Transoxiana and Sogdiana: The Thrilling Conclusion, Pt. 2

In my last post, I discussed a lot of maps, and I wondered if the place names "Transoxiana" and "Sogdiana" were completely interchangeable. By that, I mean do these two terms refer to the same area. And based upon my research, I have drawn the following conclusion:

Kind of, sort of, maybe.

Here is the map from Empires of the Silk Road again. This map is probably the most helpful map because it lists Transoxiana and Sogdiana together. This map goes the extra mile in demonstrating that Transoxiana is, in fact, a much larger area than Sogdiana. It is the ideal map for this kind of investigation, and I wish other maps would take the hint.

But there is more evidence beyond maps to support my theory that Sogdiana is part of the larger Transoxiana area. There is no shortage of literature describing the borders of Sogdiana. This is a description of Sogdiana's varying borders by Etienne de la Vassiere:

[Sogdiana is an] Iranian-speaking region in Central Asia [stretching] from the rivers Amu Darya in the south to the Syr Dara in the north, with its heart in the valleys of the Zarafsan and the Kaska Darya...Sogdian colonial expansion in the north during the Early Middle Ages led to a Chinese pilgrim in the mid-seventh century to define Sogdiana as the entire region stretching from Lake Issyk Kul in eastern Kyrgyzstan to the Amy Darya (Xuanzang, tr. p. 26). After the ninth century, the name Sogd/al-Sogd was restricted to the rural area between Samarkand and Bukhara (Ebn Hawqal, p. 492; on Sogdian geography, see Barthold).(1)

 And here is a description of the borders of Transoxiana from The Cambridge History of Iran. 

Turan, or Transoxiana, was there vaguely defined as the area between the Oxus River and Khotan "on the frontiers of China"...Today Transoxiana would be the roughly rectangular area between the Amu Darya (Oxus) and the Syr Darya (Jaxartes) rivers, which flow into the Aral Sea from the Pamir and Tien Shan mountain ranges respectively.(2)

And, for my final pieces of evidence, I present two quotes from the Hudud al-Alam ('The Regions of the World') describing Transoxiana and its location.

East of this country are the borders of  Tibet; south of it, Korasan and its Marches; west of it, the Ghuz and the borders of the Khallukh; north of it, also the borders of the Khallukh. This is a vast, propserours, and very pleasant country. It is the gate of Turkistan and a resort of merchants.(3)

The second quote from the Hudud al-Alam goes further to describe the region of "Sughd" (this is the same as the aforementioned "Sogd"/"al-Sogd") located in Transoxiana.

Sughd, a region. There is no place among the eastern regions more flourishing than this. It has running waters, many trees, and a good climate. The people are hospitable and sociable. It abounds in amenities, is prosperous, and mild, pious people are numerous there.(4)

The way my investigation is shaping up, it appears that Sogdiana is, in fact, part of the larger area of Transoxiana. However, if any of my dear readers are like me, they will likely be wondering where the confusion came from. I believe I may have an answer for that, as well.

Transoxiana, according to Albert E. Dien, is comprised of three regions: Khorezm, Ferghana, and Sogdiana (5). So, if we refer to this map from Etienne de la Vassiere's Sogdian Traders: A History, we can get a better idea of just what Transoxiana encompasses.

This map displays the areas of Khorezm, Sogdiana, and Ferghana very nicely and prominently. We can also see Bactria, Sogdiana's immediate southern neighbor. What is important to note about these areas, as Dien points out, is that these are all areas with predominantly Iranian-speaking populations.(6) An important characteristic of Sogdiana is that Sogdians were the dominant language group there. And, while Sogdian kings with imperial intentions grew the borders of Sogdiana to encompass Lake Issyk Kul (just north of the Tarim Basin and Tianshan mountains on the above map) all the way to the Amu Darya (7), this does not change the following facts: The Sogdian heartland is in the Sogdian plains, and the larger area of Transoxiana includes Sogdiana as just a part of a larger whole. Border expansion and contraction, along with such closely related languages among related Iranian groups, may have contributed greatly to the jumbling of these terms.

