in Umbria or Etruria, before the Gauls paffed the Alps in the reign of Tarquinius Prifcus; and confequently that neither the Umbrians nor the Etrufcans deduced their origin from the Celtes THE Tartars in general at this day live in much the fame manner as their progenitors the antient Scythians and Sarmatians. They rove about in hordes from one fruitful spot to another, not unlike the Scenite Arabs, without villages, towns, or any fixed habitations. This must be understood of the bulk of them; for fome cantons, or tribes, of the Tartars are not deftitute of towns, nor even confiderable cities. Caffa, Perecop, Oczakow, Otrar or Farab, Taraz, and Samarkand, to omit many others that might be mentioned, put this beyond difpute. Nor was fuch a roving difpofition at first confined to the Tartars or Scythians. The defcendents of Gomer, for many ages, paffed their days, as we have great reafon to believe, in the fame manner. It is probable, that, before the reign of Mifphragmuthofis, who reigned in the Upper Egypt from Syene to Heliopolis, feveral parts of Europe were peopled by wandering Cimmerians, or Gomerians, from the backfide of the Euxine fea, who lived a rambling wild fort of life, like the prefent Tartars. Few, if any, of the cities or towns to be met with in Tartary, are remarkable for their antiquity, and therefore deferve little attention here *. Turk the NOTWITHSTANDING the Tartars derive the name they great an- generally go by, among the Europeans at leaft, from Tatar ceftor of Khan, yet they will not allow this to have been their primithe Turks, tive name. They pretend to be defcended from Turk, the Tartars, eldeft fon of Japhet, whom they call Japhis. Turk, accord &'c. ing to them, was appointed by Japhis to be the fovereign head of his family, to which indeed he had a claim by the right of primogeniture. The Tartars, therefore, look upon themselves to be of a more noble extraction than the neighbouring people, whom they confider as defcended from the other fons of Faphis. In confequence of this notion, they affirm themfelves firft to have gone under the appellation (D) of Turks, which 1 HERODOT. ubi fup. HEYLIN'S Cofmograph. p. 763, (D) The nation we are now confidering were called Scythians only by the Greeks, if any credit may be given to Herodotus. The Greeks in the Pontic colonies, hearing their Scythian neighbours frequently call archers, fhooters, and hunters, who were very nu merous among them, Scyths, Schuten, Shuten, or Scythians, applied that name to the whole nation. This word, or rather the antient primary fignification of it, is ftill preferved in the English which they derived from their great ancestor juft-mentioned. This name they feem to have retained till the time of Jenghiz English, High-Dutch, Lithuanian, Finni, Livonian, Courlandish, Lapponian, Pruffian, and Efthonian tongues. The Scythians, according to Herodotus, went among themselves under the name of Scoloten, Scoloti, or Scolotes; as they likewise seem to have done fometimes among the Athenians, who, on certain occafions, used the word Tolotes or Scolotes, as equivalent to Scythians. It is no wonder, therefore, that the antient geographers fhould have extended the laft word, which was, properly speaking, an appellative, to the natives of all the vaft tract above-mentioned, as they all excelled in the art it is expreffive of. The antient Tartars or Mangals named part of the primitive Sarmatians, afterwards denominated Hunns, Oigur; which denoted allies, confederates, united as brethren, and was fometimes pronounced Vigur. They were divided into two denominations, to wit, Unn-Oigur, and Dokos or Nokos-Oigur, called alfo Uth-Urguri and Kuth-Urguri, Iwai and Inugri, Onagari and Unigari; from whence undoubt edly we are to derive the word Ungari or Hungarians. The Eu ropean Scythians had the name of Ojum, Ovim, or Ouim Nim, given them by Fornandes, which anfwered to the Scythian or Tartar Ojum, or Osim Nim, the names of two rivers which have their fources in Great Permia. Ouvim, or Ogum, the fame with Fenni, Finni, Venni, and Windi or Ve nedi, has alfo been interpreted Tar. In which cafe we may fuppofe both the antient Tauri and Tartars to have received their appellation from one of their early kings, or khans, of the fame name (4). (4) Herodot, lib. iv. Tb. Sig. Bayer. de origin. Scytbar. p. 379, 380. Petropoli, 1728. Abu'l Ghazi Bahadur Kban's genealogic. bift. of the Tat. vol. ii. fet 2. Von Strablenberg's introduct. p. 33--38. Univ, Hift. vol. vi, p. 57. Boapart, Chan. lib. i. c. 7. Khan. Govern ment. Khan. But that prince having reduced all the tribes bearing the name of Turks under his obedience, they, with regard to their neighbours, gradually loft it, and were by them afterwards called Tatars. We fay with regard to their neighbours, fince the largest part of them have always denominated themselves Turks, nor do they allow, that any nation but themselves have the leaft title to that denomination '. THE name of Tatars was at first probably applied to one particular tribe or horde of the Turkish nation, whofe members feem to have been more confiderable, warlike, and better known to the Afiatics, on account of their military exploits, than the reft, till the time of Jenghiz Khan. This was fucceeded by that of Moguls, which prevailed but fo long as the dominion of the people fo called lafted over the fouthern provinces of Afia. When that expired, the former appellation took place again. It is obfervable, that Sharif al Edrif, commonly called the Nubian geographer, makes no mention either of Moguls or Tartars; but intimates, that all the country at prefent going under the denomination of Eaftern and Weftern Tartary, was peopled by different cantons of Turks. This is the more remarkable, as that author wrote but a little before the reign of Fenghiz Khan, about the year of Chrift 1170. However, we hear of Tartars in other parts, as will be more particularly obferved, when we come to the modern hiftory of that nation m. WITH regard to the government of the antient Tartars, we