Tamim ibn Bahr

Tamim ibn Bahr led an embassy, probably in 821, to the Uyghur capital on the Orkhon, Ordu-Balık.^[1] Why he was sent is unclear. His account shows that the Uyghurs then controlled the whole steppe north of the Tianshan as far as Chach. It shows that they had set up relays and a postal service there.^[1] In the same year a Uyghur army stood in Ustrushana, a few days from Samarkand.^[1] What the geographer Ibn Khurdadhbih knew of the Uyghurs and the Kimek came from Tamim. Tamim himself knew little of China.^[2]

The journey

He travelled twenty days through steppe with springs and grass but no villages. Only the men of the relay service lived there, in tents. Then he travelled twenty days among villages lying close together and cultivated land. After that he reached the king’s town, a great town rich in agriculture.^[3] The town had twelve iron gates of huge size, markets and various trades. Above the flat top of the palace stood a golden tent. It could be seen from far outside and held a hundred people.^[3] The fastest means of travel was a relay of horses. Because of the cold it could be used six months of the year. Large parties went in caravans of camels, horses and sometimes carriages.^[4] In Karabalghasun, he says, the Zindiq religion prevailed, that is Manichaeism. It was only one of two religions practised in the towns outside the capital.^[5] Among the wonders of the country he lists pebbles with which rain, snow and cold are brought down at will, kept above all by the king of the Toghuzghuz.^[6]