the Footstool to the Throne because his Authority extends over all the Porters Ushers Guards Masters of the Ceremonies and other Officers of the like nature belonging to the Court But because he performs the Office of Chief Gentleman Usher night and day in the Kings Presence he has no Seat in the publick Assemblies notwithstanding his Authority be very great and renders him more considerable than many that have right to sit Nor do I find that any other Lords than these were present at this Grand Assembly The chief Minister was the first that spoke and declared at the same time what the High Chamberlain had informed him concerning the Kings Death and which had been confirmed to him by the two chief Physicians and then proceeding he told him That he made no question but the same Information had already reached their Ears and that they were not ignorant how that their deceased Monarch was departed this Life without declaring either in writing or by word of Mouth to which of his two Sons he had bequeatched his Scepter and that therefore it was their duty to proceed to an Election with all the speed imaginable not only because it was not fit that the Prince to whom Providence had destined the Crown should remain in a Private Condition any longer but also for the security of the Kingdom which was always in jeopardy so long as it wanted a Governour since it was with Monarchies as with living Bodies that cease to live when deprived of the Head For the preventing therefore of so great a Misfortune it behoved them before they brake up to make choice of some glorious Scien of the Imamic Race to sit upon the Throne which Habas the II. had quitted for a more blessed Mansion in Heaven That that great Monarch of victorious Memory had left two Sons as he was assured that none of all the Assembly had any reason to question in the least Sephie-Mirza who was about twenty years of Age and had been left in the Palace of Grandeur under the Tuition of Aga-Nazir and Hamzeh-Mirza about seven Years of Age who was there among them at Court under the care of Aga-Mubarek present in their Assembly That of these two after they had invoked the most High God they were to choose him that the well King had in a manner deputed to be Lieutenant to the glorious Successor in Expectation By Successor in Expectation the Persians mean the last of the Imaans who according to their Religion is their hoped for Messia whose return to Earth they expect every hour Now the Prime Minister having pronounced these words with all the Demonstrations of a profound sorrow and an Aspect full of Majesty which from his Aged Countenance shot both Awe and Reverence made a sudden stop expecting that some other of the Assembly should speak and give his Advice But observing that the whole Assembly out of a particular deference and respect to his Dignity and high Place applauded his beginning and by their frequent repetitions of Bisin Allah ' or so be it in the name of God seemed desirous that he should proceed the aged Minister modestly resumed his Place and beholding the Grandees one after another told them further That considering the Necessity and the Resolution which they had taken to Elect one of those two Princes it was his Opinion That they were to the Rigorous but positive necessity to which they were reduced and which constrained them to prefer Hamzeh Mirza tho the younger and to fix him in the Throne tho to the Privation of his elder Brother The reason was because it was well known to all the World how severe Habas had been always toward him so that it was to be feared that the young Prince had been deprived of his sight Of which the Report had ran very hot ever since the deceased Monarch at his departure from Ispahan displayed such a dismal dissatisfaction in his Countenance that portended nothing but fatal and which they had more reason to believe because the King at the beginning of his sickness had sent in great hast without imparting his design to any of his Council an Eunuch with private Orders to the same City Which Orders could be no other than either to take off the Head or pluck out the Eyes of the young Prince to the end he might be uncapable of succeeding to the Crown after his death For in all other things the King never failed to communicate his Secrets to some one of his Council and particularly to the Prime Minister who was always accustomed to seal with his own Seal all such Commands and Orders to which the King affix'd his Signet which if it were so they could not Elect him without running themselves into a great Confusion if he should be already either Dead or Blind For you know said he that the sacred Laws of the Elect of God not permiting any person under that unfortunate Circumstance to be our Sovereign Monarch we should be constrained after all to apply our selves to Hamzeh Mirza And what thanks I would fain know will he then give us for our Election Will he not have reason to tax us with our want of Affection for choosing him at a force put when we knew there was no possibility for his Brother to govern Will it please him do you think to accept a Crown at our hands which we have offered to another Will he think himself beholden to us for our suffrages which we did not give him out of Kindness or Affection to his person but merely out of invincible Necessity And God grant he may stop there with being only satisfied that he ows us nothing Who knows but that he may study Revenge and whether our Coldness may not kindle in his Brest a Fire that will not be quenched without our Ruin and the destruction of our Families But this is not all that we are to consider when the Welfare of the Kingdom lies at stake particular Interests must give way Mind therefore my Lords what I have observed at the Beginning of my Discourse It behoves us to avoid the Dangers of an Interregnum which will continue long while time is wasted in Messages to and fro from hence to the Capital City But Providence hath put into our Hands Hamzeh-Mirza What remains then but to follow the Commands of Providence and forthwith to advance the Favoured of Heaven to the Sacred Throne of Prince of the World The Prime Minister having thus delivered himself gave no small occasion to the rest of the Lords to muse from whence this Opinion of his should proceed But in regard he was a Person that had always lived in high Reputation for his Integrity and for that his being striken in years and his long experience in Affairs rendered him greatly considerable they never suspected the Advice which he had given had been the Effect of self-interest more especially because there was nothing propounded but what the whole Assembly believed to be
even they who had been instrumental to his Advancement For they could not imagine he should arrive in so short a time to that Pinacle of Honour where they beheld him And indeed they had reason to be jealous of him For his Authority made him Master of their Estates and besides they knew him to be ill-natur'd and mischievously bent and as bold and daring as a Lion more then all this Cholerick without respect or consideration and resolute to enterprize whatever might satisfie his Fury or advance his Interests From this time forward till his death which hapned not long after as will appear in the Series of this Story he was always in great credit with the King who had a particular esteem for him so that there was hardly any thing which he refus'd him At the same time that Haly-Kouli-Kaan was under restraint the Princess Pehri-Rocksar-Begum the present King's Aunt was also restor'd to Favour For as it has been said in the Life of the deceased Prince whose Sister she was the King to punish her for having been too busie in some Intrigue which I know not what it was only that it was such a one as had highly offended him had married her to a Mulla Doctor of the Law who at that time liv'd at Ispahan the Son of Moute-Veli or the Steward of the great Mosque at Mitshed By him during the Life of Habas she had two Children to whom the Prince forbad her to give suck which is the manner of putting to death the Children of the Bloud Royal when the King resolves they shall not live But now this Lady understanding the death of the King went and threw her self at the feet of the New Monarch who receiv'd her kindly and assur'd her he would advance her Husband to some considerable Employment wherein he was as good as his word for some Months after he made her Husband Sedre-Kaassoh that is peculiar Poutiff being a very considerable Employment as he that is as it were the Kings Almoner or he that has the disposal of all the Gifts bequeath'd by the Kings of Persia to the Mosques which Employment was worth to him about fifteen thousand pounds yearly There remain'd another Sister of Habas II. in the Womens Palace who in the Kings absence was as it were Sovereigness of the Place for which reason they give her a Name that signifies the white Locks of the Sacred Place which is a figurative sort of Speech to denote the dignity of the person and the particular respect which is due to her This Lady being desirous to taste the Sweets of Wedlock as well as her Sister importunately besought the New Monarch that she might marry the Brother of her Sisters Husband a Molla or Doctor of the Law as he was For which reason the King made him Sedre-Mokoufaat or Pontiff of the Kingdoms which is a preferment almost like the other and very near equal to it in Revenue as he that has the disposal of the Legacies which are given to the Mosques by private Persons Which two Preferments for above two hundred years were both in one But the King for the satisfaction and advantage of his two Aunts divided them for the benefit of their Husbands who are persons of no merit and of very mean Capacities Nor is it likely the King will suffer them to hold their Places of too great Importance for their management And now his Majesty having supplied these two Pontifical preferments which were vacant during the late Kings Reign took care to fill up other vacancies also which he bestow'd upon persons of credit that were next about him or their Friends That of Kourtchi Bachi or General of the Kourtches one of the three Bodies of the Persian Militia and one of the highest Trusts in the Empire was conferr'd upon Hustein-Kouli-Kaan All the Kaanas or Governments of Persia were likewise bestow'd upon persons of worth In a word there was not a vacant place but what was fill'd up For the deceased King let them lie vacant for a secret reason which his Son understood not which was to reap the profit of their Revenues So great that it is reported the Employments which he supply'd and of which the King his Father had all the benefit brought into the Chequer a Million sterling Yearly However I do not report this for truth but as having heard it affirm'd by persons of great knowledge in Affairs and who could have giv'n a just account had they so pleas'd which they will not always do These were the Favours and Bounties of the Young Monarch during the Festivals of his Coronation Of which