and to throw the same into the Sea and further that they should cause therein such violent emotions as should force it to throw up and disgorge that Wealth which was the occasion of its Pride Whereupon Mahadeu himself assisted on Bramma's side and the Deytes or Giants on the other so moved the Sea by shaking this Mountain that first it threw up the Money call'd Lecseny secondly the invaluable Jewel Consenchmany or a Carbuncle which in the night gives as great a Light as the Moon Thirdly the Tree Paersatich Fourthly her Silver Pot with the Water Sora Fifthly the Physician Dannewanter Sixthly Indema or the Moon Sevently the white Cow of Superfluity Camdoga Eighthly the Water of Everlasting Life call'd Ammaril Ninthly the Elephant with seven Trunks call'd Hierawanesti Tenthly the beautiful dancing Maid Remba Eleventhly the seven-headed Horse Exmognogora Twelfthly the Bowe Dennock Thirteenthly the Horn Sank And lastly the Poyson Sahar The Sea having by this great motion vomited up all these things became very calm Whereupon Mahadeu commanded the Mountain Meerparwat to be carried again to its place and left the Serpent Signage or Soesja to perform the same Then giving the conquer'd Treasures to several Countreys and People he return'd to Heaven Thus Kaurams Altar ended having lasted in the first Age 2500 Years Waras or Warrahas Altar the third WHen in the First Age the World was wholly spoil'd and no Belief amongst Men the Serpent Signage or Seesja with a hundred Heads who supported the World fainted through the weight of the Peoples sins insomuch that not being able to bear the same up any longer he went from it and thereby turning the whole World topsie-turvey at last thrust it into a bottomless Sea where all the Creatures were drown'd Thereupon Bramma the four-headed God implor'd Wistnow to fetch the World out of the bottomless Water and place it on the dry Land again Mahadeu's strange shape in his third appearance Mahadeu consenting to his Request descended in the following Shape viz. He had a Head like a Hog with two mighty Tusks bigger than those of an Elephant a Body like a Man with four Arms and Hands in one of which he held the great and terrible Sword Godda and on the first Finger of the other Hand a Ring in the third the before-mention'd great Horn which they call Sank and in the fourth the Book Kittaep In this manner Mahadeu descended first no bigger than a Dwarf but grew ere long to that horrible bigness before he came quite down that had the Earth been above the Waters and he stood upon it he would undoubtedly have touch'd the Heavens with his Head In this horrid Shape he div'd into the Deep where he kill'd the Monstrous Giant Hirnacks or Hirnacas which colour'd the whole Sea as red as Blood and Mahadeu made him his Footstool to tread on and striking his Tusks into the World pull'd up the same out of the Waters and calling the Tortoise and thousand-headed Serpent Signage to him he plac'd the Tortoise above the Waters and upon the Tortoise the Serpent Signage and above him the World This done he ascended again into Heaven and with one word Bramma created new Men. The Brahmans and other Tribes of the Indians seem highly to esteem this Appearance of Wistnow in the shape of a Man with four Arms and a Hogs Head for in the City Trimottam about Zinzi is a Pagode or Temple call'd Adi Warraha in which a Hogs head stands to publick view which the Brahmans affirm grew out of the Ground and worship as the Image of Wistnow in commemoration of his Birth in that shape Above Wistnow or Mahadeu sits the fair dancing Maid Remba with her Legs across under her The Giant Hirnacs representation The Giant Hirnacs lying under Mahadeu's Feet is represented in the shape of a horrible Demon with two Horns on his Haed mighty great Ears and bristly Hair on his Forehead and the Crown of his Head Cross his left Shoulder hangs a Black String his Body from Head to Foot full of bloody Spots His Fingers are like those of a Man but his Toes are rather Claws Thus ended Waras Altar having lasted 2700 Years in the First Age. Narsings Altar the Fourth WHen in the First Age the Giant Hirrenkessep had by great Penance and Religious Exercises moved Bramma the four-headed God to appear unto him and had obtain'd his Request he ask'd him what he desir'd whereto Hirrenkessep replied Hirenkessep's Request to Bramma Most powerful Bramma make me by your Favours a Monarch and mighty Prince on Earth and thereby grant that I may never be kill'd either by Heaven Earth Water Sun Moon Planets