Sogdiana is just a part of the lovely Iranian-language tapestry that is Transoxiana.

In his article on Transoxiana, Vassiere discusses the use and definition of this place name:

Ma wara al-nahr (lit. "What lies beyond the river") [is] the classical designation for Transoxiania or Transoxiana. It was defined by the early Arabic historians and geographers as the lands under Muslim control lying to the north of the middle and upper Oxus or Amu Darya, in contrast to Iran proper and its eastern province of Khorasan, sometimes called Ma dun al-nahr (lit. "what lies this side of the river")...The norther frontiers of Ma wara al-nahr are ill-defined and tended to correspond to the limits of Arab military expansion, but by early Abbasid times (ca. 800 CE) they might be taken to comprise the regions between the Oxus and Jaxartes or Syr Darya, that is, Sogdia, the upper Oxus provinces of Caganiyan, Kottal, and Wakan, Osrusana to the south of the middle Syr Darya; Cac [Chach] or Sas beyond the middle Syr Darya, and Fargana and the vally of the upper Syr Darya.(8)

Sogdiana's borders have variously grown and retracted, just as the definition of Transoxiana has. However, it is clear that Transoxiana has been used to refer to far more land area than Sogdiana, and, depending on the time period being discussed, likely should be properly designated and distinguished in future research to avoid confusion.

It is my hope that this research of the geography of Sogdiana, Transoxiana, and Central Eurasia has provided some insight to the issue of discussing places that have had nebulous, changing borders and inconsistent sources on those borders. I hope my dear readers can get a sense of how difficult it can be to research these areas, even on a question that should be as straightforward and simple as names for regions on a map.

Sources

1) de la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdiana iii. - History and Archaeology," Encyclopedia Iranica online edition, 2011. available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology accessed October 7, 2015

2) Guity, Azarpay, "The Development of Arts in Transoxiana," Cambridge History of Iran: Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanian Periods. ed. Ehsan Yarshater. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 1130.

3)Unknown, Hudud al-Alam 'The Regions of the World': A Persian Geography 37 A.H - 982 A.D. trans.Vladimir Minorsky. ed. C. E. Bosworth. (London: Gibb Memorial Trust, 2015), 119

4) Ibid.

5) Dien, Albert E. "The Glories of Sogdiana", The Silk Road Foundation. accessed 10/9/2015. http://www.silk-road.com/artl/sogdian.shtml

6) Ibid.

7) de la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdiana iii. - History and Archaeology," Encyclopedia Iranica online edition, 2011. available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology accessed October 7, 2015

8) Bosworth, C. Edmund. "Ma Wara al-Nahr", Encyclopedia Iranica online edition, 2011. available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mawara-al-nahr accessed 10/7/2015

Maps 

MAP 1
Unknown. Premodern Central Eurasia [map]. no scale. In: Christopher I. Beckwith. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, inside cover.


MAP 2 and MAP 3
Unknown. Central Asia General Map [map]. 3" = 1000 km. In: Etienne de la Vassiere. Sogdian Traders: A History. Leiden: Brill, 2005, 14.

Transoxiana and Sogdiana: A Discussion of Interchangeable Terms pt. 1

While researching Sogdians and their origins, one is likely to come across two names to identify the Sogdian homeland: Sogdiana and Transoxiana. These terms seem to be used interchangeably to refer to the place of origin of the Sogdian people. It was my theory, from my research, that Transoxiana referred to a larger area than just that of Sogdiana. This entry will discuss my investigation and research into this topic.

When tackling a topic dealing with Geography, the go-to item anyone would want to look for are maps. Now, I'm not an expert on maps. And, while I am fairly adept at Political Geography, I am not a Geographer and I do not possess an extensive knowledge of map terminology. But, what I am here to tell you is that finding good, authoritative maps of Transoxiana and Sogdiana is not easy. In the Age of the Internet, anyone can create maps for Wikipedia, and the researcher investigating a topic like this will often find maps of unknown origin, with no citation for the original creator of the map or even an idea of what the creator used to inform their creation of the map. One hopes it is scholarly, but that cannot be ascertained with any certainty unless the artist creating it cites the sources of their information.

