which he was intending against Iberia and withal a place of Trade but dying not long after the work remain'd imperfect In the year 245 in the Reign of Muktadis-billa-Mousi Nufa's son who had shaken off the Yoak of that Pontiff and usurp'd the Royal Authority in Persia finish'd the Walls and Fortifications and gave to the City the name of Casbin or Casvin for the word is sometimes pronounc'd with a b and sometimes with a v from a word that signifies Punishment or pain because he imprison'd in that Gastle all his Grandees which he design'd to punish There is also another reason giv'n for the Denomination that is to say because this City was once a place of Exilement Tho Acemberg an Armenian Author is of a different opinion for he believes that the City of Casbin was so call'd by King Casbin after his own name In the year 364. a part of the Wall being fall'n down Saheb Califf Ishmael chief minister of state to Alié-fecre-deulet King of Persia caus'd the Ruins to be repair'd and being almost utterly destroy'd in the Civil Wars Emir sherif-abouali Jafer took care of its Restauration and in the year 411. caus'd the work to be follow'd so close that within two Years there was no signe of any Ruins The History of Casbin makes mention of two other fatal disasters that befell it occasion'd by Earth-quakes The first in the year 460. that overturn'd all the walls and a third part of the Buildings And the second which did not so much mischief as the first in the year 562. at what time Mahomet the Son of Abdalla-elmegare who reign'd in the Country of the Parthians remov'd his Court near Casbin to view the Ruins and take care of the Reparations And because that the walls which were then only of Earth did not seem sufficiently beautiful nor strong enough for so great a City he caus'd that which the Earth-quake had left standing to be pull'd down and rais'd up other Walls of red Brick The Walls were a hundred thousand and three hundred paces in compass and at the end of every five hundred paces fortifi'd with Towers The Tartars and Turks utterly ruin'd these Towers and Walls at several Times and those that were rebuilt in their Room after the destructions of every new invasion The Ruins of which are still to be seen as I have said already After all Casbin was restor'd and rebuilt as you see it has enjoy'd forabove these three hundred years both peace and plenty by the Advantage of its situation which renders it so convenient for the Trade of Iberia Hyrcania and Media with the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom In the 955. year of the Hegyra King Tahmas despairing to defend Tauris against Solyman retir'd to Casbin and made that City the Metropolis of his Kingdom finding it convenient for all Seasons in the Year There he spent the Winter in the Summer he retir'd three or four Leagues into the Country and liv'd in Tents at the foot of Mount Alouvent in a place abounding with cool Springs and pleasant Shades His Successors liv'd after the same Rate till Abas the Great who the first year of his Reign remov'd his Court to Ispahan And there are several Reasons alledg'd for this Change Some attributed it to the Air of Casbin which the King did not find so healthful Others affirm that he was frighted by the Astrologers who told him that the Stars threat'ned him with several Misfortunes if he staid at Casbin But others assert it was only the better to accomplish the design of building a new City as being over perswaded that it was the surer way to Eternize his Memory then all his great Actions But the most probable Reason was one which I heard from a great Lord who was highly esteem'd by that Potent Prince That when he had laid the design of those Conquests which he made with so much Renown as well to the East as to the South he forsook Casbin and remov'd to Ispahan that he might be nearer the Country which he intended to Conquer However it were the City is much decay'd since the Removal of the Royal Residence and that it has lost all those Perquisites that set forth the Pomp and Grandeur os a sumptuous Court The Successors of Abas have resided there for one or two years together and the deceas'd King was upon his way thither when he dy'd For the City had earnestly importun'd him by Presents and Requests and were so overjoy'd to understand his Majesty was coming that they presented the Messenger that brought the news with a Present of three hundred Tomans which amounts to about one thousand Guines Now the chief advantage which accrews to the City from the Court 's residing there is the consumption of a vast quantity of Provision which the Country produces and which they cannot export in regard the Countries round about have no need of supplies Now besides all that has been said that renders Casbin a famous City we must not forget rhat it has been a place celebrated for the Birth of several great men among the rest Locman highly esteem'd for the Fables which he so well compos'd in imitation of Esop that some learned Men uphold it to be the same Book The City is govern'd by a Darogué or Mayor who is chosen every Year and in that Year makes his office worth him six hundred Tomans or two thousand pounds In their Judicial Acts and Records they give to this City the additional name of Daral-Seltenet or the Seat of Royalty because the Kings of Persia who reign'd in the 15. and 16. Ages there kept their Court as has been said We ended our days Journey at Kiaré a large Village consisting of five hundred Houses in the midst of which upon a rising Ground stands a Castle of Earth half ruin'd The Remainder of several strong Places in this Country demolish'd in the 13. Age Before which time Invasions were so frequent and so sudden and the Civill Warrs so tedious and so furiously carry'd on that they were forc'd to fortify themselves every where and defend themselves from all sorts of Persons for such like Castles are to be seen in all the Villages and great Towns that are under the Jurisdiction of Casbin The 10. we travell'd four Leagues in a plain and pleasant Country as in the preceding days still directing Course to the South And our manner of travelling all the way particularly from Miané which is upon the Confines in the Evening an hour or two before Sun set rode a Journey of five or six Leagues by Midnight or thereabours Longer Journeys of eight or nine Leagues held us almost all night long which is the general way of travelling over all the East in Summertime to avoi'd the heat of the Sun which would melt both Man and Beast in the day time In the night we travell'd a greater pace and more at ease the Servants walk a foot with less trouble and the Masters themselves
and yet that it should not be known till after the Son was seated upon the Throne and actually Crowned of which I had never read the like Example But this was one Master-piece of the Persian Wisdom never too much to be commended By means of which Address the State changed its Master without any alteration in Form and suffered one of the most dangerous Resolutions without being sensible of it insomuch that in all Ispahan there did not appear the least sign of Consternation They heard without any disturbance that Habas was dead without making a Will and with satisfaction received the Person whom they had Elected in his Place There was no body that appeared either very sad or overjoyed No body that plaid the Censurer to find fault with what was done much less any one that was mutinous For all things ran in their usual Course The Merchants opened their Shops as they did the day before and every one followed their Occasions as little concerned as if no such thing had hapned Methought that then Ispahan was one of the Places Republick above the reach of Fortune and exempted from those Accidents that trouble the Tranquillity of Mortals Our Europeans only took the Alarm upon the news of this great and sudden Revolution and they that were in their Houses in the City kept their doors shut all the first part of the Morning Among the rest the Hollanders who were retired to their own Home to the number of Forty With them was M. Hubert de Laresse who was sent by the Orders of the Holland Company in the Quality of an Embassadour to the deceased King with Commissions and Presents for his Majesty He was then just about to return but understanding the Change he who having been long employed by the Company had been in several parts of India and had there seen upon the death of Princes strange Commotions and dangerous Seditions wherein many Murders and Roberies had been with impunity committed He I say made cautious by this hazardous Experience was not a little fearful of the same Consequences of such a Change and therefore advised the Dutch to keep in to prevent the evil Accidents of mutinies upon such occasion in hopes of Booty and Pillage But the Ingenuity of the Persians and the Excellency of their Government might have spared him those Fears However when the Superiour of the Capuchins brought him word about nine of the Clock in the Morning that all was quiet that he might no longer discover his mistrust of the Publick Security he ordered the Doors to be opened This Superiour of the Capuchins was the Reverend Father Raphael of Mans. At the same time the New Monarch coming out of the Inner part of his Palace went and sate in the great Hall where he was Crowned the Night before and then it was that all the Grandees who were then at Ispahan qualified to receive that Honour were admitted to kiss the ground before his Feet This Ceremony lasted till ten of the Clock at what time his Majesty rising from his Seat took Horse and that was the first time that ever he rode out of the Place where he was born And according to the Custom of the Persians he made a Cavalcade round his Palace very leisurely and with little attendance riding in the middle at the distance of twenty Paces from them that marched before and those that followed after only twelve Footmen went of each side before and behind his Horse and all this to the end he might be the better seen by the People His Majesty had on a Cabaye or Georgian Vest of Sattin and Silver thick powdered with Violets the forepart of which upon his Breast was adorned with long Rows of Pearls and Diamonds six of each side Over his Vest he wore a short Justacore without Sleeves of Cloath of Gold faced with Sables Upon his right side stuck his Dagger of which the Sheath and Hilt were set with Emeralds and other Precious Stones nor was his Sword less gorgeously embellished Upon his Head he wore a Persian Cap or Dhul-bandt made of very fine Silk and Gold with a Royal Heron-Tuft fastened before in a Rose of Diamonds and Rubies The People from all Parts flock together in Heaps to see their New Sovereign who not being accustomed to see such Sholes of People as having always lived remote from Noise and Hurry seemed as he had done at the Coronation Ceremony to look like one that knew not well how to behave himself as being not a little dazled with so much sudden splendour However he still looked up so that all might see his Eyes where sweetness sate intermixed with Majesty which immediately begat both Love and Respect as did all the rest of his Body which was exactly shaped His Stature was Tall and withal proportionable and graceful his Face was round with a pleasing Air in his Lineaments a little marked with the Small Pox. His Eyes blue his Hair white which he therefore dyed black as being the colour most esteemed by the Persians They who know that all the