. . . should send and bring [this] letter to Samarkand. And [the
noble lord Varzakk . . . should receive(?)] it all(?) [complete(?)].
Sent [by his] servant Nanai-vandak.
To the noble lord Varzakk (son of) Nanai-thvar (of the
family) Kanakk. Sent [by] his servant Nanai-vandak.
To the noble lord Varzakk (son of) Nanai-thvar (of the
family) Kanakk, 1,000 (and) 10,000 (times) blessing (and) homage on
bended knee, as is offered to the gods, sent by his servant
Nanai-vandak. And, sirs, (it would be) a good day for him who might
see you happy (and) free from illness; and, sirs, (news of) your
(good) health having been heard (by me), I consider myself
immortal!
And, sirs, Armat-sach in Jiuquan (is) safe (and) well and Arsach in
Guzang (is) safe (and) well. And, sirs, it is three years since a
Sogdian came from "inside" [i.e. from China]. I settled(?)
Ghotam-sach, and (he is) safe (and) well. He has gone to Kwr¹ynk,
and now no-one comes from there so that I might write to you about
the Sogdians who went "inside," how they fared (and) which countries
they reached. And, sirs, the last emperor, so they say, fled from
Luoyang because of the famine, and fire was set to his palace and to
the city, and the palace was burnt and the city [destroyed]. Luoyang
(is) no more, Ye (is) no more! Moreover, the . . . Huns(?), and they
. . . Changan, so that they hold(?) it(?) . . . as far as N'yn'ych
and as far as Ye, these (same) Huns [who] yesterday were the
emperor's (subjects)! And, sirs, we do not know wh[ether] the
remaining Chinese were able to expel the Huns [from] Changan, from
China, or (whether) they took the country beyond(?). And [. . . in .
. . there are] a hundred freemen from Samarkand . . . in [. . .]
Dry'n there are forty men. And, sirs, your [. . . it is] three years
since [. . . came] from "inside" . . . unmade (cloth)(?). And from
Dunhuang up to Jincheng in . . . to sell, linen cloth is going [=
selling well?], and whoever has unmade (cloth)(?) orraghzak(which is) not (yet) brought (to
market)(?), not (yet) taken, [can](?) sell [all](?) of it . . . And,
sirs, as for us, whoever dwells (in the region) from Ji[ncheng](?)
up to Dunhuang, we (only) survive [lit. "have breath"] so long as
the . . . lives, and (we are) without family(?), both old and on the
point of death. If this were not (so), [I would] not be ready(?) to
write to you (about) how we are. And, sirs, if I were to write to
you everything (about) how China has fared, (it would be) beyond(?)
grief: there is no profit for you (to gain) therefrom. And, sirs, it
is eight years since I sent Saghrak and Farn-aghat "inside" and it
is three years since I received a reply from there. They were well .
. ., (but) now, since the last evil occurred, I do [not] receive a
reply from there (about) how they have fared. Moreover, four years
ago I sent another man named Artikhu-vandak. When the caravan
departed from Guzang, Wakhush[akk] the . . . was there, and when
they reached Luoyang, bo[th the . . .] and the Indians and the
Sogdians there had all died of starvation. [And I] sent Nasyan to
Dunhuang, and he went "outside" [i.e. out of China] and entered
(Dunhuang), (but) now he has gone without (obtaining) permission
from me, and he has (received) a great retribution and was struck
dead in the . . .
Lord Varzakk, my greatest hope is in your lordship! Pesakk (son of)
Dhruwasp-vandak holds 5[...]4 staters from me and he put it on
deposit(?), not to be transferred, and you should hold [it . . .]
sealed from now (on), so that without (my) permission . . .
Dhruwasp-van[dak] . . .
[Lord] Nanai-thvar, you should remind Varzakk that he should
withdraw(?) this deposit(?), and you should (both) count [it], and
if the latter is to hold it, then you should (both) add(?) the
interest to the capital and put it in a transfer document, and you
(Nanai-thvar) should give this too to Varzakk. And if you (both)
think (it) fit that the latter should not hold it, then you should
(both) take it and give it to someone else whom you do think fit, so
that this money may thereby become more. And, behold, (there is) a
certain orphan . . . dependent(?) on this income(?), and if he
should live and reach adulthood [lit. "years"], and he has no hope
of (anything) other than this money, then, Nanai-thvar, (when) it
should be heard that Takut has departed(?) to the gods -- the gods
and my father¹s soul (will) be a support(?) to you! -- and when
Takhsich-vandak is grown up [lit. "big"], then give him a wife and
do not send him away from yourself. Mortal(?) gratification(?) has
departed(?) from us(?) in the . . ., because (from) day (to) day we
expect murder(?) and robbery. And when (the two of) you need cash,
then you (Nanai-thvar) should take either 1,000 staters or 2,000
staters out of the money. And Wan-razmak sent to Dunhuang for me 32
(vesicles of) musk belonging to Takut so that he might deliver them
to you. When they are handed over you should make five shares, and
therefrom Takhsich-vandak should take three shares, and Pesakk
(should take) one share, and you (should take) one share..
This letter was written [lit. "made"] when it was the year
thirteen of Lord Chirth-swan in the month Taghmich.