The Rashīdī History 17.4

17.4

The late Dr. Terrien de Lacouperie, who did me the kindness to look into the term, with a view to finding a solution, suggested the similarity of a name variously written in the historical records of Szema Tsien—Su Hiai, Sui Yeh, and Su Yep, which was that of a state that has been identified with Yarkand. It lay, at any rate, to the east of Farghana, was not Kashghar, and was connected with Ku She, which was perhaps the modern Kuchar. My attention has also been directed towards the ancient Indian word Suriya, for the sun, but this could hardly have been combined with the common Turki word Mangalai, while it is unlikely that it could have been corrupted by losing its most distinctive letter. My impression is that Mirza Haidar's name is something comparatively modern, and is rather a laudatory term for the region in question, than a term applying to any particular district or town. In the seventh century the name of Su-Yeh (unconnected with Mangalai or any other word) was used by the Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang, according to Julien, Beal, and other commentators, for a town on the upper waters of the Chu, then the capital of certain Turki Khans; though Mr. Watters affirms that the name in Hiuen Tsang should be read, not Su-Yeh, but Su-Sa or Su-She. This place, as will be shown later (see note, pp. 361-3), was most probably the same as Bala-Sakun.