followers of Mahomet shave their Hair will understand that I mean the hair of his Beard which at those years began to spread its early Down upon his Lips and Cheeks wherein he was very like his Father only that he had not so long a Nose nor so full and open an Eye The whiteness of his Complexion which the Sun had not at all altered as yet had something in it which I cannot express that was extremely charming In a word there was nothing in the Prince which did not then appear very graceful I say then for now he is very much changed and still changes every day His Majesty having been an Hour abroad returned into the Womens Apartment from whence he did not stir out all that day after he had given Orders or rather Leave to the General of the Musquetteers and the Nazir Eunuch who were then his chiefest Favourites to dispatch such business as required hast He did nothing more all the rest of that day nor was there any other Pomp or Show contrary to the general expectation For the King was willing to defer the time of Publick Rejoycing till all the Court should be arrived at Ispahan In the mean while there was no alteration to be seen in the City The Shops were open the Tradesmen followed their business in the publick Streets and the Markets were kept till a little before Night And this was observed not only in the Capital City but over all that Vast Empire So that this great Revolution made no change either in the Estate or Business of any Person It was an absolute Calm for which we may give two Reasons The one was the Prudence of the Great Ones who understood so well to conceal the Death of the deceased Monarch The other was the absolute Authority of the Kings of Persia and the terrible Awe that Superstition infuses into the People At the bare Command of the
Virgin Mary which continues for 15 Days They make the Sign of the Cross upon certain Occasions but they do not believe the Sign of the Cross to be any Mark of Christianity Only they make this Sign when they drink VVine and eat Pork Their Prayers are all address'd to their Idols relating only to Temporal Benefits their own Prosperity and the Ruine of their Enemies They offer Sacrifices like the Jews and Gentiles The Priest prays over the Victim and then cuts the Throat of it And when it is Boyl'd they set it upon the Table At what time all the people of the Family stand about it with Candles in their Hands except the person who makes the Offering who is Kneeling all the while He first perfumes the Victim with Incense which when the rest have likewise done they fall too and eat it altogether They also cut the Throats of Beasts and Birds over the Graves of their Relations and Friends and pour VVine and Oyl upon ' em And these Libations they observe every day No Body drinks till as he holds the Cup in his Hand he has first said a sentence of a Prayer with his Eyes lifted up to Heav'n and pouring out at the same time upon the Ground a small quantity of the VVine in the Cup. They never make Holy-Day upon Sundays or abstain from Work but upon the Festivals of Christmas and Easter However the celebration of their great Festivals consists only in Eating and Drinking to excess in their Houses Their greatest Festivals which they observe is when any Idol is to be carry'd through their Country Then they put on all the best Cloaths they have They make a great Feast and get ready a Present for the Idol which is to pass by And this I believe may suffice to shew that there is not the least shadow of Religion among the Mingrelians The Manuscript from whence I took these observations relates their several sorts of Divination practiz'd among 'em their Superstitions and Sundry Customes which are a Medley of Judaism and Paganism All which I left behind me not finding therein the least Grain of Wit or common Sence But quite the Contrary nothing but Extravagance I shall only add that all that I observ'd in the Religious Ceremonies and Belief or Faith of the Mingrelians is no other then what I have truly reported I shall only speak a word concerning their Mourning which is the Mourning of people in despair When a Woman loses her Husband or a near Relation she rends her Cloaths strips her self naked to the Waste tears her Hair and with her Nails claws off the Flesh and Skin from her Body and Face she beats her Breast she crys yells gnashes her Teeth foams at Mouth like a Woman mad or possess'd and acts her passion to that degree that it seems terrible to the sight The Men also express their Grief after a manner altogether as Barbarous They tear their Cloaths thump their Breasts and shave their Heads and their Beards This Mourning continues 40 Days with the same Fury as I have describ'd for the first Ten Days but afterwards relaxing by degrees During the first Ten Days the Relations of the deceas'd and a great Number of Men and Women come to bewail the Dead which they do in this manner The people range themselves in order about the dead Corps and in their torn Habits thump their Breasts with both Hands crying out Vah Vah and so keeping time with their Thumps and their Cries they make a dismal Noise which altogether yields a frightful Spectacle of despair not to be beheld without a kind of Horrour Of a sudden you hear nothing all 's quiet the Mourning stops and all observe a profound Silence By and by they all begin again with a loud Cry and fall into their first Transportments The last Day which is the Fortieth they Bury the Dead Then they make a Feast for all their Relations all their Friends all their Neighbours and all those that came to bewail the Party deceas'd the Women eating by themselves apart from the Men. The Bishop says Mass and then seizes as his Right upon all that the Deceas'd Person made use of in his Life his Horse his Cloaths his Weapons his Plate if he have any and all the rest of that sort So that these Mournings ruine whole Families in Mingrelia Nevertheless they are oblig'd to this Solemn Performance The Bishop says a Mass for the Dead for the great profit he receives and the Mourners come to waile the Deceas'd as sure to live Forty Days upon what he has left behind When a Bishop dies the Prince himself causes Mass to be said upon the Forti'th Day and seizes upon all his Goods that are Moveable This is all that I could learn in Colchis concerning the Nature of the Country and the Customs and Religion of the Inhabitants Their Neighbours Live and act after the same Fashion almost in every respect only they who Live nearer to Persia and Turkey are more Civil in their Manners and more Honest and Just in their Inclinations Whereas they who lie nearer the Tartars and Scythians are more Barbarous in their Customs living without any Idea or outward Form of Religion or observance of any Laws I have spoken also of the Abca's and other People that Live at the Foot of Mount Caucasus concerning whom I have related as much as I could learn But now I shall give an accompt of what I have seen and heard most remarkable concerning those other Countries that border upon Mingrelia VVhich are the Principality of Guriel and the Kingdom of Imiretta The Country of Guriel is very small it Borders to the North upon Imiretta Eastward upon a part of Mount Caucasus that belongs to the Turks To the VVest upon Mingrelia and to the South upon the Black-Sea It lies all along upon that Sea in length from the River Phasis that runs a Mile from the Castle of Gonie held by the Turks distant only Forty Miles from Phasis The Country of Guriel resembles Mingrelia in every thing as to its Nature and the Manners of the Inhabitants For they have the same Religion the same Customs and the same Inclinations to Leudness Robbery and Murder The Kingdom of Imiretta is somewhat bigger then the Country of Guriel and is the Hiberia of the Ancients It is Enclos'd and Surrounded by Mount Caucasus Colchis the Black-Sea the Principality of Guriel and Georgia being about Six and Twenty Miles in Length and Sixty Miles broad The People of Mount Caucasus that lie next to it are the Georgians and Turks and to the North the Ossi and Caracioles or Caracherks or Black-Circassians so call'd by the Turks for the reasons already mention'd These are those Caracioles or Black-Circassians which the Europeans call Huns who ransackt Italy and Gaul and whose devastations in those Countries are so frequently mention'd by the Ancient Historians and particularly by Cedrenus The Language which they speak is almost half Turkish
it adjoyns The last part which is the nearest to Europe lies between the Black-Sea and the Caspian Sea between Muscovy and Turkey But these three Names are confusedly made use of by many Authors among the rest Pliny and Q. Curtius who place Caucasus in India However Strabo who reports this in his Geography affirms that Q. Curtius did it to magnifie the wonders of Alexander's History in regard that Caucasus being the highest part of all Mount Taurus and that which the Fables of the Poets have render'd most Famous the Renown of his Hero became the greater whom he makes to force his way over it with his Victorious Sword And indeed I should have thought it had been a fault in Geography which Q. Curtius committed ignorantly as when he brings Ganges from the South and takes Jaxartes for the River Tanais I say I should take it for an Error if I did not find him in his Sixth Book putting the Mountain Caucasus between Hircania and the River Phasis But to return to the Description of Mount Caucasus it is the highest Mountain and most difficult to pass over that ever I beheld For it is full of Rocks and dismal Precipices through which there have been great endeavours us'd to make a hollow way At the time when I pass'd it it was all cover'd with Snow in many places above Ten Foot deep so that my Guides oft-times were forc'd to make way with their shovels for they had upon their Feet a sort of Sandals proper to walk upon the Snow which I never saw but in that Country the bottom of it being made in the shape and about the length of a Racket without a handle but not so broad the Network is also not so tight and the Wood is altogether circular Which prevents their sinking into the Snow for that it bears up the weight of the body and keeps the Foot from sinking above a Fingers Depth They will also run with these sort of Sandals very fast hardly leaving any print of their Feet or any sign which way they have gone for that the Sandal has neither Toes nor Heels The Top of Mount Caucasus is perpetually cover'd with Snow and for eight Leagues in the Road we travell'd in crossing it altogether uninhabited So that I was forc'd to spend the whole Night in the Snow Only I caus'd the Fellows to cut me down some Firr-Trees upon which I lay after I had order'd 'em to make a good Fire When I came to the Top of the Mountain the People that were my Guides made long Prayers to their Images for their favor to keep the Wind from Rising For had the Wind been high we had without doubt been all Buried in the Snow for being loose and small as dust the Wind easily carries it away and fills the Air with it but GOD be thanked there was no Wind. However the Horses would sink so deep in many places that I thought they would never get out for my part I travell'd for the most part afoot and secure enough nor do I believe I rode above eight Leagues in crossing over this hideous Mountain which is six and thirty Leagues I thought for the two last days that I had been in the Clouds not being able to see twenty Paces before me besides that the Firr-Trees that grow very