the mirth and jollity was not a little disturb'd by a sad accident that occasion'd the downfal of the Grand Provost In the description of Ispahan we have observed that for a long time that City has been divided into two Factions which are always quarrelling and fighting for Precedency and Antiquity And upon Festival Times there is always a great Concourse of the Rabble of both Factions in the old Maydan or Publick Place of the City where the two different Factions ranging themselves the one upon the South the other upon the North side batter one another with Stones and Clubs at a strange rate The Grand Provost all this while makes a shew of parting 'em but he does it so remissly that both Parties see well enough that it is only a Copy of his Countenance which makes 'em bolder and more violent in their mischief For the Grand Provost is not at all troubl'd at it by reason of the great Fines which afterwards he milks into his own Pocket Upon one of these fore-mention'd Festival days his Majesty being in the spacious and magnificent Hall which is built over the great Portal of his Palace that looks out into the Royal Square where he sate to behold a horse Race and several of his Lords shooting at a Golden Ball an Exercise much us'd among the Persian Archers news was brought that about two thousand of the Rabble were fighting in the Maydan or Publick Market place with that implacable animosity that there was like to be a great deal of mischief done Upon which his Majesty sent for the Daroga or Grand Provost of Ispahan and order'd him to take along with him a Guard of Sixty Musquetteers if he thought fit and go and disperse the furious Combatants Which was a Command too express to be dally'd withal But the Grand Provost could never accomplish it However away he flew at the Head of above two hundred Soldiers and commanded the Mutineers to part and disperse themselves But they believing the Provost did but only make a shew as he was wont to do fell a shouting at him and palting him with stones He would fain have giv'n 'em to understand he was then in earnest but because the Tumult and noise was so great that he could not otherwise be heard then by the thunder of his Musquets he order'd the Soldiers to fire without Bullets
but which most People were assur'd was begot by Levan But this Young Prince whose Name was Vomeki did not Reign long For the Vice-Roy of that part of Georgia which is under the Dominion of Persia dispoil'd him of his Principality and reinvested in it Levan's Lawful Heir after he had invaded Mingrelia and the Territories of Imiretta Which Invasion being an Accident that happens to be genuinely apposite to this Recital I shall only give a short accompt of the occasion The Deceas'd King of Imiretta who was call'd Alexander and who dy'd in the Year 1658. had Two Wives the First was the Daughter of the Prince of Guriel call'd Tamar whom he divorc'd for her Adulteries after he had had a Son and a Daughter by her The Son who was call'd Bacrat Mirza Reigns at this present King of Imiretta The Daughter is Princess of Mingrelia the same that I have giv'n ye such an accompt of that would have both Robb'd and Marry'd me to her Friend The Second Wife which Alexander Marry'd was call'd Darejan a Young Princess and Daughter of the Great and Famous Taymur Razkan last Soveraign King of Georgia He had no Children by her and left her a Widow after he had been Marry'd to her four Years They talk Wonders of her Beauty and her alluring Graces So soon as his son-in-Son-in-Law Bacrat came to the Throne she wou'd have had him to Marry her Bacrat was not then above Fifteen Years of Age so that the Charms of her Beauty could not make those deep Impressions upon his Heart as being so young that the Evil Customs of his Country had not yet corrupted him VVhich was the Reason that he abhorr'd the Proposal and return'd disdainful Answers to her Courtship Darejan therefore finding she could not support her self upon the Throne immediately advanc'd to his Bed a young Person of Twelve Years of Age her Kinswoman call'd Sistan Darejan the Daughter of Daitona the Brother of Taymur Razkan whom Bacrat Marry'd at Fifteen Years of Age as has been already said So that Darejan assur'd her self of the Soveraign Power and of keeping the King and Queen continually under her Guardianship But Bacrat as young as he was perceiv'd his mother-in-Mother-in-Laws Design and one Day gave her apparent Testimonies of his Disgust Upon which Darejan to satisfie Bacrat assur'd him that she would forbear to take any Authority upon her Who being a good-natur'd well-meaning Prince easily believ'd Darejan and restor'd her to his former Confidence not dreaming of the Treason that she was meditating against him To that purpose she feign'd her self sick and sent for the King to come to her who went accordingly with a great deal of Frankness and VVillingness at what time certain People that she had posted in her Chamber seiz'd and bound him Presently she order'd him to be conveigh'd to the Fortress of Cotatis the Principal City of the Country the Governour of which place was her own Creature Soon after she came thither her self sent for all the Grandees whom she had gain'd to her Party and of whom she was assur'd and with them consulted for five Days together what to do with the King Some advis'd her to put him to Death others to pull out his Eyes which latter advice she follow'd and so the Prince was depriv'd of his sight VVhich happen'd Eight Months after the Marriage of that poor Prince which they said moreover he had not fully then consummated Among the rest of the Lords that were of Darejan's Party there was one with whom she was passionately in love whose Name was Vactangle Him she Marry'd and caus'd him to be Crown'd King in the Fortress Which highly incens'd the rest of the Lords who thought themselves all affronted by his Advancement Thereupon they fell oft from siding with Darejan joyn'd themselves with the contrary Party took Arms and call'd to their Assistance the Princes of Guriel and Mingrelia offering the Kingdom to which of the two should first come to their Aid Vomeki Dadian was the first that appear'd in the Field with all the Forces of his Country and soon reduc'd under his Subjection all that part which held for Darejan except the Fort of Cotatis However he laid Siege to that also but for want of Artillery he could do little good against the Besieged only that he kept 'em from stirring forth out of their Walls and it would have cost him a long time before he could have brought 'em to a surrender had it not been for the Politick Contrivance of a Lord of the Country whose Name was Ottia Chekaizè who brought that to pass by his Wit which they could not do with all their Force He went to the Fortress full of a feign'd Despair occasion'd by the Prince of Mingrelia he made Darejan believe that he was reduc'd to that extremity that he knew not where to find a more secure Sanctuary that he came to throw himself at her Feet to beg her Pardon and desire her Protection against that Prince Darejan fell into the Snare She believ'd whatever Ottia said and that his extraordinary Zeal for her Interests was true She admitted him into her Council soon after encreas'd by the Bishop of Tifflis and the Catholicos of Georgia whom the Viceroy of that Country had sent her fearing lest they in whom she most confided should betray her But this same Runagate deceiv'd 'em both as quick-sighted as they were He told Darejan in their hearing That considering the Condition of her Affairs there was no other way to expel the Prince of Mingrelia to regain what he had won and to Reign securely but to have recourse to the Turk That her best way was to send her Husband to Constantinople for Assistance and the Confirmation of his Coronation That the Kingdom of Imiretta was Tributary to the Port and that the Grand Signior had both Right and Power sufficient to restore the Country to Peace and fix him in the Throne Darejan was Charm'd by this Advice and while he that gave it offer'd to assist in the Management of it and to Conduct Vactangle to Constantinople she threw her self at his Feet not having Words enough to express that Acknowledgment which she had in her Heart Vactangle took only two Men along with him to the end he might Travel with the more Security and Privacy Thus being soon ready the cunning Ottia Chikaizè his Guide caus'd him to set forth out of the Fortress about Twilight and carrying him through By-ways to bring him the more insensibly to the Besiegers brought him in less then an Hour into their Camp The Prince of Mingrelia caus'd his Eyes forthwith to be pull'd out and sent that Night to Darejan to let her know that he had her Husband Pris'ner and that he had put out his Eyes This News surpriz'd her so that her Courage and Resolution quite fail'd her and in a short time after she surrender'd the Fortress which was plunder'd from Top to Bottom Insomuch that it was certainly
Airy And the Persians speaking of their deceased Kings usually make use of the words Krel-coldachion that is to say whose nest is in Heaven b It is in the Persian that I would send to the Service Which is a Phrase in the Persian Language to send a Man to the service of a great Personage signifying to recommend him so earnestly that the other should take that care of his Business as if he were his Domestic servant c The Persians instead of saying to have the Honour use the word to be ennobl'd d We have already spok'n of this Rhetorical Figure whereby the Persians mean the Lord himself when they say the Slaves of the Lord. The 18. I took my leave of the Deputy Governor and Mirzathaer being at that time both together and both the one and the other offer'd me the savour of a Guide for which I return'd 'em my humble thanks and told 'em withall that if they thought it requisite for my security that I desir'd they would be so kind as to let me have a Guide They answered that the King's Passports which I had were a sufficient Convoy in regard that upon shewing 'em I might command as many men as I pleas'd when or where ever I should have occasion that I was in a Country where there was no danger and that the offer which they made me was only to shew how ready they were to assist me in my Journey So that being also inform'd by several Persons of Quality at the same time that I had no need of any company I only requested Mirzathaer to grant me a Passport to the Officers of the Toll from Himself that I might not be always troubled to pull out the King 's Which he caus'd to be forth with dispatch'd in the most civil terms that could be as may appear by the following translation GOD. This Day being the second day of the Month Sefer the victorious in the year 1084 Monsieur Chardin Merchant the Flower of Merchants and of Europeans sets forward for the Court He carrys along with him a wonderful quantity of Costly Jewels and other Rareties worthy the Lord of the World which he had Order to buy in his own Country and to bring to the feet of the Throne which is the