(1.) “Achtum.”—The author says nothing of the neighbourhood of Nahitchevan, for which Neumann gives him credit, nor of that of Erzeroum, which Bishop Aïvazoffsky believes to be the site of the battle of “Achtum”, upon which occasion the Ilkhan Ahmed was defeated by Kara Youssouf. In the plain of “Achtum” we recognise the environs of Aktam, where Timour halted when returning from his last expedition against Toktamish (Dorn, _Versuch. einer Gesch. d. Schirwan-Sch._, 567; Price, _Chron. Retros._, iii, 206, who says of Acataem or Actem, that it is a station to the eastward of Moghaun). Neumann agrees with Hammer that Ahmed ben Oweïs was beheaded in 1410, and this is also the opinion of Weil (_Gesch. der Chal._, v, 141); but Dorn (_ibid._, 573) has it, that his conflict with Kara Youssouf did not take place until the year 815 = 1412.—BRUUN.
(1.) “Abubachir had also a brother called Mansur.”—Besides this Mansour, for whose name I have searched in vain in the various works I have been able to consult, Aboubekr had another brother named Mirza Omar, upon whom Timour bestowed the throne of Houlakou, and who fell out with his elder brother, the said Aboubekr, and had him confined in a fortress (Dorn, _Versuch. einer Gesch. d. Schirwan-Sch._, 570). Aboubekr afterwards obtained his freedom, and succeeded in ridding himself of “Mansur”, to punish him, in all probability, for making common cause with Omar.—BRUUN.
(1.) “Samabram.”—Ibn Haukal describes Shabran as being, in his time, a small place, but “pleasant, and well supplied with provisions”. This town appears as Sabran, in Castaldo’s map, 1584, and De Wit’s atlas, 1688, and is called Schabran by Olearius (_Voyages_, etc., 1038). It has now totally disappeared, its ruins being on the Shabran-tchaï, a small river flowing into the lake Ak-Sibir on the Caspian shore.
Schiltberger states that the prince passed through “Strana”, “Gursey”, “Lochinschan”, “Schurban”, “Samabram”, and “Temurtapit”; but as the king’s son was sent for, to return forthwith to his own country, it is more probable that he selected a short route, in which case he would have travelled, if the names are here correctly interpreted, through Astara, Shirwan, Shabran, Georgia, Lezghistan, and the Iron Gate, undoubtedly Derbent, which divided Persia from Tatary.