There is also the problem of the types of maps produced. Some will be historic maps displaying the topography of the region and giving the historic city and regional names. Others will show modern political borders with no names and a colored in area where the historic region was located. Here are some examples below: 

MAP 1

The map of Sogdiana found on Wikipedia's Sogdiana page. It yields few clues about the modern countries the region of Sogdiana straddled, and gives no topography to indicate the rivers that were so important as the natural boundaries of Sogdiana. Source: Wikimedia Commons

MAP 2

This map can be found on Wikipedia's Transoxiana page. Despite being on the Transoxiana page, the map does nothing to indicate where Transoxiana might be located, nor does it even display the name of Transoxiana. Granted, this map does show the general, historic area of Transoxiana, but without any kind of naming or names of other places of classical period in question, one is at a loss to derive any information from the map except the route of the Amu Darya, the major towns along the Amu Darya, and the modern country names of that region. The file name, as given on Wikimedia Commons, indicates this is a map of the Amu Darya basin and makes no mention of Transoxiana. 

MAP 3

And this map seems to indicate that Sogdiana is part of a larger Transoxiana area, but there are no borders of modern countries to overlap for border comparisons. This map also comes from a site with no reputable sources, nor does it seem to be associated with any sort of well-known academic community or higher education institution. Therefore, while it is probably one of the most helpful maps I have found on the topic, I cannot confirm its authoritative nature without an original source.

But, wait! There's more! I chose three scholarly texts for my research of the topic, and the maps included in the texts only add to the confusion:

MAP 4

This is one map from Valerie Hansen's Silk Road: A New History and it is slightly confusing. It places the label for Sogdiana on the other side of the Amu Darya (Oxus), with a line indicating where Sogdiana is (just north of Balkh on this map). I don't like this and I haven't really seen a map drawn like this before. Usually mapmakers can fit Sogdiana into its proper spot, but it looks like the space where the name Sogdiana would usually fit is occupied by the Kizil Kum desert, Samarkand, and the trade route lines. It's a busy map, but it is also somewhat frustrating to look at with Sogdian research in mind.

This map, also from Valerie Hansen's Silk Road: A New History, places Sogdiana back in its proper area, between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya (Oxus and Jaxartes). I actually like this map because it shows classical names for ancient areas while also showing modern country names and political borders. However, if this map had gone the extra mile and just thrown a Transoxiana in there, that would have been great. There is no mention in the index of the Transoxiana place name, so I am going to go out on a limb and just assume Dr. Hansen uses the term Sogdiana as a catch all.

MAP 6

This map from Richard Foltz's Spirituality in the Land of the Noble shows historic borders of the various empires around Iran in the 6th century CE. This map uses neither the name "Sogdiana" or "Transoxiana", but uses the word "Sogdians" around their historical homeland. This is actually very interesting, because using the term "Sogdiana" implies that there is some kind of organized, central authority ruling over some sort of a Sogdian Empire or Sogdian Kingdom, which is just not the case. Sogdian authority was very decentralized, and while regional rulers may have paid homage to a few, far more powerful individuals who ruled larger areas, generally there is no one Sogdian Empire to speak of.

MAP 6

Christopher Beckwith's map from his text Empires of the Silk Road is perhaps the most interesting, since it, like the other found on the internet above, uses the names Transoxiana and Sogdiana. This map seems to identify Sogdiana as part of the larger area of Transoxiana. The map also claims to show pre-modern Central Eurasia. With its authoritative source, this map lends credibility to the other map found online that displayed both Transoxiana and Sogdiana.

