Marco Polo in Central Asia: 17: The Province of Tonocain

When a man departs from Cobinam he goes through desert for eight days, and the country is arid; there is neither fruit nor trees, and the water is bitter and bad, so he must carry both water and food for himself, but the beasts drink that on the road, though very unwillingly.  He then comes to a province Tonocain [1] with cities and many castles boardering upon Persia towards north. And there is a very great plain on which grows what the Christians call the dry tree, which I will describe to you. It is very large, and its leaves are green on one side, and white on the other.  It yields a nut like the chestnut; but there is nothing within it.  It is a strong wood, and yellow like box; and there is no other tree in those parts for a hundred miles round, except on one side, at ten miles distance. [*] It is said by the people of the country to be the place where Alexander fought with Darius.  There are many towns and castles, and the inhabitants have abundance of all good things, the climate being neither too cold nor too hot.  Now I must tell you of a country called Mulecte, where the Old Man of the Mountain used to dwell.

Note:- It is difficult to identify the exact location because of various changes that took place. Marco Polo gives us a local tradition that Alexander fought here with Darius III. Two battles were there. Battle of Issus and the Battle of Gaugamela. Issus is in Anatolia or Modern day Turkey. Gaugamela is in Iraq. But Gaugamela as well as Tonocain is not visible. Tonocain is more likely to be Gaugamela, given that Marco Polo mentions it as a place on the northern boarder of Persia. But Gaugamela also is not there.  Since it was on the boarder between Iraq and Iran It may be either Quasreshirin or Khanaqin, and I think it is the latter considering its rich history.

*Dry tree = Quite possibly it is white poplar tree.

End of the Section 

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