true Seat of a Gods Vicar We therefore give notice to all Inferior Officers Regents Kings Lieutenants Judges both Civil and Criminal Provosts of Cities and High wayes Receivers of Duties and Tools to the end they may know that this Person is a Person of High Quality and that in pursuance of an Order which he has in his Hand that they are to furnish him where ever he goes with all things requisite and give him all reasonable succour and assistance which he shall demand and take care that he arrive not only without any misfortune or disgust but also with all satisfastion and Honour at the Palace of the most High They are likewise to take care they give him no occasion to perceive in any manner whatever that they have any pretence to exact any Duties or Tolls from him and they shall be certain to give an account and be answerable as well for his Person and for what he carrys as for the least disgusts and provocations they shall offer him The Seal was fix'd to the Margin the Inscription of which was a Passage out of the Alcoran signifying My confession of Faith is in the name of God who is my Refuge and of Mahumed the Apostle of God a The word which I have translated Vicar is Calife and properly signifies a Successor Nor had the first successors of Mahomet any other Title and now because the People that follow'd his Laws always believ'd that God had establish'd him Universal King and Prophet had created him his Vicar and Lieutenant and had giv'n him a Right to govern all the World both in Spirituals and Temporals his Successors have constantly retain'd these pompous Titles and made people believe that they belong to 'em by right of Succession Now in regard the Race of the Kings of Persia that have reign'd for these 250. years pretend to derive their descent from Ali Mahomets successor and Son in Law they attribute to themselves all his vain both Qualities and Prerogatives which is the reason the Persians give to their Kings that Epithet of God's Vicar The 20 Mirzathaer sent me one of his Domestics to know of me whether I intended to set forward the next day with my own Servants and withal to advise me to stay for more Company that there was danger in going alone especially being a stranger and having such a great Charge about me because now the Season was come that the Curds Sara-neshin and Turcomans and other Shepherds that live in the Fields in Tents and who are most part great Thieves quit the Plains by reason of the great Heat of the Sun and with their Herds and their Houses retire to the Mountains for Shade and Pasture True it is that I resolv'd to have set forward the next day but reflecting upon this good Advice I thought it not worth my while to run so great a hazard for the gaining of eight or ten days time I had also a kind of Surmise the Lord was unwilling to run himself into any premunire and thereby seem'd to intimate that since he had caution'd me he would not be answerable for any misfortune that should befall me And besides some other fears possess'd my mind which ma deme put off my Journey The 26. he sent me word that the Brother of the Provost of Merchants would set out in two days that he was a very honest Gentleman and that if I pleas'd to have his Company he would cordially recommend me to his Acquaintance I returned him a thousand Thanks for his Care and Affection and told him withal that he could not do me a greater Kindness then to put me into such safe hands And in the Evening I understood that he had bin to the full as good as his word And I was the more glad of his diligent care because it rid me of the trouble of those Reflections I had made upon what he sent me but two days before The 28. I set forward from Tauris with the Provost of Merchants Brother He was one of the Kings Slaves of whom we have spoken already attended by ten Servants with fourteen Horses We travel'd through a lovely and even Country between Mountains directing our Course Southward We lodg'd at Vaspinge a great Borough consisting of Six hundred Houses water'd with a great number of pleasant Rivulet's that with their winding Streams enfertiliz'd the neighbouring parts on every side It is surrounded with Gardens and groves of Poplers and Tylets which they plant to serve 'em for building their Houses The 29. we travell'd five leagues crossing over a little Hill at first but afterwards over Plains that were wonderful pleasant fertil and cover'd with Villages that where we lodg'd being call'd Agi-agach These Plains
131. The Authors Servant finds a great parcel of Jewels which he gave for lost 125 c. He demands Justice of the Prince 130. He is robb'd a second time by a Mingrelian 148. He resolves for Georgia 151 c. Tax'd 20 Crowns by Sabatar 152. His usage at Gony 158. His Goods arrive safe at Mingrelia 161 162 c. Advises with the Capuchins at Gory 170. His Journey from Gory to Cotalis 173 c. His dispute with one of his Servants there 178 He waits upon the King of Imiretta 180. He returns to Gori 183. His Reception by the Governor of Tifflis 224 c. By the Governor of Irivan 254 c. Azerbeyan 350. B. BAcrat Mirza King of Imiretta 136 Baptism of the Mingrelians p. 101 Basha of Akalzikè invades Imiretta dethrones one and set up another King 147 Bichni in Armenia and Monastery belonging to it 244 Black-Sea the Description of it 155 C. CAffa describ'd 68 The Kingdom of Kaket subject to the Persians 206 Carthuel a Province of Persia 188 Casbin the Description of it 378 Cashan the Description of it 411 Cassem-abad 411 Cherks a savage people 76 An Account of Christian Corsaires in the Archipelago 3. The grounds of the Candy War 53 c. The Caous a sort of Giants 371 Carashiman a fair Village in Persia 371 Casbin describ'd 378 c. Colchis the Description of it 77 c. Com the Description of it 390 Cotatis describ'd 177 Cotzia betrays Darejan 146. Slain himself by Treachery ibid Couh-Telisme a famous Mountain 389 Coolom-sha the King's Slave 257 Their Employment ibid. Cuperli Mahamet Basha made Grand Visir 15. He resents the French Embassadors slights 16. The most remarkable Passages of his Life 57 c. Cupri kent 239 D. DAdian the Title of the Prince of Mingrelia He is guilty of the Robbery committed upon the Author 131 Darejan Daughter to the last King of Georgia would have married her Son in Law 136. Her wicked Pranks to continue her self in the Dominion 137 c. She marries Vactangle one of her Lords 137 which causes a Revolt of the rest ibid. Bitray'd 138. her tragick End 145 Darejan Levans Aunt and Wife 134 She sets up her Son Vomeki 136 Deria-shirin or the Lake of Irivan describ'd 247 Dily-jan and the Country about it 240 E. EBber the Description of it 377 Echmiazin or the Monastery of the three Churches 249 Echmouil a place famous for the Pilgrimages of the Persians 387 F. FEast the order of a Nuptial Feast in Persia 226 Two Fryers Commissioners for the Holy Land their claim at the Port 39 c. Their large Offers to the Turk and the Reasons 45 G. GEnoeses maintain a Consul at Smyrna 11 George Prince of Libardian 134 his Wife is taken from him ibid. He dies for grief 135 Georgia the Description of it 186 c. the Religion of the Countrey 192 Conquer'd by Ishmael the the Great 193. The History of Georgia ibid c Revolts from the Persian and conquer'd by Rustan Kan 203 Gonie describ'd 185 Gori describ'd 188 Guriel the Description of it p 105 its tribute to the Turks 106 H. MOnsieur de la Haye French Embassador at the Port 15 16 16 19 recall'd 20 Monsieur de la Hay the Son Embassador 21 22 23 24 c recall'd 28 The best Horses in Persia where bred 370 Huns whence originally 106 I. I Miretta the Description of it 106 its Tribute to the Turks ibid The Title of the Prince 107 descended from David 108 Impositions upon the French at Constantinople 10 Ioseph the Prince of Mingrelia's Brother endeavours Levan's Assassination 135 his Eyes pull'd out 136 Irivan describ'd 245 Isgaour the Description of it 108 Julfa the Old otherwise Ariamene 347 K. KEsil-beusè a River 374 Koskeirou a famous Inn 385 Kotzia a Lord of Imiretta he procures the murder of Vomeki 140 L. A Copy of the Viceroy of Georgia's haughty Letter 230 A Letter of Recommendation from a Persian Grandee 222 another 367 Levan Dadian Prince of Imiretta the Story of him 132 c. M. MArant the Description of it 351. The place where the Ark rested not far from it 352 Marriages among the Mingrelians p 102 Matrimony in Persia 295 Media the Description of it 349 Miana a Persian Town 372 Mingrelians their opinion of Confession 102 of Ordination ibid. they understand not the Bible p. 103 Their Fasts ibid. their Opinion of the Sign of the Cross ibid. their Prayers ibid. their Sacrifices ibid they work on Sundays 104 their chief Festivals ibid their Mourning ibid their Tribute to the Turks 107 the Title of their Princes 107 descended from David 108 fearful of danger 152 Popish Missionaries slighted in Georgia 211 The Mountain where Noah's Ark rested 252 Moutshacour a large Village 416 Music not us'd in the Mahometan Religion 229 N. NAcchivan the Description of it 346 The Deputy Governor uncivil to the Author 349 Turkish Navigation 66 M. Noyntel French Embassador at the Port 28 c his Negotiation frustrated 44 O. OTta Chekaizè betrays Q. Darejan 138 Oyl Sacred call'd Myrone p. 101 P. PArthia the Air and Description of the Country 373 The Vice roy of Georgias Pass 236 The Governor of Irivan's Pass 342 Mirza-Thair's Pass 368 The King of Persia's Patent 236 The Patriarch of Armenia a Story of his Extravagance 333. ill us'd by the Governor of Irivan 365 Pervarè a Village of Persia 372 The River Phasis 156 Policy of the Turks surpasses the Europeans 51 The Plain suppos'd to be the place where Darius was murder'd 416 Pride of the Georgians and Eastern people 230 Q. SEnior Quirini Agent for the Venetians at the Port. 50 R. REy formerly a vast City in Persia 387 A great Robbery committed upon the Persian Caravan 363 Roman Catholicks in Persia 346. An Embassador from the Pope in their behalf ibid. how us'd in Georgia 350 Rustan-Can his vertues 366 S. SAbatar Owner of the Fortress where the Author secur'd himself 149 c. Sapias the Description of it 119 Sava a City of Persia describ'd 386 Scorpions where troublesome in Persia 413 Sephi-Kouli-Kan Governor of Irivan 256 Mahamed Sephi's Letter of Recommendation 343 Segs-abad 385 Mr. Sesè the French Embassador farms the Customs of Constantinople and Smyrna p. 10 Shaboni the fairest Grape in Persia 380 Shanavas Can Vice roy of Georgia 139. he is offer'd the Kingdom of Imiretta for his Son Archylus if he would expel the Mingrelians ib. He invades Imiretta 140 Shemashè 188. the place where Noah dwelt 189 Sirsham a Parthian Inn. 374 Slaves at what rate sold in Mingrelia 114 Several Persian Songs 402 Stones a wonderful Pile 371 Sophian thought the ancient Sophia of Media 352 King of Spain his health drank by the Governor of Tifflis 230 The Governor of Tifflis how akin to him ibid. Sultanie the Description of it 375 The Sun troublesome where the Snow lies all day 244 Suram in Georgia 188 T TAuris the Descriptivn of it 352 c.