must fuppofe it to have been the fame, or nearly fo, with that of the Scythians already described. It appears from Herodotus, that, in his days, the two principal tribes of the Scythians were under monarchical government; and that they had a great influence upon, if they did not abfolutely govern, all the other tribes. This is perfectly agreeable to what we find advanced by the Tartar hiftorian, who informs us, that Alanza Khan had two twin-fons, the one called Tatar, and the other Mogul, between whom, when his end approached, he divided his dominions. The regal families founded by these two khans, according to the fame author, ruled the antient Turks, Tartars, and Moguls, for feveral generations; and at length formed a powerful and extenfive empire. This teftimony adds fome weight to the authority of Herodotus, 1 MOHAMMED EBN EMIR KHOANDSCHAH & KHONDEMIR, ubi fup. D'HERBEL. biblioth. Orient. ubi fup. ABU'L GHAZI BAHADUR KHAN's genealogic. hift. of the Tat. vol. i. par. i. c. z. See alfo vol. ii. fect. 2. m SHARIF AL EDRISI, ABU'L GHAZI BAHADUR KHAN ubi fup. vol. ii. fect. 2. and and is itself likewise fupported, in the point before us, by that excellent hiftorian ". As the Tartarian or Scythian Nomades, 2s far as can be collected from the antients, greatly refembled the Numidians and Scenite Arabs in their form of government, their civil and political inftitutions, we need not expatiate upon this topic. here. After this obfervation, our readers will naturally fuppole, that the Tartarian khans were originally vefted with an authority fimilar to that of the Numidian phylarchs, and Arab emirs. This feems likewife to be confirmed by Herodotus, and by what we have laid down in the hiftory of the Scythians. From hence it appears, that feven or eight Scythian cantons were governed by their refpective princes, or khans, before the time of Darius Hyftafpis; and confequently that they had either always afferted their independency, or fhaken off the yoke of the royal Scythians before that prince's acceffion to the Perfian throne. Since, therefore, Darius Hyftafpis entered upon his reign after the declenfion of the monarchy, or monarchies, erected by the twin-brothers Tatar Khan and Mogul Khan, thofe princes undoubtedly flourished a confiderable time before the foundation of the Perfian empire, though the particular age in which they lived we cannot, with any tolerable degree of precifion, pretend to afcertain °. SOME of the principal cuftoms prevailing among the Scy Laws. thians, or antient Tartars, not hitherto mentioned, that had the appearance of laws (E), our readers will not be displeased to find here. 1. The Scythian kings were obliged to take all poffible care of a golden plough, yoke, ax, and bowl, that HERODOT. lib. iv. ABU'L GHAZI BAHADUR KHAN, ubi fupra, vol. i. par. 1. c. 3, &c. • HERODOT. ubi fupra. Univerf. hift. vol. xviii. p. 376, 377. & vol. vi. p. 63, 64. (E) It appears from Herodotus, that, though fome at least of the Scythians were under regal government, the power of the king in Scythia was circumfcribed by the laws. For, that author informs us, that one of the Scythian princes named Scyles was depofed by his fubjects, in oppofition to the laws, for celebrating the Bacchanalia after the Greek manner. Targitans, (5) Herodat. lib. iv. c. 62---So. fell Religion. fell down from heaven into Scythia in the reign of Lipoxais, Apoxais, and Colaxais, the fons of Targitaus the first king of Scythia. 2. The Scythian princes, by virtue of their office, affifted annually at the magnificent facrifices offered to those holy inftruments, which their fubjects doubtlefs confidered in the fame light that other Sabians did their images, or even the celeftial bodies themfelves. 3. The Argippaans were looked upon as facred by all the other Scythians; fo that whoever fled into their territories, though on account of fome enormous crime, was allowed to live under their protection. 4. The differences that arofe among the other Scythian cantons were, for the most part, referred to the arbitration of this people, who were fo mild and pacific, that they had no arms of any kind among them. 5. It was a political maxim in Scythia not to permit any foreigner, who retired thither, to return to his native country. 6. The Agathyrfians, a luxurious nation abounding with gold, had their women in common; which they imagined would promote concord, unanimity, and mutual benevolence, among them. There were probably other cuftoms in Scythia that had the force of laws, which we may poffibly take notice of, when we come to the modern history of the Ruffians, Tartars, Kalmucks, and Chinese P. IT has been already obferved, that the ancestors of the Tartars were immersed in idolatry, and that they worshiped fome of the principal Greek and Roman deities. To Hercules likewife, in common with the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, they paid divine honours. As they were nearly related to the Germans, they seem to have carried about with them, in their covered waggons, thofe fmall images reprefenting certain gods held in great veneration by that people. For, that they roamed where they found the beft pafture for their flocks, as many of the moft antient Germans did, appears from feveral authors. The celebrated deity Zamolxis was probably worshiped by the Scythians, or antient Tartars, as well as the Thracians, on account of the falutary laws he gave them. For, that he was a famous legiflator, and lived long before Pythagoras, may be inferred from Herodotus; and that a confiderable part of the Scythians, at least, had a body of laws, to regulate their conduct by, is attefted by Ephorus. Nor can it well be doubted, that these laws were framed by Zamolxis, when it is confidered, that he annexed a moft powerful fanction to his inftitutions; to wit, eternal felicity in a future ftate. And that many of the Scythians were greatly influenced by the fanction annexed to their laws, is exceeding probable; fince they have been highly extolled for P HERODOT. ubi fup. STRAB, paff. |
