Ibn Battuta was impressed wnth the gold and silver vessels that were brought in to serve the guests of the Muslim leader of the Golden Horde, Ozbek Khan (ruled 1315“14), when he organized a banquet during the holy month of Ramadan for his top commanders, possibly numbering 187, religious leaders, and visiting dignitaries such as Ibn Battuta himself.
After [the meal], drinking vessels of gold and silver are brought. The beverage they make most use of is femiented liquor of honey, since, being
Of the Hanafite School of [Islamic] law, they hold fermented liquor to be lawful. When the sultan [Ozbek Khan] wishes to drink, his daughter takes the bowl in her hand, pays homage... and then presents the bowl to him. When he has drunk she takes another bowl and presents it to the chief [wife], who drinks from it, after which she presents it to the other [wives] in their order of precedence. The sultan's heir then takes the bowl, pays homage, and presents it to his father, then, when he has drunk, presents it to the [wives] and to his sister after them, paying homage to them all. The second son then rises, takes the bowl and gives it to his brother to drink paying homage to him. Thereafter the great [commanders] rise, and each one of [the 17 of] them gives the cup to the sultan's heir and pays homage to him, after which the [other] members of the royal house rise and each one of them gives the cup to this second son, paying homage to him. The [170] lesser [commanders] then rise and give the sons of the king to drink. During all this [ceremony], they sing [songs resembling the] chants sung by oarsmen.
After these festivities, Ibn Battuta informed his readers, the sultan was so drunk that he could not make Friday prayers on time at the mosque. He did eventually appear but arrived swaying, and after the prayers were recited he retired once again to his tent to resume his drinking. Ozbak Khan was a generous host, and Ibn Battuta described seeing wagons laden with skins of koumiss stretching to the horizon waiting to be distributed to the sultan's guests. One wagon could hold 131 gallons of koumiss. Ibn Battuta informed his readers that he presented his Turkish neighbors with the wagon presented to him. As some kind of comparison Juwayni claimed that Mongke's week-long quriltai in 1251 needed 2,000 wagon loads of koumiss and wine per day to keep the guests and his own people happy.
U. S. historian John Masson Smith Jr. came out with some interesting figures to elaborate both the Mongols' drinking and eating habits. Based on details provided by William of Rubruck, he calculated that at a great drinking festival organized by Mongke Khan on June 24,1254, each guest would have been provided with the equivalent of 19 shots of whiskey. He assumed that the drink-laden wagons carried 1,000-pound loads and that each of the estimated 7,000 guests received two gallons of koumiss each.
World History