thick all over the Mountain prevent any prospect at a distance only as I went down Hill the Clouds roll'd under my Feet as far as I could see so that I could not but think my self i' the Air though I felt at the same time that I trod upon the Ground Mount Caucasus till ye come to the very top is extreamly fertil in Honey Wheat and Gom of which I have spok'n in the Description of Mingrelia in Wine in Fruits in Pigs and large Cattel The Vines grow there about the Trees and run up so high that many times they are not able to climb up to gather the Grapes Besides it was Vintage-time when I cross'd the Mountain and I found the Grape the new and the old Wine to be extreamly good and so cheap withal in some parts that you might buy 300 weight for a Crown for the Country People not having Vent for it left the Grapes to hang rot upon the Branches as not worth the gathering The Country People dwell in Wooden Huts of which every Family has four or five in the biggest of which they make a Fire and sit round about it The Women grind the Corn as they have occasion for Bread which they bake in round Stones a Foot or thereabouts in Diameter and some two or three Fingers in depth These Stones they make very hot put in the Dough and then cover it with hot Ashes and live Coals over that and in some places they bake it in the Embers only To which purpose they sweep the Hearth very clean lay the Dough upon it and then cover it with Ashes and live Coals as before Nevertheless the Crust is very white and the Bread very good They keep their Wine as they do in Mingrelia I lodg'd every Night at some Countryman's House or other of whom I hir'd either Horses or Porters The Turk also who was recommended to me serv'd me very dextrously and as well as the place would afford They gave us Hens Eggs Pulse Wine Bread and overcloy'd us with Fruit. For every Neighbouring House brought us a great Pitcher of Wine a Pannier of Fruit and a Basket of Bread for their share of what we wanted For which we never ask'd them what was to pay nor would my Guide permit me to give 'em any Gratuity I fell on like a Wolf not being able to satisfie my Hunger in less then two or three hours For it is not to be imagin'd what an empty Stomach I had all the while that I was in Mingrelia for three months together during all which time I could get no Bread besides that I was all the while under the scourge of Hunger and in continual dread of some Mischief or other But now thanks be to GOD I liv'd in security and plenty and from a detestable Country where I could not get Vittles for Money I was got into another Region where they gave me Meat and Drink for nothing Nor is it possible for any Man that has not undergone those Extremities to conceive the pleasure of so happy a Change The Inhabitants of these Mountains are for the most part Christians after the Georgian Ceremonies They are very fresh Complexion'd and I have seen very handsom Women among ' em Besides they are infinitely better disposition'd then the Mingrelians and the other People of Mount Caucasus that are not under the Dominion of the Turks The ninth I travell'd five Leagues through a Plain of which I have already spok'n the Soyl of which is very proper for Tillage and upon the Hills that surround it great Numbers of Cattel graze In the Evening I arriv'd at Akalzikè Akalzikè is a Fortress built
Dinner But as I sate at Table I saw the Rogue of a Lacquey come into the Room with Twenty Armed Janizaries Where 's my Master Cry'd the Young Ragamuffin he would have Murder'd me but I 'll do his Business for him now And so saying he lookt about the Room for yee and not finding yee there he went into your Chamber thinking you had hid up your self I follow'd him and throwing my self at his Feet What have I done to yee that you should go about to ruine me If my Comrade have mis-us'd yee or not pay'd yee to your content that 's no fault of mine make your demands and you shall have it without more ado only send away these Turks that you have brought along with yee It shall be done reply'd the Young Traytor I 'll go and dismiss the Turks and come again presently And so saying he went back into the Hall pointing to Fryer Angelo There said he to the Janisaries take that Man and carry him to the Commander of the Fortress and so at the same time the poor Fryer was seiz'd and carry'd away The Janisaries look'd up and down to see what Booty they could find and presently they snatch'd up our Felts that serv'd us for Cloaks they did not so much as meet with any of my Arms and which was a more signal mark of GOD's Providence they mist the Bags which I brought along with me where were above Fifty Thousand Crowns in Gold and Jewels As soon as the Janisaries had left the House I sent a Man after Fryer Angelo and conjur'd the Carriers to let us make our eseape with all speed So that we Saddl'd and Loaded our Horses forthwith and betook our selves to flight with all the haste we could Thus GOD assisted me and by his Grace and Favour I am at length got hither with all that I was entrusted with in Mingrelia For what the Janisaries took was hardly worth two Pistols I might here endeavour to express the Joy and Satisfaction which I receiv'd upon the rehearsal of these happy Tydings but they are only to be imagin'd nor is it that which the Reader desires to know Father Justin went presently to the Queen and Janatelle to make his complaints of what the Turks had done in his House and to desire him to labour for the Liberty of Fryer Angelo and about Noon the Father return'd and assur'd us that they had sent two Gentlemen to that purpose to the Commander of the Fortress For my part I would have been gone presently such was my dread of the Turks though without any ground but there was a necessity for us to let our Horses rest In the mean time in the Afternoon my Comrade hir'd other Horses to return into Mingrelia and fetch what was left behind while I prepar'd to set forward for Tefflis with that which he had already brought The 17th my Comrade and I parted taking each our several Roads he for Mingrelia with Five Men and Four Horses I for Tefflis with Father Justin Three Men and Three Horses The 22th at Night I arriv'd at Gori where I stay'd two Days to change Gold as well to assist Father Justin to make preparations for his return to Cotatis whither he was to carry my Comrade Money and to accompany him from thence to Tefflis as to get Fryer Angelo set at Liberty if he should be detain'd a Prisoner To which purpose Father Justin departed the 25th in the Morning for Cotatis and I at the same time set forward for Tefflis Where I arriv'd thanks be to GOD the 26th in the Afternoon with the Capuchin Fryer which the Superiour of Gori had lent me as not being willing to leave me without Company The 6th of February in the Evening my Comrade arriv'd at Tefflis with the Servants which I had left in Colchis a Theatin Fryer and Father Angelo After I had embrac'd 'em all Fryer Angelo took me aside to give me an accompt of the Series of the whole Adventure You know said he after what manner your perfidious Lacquey caus'd me to be apprehended by the Janisaries who were sent by the Commander of the Fortress to seize me For the Rascal had told the Commander how that you ow'd him Three Hunderd Crowns that you were an Ambassador that you had been in Mingrelia to fetch away a vast Treasure which you had left there and that by the seizure of your Person he would meet with a purchase that would enrich him for ever This Traytor press'd the Janisaries who carry'd me to the Fortress to bind me and use me severely but they had a greater respect and veneration for my habit and beside there was among 'em an Italian Renegado who caus'd 'em to be very civil I march'd along as slowly as possibly I could and kept the Rascals in discourse to the end I might give your Comrade the more leisure to make his escape for I made no question but he would take that course When they brought me before the Commander he ask'd the Varlet who had caus'd me to be apprehended whether I was his Master who answer'd No for that he could not find his Master but that assuredly I knew where he was I reply'd I knew not where you were only that when I left yee you had a design to go for Tefflis The Commander ask'd me afterwards several Questions concerning your Quality and told me that I must pay the Three Hunderd Crowns which it was said you ow'd the fellow To which I answer'd That you were no more then a poor Person in Holy Orders who had undertaken to give me Intelligence of the Miserable Condition of those in Mingrelia Which when I understood I went to give 'em a Visit that I was no farther acquainted with your concerns and that as for Money I had none And that the People in Cotatis from the Prince to the meanest of his Subjects well knew that I was a Person that made a profession of Poverty Upon this the Commander order'd me to be search'd and they found the Girdle which you had sent me to wear where there was no more then only Six Pound for by a wonderful Providence of God your Comrade had not given me any Jewels to quilt into it according to your appointment Thereupon the Commander finding no more then that inconsiderable Sum said he to the Lacquey Where is all the Treasure ye Rogue with which thou hast fill'd my Head bring'st thou me hither this poor Fellow to jeer me Thou art a cheating Rascal and I 'll have thee Drubb'd to Death Sir answer'd the Varlet trembling for fear The Wealth is in the Custody of my Master's Comrade that lies at Janatelle's Dog as thou art reply'd the Commander Why didst not bring him hither And so saying He sent him back with the same Janisaries that had guarded me to the Fortress and commanded 'em expresly to bring away your Comrade and indeed I was afraid they would have met with him but I was overjoy'd