So, as we can see from the examples above, trying to determine just what Transoxiana and Sogdiana are in relation to each other based on available maps is murky at best. But what can be done to solve problem of when to use "Transoxiana" and "Sogdiana", and how can we know if the two are completely interchangeable?? I will discuss that in my next post, where I will share my thoughts and conclusions on this topic. 
Continued in Part 2

Sources

Map 1 
Source: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sogdiana-300BCE.png. Found on Wikipedia Entry: Sogdiana

Map 2
Source: Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transoxiana 
Found on Wikipedia Entry: Transoxiana

Map 3
Source: Paradise on Earth: Encyclopedia of Countries and Cities- Transoxiana http://allworldtowns.com/cities/transoxiana.html 

Map 4

Thiede, Alice. The Main Routes Across Eurasia [map]. 1" = 1000 miles. In: Valerie Hansen.  The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012, inside cover.

Map 5 

Thiede, Alice. The Main Routes of the Taklamakan [map]. 1" = 300 miles. In: Valerie Hansen. The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012, back inside cover.

Map 6

Unknown. Iran and its neighbors in the 6th century CE [map]. 1/2" = 250 miles. In: Richard C. Foltz. Spirituality in the Land of the Noble: How Iran Shaped the World's Religions. Oxford: OneWorld, 2008, xviii.

Map 7

Unknown. Premodern Central Eurasia [map]. no scale. In: Christopher I. Beckwith. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, inside cover.

Welcome to Sogtoberfest!

Camels bearing Sogdian Traders, Tang Dynasty. Source: Ancient Art: Art of Central Asia

Greetings to all on this, the first day of Sogtoberfest! If you have been following my Facebook page, you may have seen the build-up to this event. However, if you are a newcomer, I will briefly lay out my introduction to the Sogtoberfest celebration.

1.) What is Sogtoberfest about?
Sogtoberfest was an idea I had awhile back to raise awareness of the Sogdian people and, more specifically, Sogdian commerce and influence on the Silk Routes. Outside of scholarly circles, many people have little to no idea what a Sogdian is, let alone what they did or the way they left their mark on world history. It is with this in mind that I have sought to bring light to Sogdian accomplishments through my blog to my dear readers.

2.) Who were the Sogdians?
To be brief, the Sogdians were a group of Iranian-speaking peoples that settled in the area between the Oxus and Jaxartes Rivers (Amu Darya and Syr Darya). The Sogdians are attested in Achaemenid sources around the 6th century BCE (1). However, the area that the Sogdians inhabited showed signs of pre-Sogdian settlement as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BCE, at the site of Sarazam. The second site of early settlement was in the 15th century at Kok Tepe (2). The latter settlement at Kok Tepe endured "throughout the Iron Age, until the arrival from the north of the Iranian-speaking populations that were to become the Sogdian group" (3). Kok Tepe declined with the establishment of nearby Samarkand by the Sogdians (4). While no exact date can be ascribed to the arrival of the Sogdians, the Sogdians are named in the Younger Avesta as inhabiting an area called Gava, which correlates to Sogdiana (5). Etienne de la Vassiere notes that the Sogdian people have been attested in primary sources from the 6th c. BCE all the way down to the 10th c. CE, which is a whopping fifteen centuries of continuous existence as a distinct group (6).

Map of the location of Sogdiana. Note the presence of the Amu Darya on the left and the Syr Darya (not labeled) on the right. Source: Coins of Central Asia

3) What did the Sogdians do that was so important?
That is what we'll be discussing in-depth all month long! But in short, the Sogdian merchants were the primary caravan runners of the Silk Routes from the 5th - 8th centuries BCE (7). But beyond this, they served as intermediaries between cultures, which lead to the Sogdians providing the means by which Buddhism, Manichaeism, Christianity moved along the Silk Routes. Their influence on writing is still felt today as the Sogdian script, by way of Uighur transmission, endures as the written form of the modern Mongolian script. Though their surviving written records are few, their art and their influence on art of the time was profound. However, the subject of Sogdian art is vast and will require its own entry for further investigation.

An example of Mongol script. Source: Wikimedia Commons

I hope this has been an adequate introduction to Sogtoberfest and I hope everyone enjoys what I have in store for the blog. I wish you all a happy Sogtoberfest, and I am looking forward to this celebration.



