The Red Kaganate

Last Page Update: September 20, 2005 Contact Copyright Information Main Page Structure of the Red Kaganate Gatherings, Events, . . . Historic Steppes Tribes Culture and Folklore Flags and other Identifiers Clothing and Apearance Food and the Home Games and Military Arts Public Forum Resource Links Email: kaganate@yahoo.com Editor: Norman J. Finkelshteyn Make Financial Contribution or Donate Stuff and Time

Dining Habits, Eating Vessels, and Food Measurements These are extant artifacts and medieval descriptions of food related objects events and behaviors. Further contributions of articles, recipes, fragments, are all welcome. Please contact the editor. VESSELS - UTENSILS in the Seventh Century A medieval Byzantine historian (Nicephor) describes a meeting of the leaders of the Khazars (or Western Turks) with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius at the siege of Tiflis (aprox. 627 CE) as follows (after Artamonov, Istoria Khazar - full cit. here): The Emperor embraced the chief of the Khazars, calling him son, and placing his crown on the Khazar's head. A great feast was made, after which the chief of the Khazars was gifted with all of the precious utensils used at the feast. Gold Goblet - "Magical" Bulgar-Turkic drinking vessel. Hand Washing Set - 7th cent. Greek gift to Bulgar-Turkic prince. With a brief note on associated customs. EATING HABITS, VESSELS, FOOD (Meat, Salt, Wine, Milk) 7th century Gok Turks (Western Turks) and Khazars - Account by the Agvan (a people of the Northern Caucas) representatives who entered the Turk/Khazar camp to present the Agvan surrender: "There we saw them, squating on their knees like a caravan of burden camels, each with a bowl full of the meat of unclean animals. Before each bowl were mugs of salt water, where they dipped the meat as they ate. There also were silver chalices and drinking vesels with chaced decoration all encrusted with gold, which had been taken by them from the booty of Tiflis. Together with these, gigantic vessels for drinking - horns and wooden gourd shaped ones, with which they licked up the broth. With the same grime of meat-fat on their lips, they, in pairs and threes drank from one vessel and without any sense of temperance filled themselves passed the brim with undiluted wine or the milk of camels and horses, as if they were inflated wine-skins. They had no cup bearers, as would be dictated by ritual, nor servants at their backs, not even the prince had these, there were only warriors with a forest of spears, carefully guarding the door with shields locked in a circle." -- translated by Norman Finkelshteyn from Russian translation of History of the Agvans (a 7th century source), as quoted in Artamonov, Istoria Khazar - full cit. here. NO BREAD NOR SALT (Rice, Millet, Milk, and Cheese ...Herbs?) 12th century. Polovtzy/Kipchaks The description is from the account of the travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon, written down by his sometime companion Rabbi Judah bar Samuel. Petachia was in the "land of Kedar" (his word for the Kipchak or Polovtzy) sometime between 1170 and 1180. (quoted in Adler, E.N., Jewish Travelers in the Middle Ages (19 Firsthand Accounts), Dover Publications, New York, 1987.) "...They eat no bread in the land of the Kedar, but rice and millet boiled in milk, as well as milk and cheese. ...they are far-sighted and have beatiful eyes, because they eat no salt and live among fragrant plants..." Golden Horde period Bowl - Gold bowl, two handles. "Olen-Kolodetz" - A Golden Horde aristocrat's burial ...The Male Burial - The described find includes a metal bowl, warrior's belt, armour, and an axe. Golden Horde period Clay Bowl FOOD FOR HEALTH IN THE MONGOL COURT 14th century. Mongol Summarised by K.B. - Bojei Temur From A Soup For The Qan: Chinese Dietary Medicine of the Mongol Era as Seen in Hu Szu-Hui’s Yin-Shan Cheng Yao Introduction, Translation, Commentary, and Chinese Text by Paul D. Buell & Eugene N. Anderson Copyright 2000, ISBN 0-7103-05833-4 The Yin-Shan Cheng Yao, or “Proper and Essential Things for the Emperor’s Food and Drink”, was written in 1330 by Hu Szu-Hui who had served as an imperial dietary physician in the courts of several Yuan dynasty emperors. The text includes sage advice (“Things to Avoid and Shun When Drinking Liquor”), recipes, drinks, medicines, an illustrated list of ingredients. In accordance with Chinese traditions, all foods are considered to have medical and spiritual effects. The cuisine is very cosmopolitan and reflects the Mongols attempt to create a world empire out of highly diverse areas. This fusion of cultures is reflected in the food consumed at court. The food includes dishes from China, the middle east, at least one from the Indian subcontinent, and traditional Mongolian cuisine. The Mongols consumed vast quantities of sheep and wild game and these are the most prominent ingredients in the recipes. Grains – particularly noodles – appear in many dishes. Many dishes are variations of stuffed noodle dumplings. Vegetables appear infrequently and in limited quantities. More vegetables are listed in the ingredients section than are used in the recipes. MONGOL - CHINESE MEASUREMENTS WITH MODERN AMERICAN EQUIVALENTS (14th century. Chinese - Persian - Mongol) Developed by K.B. - Bojei Temur From Anderson, Buell A Soup For The Qan (full cit. above) Unlike most medieval cookbooks, the Yin-Shan Cheng Yao contains some measurements using old Chinese terms. Professors Buell & Anderson provided the following: “Note on Weights and Measures. In the translation below we have made no attempt to translate Chinese weights and measures. The following equivalents must be borne in mind when interpreting the recipes: a ch’ien is today 3.12 g or .011 oz and is one-tenth of a liang. Sixteen liang make a chin (about 500 g). A sheng is today 31.5 cu in (slightly less in the fourteenth century), and is comprised of 10 ho (each 3.17 cu inc). Ten sheng make a tou. Units of length relevant to the translation are the ts’un, which is 33.3 mm and the ch’ih, ten ts’un, or about one third of a meter.” A sheng, 31.5 cu in, is 1.964 cups – or just under 2 cups. As per their note, it would be slightly smaller in the fourteenth century. A ho would then be .2 cups or just under ¼ cup. Also, for ease of reference, 16 oz equals 454 grams so a chin is approximately 17 ½ oz. One fluid ounce equals 6 teaspoons and 1 gram equals .035 ounces so (ignoring the difference between weight ounces and fluid ounces) 1 liang equals 6.552 teaspoons.