Lay-Brothers The City of Tefflis is very well peopl'd and there are as many Strangers resort thither as to any place in the World For it drives a great Trade and the Court is very Numerous and Magnificent beseeming the Capital of a Province being never without several Grandees of Note As to the Name of the City I could never learn the Etymology of the word They say the Persians gave it that Name Certain it is however that the Georgians do not call it Tefflis but Cala that is to say the City or the Fortress which is indeed a Name that they give to all Spacious Habitations encompass'd with Walls Which makes me think that because they have no other Wall'd City in all the Country they would give it no other Name but Cala. Some Geographers call it Tebele-Cala or the Hot City by reason of the Baths of Hot Waters within it or else because the Air is not so cold nor so boystrous as in the other parts of Georgia Neither could I learn the Time when the City was founded nor the most remarkable Revolutions that have befallen it For my part I do not believe its Antiquity surpasses Eight Hunderd Years It has been twice under the Power of the Turks Once in the Reign of Ishmael the Second King of Persia and the second time in the Reign of his Successor Solyman becoming Master of it at the same time almost that he took Tauris The Persian Tables place it in 83 Degrees of Longitude and 43 Deg. 5. min. of Latitude It is also call'd Dar el Melec or the Royal City as being the Metropolis of the Kingdom The 10th the Superiour of the Capuchins gave the Viceroy Notice of my Arrival I desir'd him so to do considering with my self that having Servants and Luggage and being lodg'd at the Capuchins House my Arrival could not be conceal'd from a Prince who had Intelligence even of the most trivial Things that pass'd in Tefflis much more of my Adventures in Mingrelia of which many People had spread a report Besides I was glad to see him and shew him the King of Persia's Passports directed to all the Governours of Provinces wherein I was effectually recommended For I made no Question but the Prince upon the sight of those Orders would make me Welcom and grant me a Convoy if I should have occasion for the rest of my Journey Shanavas-Can understanding who I was and that the deceas'd King had employ'd me into Europe upon his own Service and Affairs order'd the Superiour to tell me in his Name That I was Welcom that he was glad of my Arrival and that I would do him a Kindness to come and see him as soon as I could which I was neither in a Condition neither was I resolv'd to do so soon being resolv'd to stay till I was ready to depart because I would not be oblig'd to go every Day to Court Therefore I desir'd Father Raphael who was his Physician to tell him That I was overjoy'd at the Honour which he had done me and that I would not fail to pay my Duty to him so soon as I had put my self into a handsom Equipage but that I was so out of order that I could not stir abroad these Ten Days I know not whether Father Raphael made a true Report to the Prince or whether the Prince believ'd him for so it happen'd that about Twelve a Clock in the Forenoon he sent a Gentleman to tell me That since I was come to Town in a Week of Mirth and Jollity while he Feasted every Day at Court he desir'd that I would come and see him I was surpriz'd and troubl'd at the Message and therefore I desir'd the Superiour and Father Raphael to let the Prince know That I could not yet stir abroad and that he would be pleas'd to condescend that I might stay till the Sunday following before I receiv'd the Honour which he was pleas'd to do me Which Message the Capuchins promis'd to deliver but fail'd They went to the Court 't is true but return'd the next moment to tell me That the Prince was impatient to hear what News from Europe But the truth of it was that they had an extraordinary desire to produce me They were desirous to shew the King of Persia's Agent whom they asserted to be one of their own Nation to the end themselves might be the more respected and they desir'd my Comrade and my self to put on our most Sumptuous Habit and to enlarge for their sakes the Present which we intended for the Prince In which particular I was willing to gratifie 'em and in whatever else I might conveniently do as being glad of an Opportunity to acknowledge the signal Kindnesses they had done me It was almost Noon when we went to the Palace accompany'd by the Superiour and Father Raphael who attended to be assistant to us The Prince was in a Room of State a Hunderd and Ten Foot long and above Forty broad built upon the side of the River and all open on that side The Ceeling which was all of Mosaic Work was plac'd upon a great Number of Pillars Painted and Gilt between 35 and 40 Foot high The whole Room was spread with very fair Carpets The Prince and principal Nobility were sitting near three little Chimneys which with several Brasiers warm'd the Room to that degree that the Cold was not felt Shanavas-Can when people approach'd near him caus'd himself to be Reverenc'd the first time like the King of Persia Himself They fell upon their Knees Two or Three Paces distant from his Person and bow their Heads to the Ground Three Times one after another Which manner of Saluting the Eastern Princes the Europeans have always scrupl'd to observe And indeed it being impossible that a Man should prostrate himself in a more humble posture such a Prostration should only be us'd before GOD himself So that sometimes they excuse themselves from using this manner of Salutation by saying they are of another World and understand not the Complements of the Country For my part I made my Obeysance with three Bows without Kneeling Afterward two Gentlemen led me to take my place but I would not sit above the Capuchins though the Gentlemen press'd me so to do and the Steward of the Houshold who stood upon his Feet in the middle of the Room For I was willing to do 'em that Honour that they might have Honour done 'em by others Which the Superiour was so glad to see that he would needs have me take place of his Companion While I was paying my Obeysance a Gentleman who had receiv'd from me at the Hall Door the King of Persia's Letters Patents which I held in my Hand and the Present which I had brought for the Prince and lay'd 'em in order in a large Silver Voider set down the Voider at the Prince's Feet Presently he took the Patent open'd it and rising up from his Seat put it to his Lips and
entrance into the Seraglio while the Eunuch went and came back At length a Bargain was made between us for so many Jewels as amounted to Four Hundred Pounds for which I received my Money the next Morning The 3. I went to the Governor and desir'd him to give me leave to depart for that I was in hast to be at Court He promis'd to dispatch me after Dinner and I waited on him again at his time appointed At what time he ask'd me with a smiling Countenance what was the value of the Gold Box I had given him when he came to visit me I knew not what his design was and therefore in my answer I valued it at Ten Pounds Pray then Sir said he oblige me to take it again and give me the value of it in Keys in Springs and Strings for Watches I was not a little surpriz'd at his Proposal which did not seem to be very civil for a Person of his Quality However I answer'd him that I was ready to do what he pleas'd added that I had several Watchmakers Tools that I had brought for the Kings Artificers which I would send him if it were his Pleasure He took me at my word assuring me that I should do him a very great kindness For this same Grandee is a great Lover of Mechanicks and knows how to mend a Watch that does not go true Afterwards he caus'd all that remain'd in his hands of mine to be delivered me back and I thought certainly that he would have made an entire Bargain but to my great Astonishment he restor'd me all Then I perceiv'd I had been his Cully and that he had only drill'd me on in hopes of selling him a great Purchase to let him have what he chiefly desir'd at a cheaper tate However I conceal'd my disgust and my dissatisfaction to be so serv'd and return'd him a thousand Thanks with a Countenance as gay as if I had had my hearts desire Afterwards I besought him to give me his Letters of Recommendation to his Son which he promis'd me to do and invited me to go along with him into the Country whither he went the next morning But I excus'd my self returning him Thanks in the best Language I could I also requested him to give me the Agreement with Mr. Azarias who was to accompany me to Tauris I will so answer'd his Lordship and I will enjoyn him to be your Mehemandar or Guide meaning that honest Armenian already mention'd This done I again return'd him my humble Thanks for all his Favors and after I had told him that I would not fail to extol his Kindnesses at Court I took my leave I thought it not proper to put him in mind of several other Promises that he had made me as being assur'd they would produce little for that according to the Custom of the Country he had made 'em not with an intention to be as good as his word but onely to make me the more ready to do what he desir'd The 5. the Governor went to the Camp which he had caus'd to be set up about a League from the City in a spacious and lovely Meadow all cover'd with flowers during the fair Season The two Rivers that encompass Erivan and run along with a winding Course and gentle Stream make several little Islands in that Place So that the Governors Quarter that of the Princess his Wife and those of the most considerable Persons that accompani'd him were all separated while every one had their particular Island which were joyn'd together by certain little Bridges that were laid on or tak'n away as occasion requir'd The Governor's Tents were very Magnificent and indeed there were in a little Ground all the Conveniencies of a Palace even to the very Bathes and Stoves His Family consisted of about Five Hundred Men without reckoning the Women and Eunuchs And it is the Custom of the Grandees of this Kingdom to solace themselves in this manner in the Country in the Spring Time There they divertize themselves in Hunting Fishing Walking and employ themselves in several other Exercises both a Foot and on Horse-back There they suck in the fresh Air and enjoy that Coolness which they so much delight in This is the Refreshment and Recreation of their Lives so that if they have no business in the City which requires their Presence there they continue thus taking their pleasure all the Summer long in the most delicious parts of the Neigbouring Mountaines This they call Yelac or a Country Excursion The 6. The Prince's Treasurer gave me a Dinner and the Kings Lieutenant of the Fortress was at it He is a Native of Dag-Estaan Which is a Mountainous Country to the North-East of the Caspian Sea and bordering upon Muscovie So that I took great delight to hear him repeat several particulars of the Customes and Manners of his Country The King of Persia is acknowledg'd there as Soveraign Lord but he is not absolute Master of it nor are the People that inhabit it always subject to his Commands And the Court winks at their Disobediences it being a difficult thing to reduce 'em by reason of the Roughness and Height of the Mountaines They are a Savage sort of People and the most barbarous of all the East and I take 'em to be some Remainders of the Parthians The same Evening that Gentleman sent me a Present of Fruit Wine and Mutton The 7. The Treasurer sent me much such another Present as the Governor had sent me the day before and I repay'd 'em in small Returnes for the Favors I had receiv'd from Both. They had been very civil to me at Erivan not so much as offering to take those fees which men are oblig'd to pay in Persia to the Officers of Governors for all the Money receiv'd out of their Treasuries for that their Master had forbid 'em to demand any thing of me And therefore they did me those Kindnesses to oblige me to be the more free of my own accord well knowing I was not so ignorant of the Customes of the Country but that I knew that it was not any motion of Generosity that made 'em so courteous to Strangers In the Afternoon I went to the Camp to take leave of the Governor who shew'd me a thousand Civilities and at my departure gave me two Letters of Recommendation to his two Eldest Sons who are the Kings onely Favourites They were both much to the same Effect And this is the Translation of that which was written to the Eldest GOD I beseech the Soveraign Author of all good Things to preserve in Life and Health the High and Potent Lord Nesr-ali-bec my most Honour'd and most Happy Son the Favorite and Confident of his Royal Majesty We make most perfect vows to Heaven for your Happy Grandeur The motive that induc'd us to write ye this Letter is upon the Account of our being so much concern'd as we are on the behalf of Mr. Chardin who arriv'd some time