which some Europeans in Ispahan valued one single Diamond in the middle at eighteen and the rest at four and twenty thousand pound sterling If the Royal Diadem had any more than one Heron-Tuft of that Value or if that Ruby were upon it which by the express Command of the deceased King the Eunuch that had the charge of the Treasury shewed me at Mazanderan which be of an Oval form weighed as the said Eunuch told me a hundred and sixty Caratts the Chains or Strings with the Sword and Dagger being proportionable in value the three Pieces might well amount to a hundred thousand Tomans But notwithstanding all this to tell you my opinion sincerely I could never judge them to be worth above three parts of the money These three Pieces were laid near the Stool and covered with a rich Toilet Presently his Majesty appeared coming out of the Bath and arrayed himself in his usual Habit tho more sumptuous than he was wont to wear after that being entered into the Room of State he sate down in the Place that was prepared for him and at the same time they who were appointed to assist at the Coronation ascended the Talaar and ranged themselves in this Order Upon the Right side of his Majesty at a little distance behind him stood the Aga-Nazir Eunuch who at that Ceremony performed the Office of High Chamberlain carrying to that purpose at his Girdle a little Box of Gold glittering with Precious Stones wherein were a good Number of Handkerchiefs and Perfumes for his Majesties service when he had a mind to make use of them A little behind him appeared six Georgian Children from fifteen to sixteen years of Age who had been made Eunuchs extremely beautiful as are most of the young Children of that Country They were so placed as to make a half Circle about the King standing upright without so much as stirring their hands which they held across upon their Breasts being sumptuously habited in Linnen whose ground was Silver heightned with Gold in the same Order and as far behind the Children as they stood behind the King appeared a great number of old black Eunuchs every one holding a long Musquet in his hand of which the Stock was garnished with Gold and Precious Stones Upon the Left hand of the King which is esteemed the most Honourable among the Persians sate first the Commissioner that represented Dlahammed-Mehdi the Prime Minister Next to him the second Commissioner that represented Gemchid-Kaan General of a Body of the Army Next to him the Person that supplied the Place of Mazsoud-Bek Superintendant General of the Kings Demeans In the fourth Seat the Person Commissioned by Mirza-sedreel-din Principal Secretary of the Empire Hemireh-Hamzeh-Mirzah-Daroga Grand Provost of Ispahan and its Dependencies took the fifth place And Mirza-Refiè esteemed one of the most Learned among the Persians took the next Upon his Majesties Right Hand in the second Place for the first was left void in honour of Boadaak-Sultan General of the Musquetteers who was present but standing upright near the Prince sate the Person deputed by Mahammed-Kouli-Kaan Lord Chief Justice Below him two Places were left void for the chief Astrologer and his Colleague who were retired to observe the Lucky Hour The fifth Place was filled by the most learned and wittiest person that was in all that great Kingdom by the judgment of all men being the Brother of the Prime Minister and great Uncle to the new Monarch by his Wife His name was Mirza-Hali-Riza and his Title Cheik-el-Islaam or Ancient of the Law For by the word Islaam which properly signifies the Reverence which we pay to the divine Commands by the submission of our Mind and Will they mean Religion which they call the Law by way of Excellence For at this day as formerly among the Hebrews all their Politicks depend upon Religion and it is the Ancient of the Law who holds the Ballance of Affairs in his Hand which cannot be determined without his Approbation In the sixth Place sate Mirza-Moumen-Vazier or Receiver General for his Majesty in Ispahan and its Dependencies I could never hear of any other Grandees but these that sate True it is that the Halls on both sides were full of Officers that stood some to authorize the Solemnity of the Coronation some to be ready to execute the King's Commands as they should receive them from the General of the Musquetteers who for that day supplied the Place of Lord High Steward of the Houshold carrying in his hand as a Badge of his Office a large Truncheon of Gold all set with Precious Stones and a round Ball at one End and standing at the left hand of the King from whom he received Orders or to say better to whom he gave directions For the new King who had never seen any such sight before neither did nor said any thing but what was dictated to him About ten a clock at night the Chief of the Astrologers and his Companion having been long observing the Position of the Stars and Conjunctions of the Planets returned at length to give notice that the Fortunate Hour for the Coronation of the King would be within twenty Minutes Thereupon his Majesty ordered the General as he had been taught before to lead them both to their Places In the mean time he whispered with the General who gave him Instructions how to behave himself upon all the several changes of the Solemnity which the young Prince failed not to follow exactly for fear of committing any Irregularity for want of experience in an Action of so publick and weighty a Concernment When the twenty Minutes were almost expired the Grand Astrologer having winked upon the General to let him know that he might proceed he told the King who thereupon immediately according to his Instructions rose up and then all the rest rose up likewise At what time the General threw himself at his Majesties Feet bowing to the very Ground then rising upon his Knees he drew out of the Bosom of his Garment the Bag wherein was the Letter which the Assembly had sent to the New Monarch Presently he opened the Bag took out the Letter kissed it laid it to his Forehead presented it to his Majesty and then rose up The Prince having received it returned it to him again and commanded him to break it open and read it which he did aloud very distinctly and leisurely to the end that all who were present at the Ceremony might hear the Contents and understand that the Grandees of the Kingdom had unanimously elected the present Prince for King of Persia that they acknowledged him for such and were ready to attest it if there were occasion When he had done reading the King commanded him to send for the Ancient of the Law which he did at what time the Lord Ancient approaching his Majesty threw himself at his Feet and after the usual Prostrations he rose up again took the Letter out of the Generals hand to
acknowledge and authorize it to verifie the Seals and attest that it was real For that acknowledgment belongs to him as Chief of the Law and in all spiritual matters Having taken the Letter and laid it on his head out of respect he read it and looked upon the Seals and then returning just before the King he fell upon his Knees and made three bows to the ground by that humble posture declaring his approbation of the Letter and that the advancement of the Prince to the Empire was legal While the Spiritual Judge was thus employed the General desired to know the Kings Resolution whether he would be Crowned by his own name or assume any other before his Coronation Who made answer that tho he altered his Condition he would not change his Name but retain that of Sephiè which was given him in his Infancy The General returned the Kings pleasure to the Ancient of the Law who was risen from the Kings Feet where he had left the Letter At the same instant therefore the two Lords the Ancient of the Law upon his Right and the General upon his Left conducted the Prince to the Chair of Gold so often mentioned before placed in the middle of the Hall and then the Ancient of the Law besought him to take his Place Which he did according to the Rules of the Law wherein he had been instructed with his face toward the Kaabba or Oratory of Mecca Then the Ancient of the Law seating himself upon his Heels which is the Posture used by the Mahumetans when they pray to God or when they are in the presence of any Persons of high Dignity some few paces distant from his Majesty discovered the Diadem the Sword and Dagger and then said a Prayer to God which he began with a short Confession of their Faith and concluded with a Benediction upon the Royal Ornaments appointed for the Ceremony of the Coronation The Prayer lasted not above a quarter of an Hour at what time rising up he took the Sword and girded it on upon his Majesties Left side and hung the Dagger upon his Right Then having made a sign to the General to take off the Bonnet from the Kings head he put on the Taagh or Diadem uttering at the same instant certain Verses of the Alcoran proper for the purpose which he did before when he girt on the Sword and Dagger This done he ended and gave place to Mirza-Refia the great and learned Doctor already mentioned who presented himself to perform the Kotbè which word in the Original signifies a Prayer But by this Prayer is meant a Prayer in form of a Harangue and perhaps they might give it the name of an Oration By an ancient Custom time out of mind these Prayers were always to be divided into four Heads to last half an hour and to contain always the same Form Only the Orator had the liberty to alter the Terms and the Stile and to give a new flight to his thoughts The first Head is called Hamde-Koda or the Praise of God because the Orator here speaks of nothing else But of the Thanks which we always ought to render him for his Graces and Favours since there is not that moment wherein we do not continually receive some new mark of his Kindness That his Blessings being like the Sources of great Rivers that flow without ceasing and never stop their Course for which reason the blessings of God are called by the Divines Flowing Blessings our Thanks therefore ought to be continual and always running That whatever his Supreme Majesty exposes to the Eyes of Men whether it were in times past or now at this present bears the Characters and imprints the Seals of his affection toward us and testifies that whatever he acts without himself he does it all for the greatest good of Mankind in regard that Infinite Being is the best of all that do best These are their Expressions and very near the sense of the first Head which lasts some half a quarter of an hour The second Head is called Nead Berpegamberhou ve douasde Imaam The Praise Remembrance and Acknowledgment of the Prophet and of