Sources

1) De la Vassiere, Etienne. Sogdian Traders: A History. Trans. by James Ward. Vol. 10. Brill, 2005. pg. 2.

2) De la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdiana iii. History and Archaeology," Encyclopedia Iranica, online edition 2011. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology

3) Ibid.

4) Ibid.

5) Ibid.

6) De la Vassiere, Etienne. Sogdian Traders: A History. Trans. by James Ward. Vol. 10. Brill, 2005. pg. 2

7) De la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdian Trade," Encyclopedia Iranica, online edition 2004. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdian-trade

Picture sources from Wikimedia Commons and from Taiyo Ltd: Ancient Art Gallery.

It's coming...
image created by Drew Seitzinger

Marco Polo Episode 3 and 4 Review, Part 2

Episode 4 [Spoilers Ahead]

This episode seems to deal more with bringing the historical background of the world of the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongol Empire to the foreground through the actions of the characters.

First, we begin with the major focus of the episode: The parley between the Yuan and Song Dynasty representatives. This scene, which features Prince Jingim and Finance Minister Ahmed demanding tribute from the Song Dynasty as terms of peace, has a historical precedent in the histories of previous relations between Chinese Dynasties and Nomadic tribal powers to the north. The Han Dynasty histories are filled with complaints about the amount of tribute demanded by and paid to the Xiongnu Confederation, which usually took the form of bolts of silk and other Chinese goods, but also included requests for marriage to Chinese Imperial Princesses. For all their complaining, the Han usually complied with these requests, for trading with the nomadic peoples usually resulted in the horses that the Chinese military hungrily desired for campaigns. It was a love/hate relationship that was a necessary evil, where raiding and battle were all a part of negotiation and business between the two powers. This process repeated itself through various successive regimes, notably in interactions of the Uighur Khaganate and the Tang Dynasty, but it played a role in most all interactions between nomadic and sedentary peoples. These sorts of symbiotic relationships were essential to the economies of both nomads and agriculture-based societies, and indeed, the payment of tribute from the Chinese Dynasties to the nomadic empires resulted in the Silk Road's very formation.

Another aspect of this episode is return of Marco Polo's father and uncle, who are [Spoilers] caught trying to smuggle silkworms out of the empire. This is where it gets complex, folks, so bear with me here. "Knowledge about silk production was very valuable and, despite the efforts of the Chinese emperor to keep it a closely guarded secret, it did eventually spread beyond China, first to India and Japan, then to the Persian Empire and finally to the west in the 6th century AD. This was described by the historian Procopius, writing in the 6th century"(1):

    About the same time [ca. 550] there came from India certain monks; and when they had satisfied Justinian Augustus that the Romans no longer should buy silk from the Persians, they promised the emperor in an interview that they would provide the materials for making silk so that never should the Romans seek business of this kind from their enemy the Persians, or from any other people whatsoever. They said that they were formerly in Serinda, which they call the region frequented by the people of the Indies, and there they learned perfectly the art of making silk. Moreover, to the emperor who plied them with many questions as to whether he might have the secret, the monks replied that certain worms were manufacturers of silk, nature itself forcing them to keep always at work; the worms could certainly not be brought here alive, but they could be grown easily and without difficulty; the eggs of single hatchings are innumerable; as soon as they are laid men cover them with dung and keep them warm for as long as it is necessary so that they produce insects. When they had announced these tidings, led on by liberal promises of the emperor to prove the fact, they returned to India. When they had brought the eggs to Byzantium, the method having been learned, as I have said, they changed them by metamorphosis into worms which feed on the leaves of mulberry. Thus began the art of making silk from that time on in the Roman Empire. (2)

There is also the famous legend of the Princess who smuggled silkworms and mulberry seeds in her headdress out of China to the kingdom of Khotan. Xuanzang, the Buddhist Monk, wrote his report of this legend:

