“Mr. Rockhill’s remarks about the title Khakhan require supplementing.  Of course, the Turks did not use the term before 560 (552 was the exact year), because neither they nor their name ‘Turk’ had any self-assertive existence before then, and until that year they were the ‘iron-working slaves’ of the Jou-jan.  The Khakhan of those last-named Tartars naturally would not allow the petty tribe of Turk to usurp his exclusive and supreme title.  But even a century and a half before this, the ruler of the T’u-kuh-hun nomads had already borne the title of Khakhan, which (the late Dr. Bretschneider agreed with me in thinking) was originally of Tungusic and not of Turkish origin.  The T’u-kuh-hun were of the same race as the half-Mongol, half-Tungusic Tobas, who ruled for two centuries over North China....  The title of Khakhan, in various bastard forms, was during the tenth century used by the Kings of Khoten and Kuche, as well as by the petty Ouigour Kings of Kan Chou, Si Chou, etc.” (E.H.  PARKER, Asiatic Quart.  Rev., Jan., 1904, pp. 139-140.)

Introduction, p. 19. [The] second start [of the Venetians] from Acre took place about November, 1271.

M. Langlois remarks that the last stay of the Polos at Acre was necessarily before the 18th November, 1271, date of the departure of Gregory X. for the West.  Cf. Itineraires a Jerusalem et Descriptions de la Terre-Sainte rediges en francais aux XI’e, XII’e et XIII’e siecles, publ. par H. MICHELANT et G. RAYNAUD (Geneve, 1882), pp. xxviii-xxix: 

“La date de 1269, donnee seulement par un des manuscrits de la redaction de Thibaut de Cepoy, pour le premier sejour a Acre des Polo et leur rencontre avec Tedaldo Visconti, qui allait etre elu pape et prendre le nom de Gregoire X., date preferee par tous les editeurs a celles evidemment erronees de Rusticien de Pise (1260) et des huit autres manuscrits de Thibaut de Cepoy (1250 et 1260), n’est pas hors de toute discussion.  M.G.  Tononi, archipretre de Plaisance, qui prepare une histoire et une edition des ceuvres de Gregoire X., me fait remarquer que les chroniqueurs ne placent le depart de Tedaldo pour la Terre-Sainte qu’apres celui de S. Louis pour Tunis (2 juillet 1270), et que, d’apres un acte du Tresor des Chartes, Tedaldo etait encore a Paris le 28 decembre 1269.  Il faudrait done probablement dater de 1271 le premier et le deuxieme sejour des Polo a Acre, et les placer tous deux entre le 9 mai, epoque de l’arrivee en Terre-Sainte d’Edouard d’Angleterre,—­avec lequel, suivant l’Eracles, aborda Tedaldo—­et le 18 novembre, date du depart du nouveau pape pour l’Occident.” (Cf. Hist. litt. de la France, XXXV, Marco Polo.)

Introduction, p. 19 n.