the twelve Descendants and Lieutenants And therefore it contains nothing more than the Acclamations and Benedictions which they give to persons which their superstition has rendred Venerable among them That you are the Fourteenth whom God has chosen pure and unblemished That he has made them successively Lords of all Mortals That the Faith is not entire if together with the Confession of the Divinity we do not likewise acknowledge the sending of these Fourteen to be lawful upon whom the Heavenly Lights are shed down to give light to wandring souls and to shew to all the way of Truth Therefore we are obliged to glorifie them to celebrate their Praises to wish for their perpetual Welfare and Peace and to their Family on Earth all manner of prosperity that their names may be exalted above all Created Beings That Curses may be heaped upon their Enemies And that all the Men in the Universe may be lead away and become dust at their Door With several other Wishes of the same nature which I have rendered as much word for word as is possible The third Head is that Royalty is of divine Institution Seltemet ez Hokkam Koda that is that Royalty is of Divine Institution Upon which they observe That since God created the World he has always governed his People by Prophets and in their stead by Kings whom he has established their Successours That Kings are the Zel-Alla or the shadow of God which is that which we call the Image of God But the word Image is such an Expression as they abhor as Idolatrous a Term which they dare not make use of believing at the same time that they likened God to any Image they supposed him at the same time to be Corporeal They added withal That as at all times we are obliged to serve God and to obey him not only by the light and understanding which Heaven has infused into us at our Birth but by the Revelations which we have had from his Prophets who have declared unto us his Will we are in the same manner and by the same Revelation bound to obey Kings as being the Valiè or Sovereign Lieutenants of God Gaanit-chin sitting in his place on Earth and that we ought to submit to their Commands without examining whether they be just or no. In regard that in submitting to their Commands we submit at the same time to the Holy Books in all things tho they seem contrary to our Reason and Understanding by which we shewed blind obedience which God exacts from men sometimes trying our readiness to submit to him by Commands that seem unjust to render out submission more acceptable and of greater value The fourth and last Point is Douhaa-Preray padchaè A Prayer for the King Which contains a great number of Supplications for the long life of the
present Monarch of the Persians for his Health for the establishment of his Throne and the increase of his Conquests That since this illustrious Branch of the Imaanic Race is according to the true Law become the Lieutenant of the Monarch of all the Earth and lawful Lord of the World that therefore his Dominions may extend from the one to the other Pole That his Majesty may always appear surrounded with glory like the Sun That his Word may have a constraining Power That all his Wishes and Desires may be accomplished and that all things may succeed in a more glorious manner than ever in favour of King SEPHIE Which last word the Orator pronounced in a louder Tone than he had pronounced all the rest to the end that all the Throng might hear him distinctly And here it is to be observed that he rose on purpose at the end of his Oration in regard that till then during all the Ceremony that Name had not been uttered before But at the same Instant that they heard the Name of SEPHIE pronounced all the whole Assembly strove which should send forth loudest acclamations of joy by repeating the usual Intch-Alla or God grant it which every one repeated five or six times After which the Cheik-el-Islaam or Ancient of the Law was the first that fell upon his Knees before the King and bowing his Forhead three times to his Majesties Feet pronounced a second Benediction in few words which he concluded with zealous wishes of Prosperity and that he might so Reign as to extend the Frontiers of his Dominion and render his Subjects happy He made three Bows more at the Conclusion of his Harangue which he uttered with a great deal of Eloquence as they assured me tho he had had no time to prepare himself as having been hurried half asleep out of his Bed to assist at the Solemnity After him all the Grandees according to their Dignity and the rest who were of any Quality came and paid their respects to the Monarch with the three customary Prostrations This done his Majesty rose from his Seat of Gold and returned to his former Place as did all the rest where they sate before For during the Ceremony they all stood there being none that sate but the King In this manner was Sephiè the Second Crown'd his Grandfather being the first of that Name among all the Persian Monarchs True it is that the first Founder of this Race was of the same Name but he is not numbred among the Persian Kings because he was never put into the Catalogue His Modesty would not suffer him to accept the Title For as the Historians tell us he always look'd upon the Throne to be an Illustrious Torment which under the vain appearances of happiness concealed continual pain and trouble This name of Sephiè has several significations which amount to the same sense and meaning for sometimes it signifies a Friend sometimes elected sometimes pure or purified Which I have said turn all to the same sense for Friends are but persons selected from others and purified which is the most usual signification and is not much remote from the other two As for example when the Persians call as they often do the first man Adam Safiè Alla we may translate it the Man the Friend or the Elect or the Purified of God Which three Epithites agree very well in their signification For the friends of God are his Elect Nor can they be his Elect before he hath purified them And therefore it is according as the word is placed that sometimes it signifies one thing sometimes another As here for example speaking of the New King of the Persians I should rather chuse to translate Chae Safiè the King Elect than the King purified True it is that they who would have Safiè to signifie purified depend upon the Etymology For that the Root from whence Safiè is derived is Saf which properly signifies Purity But let this suffice fot playing the Grammarian The subject of my discourse will not permit me to stop any longer upon these Trifles but only to observe by the way that it was from the word Safiè that the Greeks borrowed the word Sophos It will be more to the purpose to observe the mistake of our Writers upon the word Safiè For they would have all the Kings of Persia to be called Sophies I cannot but laugh when I find in their Writings the Grand Sophy the Sophy of Persia and the Sovereign Sophy For the Kings of Persia are neither called Sophies in general nor in particular Could the Kings of Persia read our European Characters and should see upon the Letters that are written to them from some parts of Europe the Title which is given them of Sophy questionless they would spit upon them and take it for an affront Therefore I would have those that speak when occasion offers of Persia or whether they be the Ministers of Princes to be careful how they commit this mistake in their Dispatches to that Court or whether they be those Writers who profess to give a faithful Relation of a Country where they profess themselves to have been and pretend to tell us what they have seen with their Eyes yet vent a thousand Lies and Stories and over-confidently impose upon their Readers I say I would have such persons content themselves with only giving us the false names of things but that the things themselves should be really true Nevertheless I find that in those things they make very gross mistakes and therefore lest people may think I decry others to gain the more credit to my own Relations and to free my self from the lash of the Proverb That two of a Trade can never agree I shall for proof of what I assert bring an Example relating to this very Story it self which I shall not take out of any Book of Travels for it is not my Intention hereto attack any one of them but from the Audir of Address wherein there is a relation of the Death of the late King of Persia and of the Coronation of the present King fol. 523. I cannot conclude without imparting to you the news which we have received from the Court of Persia by Letters from Legorn the fifth of this Month. They tell us by an Express dispatched from Ispahan to the English Merchants residing in Legorn that the Sophie after a debauch of drinking fell sick at Khur in his return from Casbin and died four days after That after his Death was known in the City of Ispahan his Eldest Son about twenty years of Age was Proclaimed by the Principal Minister and other Officers by the name of Grandfather Sha-Sophy That the next day the Governour of Ispahan and the chief Lords of the Court who accompanied the Body of the deceased King being arrived and having paid their Homage to the Prince he shewed himself in publick to his Subjects who testified their joy by their loud Acclamations and that
