Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms

Volume 37

...it is a twenty-day journey to Gilan original: 蘭 (Lan); likely referring to the province of Gilan on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. To the south lies Damghan original: 都没 (Dumei) and to the north is the heart of the Arab Caliphate original: 大食 (Dashi); both are a one-month journey away.

Twenty days’ journey to the southeast of Gilan brings one to Amul also called Amui. It is a fifteen-day journey southeast from there to Tabaristan original: 陀拔斯 (Tuobasi); a historic region on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Traveling south for one month leads to Saran original: 沙蘭 (Shalan). To the north, the sea The Caspian Sea is only a two-day journey away.

The people reside in the city of Nihavand original: 你訶澀多 (Niheseduo). The land is well-suited for raising horses and sheep, and the local customs are gentle and relaxed; for this reason, the Arabs often bring their herds here for nomadic grazing.

To the east of Saran lies Luolizhi original: 羅利支, and to the north is Termez original: 怛滿 (Daman); a major city on the Oxus River in modern Uzbekistan; both are twenty-day journeys. To the west lies the main territory of the Arab Caliphate, a journey of twenty-five days.

To the east of Luolizhi is Duban original: 都盤, and to the north is Tabaristan; both are fifteen days away. To the west, Saran is twenty days away. To the south, the heart of the Arab Caliphate is a twenty-five-day journey.

From Termez also called Damu, it is a one-month journey east to Tabaristan and a one-month journey south to the Arab Caliphate. To the north, Gilan is twenty days away. To the west, the Arab Caliphate is a one-month journey. The city is situated on the level plains north of the Oxus River original: 烏滸河 (Wuhu He); the Amu Darya, where the wildlife includes many lions. To the northwest, it borders the Kingdom of Kesh original: 史國 (Shiguo); one of the "Nine Sogdian Houses" centered near modern Shahrisabz, with the Iron Gate Pass original: 鐵關 (Tieguan); a famous narrow pass between Samarkand and Termez serving as the boundary.

In the sixth year of the Tianbao era 747 AD, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Duban and other regions...