Clouds Wind Hail Snow Rain Thunder Lightning Birds Beasts Fishes Men Devils Serpents Adders Poyson Swords Arrows nor by any other Weapons neither without my House nor within it by Day nor by Night All which Bramma promising him the Giant Hirrenkessep raised himself and left off imploring Bramma any longer but marching into the Field conquer'd many Towns and Countreys and by Degrees subdu'd the whole World Which done he publish'd an Edict His Edict whereby he commanded all Men on pain of death to worship no Deity but him onely and that all those which should be found to do the contrary should die without mercy Waras of Warrahas autaer de derde Narsings autaer de vierde Wamans autaer de vyfde Mahadeu having perform'd all this in three days ascended up to Heaven again and so ended the fourth Altar in the first Age Cortesingke after a Reign of seventeen hundred twenty eight thousand years in which hapned all the foremention'd Wonders And notwithstanding the time of these Miracles doth not amount to more in all than seventy seven hundred years and three days yet it is to be understood that the seventeen hundred and twenty thousand years and three hundred and sixty two days were expir'd before between and after the Miracles Vanam's Altar the Fifth begins with the second Age Tretrsingke MAhadeu in the first Age had plac'd a Ragia Inder in Heaven to Govern the happy Souls as a Reward for his pious Life and continual Offerings which whil'st he liv'd on Earth he made every day in honor of Mahadeu with promise moâ—â—over that he should enjoy that place till some body else should exceed him for he had made a hundred Siasjas which are costly Offerings in honor of Mahadeu and besides all that forsook his Estate Wife and Children nay his own Life and spent all his time in Fasting and Praying Moreover in this second Age was born a Bell Ragia who growing up to a Youth betook himself to the reading of holy Books and amongst many other things read that a King was plac'd in Heaven to Govern the happy Souls till such time as some one should exceed him as abovesaid Since which this Ragia being a powerful King to exceed Ragia Inder in Piety spent whole days in searching and reading of holy Books nor
and doing of Penance Out of the City Cambaya saith Peruschi go many Heathens in Pilgrimage to the River Ganges in Bengala sometimes to the number of forty or fifty thousand all those accounting themselves happy that have been bath'd in the foremention'd Stream and they certainly believe they shall be sav'd if on their Death-beds they can but get some of the Water of the Ganges to drink Since the Benjans have a peculiar Opinion of the Creation and Original of Men and differ in this point from the Brahmines notwithstanding they account them to be their Teachers it will not be amiss to declare the same as it is taken out of their Law-book call'd Shaster The Opinion of the Benjans concerning the Creation God seeing himself alone he studied after what manner he might manifest to others his Splendor and Power for he foresaw that his Greatness and Glory would remain obscure and never be known if he did not communicate them to Mortals The most convenient means therefore to attain to this his desire was to Create the World and all the Creatures which are in the same And in order hereunto he first made the World beginning with the four Elements which were to be the Foundation thereof viz. the Earth Air Water and Fire which in the beginning being mix'd together were separated after this manner First he blew on the Water with a large Sarbatane or the like Instrument which thereupon bubling up came to be a great Body in the form of an Egg which by degrees extending became the light and clear shining Firmament of Heaven which surrounds the whole World This separation being made the Earth remained mix'd with a Matter like Sediment of Water of which God afterwards made a round Ball and call'd the Lower World of which the firmest part became Earth and the other being the weakest the Sea both which making the exact Figure of a Globe God plac'd the same in the midst of the Firmament which surrounds the Sea and Earth After this God Created a Sun and Moon which he placed in the Firmament to make a distinction of the Times and Seasons And by this means the four Elements which before were confusedly mix'd together were separated and distinguish'd and each confin'd to its proper place The Elements thus setled each perform'd its Office The Air fill'd all things that were empty the Fire by its Heat