ollo konkar bizim bashi mudna nasip bolmyshti,” which in Russian means: “God, the sovereign, God, the highest God, the heavenly king, here you have destined us to perish.”

And he was in that Ethiopian land for 5 days. By the grace of God, evil did not happen; we distributed a lot of rice, pepper, and bread to the Ethiopians, and they did not plunder the ships. And from there he sailed 12 days to Muscat and in Muscat he met the sixth Great Day. And he sailed to Hormuz for 9 days and was in Hormuz for 20 days. From Hormuz I went to Lara and stayed in Lara for 3 days. From Lara I went to Shiraz, 12 days, and in Shiraz I was 7 days. And from Shiraz he went to Aberkukh, 15 days, and was in Aberkukh for 10 days. And from Aberkukh he went to Yazd, 9 days, and was in Yazd 8 days. And from Yazd he went to Ispagan, 5 days, and in Ispagan he was 6 days. And from Ispagan he went to Kashan, and was in Kashan for 5 days. And from Kashan he went to Kum, and from Kuma he went to Sava. And from Sava he went to Sultaniya. And from Sultaniya he went to Tabriz. And from Tabriz he went to the horde to Hasan-bek, he stayed in the horde for 10 days, since there was no way anywhere. And Hasan Bek sent his army of 40 thousand against the Turkish [Sultan], and they took Sivas; and they took Tokat and set it on fire, they took Amasia and plundered many villages there. And they went to fight against Karaman. And I went from the horde to Arzinjan, and from Arzinjan I went to Trebizond.

And he came to Trebizond for the Protection of the Holy Mother of God and the Ever-Virgin Mary and stayed in Trebizond for 5 days. And, having come to the ship, he agreed on payment - to give gold from his head to Kafa; I took the gold one for duty and gave it to the Cafe. In Trebizond, the subyshi and the pasha did me a lot of harm: they took all my rubbish to their city, to the mountain, and searched everything; that the change was good - they stole it all, but they were looking for letters, since I came from the horde of Hassan-bek.

By the grace of God I swam to the third sea, the Black Sea, or in Persian the Istanbul Sea. We sailed by sea in the wind for 5 days and sailed to Vonada, but then we were met by a strong wind from the north and returned us to Trebizond. And we stood in Platan for 15 days due to a strong and angry wind. From Platana we went to the sea twice, but the evil wind that met us did not allow us to go across the sea; True God, patron God! - because besides him, we don’t know any other god. And the sea passed by and took us to Balaklava, and from there to Gurzuf, and we stood here for 5 days.

By the grace of God, he sailed to Kafa, 9 days before Philip’s plot. God, creator! By the grace of God I have crossed three seas. God knows the rest, God the patron knows. In the name of God, the merciful and merciful. God is great! Good God, good Lord, Jesus the spirit of God! Peace to you! God is great; there is no god but Allah, the creator. Thank God, praise God! In the name of God, merciful and merciful! He is a god, to whom there is no other like, knowing everything secret and obvious; He is merciful and merciful; he is a god who has no other like him; He is king, light, peace, savior, trustee, glorious, powerful, great, creator, builder, imager. He is the absolver of sins, he is also the punisher; giving, nourishing, ending all difficulties; the knower who receives our souls; He who spreads out heaven and earth, who preserves everything; Almighty, elevating, overthrowing, hearing everything, seeing everywhere. He is a right and good judge.