To the south-east of the royal city...is a convent called Lu-shi, which was founded by a queen of a former ruler of the country. In old time this country knew nothing about mulberry trees or silkworms. Hearing that the eastern country had them, they sent an embassy to seek for them. At this time the prince of the eastern kingdom kept the secret and would not give the possession of it to any. He kept guard over his territory and would not permit either the seeds of the mulberry or the silkworms' eggs to be carried off. The King of Kustana sent off to seek a marriage union with a princess of the eastern kingdom (China), in token of his allegiance and submission. The king being well-affected to the neighboring states acceded to his wish. Then the king of Kustana dispatched a messenger to escort the royal princess and gave the following direction..."Our counry has neither silk or silken stuffs. You had better bring with you some mulberry seeds and silkworms, then you can make robes for yourself". The Princess...secretly procured the seed of the mulberry and silkworms' eggs and concealed them in her head-dress. Having arrived at the barrier, the guard searched everywhere, buthe did not dare to remove the Princess' head-dress. Arriving then in the kingdom of Kustana, they stopped on the site afterwards occupied by the Lu-shi [monastery]; thence they conducted her in great pomp to the royal palace. Here then they left the silkworms and the mulberry seeds.(3) 

This tale ends with silk production flourishing in Khotan, though Khotan also made it illegal to smuggle silkworms, so precious were they to the local economy.

A depicition of the Silkworm Smuggling Princess in the British Museum.

Trying to smuggle anything without paying the various fees and taxes levied by each ruler along the Silk Routes was a serious offense. Revenues from trade were very important sources of income. Wars were fought, empires built and destroyed, and people slain for the power to control and exact tolls from these lucrative passes, and anyone caught trying to evade these payments were punished severely. This is evinced by the fate of Marco Polo's father and uncle landing themselves in the Khan's prison. It is a nice nod by the show to Procopius' history that the Polo brothers attempt to smuggle silkworms via walking stick. This is another one of those little details that pleases me so much about this show.

This staff totally isn't filled to the brim with silkworms happily munching on Mulberry leaves.

The third and final matter in this episode is the horrific and insane foot-binding scene at the end of the show. Chancellor Jia Sidao spares no details in explaining to his niece the process of breaking and wrapping the toes and foot in such a way as to force it into a misshapen, but (for some reason) aesthetically desirable form. As I was watching the show, I was confused, because I thought foot-binding was a practice that found popularity later on in China. However, I was wrong. According to this BBC News article "Foot-binding is believed to have begun during, or just before, the Song Dynasty in China around the 10th Century, and became widespread within a couple of hundred years"(4). Thus, the show is correct in planting this practice right in the middle of our story, for not only was the practice desired among the wealthy denizens of the Song Empire, its popularity rose and spread on the Song's watch.

Episodes 3 and 4 did a lot to develop character and expand the depth and definition of the world of Marco Polo and the Yuan Dynasty. These episodes have set the stage for some serious plot movement, which I have no doubt will be riveting and exciting stuff. Even though there were some nitpicky issues, these episodes have such strength in performances and content that I cannot help but be pleased with what I have seen overall, and I expect great things in the next few episodes.


1. UNESCO. "About the Silk Road". unesco.org. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk road.

2. Procopius. Quoted in UNESCO. "About the Silk Road". unesco.org. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk road. 

3. Xuanzang. Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, Volume II. trans. Samuel Beal. (Keagan Paul: London) 1906, pg. 318-319.

4. Coomes, Phil. "Chinese Foot Binding". BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-28208695

Marco Polo - Episode 3 and 4 Review, Part 1

Episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix's Marco Polo take the series forward at a good pace, but lose no chances for character development and nuance. The accuracy in details when compared to the text suffers here, but only slightly, and in ways that would only annoy someone actively comparing the show and the book like I am.

Episode 3

I want to make two comments here that have nothing to do with Marco Polo studies and everything to do with what makes a good show: A great theme song and a compelling opening scene. The theme song of Marco Polo features Mongolian Throat Singers, along with blended European and Mongolian/Chinese instruments. Combined with the beautiful artwork of the intro, these title scenes really help set the tone for an adventurous show taking place in a land and time long past. Here below are links to the Marco Polo theme music and the video showing the making of the Introduction sequence.