of Ur or the Country of Fire And Ptolomy makes mention of a City in that Country which is call'd Urcoa that is to say the place of Fire ga with a long or a double a being a Persian word that signifies a Place or Part of a Country But the Ancient Names have been so corrupted by the negligence or ignorance of Transcribers or by the differences of Language and Pronuntiation of Authors and Translators that when we come to compare the Ancients with the modern Name we must not reject every thing that has not an entire Resemblance Now what we have already said shews us the Errors of those who have written that Azer-beyan is the Northern Part of Syria and that the word of Azer-beyan is deriv'd from Ardoebigara which was the Capital City of the Country The Persians divide it into three parts Azer-beyan Shirvan and Shamalei Strabo divides it only into two parts the greater and the lesser but as for Ptolomie and other modern Geogrophers they make no division of it at all The 14. we travell'd five leagues through a Country full of little Hills following the same course as the days before that it is to the North-West leaving that spacious Plain upon the left hand which has been the Stage of so many Bloody Battels fought in the last ages and in the beginning of this between the Persians and Turks The people of the Country shew you a great heap of Stones affirm it to be the Place where that Battel began between Selim the Son of Solymon the Great and Ismahel the Great Our days Journey ended at Alacou The Persians assert that this place was so call'd Alacou by that famous Tartar Prince who conquer'd a great Part of Asia and there founded a City ruin'd during the Wars between the Turks and Persians The 15. our Journey was not so long as the day before but the way through which we travell'd was more smooth and easie We lodg'd at Marant which is a good fair Town consisting of about two thousand five hundred houses and which has so many Gardens that they take up as much ground as the Houses It is seated at the bottom of a little Hill at the end of a Plain which is a league broad and five long and which is one of the most lovely and fairest that may be seen a little River call'd Zelou-lou running through the middle of it from which the people of the Country cut several Trenches to water their Grounds and their Gardens Marant is better peopl'd than Nacchivan and a much fairer Town There grows about it great plenty of Fruits and the best in all Media But that which is most peculiar to these Parts is this that they gather Cocheneel in the Places adjoyning though not in any great quantity nor for any longer time then only eight days in the Summer when the Sun is in Leo. Before that time the People of the Country assure us that it does not come to Maturity and after that time the Worm from whence they draw the Cocheneel makes a hole in the lease upon which it grows and is lost The Persians call Cocheneel Quermis from Querm which signifies a Worme because it is extracted out of Worms Marant is seated 37. deg 50. min. of Lat. and 81. deg 15. min. of Longit. according to the observation of the Persians Some take it for the City which Ptolemy calls Mandagarana I made no Platform of it no more then I did of Nacchivan because neither their Fame nor their Beauty seem'd to me to be worth any such Pains The Armenians have a Tradition that Noah lies buried there and that the Name of the City is deriv'd from an Armenian word which signifies to bury You may descry from Marant when the Air is clear the Place where the Ark rested which sav'd the Patriarch from the Deluge You may also see the same Mountain from Tauris in a serene Sky as the People of the Country assure us The 16. we travelled four Leagues turning always among the Mountains that come very close one to another in several parts but never joyn By ten of the Clock in the morning we arriv'd at Sophian a little Village seated in a Plain full of Rivulets and Gardens the Soyl of which is fertile to a wonder Some Authors believe it to be the Ancient Sophia of Media Others hold that it was call'd Sophian from the Sophi's who settled there when Ismael the First left Ardevil and remov'd his Court to Tauris That Evening Mr. Azarias the honest Armenian already mention'd went before with my Pasports and Letters of Recommendation from the Governors of Georgia and Armenia I ordered him to find out the Toll-gatherer of Tauris and to desire him in my Name to give order that I might pass with my Retinue and the next day I found he had discharg'd his Trust and that care had been taken to leave such orders at the Gates as I desir'd That day being the Seventeenth we arriv'd at Tauris after we had travell'd six Leagues upon the same Road as the preceding days through fair and fertile Plains where all the Lands were till'd and where we had a Prospect of a great number of Villages It is fifty three Persian Leagues every one of which makes five thousand Paces between Irivan and Tauris which may be easily rid on Horseback in Six days but the Caravans take double the Time The Camels seldom travel above four Leagues aday and carry six or seven Hundred weight the Horses and Mules seldom carry above two Hundred and Twenty weight with a Man and travel five or six Leagues a day There are in Tauris two hundred and fifty Mosques of which the Principal are mark'd in the Copper Plate I shall not say any thing of any one in particular because they are no otherwise built then the fair Mosquees in the Capital City of the Kingdom of which you will find in the following Volume both Descriptions and Platforms The Mosquee of Ali-sha is almost totally ruin'd Only they have repair'd the lower part where the People go to Prayers and the Tower which is very high and is the first that discovers its self to the Eye coming from Erivan This Mosque was built about 400 years ago by Coja Ali-sha Grand Visir to Sultan Kazan King of Persia who kept his Court at Tauris and was there buried His sepulchre is still to be seen in a great ruin'd Tower which they call by his name Monar can Kazan The Mosque which they call the Master Apprentise which lyes half in Ruins at present was built three hundred and twenty years ago by Emir-sheic-Hassen That which is mark'd with the Letter O in the Plate is the fairest in all Tauris all the inside and some part of the outside being guilt with Gold It was built in the year 878 of the Hegyra by a Persian King call'd Geoncha or King of the World That with two Towers is a very small one but both the Towers
are of a Peculiar sort of Workmanship and shew the curiosity of the Artist For they are built one over the other and the uppermost is much higher and larger in the Diameter then that below which serves for a Basis to the other There are also three Hospitals in the City very neat and well in repair however there is no body lodg'd within 'em only they give Victuals to those that come twice a day These Hospitals at Tauris are call'd Ach-tucon that is Places where they spend a great deal of Victuals At the end of the City to the West upon a little mountain stands a Hermitage a very neat piece of Workmanship which they call Ayn Hali or the Eyes of Haly. This Califf whom their Prophet made his Son-in-Law was as the Persians report the most lovely man that was ever seen so that when they would signifie any thing that is extreamly handsom they say t is Haly's Eyes This Hermitage serves the Taurisians for a place of Devotion and the way to it for a walk of Pleasure Without the City of Tauris to the East appears a great Castle almost gon to decay which they call Cala-Rashidé It was built above 400 years ago by Cojé Reshid Grand Visier to King Kazan The Story reports that their King had five Grand Visirs because he did not believe that one could suffice to dispatch all the affairs of so great a Kingdom Abas the Great seeing that Castle ruin'd and judging it advantageously seated as well to defend the City as to command it caus'd it to be repair'd about fifty years since but his Successors not being of his opinion let it go to Ruin There are also to be seen the Ruins of the Principal Edifices and Fortifications which the Turks built there during the several times that they were Masters of it So that there are very few Rocks or Poynts of Mountains joyning to the City where nothing but the Ruins of Forts and Heaps of Rubbish are to be seen Of which I carefully survey'd a great Part but I could not discover any thing of Antiquity There is nothing to be digg'd up but Bricks and Flint Stones The onely Edifice that remains most entire among the Turkish Buildings is a large Mosquee the inside of which is inlay'd or rather pargetted with transparent Marble and all the Outside variegated in Mosaic work But the Persians account the Place defil'd because it was built by the Turks whose Faith they abominate Among the heaps of Rubbish of which I have spoken without the City to the South appear the Ruines of the Palace of the late Kings of Persia And to the East those of the Castle where they say Cosroes lodg'd and where he laid up the Holy Cros for Security and all those other sacred Spoyles which he brought away from Jerusalem The Piazza of Tauris is the most spacious Piazza that ever I saw in any City of the World and far surpasses that of Ispahan The Turks have several times drawn up within it Thirty Thousand Men in Battel Toward the Evening this Piazza is fill'd with all the meaner sort of People that repair thither for Sport and Pastime Where some are for Gaming some for Tricks of Activity some for seeing Jack-Puddings and Mountebanks act their Drolleries some for Wrestling others for Bull and Ram-fighting others for repeating Verses some reciting Stories in Prose and some to see Wolves dance The People of Tauris take great delight to see that sort of Sport insomuch that they bring those Dancing Wolves a hundred Leagues an end after they are well taught And such as are best instructed are sold for five hunder'd Crowns a piece many times also great Quarrels arise about these Wolves which are not easily appeas'd Nor is this Piazza empty in the day time as being a Market for all sorts of Provisions and things of small Price There is also another Piazza at Tauris which appears in the Plate before the demolish'd Castle call'd the Castle of Jafer-Pacha This was a Place for the Rendezvous and exercise of the Souldiers belonging to the Garrison now it serves for the Shambles where they kill and dress all sorts of large Meat which is sold in all parts of the City I have with great diligence endeavour'd to understand the number of the Inhabitants in Tauris but could never have a just account but I think I may truly reck'n it to amount to 550 Thousand Persons yet several Persons in the City would make me believe there could not be less than Eleven hundred Thousand The number of Strangers also which are there at all times is very great for that they resort thither from all parts of Asia Nor do I know of any sort of Merchandize of which there is not there a Magazine to be found The City is full of Artists in Cotton in Silk and in Gold The fairest Turbans in Persia are there made And I have heard several of the Principal Merchants of the City affirm that there are above six thousand Bayles of Silk wrought out in Manufacture every year The Trade of the City extends all over Persia and Turky into Muscovy Tartary to the Indies and over the Black-Sea The Air of Tauris is cold and dry very good and healthy nor can any man complain that it contributes to any bad disposition of Humors The Cold continues there a long time in regard the City is expos'd to the North for the Snow lies nine months in the year upon the tops of the Mountains that surround it The Wind blows almost every day Morning and Evening It also rains very often unless it be in the Summer nor is the Sky but seldom without Clouds any season of the Year It is seated in 38. deg of Latitude and 82 of Longit. It abounds with all things necessary for human Support so that a Man may fare there deliciously and very cheap The Caspian Sea which is not above forty Leagues distant affords 'em Fish And some they also take in the River of Agi before mention'd but that is only when the water is low The usual price of Bread is three pound for a penny and of a pound of Flesh Three half pence In the Summer there is great plenty of Venison and water Fowl But they kill very little Venison or other wild Beasts There are also Eagles in the Mountains one which I have seen sold by the Country people for a groat Persons of Quality let fly the Sparrow-Hawk at the Eagle which is a Flight full of Curiosity and much to be admir'd For the Sparrow-Hawk soaring above the Eagle stoops of a sudden with that swiftness strikes her Pounces into his sides and with her wings continually beating upon his head sends him in a short time to the ground Yet sometimes it happens that both the Eagle and the Sparrow-Hawk come both to the Earth together In the same manner the Sparrow-Hawks will many times stop the flight of hunted Stags and render the Chace much
