Page 26 - All About History - Issue 180-19

MONGOL EMPIRE

Historical Treasures

A PAIZA TRAVEL

FRIENDLY
A paiza made
from cast iron like
this one would
THE ANCESTOR OF THE MODERN PASSPORT CHINA, 13TH CENTURY have been very
heavy; however,
the ring on the
top meant that it
paiza (also known as a gerege) was a tablet Paizas could be made from wood, iron, copper, could be attached
LEGENDARY to a belt or even
and diplomatic passport issued as a mark bronze, silver and gold, depending on whom it was
CREATURE worn around the
of authority to officials or important guests, intended for. For example, paizas featuring raised neck with a cord.
There is a Tibetan
Anotably Marco Polo, to ensure their safe gold characters would be issued to messengers
style lion mask head
passage throughout the Mongol Empire. Derived tasked with carrying urgent military orders from on the handle at
from ‘páizi’, the Chinese word for both ‘plate’ and the court, while ones made from lesser materials the top of the paiza,
‘sign,’ a paiza also allowed the holder to use postal would be given to officers in the provinces – the which looks similar
to a kirtimukha, a
stations, request food, lodgings and bodyguards inscriptions that featured on these would usually
motif that originated
during their journey and even gave permission for be written in more than one language.
in India and can be
their expenses to be paid. Made from cast iron and inlaid with silver, paizas found in both South
Although Genghis Khan is often credited with such as this one would have been given to senior and Southeast Asian
developing the paiza, they were actually based on commanding officers and, interestingly, silver inlay architecture.
similar items used by the earlier Liao dynasty in on iron was very rarely used in Chinese metalwork
Northern China, which were typically oblong in before the start of the Mongol period.
shape. However, round versions such as this one There are a few contemporary descriptions of
were made during the Yuan dynasty, established paizas that survive today, the most notable from
by Kublai Khan following his successful conquest Marco Polo, who described the paiza given to
of China. According to the Metropolitan Museum him by Kublai, which allowed him to travel
of Art, where this particular paiza is currently held, the Silk Road under the Khan’s protection.
it bears the ominous inscription “By the strength Paizas were eventually adopted by
of Eternal Heaven, an edict of the Emperor (Khan). Europeans and as a result, they are
He who has no respect shall be guilty,” written in often cited as the ancestor to
Phags-pa script. the modern passports.

STAMP OF AUTHORITY
This particular paiza is double-sided and the inscription is
inverted on the other side. Since the characters are raised, it
could be used to stamp documents if needed and therefore
likely to have been given to a senior military officer.

THE WRITTEN WORD
The script used on this Paiza was named after its
inventor, Phakpa, a Tibetan monk and scholar who was a
Kublai Khan giving Marco Polo
and his brother a gold paiza close advisor of Kublai Khan during the 13th century.

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