Lieutenant of the King of the World according to the true Law is Safiè We have in another Place explained these Inscriptions more exactly and literally On the other side was this Persian Distich Zibad Destiè shae Abas sanie Safiè zad Zikkeh saheh Karaniè That is After Habas the Second was in Corporeal Being Or thus After Habas the Second quitted his Corporeal Being Safiè Master of the World coined this Money Which is as much as to say He was declared King in regard that in those Countries as well as here none but Sovereigns can coin Money Underneath were these words Zarby sefahaan hazar haftad ou Heft Coined at Ispahan the year of the Hegirah 1077. It was almost near Midnight before the Ceremony ended At what time the King rose up in his Royal Habiliments which he did not put off till he was retired into his particular Apartment in the Womens Palace All the while there was to be observed a great alteration in the Countenance of the Young Prince He looked with a Countenance all in disorder like a Person that was not well in his Senses And indeed what other could be expected from a Person that had been all along mued up under a close confinement and had never seen the World Besides that by a secret Fatality of the ill humour of his Father he had been shut up in a more rigorous Imprisonment than ever was practised before toward the Kings Children Could he observe a certain Posture of Majesty that should have performed all things after a surprizing manner who had never been instructed before Much less was he able to make any Reflections upon himself Add to this that the Young Prince passed of a sudden from one Extremity to another He heard himself called Master of the World He that but a little before was in condition little inferiour to that of a Slave True it is that he wanted for no Conveniences in his Captivity which was accompanied with all the Pleasures grateful to the Senses but those Pleasures became Torments when sowered with the continual fears of Death or deprivation of his Eyes that continually threatned him And this was that which made him he could not tell what to do For what may we say of that last assault that attacked his very Soul How many dismal Apparitions did the dreadful Cries and frantick Lamentations of his Mother and his Wives and others of the same Sex present to his Mind His Soul to speak after the Persian manner was like a Sea which being agitated by a furious Tempest expresses its disorder by the roaring of the Waves and shews the disturbance it was in after the Storm is over and tho a pleasing Calm succeed The Grand Dutchess for that Title is given to the Mother of the New King from the very moment of her Sons being Crowned was not in a worse condition They had told her the very first words which the General of the Musquetteers had uttered throwing himself at her Sons Feet they brought her the news every Minute of what passed But Fear and Grief had so possessed her Imagination that there was no entrance for any other Passion It was above a quarter of an hour before she would so much as listen to the welcome news which they brought her she refused obstinately to believe And tho she had such forcible reasons to rejoyce she still continued weeping and lamenting according to the humour of her Sex that are willing to dwell upon sorrowful Objects and wilfully refuse to put away those Idea's from their Minds However at length so many Eunuchs came to tell her the news of the Death of her Husband and the Election of her Son for whose Coronation they were preparing that she began to lend an Ear and to surcease her fears Nevertheless her Soul continued still in suspence between Joy and Grief For as the good Fortune of her Son and his Exaltation afforded her a happy occasion of Gladness so the mournful death of her Husband recalled her Tears So that those two Passions equally prevailing in her heart kept the ballance so even that her joys and sorrows hung in an equal Poise But at length Custom and good Manners turn'd the Scales So that for a while she relapsed into her first Commotions she rent her Garments calling upon the Soul of the Deceased expostulating with him as if he had been present what reason he had to quit the World and leave her in that forlorn condition with other moans and lamentations of the same nature However she gave over when she understood that the King her Son was returning to her Thereupon after she had performed the usual Ceremonies of Purification which the Law ordains she changed her Habit as did the Princess the New Monarchs Wife with the rest of the Ladies of Quality that belonged to the Court to receive the King who till then had lived among them as a Prisoner So soon as they had notice that the New King was entered into their Palace they went all to meet him The Great Dutchess was the first that paid her duty to him upon her Knees bowing her Head three times to the ground which done his Wife and his Concubines did the same and then the rest of the Persons belonging to the Place whose Quality and Employments priviledged them for that Honour I could not learn what was done more the rest of the Night for I have already informed you how difficult it is to be informed of the Transactions in those secret Habitations that seem to be Regions of another World There are none but Women that can approach within a League of it or some Black Eunuchs with whom a Man may as well converse with so many Dragons that can discover those secrets and you may as well tear out their hearts as a syllable upon that Text. You must use a great deal of Art to make them speak just as we tame Serpents in the Indies till they make them hiss and dance when they please In the mean time the noise of the Nakara resounded from the Terraces of the Royal Palace And in regard it continued longer than ordinary which is generally not above three Quarters of an Hour it gave an occasion to those that were wakened with the din to wonder what was the matter But in regard it was then Midnight and an unseasonable time to stir out of the House there were very few unless they were such as lived near the Royal Palace that would so far gratifie their Curiosity as to enquire the Reason The rest contented themselves till next Morning at what time they understood that Saphiè the Second was seated upon the Throne as Successour to his Father Habas deceased I leave the Reader to conjecture how every body was surprised For my part I apprehended something so strange upon the novelty of the Accident that I thought my self in a dream That they could conceal the Death of so great and Potent a Prince so long
Prince the highest in Dignity come and offer their Heads and submit themselves to the stroke of Death without daring to presume to ask the reason why In this manner no body appeared either pensive or glad no body discovered the least sign of discontent Not but that I believe there were several who concealed their sorrows for fear of offending the New King They considered that Habas the Second of whose death they had so lately heard was fit to govern that he was kind and gentle to his Subjects that he was feared abroad but kept all things in peace and tranquillity at home That he was a lover of Justice and took care that his Officers did not abuse their Authority and oppress the People nevertheless that a secret Providence had cut him off in the midst of so fair a Race and in the flower of his Age when he had strength of judgment to design and force of body to execute That on the contrary the Young Prince who was now ascended to the Throne had never seen any thing and was as it were but an Apprentice not only in the Act of Government but in all other things So that they were likely to suffer long through the tenderness of his Age as they had experienced before in the Reigns of his Predecessors upon the same grounds But they who most laid to heart the mournful death of the deceased King were the Christians That Prince had always shewed himself kind and favourable to their Religion shewing them extraordinary Civilities and rebuking the Ministers of the Law and Interpreters of the Alcoran when they sought to exasperate him against the Professors of our Religion Which he did more than once as we do relate in his Life insomuch as the Armenians would say one among another that he was more a Christian than a Mahometan Not but that he was very much devoted to his own Religion even as much as the most zealous of his Predecessors only he thought that the violence of Princes toward the Liberty of mens Consciences was a thing neither Acceptable to God nor conformable to Reason That he was not to cease being a Man because he was a Mahometan That if Providence had exalted him to a Throne it was that he should carry himself like a King and not like a Tyrant and that there was nothing more Barbarous nor Tyrannical than such a Conduct as not only violated the Law of Nations but of Nature also which desire that men should live in Society one with another so far from being at Enmity that they should be mutual Assistances one to another Lastly that God alone was the Lord of the Conscience and Master of the Will That for his part he had nothing to do but with the outward Government of the Kingdom and for that reason it became him to do Justice to all his Subjects of whatsoever Religion since they were all Members of his Kingdom He persisted so constantly in this judgment and opinion that notwithstanding all the endeavours of the Doctors of the Mahometan Superstition to incense him against the Christians they could never vanquish his Resolution He looked upon them as People whose false zeal rendred them incapable of Right Reason or as Persons byassed by Interest who under the specious pretence of Religion would make themselves great among the Multitude or else make use of the credit which they had already to make Parties and Factions in the Kingdom and disturb the Government And therefore he always took delight to lessen and contemn such sort of people This clearly appeared when he prevented the Creation of a new Sadre or Mahometan Pontiff or Metropolitan of the whole Empire inspects into all the Ecclesiastical Revenues which are managed by inferiour Officers under his Authority and by his Orders for the word Sadre signifies the Breast of the Law Habas the Second also had severely persecuted the Cheik-el-Islaam or Ancient of the Law who is another Petty Sovereign in spiritual Affairs For it is his business to take cognizance of and to resolve all Cases of Conscience in Matters of Religion as we have already observed The King had like to have condemned him to death upon an Information that some of the Interpreters should whisper one among another that it would be the best way to advance to the Throne one of the Sons of the Ancient of the Law who would be more zealous for their Religion than the present Monarch and he had certainly put his design in execution had not the Ancient of the Law prevented him by offering to his displeasure both his own and the Head of all his Children that attended him That spectacle appeased his wrath believing that person innocent whom he saw so lowly humbled before him He had also thrown out of favour his Pichnaamaz or Chaplain and Confessor for no other reason but because he continually declaimed against the Christians The Prime Minister of State that governed during the Minority of Habas was no less averse to the Christians than any of the rest as being a zealous Mahumetan and therefore he continually incensed his Master against them and would have had the King have given command that they should carry a Mark like the Jews to distinguish them from Mahumetans but the King continually denied him and it is reported that the disgust which he took against him for that very thing contributed not a little to his Fall After these great Examples of his Lenity the Prince being now become more absolute not only suffered the Christians to enjoy the free exercise of their Religion but also granted the same freedom to the Jews notwithstanding all the secret and publick opposition which the Mulla or Religious People could make Nay it hapned that the King took an occasion to depress all that Race of Hypocrites For being so transported as they were to talk of deposing him as an Infidel who kept too much Society with the Profane the secret hatred which he bare them from that time forward gave him a plausible pretence to shew his resent and that I may use the Persian Phrase to break their Teeth that is to say to prevent their Biting As to the Armenians who were his Subjects and professed the Christian Religion he was wont to tell the Grandees of the Kingdom that it would be a vile Injustice for People that laboured for the good of the Kingdom by their Industry and Commerce to be excluded from the enjoyments of Peace and that Plenty of which they were the principal Instruments Therefore it was not without just cause that the Christians mourned in their hearts for the loss of so good a Prince their misfortune seemed to be without remedy in regard the New Monarch whom they saw exalted in his room was but a young Man from whom they could not promise to themselves any thing of assurance and tho he should be favourably enclined and preserve the same kindness for them as his Predecessour he could not in regard