me enquire of the People of the Country whether that Mountain was wont to cast forth fire but I could meet with no body that ever saw or heard of any such thing But this is a publick Caution to all men For they tell ye that they who desire to ascend that Mountain never come back and it is reported that Abas the Great one day sent a Foot-Boy up with a Cresset Light upon his Shoulders but that the Light presently went out and the Fellow never appear'd more This Mountain lies upon the left hand as you go to Com. To which City as we drew near we saw on every side the little Mausoleums and Mosques where the Grand-Children and Descendants of Aly lie interr'd The Persians call the first Descendants from this Califfe Yman Zade or Sons of the Apostles and these are the Persian Saints of which there are an infinite number buried in this Kingdom for they reckon four hundred Sepulchers about Com. We made this City the end of our Journey at ten a Clock at night and I was afraid I should have ended my Life there too by an Accident altogether unexpected For I alighted at the Door of the Caravanseray and held my Horse by the Bridle expecting my Groom to come and take him and what time another led Horse perceiving me at his Tail up with his hind Legs and with all his force yerk'd with his Heels at my Breast so that had I been never so little farther from him he had broken my Bones I confess I did not fall for I was supported by my Horses head but for a quarter of an hour I was almost stifl'd not being able to fetch my Breath God in his Mercy took Comparsion of me so that I escap'd the fury of the Blow tho I felt it six weeks afterwards yet not so but that I could go about my Business as I was wont KOM KOM The Tombs of the two last KINGS OF PERSIA And here I shall give you the Platform of that Celebrated Mosque so much talk'd of over all the East It has four Courts belonging to it as you may perceive by the Draught The first is planted with Trees and Flowers like a Garden being a long Square having an Alley in the middle which is separated from the Beds and Plots by a Balustrade There are also two Terrasses an each side running the full length of the Garden three foot high Upon each side of which there are twenty Chambers vaulted nine foot square one Chimney and a Portico At the Entrance into this Court upon the left hand there 's one of these deep Cellars and upon the right hand an Aviary It is a place design'd for Recreation For it is moreover encompass'd with a Canall of clear water that runs out of one Fountain at the Entrance and empties it self into another at the end Ten Disticks in Letters of Gold over the Top of the Portal compose the Inscription of this Mausoleum of which the Translation is as follows The Date of the Portal of the Tomb of the most Venerable and Pure Virgin of Com upon whom be Salvation In the time of the happy Reign of Abas the Second the Support of the World to whom increase of days This Gate was open'd in the face of the People Whoever casts up his Eyes looseth the Idea of Paradise Who has ever cross'd her Courts whose Aspect rejoyces Hearts has not pass'd 'em swiftly like the wind Masoom Vicar to the Great Pontiff whose sage Counsels teach the Sun to govern his Motion caus'd this Portal to be made by one of his Substitutes Aga Mourad the Height and Excellency of which surpasses the Celestial Throne This is the Entrance into the Palace Royal of the thrice Venerable pure Virgin descended from the House of the Prophet Haypy and Glorious that faithful Person that shall prostrate his head upon the Threshold of this Gate in Imitation of the Sun and Moon Whatever he shall demand with Faith from above this Gate shall be like an Arrow that hits the Mark that is to say shall answer his Desires Certainly Fortune shall never molest the Enterprises of him who for the Love of God rais'd this Portal in the Face of the People O thou Faithful if thou demand'st in what Year this Portal was built I answer thee from above the Portal from Desire demand thy Desires To understand this last Distich you must understand that whereas in our Alphabet there are but seven Numeral Letters or which serve instead of a Cipher as V. for five X. for ten L. for fifty c. The Alphabet in the Oriental Languages stands for Arithmetical Numbers and so for a knack of Wit which indeed requires a quick Fancy they denote the Year of any thing by words that have some resemblance to the Thing done and are compos'd of Letters which according to their arithmetical Value make up just the Year of their Epoche and the Letters of this word make 1061. Year Of which I shall produce another Example The deceas'd King of Persia caus'd a Tent to be made that cost one hundred and fifty Thousand Pounds It was call'd the House of Gold because there was nothing but Gold that glister'd in every part of it I shall give you the Description of it in another place It may be easily conjectur'd that it was a sumptuous and costly Piece as well by the Price that it cost as by the number of Camels which were requir'd to carry it that were in all 280. The Anti-chamber was made of Velvet with a Ground of Gold Of which the Cornish was embellish'd with Verses that concluded in this manner If thou demandest at what time the Throne of this Second Salomon was built I will tell thee Behold the Throne of the Second Salomon where the Letters of the last words being tak'n for Ciphers make 1057. Years Which is look'd upon as meer Gibbrish in our Language but among the Orientals passes for Wit and Ornament The second Court is not so beautiful as the first but the third is nothing inferiour to it It is surrounded with Apartments every one containing two Stories a Terrass a Portico and a Canal in like manner as the former Four large Trees stand at each Corner and cover it with their Boughs Out of this third Court you enter into the fourth by a Marble Ascent consisting of twelve Steps The Portal which is at the Top is a most magnificent Piece It is cover'd below with white Marble transparent like to Porphiry or Aggat The top of it which is a large half Duomo is painted with Moresco Work of Or and Azure laid on very thick In this fourth Court are also Chambers both at the lower end and on both sides with Terrasses and Portico's like the other three Those are the Lodgings for the Priests the Governors and Students that live upon the Revenues of that sacred Place Fronting these Courts stands the Body of the Structure consisting of three great
Revenue is employ'd to keep the Places clean and neat to repair the Decays of time in the Building and Moveables for the buying of Lights and maintaining several Churchmen and a great number of Regents and Governors of Students and poor People They distribute Victuals every day to all that come and to people that are hir'd And of all these Legacies and Revenues three Great Lords of Persia have the Superintendency every one being appointed his Chappel He that at present takes Care of the she-Saints Chappel is an illustrious Ancient Person who has been Courtshi Bashi or Collonel of the Courtches which is a great Body of the Militia consisting of thirty Thousand Men. And the same Person is also Governor of Com. This City contains also several other Edifices very beautiful and sumptuous It is a very pleasant Place but for the Heat which is very excessive In the Summer the River that passes by it is no bigger then a small Rivulet but the Winter Thaws swell it to that degree with the Water that falls from the Mountains that it not only fills its own Channel which is as broad as the Seine at Paris but overflows a great part of the City They call it generally the River of Com but the true Name of it is Joubad-gan This City lies in 85. deg 48. min. of Longitude and 34. deg 30. min. of Latitude The Air is wholsom but extremely hot as I said before for it scalds in the Summer there being no place in all Persia where the Sun scorches more violently It abounds in all manner of Victuals and Fruits particularly in Pistachios The people also are very courteous and civil The most part of Topographers will have Com to be the same place which Ptolomy calls Gauna or Guriana And his Translator asserts it to be the same with Choama tho others will have it to be Arbacte or Hecatompyle Several Histories of Persia likewise relate this City to be very Ancient and that it was built by Tahmas when the Sun entred into Gemini that it was twelve thousand Cubits in compass and as big as Babylon I must confess there is no doubt but it was very large for there are many Ruins and Footsteps of Habitations to be seen round about it but it is much to be question'd whether it were so Ancient as the Reign of Tahmas Other Persian Histories deduce its Original from the first Age of Mahumetism and affirm that in the time of Mahomet there were in that place seven large Villages and that in the 83 Year of the Hegyra Abdalla Saydon Califfe coming into that Country with an Army joyn'd those seven Villages together with new Buildings enclos'd 'em with a Wall and made 'em one City and that afterwards this City encreas'd to that degree that it became twice as large as Constantinople For Mousa the Son of that Abdalla came from Basra to Com and brought with him the Opinions of Haly which they call the Religion of Shia or Imamism which was always profess'd in that place even to Martyrdom nor would the People suffer any other and therefore Temur-leng being of a contrary Belief utterly destroy'd the City Nevertheless by degrees they repair'd one part of it again but it did not begin to reflourish until this last Age and since that Sephy was there interr'd Abas the Second his Son and Successor banish'd thither such Persons as were fallen from his Favour to the end they might pray to God for his person and give thanks to heaven for their Lives which he had spar'd ' em Soliman at present reigning had made use of it to the same purpose sending thither all those whom he thought convenient to punish with Exile and the great number of exil'd persons of Quality it was that has restor'd the City to that Splendor wherein now it stands In the Year 1634. an Inundation of Waters ruin'd a thousand Houses and it is but three