any wall, but which was besieged by the Tartars for eight years before they could gain possession, and had formerly cost the Saracens and Alani nine years; for though not fortified, it is surrounded by water.  We there found a German and his wife, with whom Gosset had lived all the preceding winter, by the order of Baatu.  On the east side of this river Baatu always travels, and Sartach on the west, never going farther south than this place, as there is very good grass in great abundance.  Coiacs father, on receiving the letters of Sartach, restored my vestments, except a surplice, an albs, an almic trimmed with fine silk, a stole, a girdle, and a tualia adorned with gold embroidery.  He gave me back, likewise, my silver plate, except the censer, and a small box for holding chrism, all of which were with the priest who attended Sartach; and he returned my books, except our ladys psalter, which he kept with my leave, as I could not deny him, for he said Sartach took great delight in it.  A bible also, and an Arabian book worth thirty sultanies, were retained, and many other things which I never recovered.  Sarai, and the palace of Baatu are on the east side of the river, and the valley through which the arms of the river spread abroad, is more than seven leagues in breadth.

After leaving Sarai, on the feast of All Saints, 1st November, we travelled south till the feast of St Martin, 11th November, when we came to the mountains of the Alani.  In fifteen days travel we found no people, except at one little village, where one of the sons of Sartach resided, accompanied by many falconers, and falcons.  For the first five days we did not meet a single man, and were a whole day and night in great danger of perishing for want of water.  The Alani in some of the mountains, still hold out against the Tartars, so that two of every ten of the subjects of Sartach are obliged to guard certain passes in the mountains of Dagistan, lest the Alanians carry away the cattle in the plain.  There are likewise certain Mahometans called Lesghis in these mountains who are not subjugated, so that the Tartars had to give us a guard of twenty men to see us safe beyond the Iron-gate.  I was glad of this circumstance, as I had never seen the Tartars armed; and yet, of all those twenty, only two had habergions, which they said they had procured from the Alani, who are excellent smiths and armourers.  In my opinion, the Tartars have small store of armour, except bows and arrows, and leather jackets; some have iron plates, and skull cups from Persia, and I saw two at the court of Mangu armed with clumsy and unwieldy coats of rough hog-skin.  We found one castle of the Alanians, which had been subdued by the Tartars, about which there were many vineyards, and there we drank wine for the first time.  On the following day we reached Derbent or the Iron-gate, built by Alexander the Macedonian, on a small plain between the sea and the mountains, one end of the city reaching to the shore, while the other extends a mile in length to the top of the mountain, on which is a strong castle.  But the breadth of the city scarcely exceeds a stones throw.  It has very strong walls, and turrets of large polished stones, with no trenches; but the Tartars have demolished the tops of the turrets, and the bulwarks of the walls.