to see himself prevented and therefore he was no less importunate to have his and therefore to the end he might be admitted to kiss the Kings Feet he took the same way and method which the Dutch Embassadour had done for indeed there was no other way and had therefore the same success For two days after being accompanied with his Second in the Factory about Nine of the Clock in the Morning he was introduced by the General of the Musquetteers to make his Obeysance to the King his Interpreter and his Collegue coming behind him After the usual Ceremonies he presented the Prince with two hundred half Guineys according to the self-interested Custom of the East where the Kings stiling themselves Gods Lieutenants forbid all People to appear in their Presence without an Offering Presently he sate down by the Command of the Prince and by his Interpreter and in the behalf of the English Nation and Company wished him a long and flourishing Reign Afterwards he made a short rehearsal of the great Services which the English Nation had done the Kings of Persia his Ancestors of Immortal memory For which reason those Triumphant Monarchs had always favoured the English Nation more than any other Nation of Europe of which he was assured his Majesty was well informed for which reason he hoped that his Majesty would continue the same favours to the English Nation and grant them a Confirmation of all the Treaties and Priviledges which had been granted formerly to the English To which the King returned the same answer which he had done to the Dutch Envoy Mr. Agent is my Guest and all the English Nation are most dear to me Whatever my Predecessours of Glorious Memory have granted to your Company I shall also confirm And if you have any thing farther to request of Me for the advantage of your Nation you may confidently propose it and it shall be decreed if reasonable To which the Agent and his Second returned their humble Thanks as well for their Master as themselves beseeching his Majesty to accept of their Services To which his Majesty condescended with a Nod of his Head which was also a sign of his taking Leave which they also took making their Obeysances after their own manner Now in regard they were beholden to the General of the Musquetteers for this favourable Audience in regard the King did nothing without his Advice therefore they sent their Interpreter in the Evening to give him thanks for the favour he had procured them in acknowledgment whereof they made him a Present of a Rich Jewel and thirty Ducats of Gold The same day the Meehmandar-Bachi or Chief of those that attend upon the Kings Guests or Strangers of Quality who is as it were a Grand Master of the Ceremonies came to wait upon the King dispatched from the Grandees of the Kingdom to give his Majesty notice that they came forward making easie Journeys with the Body of the deceased King and the whole Body of the Court in his time That to prevent the People from suspecting any thing of Fatal they had given out that the King was with his Wives and would not therefore shew himself that nevertheless the Rumour of his Death began to fly abroad which however could not now be much prejudicial seeing that his Majesty had taken the Government of the Kingdom into his own hands that as yet they preserved all things in the same condition they were in before and expected with submission what Orders his Majesty would be pleased to send for their future proceeding Together with this Deputy there came an Eunuch also sent by Hamzeh-Mirza the Kings Brother to salute his Majesty in the name of the young Prince to throw himself at his Feet to beg his favour and to supplicate him by all that was Sacred in the Mahumetan Law not to put out his Eyes That he would be pleased to shut up him as close as he thought fit that he would take from him whatever he pleased but that for the Law of God he would leave him his sight that he might not be incapable of applying himself to his Studies wherein he resolved to spend his whole Life The King kept the Eunuch with himself reserving the answer to the young Prince's request till he should be brought to Court But he returned an Answer the same day to the Letter which the Master of the Ceremonies brought which was composed in the form of a Command and contained the following Instructions 1. That the King approved what had been done from the Fatal Moment of the King his Fathers death 2. That they should make all the hast they could to him without disturbing the Order of Affairs leaving all things in the same condition wherein they were 3. That they should take care to cause the Body of his deceased Father of high and Immortal Memory whose place is in Paradise to be carried to the City of Kom under the charge of Mirzah-Maassoum and that at the same time they should send away three other Coffins like that wherein they had put the King under as good a Convoy one to Metched another to Ardevil and the third to Kachan For the better understanding the reason of which Command the Reader is to know that the Persians are strangely superstitious about the Burial of their Kings For fearing lest by some Magical Art any Enchantments should be practised upon their Bodies to the prejudice of their Children they conceal as much as in them lies the real Place of Interment To this end they send to several Places several Coffins of Lead with others of Wood which they call Taboat and bury all alike with the same Magnificence In this manner they delude the Curiosity of the People who cannot discern by the outside in which of the Coffins the real body should be Not but it might be discovered by such as would put themselves to the expence and trouble of doing it And thus it shall be related in the Life of Habas the Great that twelve of these Coffins were conveyed to twelve of the principal Mosques not for the sake of their Riches but of the Person which they enclosed and yet no body knew in which of the twelve the Kings Body was laid tho the common Belief is that it was deposited at Ardevil It is also said in the Life of Sefiè I. That there were three Coffins carried to three several Places as if there had been a Triple Production from one Body tho it were a thing almost certainly known that the Coffin where the Body was laid was carried to this same City of Kom and to the same Place where the deceased King commanded the Body of his deceased Father to be carried It is a very beautiful City and for its Antiquity gives way to none of the rest as being thought to be the Guriana of the Ancients It is seated in the Province of Arak-agem or Parthia upon the Frontiers of Media She prides her self as one
together as old as he was suffer'd horrible totrure stedfast in his resolutions not to make any discovery His Estate being confiscated amounted to twenty five thousand Tomans which make about four hundred thousand Crowns In the mean time at Ispahan there was nothing but publick Rejoycing Feasting Horse-racing with other Sports and Pastimes of the same nature And when day was shut in an infinite number of Lights which they call in that Country Chiragan were hung out all along the Streets round about the Houses and in the great Squares after a most pompous manner insomuch that the night it self might truly be call'd an Artificial day The Young King no less greedily tasted all the pleasures and delight which the full swinge of Liberty unknown what it meant till then gave him opportunity to enjoy Every day he walk'd abroad with his Wives into the parts adjoyning to the City commanding the Kourouk through all the Villages and Towns adjoyning Kourouk signifies a Prohibition to all Men and Boys above seven years of Age upon forfeiture of Life to be seen in any place where the Kings Wives were to pass if he were in their Company All the ways are hung on both sides with such stuff of which they make their Tents to prevent the Women from being seen And notice is given to all the Men to retire home at such an Hour besides that the Guards at two Leagues distance round about were ready to prevent any one from coming near the Places so canvast in Such is their fear lest the Wives should be seen by the Men. For they never hinder the Women from seeing as much as they please It is said that during the five Months from the Coronation of the King till the year 1078. of the Hegira which answers the Spring of our 1667. the King commanded no less then sixty two Kourouks going abroad with his Wives every time and visiting the Places round about Ispahan especially Gioulfa a Town belonging to the Armenians separated from the City only by a River over which he made several large and magnificent Bridges Which shews what power the Women had over the Young Prince that they could cause him to make so many Prohibitions for their sakes only that they might have the pleasure of hunting and walking and breathing in a more sweet and spacious Air then that of their Confinement While the Young King deni'd nothing to his Wives nor his Pleasures he neither refus'd any thing to his Favourites nor to those that begg'd any thing of him insomuch that many persons that were laid aside were taken again into Favour So that the beginning of the New Prince's Reign was like a year of Jubilee that sets open the Prison Doors They that had never so few friends at Court might easily be admitted provided none of