Years since that an Accident of the same nature had like to have ruin'd it all together For two thousand Houses and all the Ancient Houses were laid level with the Earth The Name is pronounc'd with a double m as if we should write the word Komm It is also call'd Darel mouveheldin that is to say The Habitation of pious People The Governor bears the Title of Darogué or Mayor Kachan Kachan The 17. we travell'd five Leagues cross the Plain We found it all the way cover'd with a moving Sand dry without either Villages or Water We lodg'd in a place call'd Abshirin or Sweet Water because there is in that place a Fountain of fair Water and Cisterns in the midst of six Carevanserais The 18. our Journey reach'd to Cashan where we arriv'd after we had travell'd seven Leagues steering toward the South over the Plain already mention'd and at the end of two Leagues we found the Soyl delightful and fertile stor'd with large Villages We pass'd through several and about half the way left upon the left hand at a near distance a little City call'd Sarou seated at the foot of a Mountain The City of Cashan is seated in a large Plain near a high Mountain It is a League in length and a quarter of a League in breadth extending it self in length from East to West When you see it afar off it resembles a half Moon the Corners of which look toward both those Parts of the Heavens The Draught is no true Representation either of the Bigness or the Figure as having been taken without a true Prospect And the reason was the Indisposition of my Painter who being extremely tir'd with the former days Travel was not able to stir out of the Inn where we lay All that he could do was to get upon the Terrass and take the Draught from thence There is no River that runs by the City only several Canals convey'd under Ground with many deep Springs and Cisterns as there are at Com. It is encompass'd with a double Wall flank'd with round Towers after the Ancient Fashion to which there belong five Gates One to the East call'd the Royal Gate as being near the Royal Palace that stands without the Walls Another call'd the Gate of Fieu because it leads directly to a great Village which bears that name Another between the West and North call'd the Gate of the House of Melic as being near to a Garden of Pleasure which was planted by a Lord of that Name The two other Gates are opposite to the South-East and North-East The one call'd Com Gate and the other Ispahan Gate be cause they lead to those Cities The City and the Suburbs which are more beautiful then the City contain six thousand five hundred Houses as the People assure us forty Mosques three Colleges and about two hundred Sepulchres of the Descendants of Aly. The Principal Mosque stands right against the great Market Place having one Tower that serves for a Steeple built of Free Stone Both the Mosque and the Tower are the
of his advancement to the Throne That thereupon he had resolved not to leave the Kingdom before he had had the honour to kiss his Majesties Feet and to appear before him with that humility which became him And that he had not any Presents worthy his acceptance because he had made an offering of all that he brought along with him to the deceased King of glorious Memory to whom his most Illustrious Majesty was now Successour and his Prime Ministers of State and therefore he hoped his Majesty would be so indulgent as to excuse him and permit him the honour which he with all humility requested Lastly That he should beseech the General of the Musquetteers to use his Interest to obtain leave for him with the soonest that he could to the end he might present himself at the feet of the new Monarch and be favoured with a quick dispatch In regard the death of the Director his Predecessour and several other weighty Affairs called him away in haste to the Port of Habas That if he would give himself the trouble to procure that Audience the next day he would promise him a becoming Acknowledgment assuring him that the Company would always be ready to remunerate his favour and be for ever obliged to his kindness With these Instructions the Interpreter went to the General of the Musquetteers and having the opportunity to speak to him in private by himself laid before him all his specious Arguments according to his directions But while he had no other discourse but plausible pretences and excuses they made no Impression upon the covetous Warriour who pretending ignorance or perhaps because he was really ignorant of those affairs made answer that he could determine nothing positive in those matters and therefore he must be content to stay till the Court returned to Ispahan But when the Interpreter began to add to his Reasons the Promise of a becoming Acknowledgment the Lustre of Gold cast such a powerful reflection upon his Lordly senses that he presently found himself inspired with a new access of knowledge and understanding so that there was not any one scruple that interrupted his performance He condescended to the Embassadours Request and knew so well how to manage his business that in the Evening he sent for the same Interpreter and gave him Order to promise his Master in his Majesties Name that he should be admitted to morrow about ten in the Morning to kiss his Majesties Feet The same day at the time appointed the Dutch Embassadour with two more of the Company the chief Factor of Ispahan and the Secretary of the Embassie together with the Interpreter attended at the Palace in an Apartment next to that where the King was Crowned Where he had staid but a few Minutes before he had notice to advance forward to the Place where the King tarried whither so soon as he was come with all his Train the General of the Musquetteers who supplied the Office of Grand Porter or Master of the Ceremonies conducted him from the Door of the great Hall before his Majesty at the distance of two Paces from whom the Embassadour and the two other Persons with him made their Obeysances according to the Custom of the Persians which is to kiss the ground three times before his Majesties Feet When they had made their Reverence and were permitted to sit the Embassadour by his Interpreter began with the Prayers and Wishes of Governour General of Batavia for the honour and prosperity of his Majesty upon his happy coming to the Crown For which the King returned him Thanks and added at the Conclusion My Lord Embassadour is welcome and if he have any favour to request let him only make it known Thereupon the Dutch Embassadour took an occasion to proceed and gave the King to understand in few words the Priviledges which his Ancestors had all along granted to the Company from the first time that they came to reside in Persia till that day requesting the same Protection from his Majesty an Authentick Confirmation of all the Agreements and Decrees already made in favour of the Company and a continuation of the same Kindnesses His Majesty replied My Lord Embassadour I take you for my Guest and Friend as also all of your Nation and I will redouble the favours and kindnesses which my Ancestors of glorious memory have done your Company Upon which the Dutch Embassadour made a profound Reverence as did also the other two that accompanied him and replied to the King 's obliging words in this manner We will no farther doubt it than from the Grace and Generosity of so great a Prince On the other side if We or the Company may be any way serviceable to serve your Majesty your Majesty shall no sooner Command but be obeyed In the mean time we humbly beg of Your Majesty that we may have leave to retire to the Port of Habas there to look after our Affairs to which Importunate Necessity calls Us. Thereupon the General of the Musquetteers declaring the Kings pleasure for he performs the same Office in Grandeur near his Majesty which the Embassadours Interpreter supplies out of necessity His Majesty said he desires to know wherefore my Lord Embassadour discovers so much eagerness to be gone He would have him to stay till all the Lords of the Court are come to Town for that then he intends to receive him with greater Pomp and give him more signal Marks of his Esteem To which the Dutch replied as they had done already bowing their Heads and their Bodies with a profound Humility and returning his Majesty their most hearty Thanks beseeching him withal to have the same gracious Opinion as before but that for the present the greatest Favour he could receive at their hands was his Royal License to return to their principal Factory whither Affairs of Concernment called them The King thereupon with a Nod of his Head condescended to their Request and withal ordered this farther Complement to be put upon them That he would not stay them any longer but that they might go in the Name of God desiring to assure the Company of his Affection and that whatever they had for the future to demand they should but ask and have Those last words included his last leave which they also took with most submissive Obeysances after the European manner the most respectful that could be imagined And thus they retired after an Audience of three quarters of an Hour About Four in the Afternoon they sent their Interpreter to the General of the Musquetteers to return him Thanks for the Trouble he had given himself in procuring them so favourable an Audience and for the continuance of his kindness they besought him to accept as a pledge of their farther acknowledgment a Silver Watch and fifty Ducats of Gold The English Agent in Persia Sir Stephen Flowre understanding that the Dutch had had Audience of his Majesty was not a little surprised but much more vexed
would transport his Enemy to some other Act that would promote his ruine which was the only thing that he most cordially wish'd for and thus it fell out This Vazier of Mazenderan call'd Mirza-Hachem during the Reign of Habas II. was in good credit with his Prince And yet there was not in all Persia a person of a more scandalous Tongue He would talk of the Grandees to the King with a most dreadful sawciness call the Prime Minister Buffle-Head the Superintendant a Liar the Chief Justice downright Knave and then for the General of the Musquetteers he said he was both a Coward and a Robber And tho Habas gave little heed to his discourse nevertheless the persons concern'd were afraid they should make an impression in the King's mind to their disadvantage and therefore they all hated him with a perfect hatred But now the King his supporter being dead the General of the Musquetteers who was become the New Kings chief Favourite and had obtain'd a Commission to send all the Officers their Royal Habits resolv'd to be reveng'd as believing withal that it would be no less acceptable to the rest of the Lords To this purpose instead of a Royal Calate he only sent him a plain Habit worth not above forty Pounds not doubting but that the Vazier would commit some extravagance that would hasten his destruction Nor did he fail in his Conjecture For upon his going forth to meet and receive the Habit and to put it on that the People might see that he was confirm'd in his Employment when he saw it and found it to be a thing of no value he threw it away with scorn and indignation believing it to be a trick put upon him and done on purpose to disgrace him However his disdain carri'd him no farther for he conjectur'd it to be some snare laid to hurle him headlong into Ruine Not daring therefore to return to the City in that Habit and fearing least the People should