is Kaan, who was the first of their lords, and conquered a great
part of the world, as I have told you more particularly in a former part
of this Book.

Now you must know that Great Turkey lies towards the north-west when you
travel from Hormos by that road I described. It begins on the further bank
of the River JON,[1] and extends northward to the territory of the Great
Kaan.

Now I shall tell you of sundry battles that the troops of Caidu fought
with the armies of the Great Kaan.

NOTE 1.--We see that Polo's error as to the relationship between Kublai
and Kaidu, and as to the descent of the latter (see Vol I. p. 186) was not
a slip, but persistent. The name of Kaidu's grandfather is here in the G.
T. written precisely Chagatai (_Ciagatai_).

Kaidu was the son of Kashin, son of Okkodai, who was the third son of
Chinghiz and his successor in the Kaanate. Kaidu never would acknowledge
the supremacy of Kublai, alleging his own superior claim to the Kaanate,
which Chinghiz was said to have restricted to the house of Okkodai as long
as it should have a representative. From the vicinity of Kaidu's position
to the territories occupied by the branch of Chaghatai he exercised great
influence over its princes, and these were often his allies in the
constant hostilities that he maintained against the Kaan. Such
circumstances may have led Polo to confound Kaidu with the house of
Chaghatai. Indeed, it is not easy to point out the mutual limits of their
territories, and these must have been somewhat complex, for we find Kaidu
and Borrak Khan of Chaghatai at one time exercising a kind of joint
sovereignty in the cities of Bokhara and Samarkand. Probably, indeed, the
limits were in a great measure _tribal_ rather than territorial. But it
may be gathered that Kaidu's authority extended over Kashgar and the
cities bordering the south slopes of the Thian Shan as far east as Kara
Khoja, also the valley of the Talas River, and the country north of the
Thian Shan from Lake Balkhash eastward to the vicinity of Barkul, and in
the further north the country between the Upper Yenisei and the Irtish.

Kaidu died in 1301 at a very great age. He had taken part, it was said, in
41 pitched battles. He left 14 sons (some accounts say 40), of whom the
eldest, called Shabar, succeeded him. He joined Dua Khan of Chaghatai in
making submission to Teimur Kaan, the successor of Kublai; but before
long, on a quarrel occurring between the two former, Du