The opening scene finds our hero, Marco, being trained in martial arts by Hundred Eyes, a Taoist monk and resident badass. Hundred Eyes is explaining to Marco the meaning of "Kung Fu", and while doing so, the scenes cut to various people and characters going about their tasks. Hundred Eyes explains that the dedicated servant, the cook, the painter, the poet, all can be said to have Kung Fu, since he defines Kung Fu as "Supreme skill from Hard Work". This opening sets such a fantastic tone and is so well shot and edited, it is probably my favorite scene so far in all the episodes I have watched.

Now, on to the scholarship! We find in this episode a wagonload of potential concubines being brought to Kubilai Khan's court. They are scrutinized, trained, and voted out at the will of the Empress and the eunuchs in charge of the concubines. However, upon their arrival, they are told that if they are not chosen for the Khan's service, they will be sold to brothels and slavers to generate revenue for the empire. This struck me as unnecessarily cruel and odd. The Mongols did a lot of horrible stuff, which included human trafficking, but these girls, as attested in The Travels, at least, did not meet the fate to which the show resigned them. 

There is a province inhabited by Tartars who are called Kungurat, whilch is also the name of their city. They are a very good-looking race with fair complexions. Every two years or so, according to his pleasure, the Great Khan sends emissaries to this province to select for him out of the most beautiful maidens, according to the standard of beauty which he lays down for them, some four or five hundred, more or less as he may decide...When the emissaries arrive, they summon to their presence all the maidens of the province...After inspecting and surveying every girl  feature by feature, her hair, her face, her eyebrows, her mouth her lips, and every other feature, to see whether they are well-formed and in harmony with her person, the valuers award to some a score of sixteen marks, to others seventeen, eighteen, or twenty, more or less according to the degree of their beauty. And, if the Great Khan has ordered them to bring him all who score twenty marks, or prehaps twenty-one, according to the number ordered, these are duly brought. When they have come to his presence, he has them assessed a second time by other valuers, and then the thirty or forty with the highest score are selected for his chamber...As for the other damsels, who are rated at a lower score, they remain with the Khan's other women in the palace, where they are instructed in needle-work, glove-making, and other elegant accomplishments. When some nobleman is looking for a wife, the Great Khan gives hime one of these damsels with a great dowry. And in this way he marries them all off honourably.(1)

Not as dramatic as being sold off into prostitution, but for show purposes, I suppose there had to be serious consequences for the sake of the story. This episode seems to have something to say with regard to contrasting roles and fates of women in the empire. That some women can be sold and traded off as revenue while others, such as Khutulun, Chabi, and, to a lesser extent, the Blue Princess, can enjoy status and autonomy by virtue of their nobility is a valid point to highlight. However, I would like to stress that in Mongol society, women often faired much better and enjoyed more respect and status than those of contemporary, sedentary societies. Mongol women had to be trained to fight in order to defend the homes and flocks while men were away at war. They had to tend to trade and maintain the economy and the camps. Noble mongol women were involved in politics and were consulted on crucial matters, as we see with the extremely important role of Chabi in this series.

Another feature of this episode is the introduction of Khutulun, the famous Mongol Warrior Princess and undefeated champion wrestler. To avoid any spoilers, I will simply say her scene with Marco is interesting, a little awkward, fun, but not based on any reports in The Travels. Her father laments to Marco that he may never find a man to marry his daughter, while she laughs and wrestles her male counterparts and defeats them with ease. One distracting aspect of Khutulun, however, is her costume. She looks, to me, like a Mongolian Xena.

Khutulun is rocking that Warrior Princess look from the Xena Collection.

This isn't a big deal, but I guess this just disappoints me more than anything. Again, I don't know anything specific about Yuan Dynasty or Mongol Confederation women's dress and costume, but I do know that her outfit looks like a variation of every other "warrior woman" outfit from historical drama and fantasy productions. When the costuming of this series has been, to me, fairly on point, for this to happen and take me immediately out of what is happening on screen seems like someone dropped the ball somewhere. And I don't know if, like me, the costumers couldn't find good evidence of practical Mongolian female garb or what, but this just felt off for some reason. The costumers are certainly talented enough that I think they could have come up with something a little more unique and accurate to the time for Khutulun to wear.