despise him if they saw him so ill dress'd at the Kings Expence as one that had lost his Reputation at Court he sent home for a Royal Habit one of the Richest and most Magnificent that Habas had formerly bestow'd upon him and so having put it on he return'd to the City making the People believe that he had receiv'd it from the New Monarch This being known to all the Court the General of the Musquetteers was the first that open'd his Lips declaring that the Vazier of Makenderan was a Dog that he had thrown away the Kings Habit with reproachful Language not forbearing to say that he had no need of Sha-Sefiè's Habits whereupon he had made use of another which Habas his Father had sent him The King who understood not the Stratagems of Court look'd no farther then the bare Information not dreaming of any malice in the Contrivance And therefore upon the Prime Minister's first motion he sent an express Command to the Vazier's Controller to appear at Court So soon as the Vazier understood that the Controller was sent for he began to consider the bad condition of his affairs He knew well and upon good grounds that the Controller was a person that would not spare to inform the worst he could against him because they had been at variance a long time Habas the Second had joyn'd them both together in Commission of set purpose to the end that through the mistrust that they had one of another they might be the more careful how they demean'd themselves in the discharge of their duties and to prevent them from any combination to defraud him of his Revenues The Vazier therefore to prevent his Fall as much as in him lay dispatch'd away before the Controller set forward one of his own Servants with Letters to his Vikil or Agent at Court wherein he gave him order to spare for no expence in considerable Presents to such and such Lords But added he at the bottom beware of offering any thing to that Rascal of a Prime Minister or to that Dog of a General of the Musquetteers withal naming some others to whom he forbad him to make any addresses But by misfortune the Messenger crippl'd himself by the way so that he could not make that hast which was requisite by which accident the Controller who follow'd him close at the heels overtook him in a Caravanseray or publick Inn where finding him laid down and fast asleep he would not miss so favourable an opportunity but stole from under his Head the Purse wherein his Letters were He read them and carri'd them to Court to shew them to those persons whom they had so highly abus'd Who more enrag'd then before carri'd the Controller to his Majesty before whom he confirm'd the Information which had been already given him That the Vazier of Mazenderan had disdainfully flung away the Royal Habit which his Majesty had sent him saying withal these words I have no need of Sha-Sephiè's Habits and that he sent for one of Habas's Vestments which he wore upon his return to the City Upon which the King highly incens'd several times repeated the words Gidi and Segh or Dog and Scoundrel with several other more outrageous and bitter Expressions usual among the greatest Personages in that Country who think it no shame to utter them upon all occasions and before any persons whatsoever Presently the King sent to arrest the Vazier's Agent and at the same time dispatch'd to his Master a Chapar or Courrier extraordinary to arrest him and confiscate all his Goods The General of the Musquetteers not content with this the next Morning inform'd the King that this Vazier had been High Steward to Imaan-Kouli-Kaan that famous Prince honour'd with so many Encomiums and who is reported in the Life of Habas the Great to have wrought so many Miracles besides that he was Captain General of all Habas's Armies I say he inform'd the King that this Vazier was entrusted with all Imaan-Kouli-Kaan's Jewels and yet he would never discover to Sefiè the I. where that Prince had hid them before he was put to death protesting he knew nothing of the matter Which was a visible piece of knavery since there could be no other person in the world who could know that secret but himself and therefore there was no way to constrain him to tell the truth but by force Which Incentives so wrought upon the Young Prince that he dispatch'd a second Courrier with Orders to bring the Vazier with his Head and Feet bare and a Chain about his Neck and that every day they should give him forty drubs upon the soles of his Feet till he confess'd where the Jewels were The Messengers were punctual in the Execution of the Kings Commands upon the Vazier who not able to endure the Torment nor the hardship of the Journey for it was then in the depth of Winter when all the ways were cover'd with Frost and Snow died by that time he came half way had nine days
upon the Dominions of the Persian Empire as well as in other places The Governour of Kandaar was one of the first who felt the fatal Influences of this Comet by his fall and death which happen'd at the same time upon this occasion For the better understanding of which we must go back to the Story of his Life where we left off to bring him in a few words to his End We left him going to Kandaar with his Recruits where so soon as he arriv'd he found no likelihood of any War Nor indeed did he expect any such thing only he himself had caus'd the Rumour to be spread abroad to obtain the Government and to disincumber himself from those Troubles which his turbulent and wicked Conduct had drawn upon himself But no sooner was he arriv'd in that City but he began to appear in his own Colours not so much by secret contrivance but openly and with a lofty pride acting a Petty Sovereign and assuming absolute Dominion taking away by force Virgins from their Parents Married women from their Husbands to replenish his Palace observing no measure but using as his Slaves and Footmen the Sultoons or inferiour Governours the Royal Farmers and meaner Officers pillaging and plundering where ever there was any thing to be got In a word his Tyranny grew to that extremity that in all that spacious Province there was not any body that was not in an extraordinary Consternation for without any form of Proceeding he put to death whomever he thought good according as his fury or his interest inspir'd him Of these things Complaints were sent to the Court and the Cries of that infinite number which he had render'd miserable were so loud that they reach'd the Kings Ears Which the Governours Enemies had so much the fairer opportunity to improve considering how the Clamours against his exorbitances dayly increas'd Thereupon his Kindred and those few friends he had left at Court sent him word that his Affairs were but in a bad condition his proceedings being highly resented by his Majesty and that unless he look'd carefully to himself some mischievous Backstroke of Fortune threaten'd him But he took little notice of this good advice believing himself so well assur'd of his Princes favour and therefore thinking himself proof against all the most Potent Accusations he never alter'd his Conduct but rather grew more haughty and disorderly The Kaan Governor who had been displac'd to make way for him was then at Court however by the means of his friends he fail'd not to have a strict eye upon all his Actions nor were they less diligent to conveigh the complaints of the afflicted to the Kings Ear. So that at length all his Crimes were heap'd together but while the King was wavering whether to disgrace him and cast him from his favour or not he committed a new Act of Violence which added a most terrible weight to the foregoing Accusations Between the Kingdom of Kackmir and the Province of Kandaar lie a certain People call'd Bolluki who extend themselves into India on that side which Country is Govern'd by their own Native Princes only those that are next neighbours to Persia acknowledge the King and are his Tributaries One of those Princes had a very lovely Daughter of whom the Governor of Kandaar had heard a great Report and therefore passionately desired her for one of his Wives To which purpose he sends to demand her of the Prince her Father who refus'd his Motion The inamour'd Governor not so discourag'd sent again and receives a second denial he sends nevertheless a third time but to as little purpose for that the Bolluki never intermix alliances but one with another Upon this the Governor dissembling his Indignation always profess'd a great friendship for him and invited him one day to a sumptuous Feast at Kandaar The Prince mistrusting nothing came to the Entertainment but when the Governor had him in his Clutches he caus'd his head to be cut off Upon which the Prince's Attendants when they understood of his Death disdaining so foul a piece of Villany all enrag'd fell upon the Governors Guard between whom and the Strangers there happend a bloody Combat wherein three hundred Persians were slain upon the place and between seven and eight hundred of the others This made such a noise that the King began to shew himself highly offended Nor would the Governors Enemies omit so fair an opportunity believing now his Majesty would suffer 'em to say any thing against a man that gave him so much occasion of inward disturbance so that they easily perswaded him to revoke the permission he had given him to come to Court when he pleased himself The pretence of which Revocation was grounded upon this that it was a thing which had never been accustomed to be done and which might in the end produce dangerous Consequences and they thought they had gone a great way in gaining that point For they were afraid lest if the Governor had free access to Court he should regain by his Presence the Kings Favour which seem'd no difficult thing for him to do who had the art so well to counterfeit his passionate affection for the Kings Interest and for that the King when the Governor was ready to depart for Kandaar had testify'd his Sorrow to part with him at what time he thus express'd himself Tho thou go'st to Kandaar thou shalt be never a jot the less my Favourite and thou shalt return to my Court whenever thou think'st it convenient Which was the reason of his giving him Letters of Licence to come when he pleas'd to Court without expecting any new Orders The Governor receiv'd the revocation of that Favour and at the same time other Letters from his Brother and the rest of his Friends advising him to be careful in his Conduct that his Fortune totter'd and was within a little of falling altogether and that his Enemies had made great advantage of the opportunities he had given ' em Upon this News he took a course which he thought so much the more worthy of himself by how much it appear'd to him to be equally prudent and daring tho by the event it prov'd no less fatal than rash He assur'd himself that so soon as he should but see the King he should set all things right again that he should regain his first Favour and scatter the Faction of his Enemies And therefore without ever Petitioning for any new Order or expecting any Command nay against the very Command which he had receiv'd expresly forbidding his coming to Court he takes Horse and in nine days arrives at Ispahan The speed that was made in this Journey was discoursed of at Ispahan as of a thing altogether extraordinary and which was never done before For of these nine days one must be deducted that he staid to rest himself in a Garden about a hundred and fifty Leagues from Ispahan So that in some eight days he rode as much ground