the Grandees oppos'd their entrance Mirza-Rezi or the submissive Prince was one of those persons out of favour and Prisoners of whom we have made mention The deceased King had confin'd him to his Palace and had confiscated all his Estate to the value of twelve thousand pounds yearly revenue and this because that although he was blind he would assume to himself the disposal and management of a Legacy of six thousand Crowns a year which one of his Ancestors had left to the Mosquees For the Testator having order'd in his Will that this Revenue should be at the disposal of him that was in the Family to manage it the person to whom the Administration belong'd being dead this blind Lord thought no person more capable then himself and because he was very potent and of the Bloud Royal by the Mothers side who was the Daughter of Habas the Great which was also the reason that they put out his Eyes he resolv'd to get this Administration by force under pretence that he was going out of the World and concern'd himself only about Ecclesiastical Affairs and besides had more wit then all his Family But his Kindred coming to Habas II. and informing him that Mirza-Rezi having had his Eyes put out by the Command of the deceased King his Father on purpose to render him incapable of the Affairs of this World nevertheless went about by force and contrary to Law to meddle in Civil matters The Monarch hearing this grew impatient at his arrogance and after he had given some signs of admiration that a blind man should think himself capable to manage such a a design sent to confiscate all his Estate and commanded him to keep himself confin'd to one single Quarter of his Palace But Sefiè the Second upon his coming to the Crown restor'd him to his favour and return'd him all his Estate without the least diminution But the most considerable who in these Halcyon days of the King 's early Government were releas'd out of Prison and admitted to return to Court was Hali-Kouli-Kaan who had been a Prisoner at Kasbin and who with a boldness altogether surprizing having made his escape from his Guards came and threw himself at the King's Feet The story was this So soon as he understood the News of Habas's decease he conceiv'd great hopes of recovering his Liberty To which purpose he consider'd with himself by what means he might make his escape and get to Ispahan He was resolv'd to beg the King's favour himself believing that not any of the Grandees at Court ow'd him so much kindness as to speak in his behalf only one friend he had and that was the General of the Slaves He not forgetful of the ancient and strict Friendship that had been between them ventur'd three or four times in that privacy which the King allow'd him to represent to his Majesty the misfortune of Hali-Kouli-Kaan but when he saw thatt the Prince return'd him no Answer he sent to the Lord an account of the state of Affairs and advis'd him to come in person and throw himself at the King's Feet for that considering the mildness and sweetness of the new Conjuncture he could run no great Risco These Letters confirm'd Hali-Kouli-Kaan so much the more in the Resolution he had taken because he found himself supported beyond his expectation Thereupon he wrote back to the General of the Slaves return'd him thanks for his kindness toward him besought him to continue it and to take care that he might have Horses laid to be ready at such places and times And when all things were ready he desir'd leave of the Captain of the Guard to let him go a hunting This being a favour which the Captain had granted him several times before he did not then deny him Thereupon he rode forth attended only with four of his most intimate Confidents well mounted and well arm'd Being got into the field he still beat toward Ispahan pretending to hunt but little minding whether he put up any Game or no. But at length having drawn off his Guards a good way from the Town and finding their Horses tir'd toward the close of the Evening
of his Indisposition to the King He added that he had try'd several medicines to no purpose and therefore by the advice of his Physicians he believ'd there was no other cure for him but by the hot Baths about a days journey from Ispahan whither he easily obtain'd leave to retire at what time the Treasurer to the Governor of Ispahan whose Employment would not permit him to stir out of the City gave him for an attendant in his Room one of his Masters Domestick Servants with a Convoy of fifteen or sixteen Persons At the time prefix'd there appear'd under the Trees without the Village near the Baths whither the Prince pretended to go for his Health about twenty Yuzbecs all young chosen fellows nimble well Mounted and well Arm'd with certain Led-Horses Presently the Prince knew 'em and without any further Consultation leaving the small number of Persians which were then with him up he gets a Horseback and putting Spurs to his Horse away he gallops directly forward before his own Troop There was not any one unless his Persian Guide that follow'd him as dreaming of nothing less then the accident that had fallen out neither had they men enough nor time to call for more aid And therefore the Deputy Mehmandaar seeing he had lost the great Trust that was committed to his charge all that he could do in such a surprize was still to follow him and try if his prayers and intreaties could move him to return Sir said He what is my Crime what is my Ill-fortune or what Offence have I committed against you that you thus go about to endanger my Head if I return to Ispahan without your Person What can I expect less then to loose my Head Nay I fear the King will not be satisfied with that slight punishment but without doubt in the excess of his Anger will order my Bowels to be ripp'd out of my Belly To whom the Yusbeck Prince thus briskly answer'd I am highly oblig'd to the King of Persia but I owe more my own Country and Relations that call me back 'T is my Father that sends me these Men to facilitate my return to my Native soil in expectation of that Crown which he designs me after his death if thou wilt go along with me I will repay thee for all those kindnesses I have received in Persia and I will make thee one of the Lords of my Kingdom If not return in time and tell thy King that I return him thanks for all his Favours and that I shall always be his Goulom or Slave and shall believe my self oblig'd to him as long as I live and that in time I will make him sensible of the truth of my Promises Having so said he put spurs to his Horse and flew away with that swiftness that the Persian Mehmandaar soon lost sight of him For there is not any Nation under Heaven that ride more swiftly then these Yusbecks When this escape was known at Ispahan a great number of Horse-men were sent after the Prince but all to no purpose he having got the start so far before 'em the Court was in an amaze especially the King who never dreamt that Abouel-Kazi ever dream'd of Tartary being verily perswaded that after ten years that he had liv'd in his Court he could never have any more remembrance of his own Country But as the Tartar Prince could not forget his own Country so neither did he forget his obligations to Persia and the Persian Monarch For all his life-time he had a particular affection for that Kingdom more especially when he came to succeed his Father which was presently after his Return And so long as he Reign'd he was not only careful to keep a good correspondence with Sephi the first and Habas the second but he also kept in such awe Sub-haan-Kooli-Kaan The Prince the Slave of the Praise-worthy by which they mean God and Abdul-hazize-Kaan or the Servant of the Majesty understood Divine King of Bokora the only two Princes which sometimes infested the Confines of Persia that they were not able to undertake any considerable Enterprise For when either the one or the other enter'd Persia presently he was in the Bowels of their Territories thereby constraining 'em to return with more hast then they went And thus all the Frontier Provinces as Bactriana Margiana Drangiana and the Caspian Coasts enjoy'd a profound Peace So that Habas won by his grateful and constant affection with the same gratitude repaid the Prince's perseverance allowing him all along as a mark of his esteem the large Pension which he enjoy'd in Persia But after that upon the death of Abouel-kazi the Crown descended to his Son Enouch Kaan or the Lord of Profit Habas the Second who had not that esteem for him which he had for his Father thought himself no longer oblig'd to continue the Pension which he had given his Father meerly in kindness Whereupon Enouch-Kaan who look'd upon that Pension as a sort of Tribute which the Persian Monarch paid the King of Careckme or Orquenge to keep him from Plundring his Territories finding himself frustrated of his expectation thought the surest way to recover it or at least to recompence himself for his losses would be to carry the War into the Empire and to Ravage the Frontier Provinces To which purpose he enters into a League with the two other Kaans against Persia and the better to cement it he espouses the Sister of the Sovereign Prince of Balke and gives his own Sister in Marriage to the King of Bokora which done the three brothers-in-brothers-in-law resolve to fall altogether into the Persian Dominions There was only one scruple that troubl'd the Prince of Balk and Bokora which was that the deceas'd King of Orquenge the Father of the present King was a Shia Mahumetan according to the Persian Worship and not a Sunni Mahumetan according to the Worship both of the Turks and Tartars Enouch Caan therefore makes open Profession of the Religion of his Country and of having quitted his Fathers belief But the two Princes mistrusting his sincerity and fearing he would play 'em some scurvy trick or other the better to assure themselves that he was a true Sunnie that he was real in his proceedings and that he was from the bottom of his heart a declar'd Enemy of Persia they were desirous that he should first begin the War and fall in with all his Forces into the Kingdom and the next year they agreed they would all three joyn together to advance their Conquests According to this Resolution the Prince of Orquenge enters the Kingdom but met with too powerful a resistance For Habas II. being inform'd of the Conspiracies of these pettie Kings had Vow'd their Ruine and not only to repel their Incursions but to make an absolute Conquest of their Territories to deprive them of Life and Scepters both together and unite the Province of Balk to the Empire For this reason it was that in the year 1665.