Or maybe this is pretty accurate and I just don't know it.

Anyway, my last point about episode 3 is that it really takes a look at the character of Kubilai Khan. From his personal struggle of dealing with having to kill his own brother, to dealing with his gout, to having to manage his empire, it really makes him a human, rounded character that is approachable, rather than some distant, legendary, flawless warrior-king. This development made him into a man, a father, a husband, and an emperor, rather than just a historical figure. And while he may be a flawed man who does things that we may not like or agree with, we do know he has his reasons and we know that he struggles internally with those choices. Kubilai the Man and Kubilai the Khan may not always agree, but he does what he must to preserve his realm.

Continued in Part 2

1. Polo, Marco. The Travels. trans. Ronald Latham (Penguin Books: 1958) pg. 122-123

Bactrian Brief: Scammers, Hackers, and Terror! Oh My!

I watch Dr. Phil from time to time. Many of my readers have probably done so, but few will likely admit it. My favorite episodes are the ones where Dr. Phil exposes people being scammed to the scammers they are in love with/married to/associated with in some way. It is entertaining, sad, depressing, and perhaps a moment of schadenfreude for myself and other viewers as the crestfallen mark realizes that he/she has been duped out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by an email scam, usually of the infamous Nigerian variety. On a somewhat related note, the BBC posted this article describing the theft of $1 billion USD from "up to 100 banks and financial institutions" going on around the world since 2013 by hackers based in Russia, Ukraine, and China. After all the neverending headlines of money disappearing into the dark underbelly of cyberspace, I wondered if any of this money could find its way to terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram, IS, or al-Qaeda. I took my inquiries to my friend, Dr. Joshua I. James of UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics to ask him for more information on this topic.


BGB: Have you ever found a credible link between phone scamming and theft via hacking or computer fraud and Islamic Terrorist groups?

JIJ: You mean as a source of funding? Indirectly. Their main funding comes from slave trade and drugs. Hacking, etc is more mafia money. Not to say they dont do it, but it is not the main source for most groups. But groups do hack for info and intelligence. Nigerian scams may just be a way to infect someone's machine and get access to data, not only for money but also intel.

BGB: I read on the BBC recently that 1 billion USD has been stolen in what Kaspersky Labs called an "unprecedented" cyber bank robbery. What does this money go toward in these types of situations? And who is taking it?

JIJ: I've not seen the evidence so i cant say exactly, but I would guess it is either big organized crime or government sponsored. The fact that it had been going on so long means that its probably not a small operation. If so then the money will be invested into education for new hackers, and also used for drugs and other businesses.

BGB: So are there mafia type organizations that have private armies of hackers?

JIJ: Think of them like consultants: Independent hackers that specialize in something [criminal organizations] need. There are many small groups that specialize in one piece of the puzzle. For example, you need about 20 different services to start building botnets. So that's 20 small specialty hacker groups, and these groups compete for business. But, some organized crime groups have their own [in-house hackers]. Just like a normal business, really.

BGB: I was going to say, this all sounds very slick and professional.

JIJ: It is more professional than most legitimate business, and more innovative, too. That's why governments can't keep up. But does it go to fund terrorism? I've not seen a direct link, just indirect. Downloading a movie online indirectly funds terrorism. Buying a taco at Taco Bell does, too. All money is connected. But I've not seen terrorist groups like IS doing scams for cash. They can make a lot of money much easier, so they don't need to scam. Scamming is for groups that want to make money, but avoid police. IS could care less about police, obviously.


Update: Indeed, it seems, as Dr. James stated, that IS does have several diverse and heinous means of raising funds beyond that of email scams.

Dr. Joshua I. James is a research fellow at UCD Ireland. He currently resides in Seoul, South Korea, where he works with South Korean law enforcement on cybercrime and investigative methods in digital forensic research.