gave warmth to all and the Earth and Sea produc'd their several Creatures God giving a generative Power to all to multiply and increase according to their several kinds And thus the great World being perfected was divided into four Parts viz. East West North and South This World was to last four Ages and to be inhabited by divers sorts of People which were to be produc'd from four Men and four Women as we will instantly relate God having thus created the World and the Creatures he proceeded to create Man and thereupon commanded the Earth to produce that excellent Creature out of its Bowels First it put forth the Head and soon after all the other Parts into which God breathing Life the Lips grew red the Eye-lids open'd and made two sparkling Stars to appear the other Parts of the Body began to move and his Senses with Wisdom knew their Creator and worshipp'd him And because this Creature which was made for Society should not be alone God gave him a Woman for his Companion which resembled him as well in his Sense Reason and Spirit This first Creature was call'd Pourus and his Wife Parkoute they liv'd together like Man and Wife and fed upon the Fruit of the Earth without killing any living Creature These two Persons living thus together begat four Sous the first whereof was call'd Brammon the second Kutterey the third Schuddery and the fourth Wyse These four Brothers were of different Constitutions the four Elements giving to each a different Temper Brammon having participated of the Earth was Melancholly Kutterey being hot of Temper had a Warlike Spirit Schuddery being of a cold moist Constitution was of a meek Spirit and Wyse being of an angry Disposition had a quick Wit Moreover God endu'd Brammon according to his Nature with Wisdom and through him publish'd his Laws and Commandments for he judg'd his reserv'd Life and serious Countenance most fit for that purpose and therefore he gave him a Book wherein was set down how he would be serv'd and which also treated of other things concerning Religion God also according to the Constitution of Kutterey gave him Power to rule Kingdoms with a Scepter to keep the People in awe and make the Commonalty work and labor for the Publick Good And as a sign of this Power God gave him a Sword in his Hand the proper Instrument of his Victory and Dominion Schuddery according to his natural Inclinations God judg'd fit for Traffick whereby he might furnish all parts of the Earth with such things as they stood in need of by means of Navigation and as a Token of what he was appointed for as also to mind him of his Employment God gave him a pair of Scales with a Bag full of all sorts of Weights as proper Instruments of his Calling Wyse according to his Disposition God endu'd with a Genius of inventing all manner of Mechanical Arts giving him a Bag full of Tools and Instruments for the working of such things withal as his Fancy should direct The World being thus far compleated God gave not Pourous and Parkoutee any Daughters lest Works which hitherto he had preserv'd from all Uncleanness might be defil'd by the incestuous Conjunction of the Brothers with the Sisters wherefore God being willing to preserve the Innocence and Holiness of their first Parents resolv'd to ordain such means for the propagating Mankind as might correspond with the Work of the Creation by making four Women for the Sons of Pourous anst Parkoutee whereof one was sent to the East another to the West a third to the North and a fourth to the South that being thus separated one from the other the Propagation of Man kind might be the sooner compleated in all Parts of the Earth The eldest Son of the first Man call'd Brammon became Great being highly esteem'd by his other Brothers as well for his Age as his great Merits but especially for the Converse he often held with God concerning Religion and the manner of Worship wherein he instructed his Brethren reading the Book which was given him by God containing the Secrets and Manner of worshipping him with great Care and Reverence God revealing himself to him very often in Person And as God had created Man in a pleasant and delightful Place situate in the Belly and Navel of the Earth where the Sun makes no Shadow at Noon so he resolv'd to send the Brothers which were come from the Centre of the World to the Circumference thereof to People it Wherefore he commanded Brammon to take the Book wherein were written the Laws of God
From the Mouth of Pontus to the Mouth of Maeotis Eratosthenes reckons XV. XLV or 1545 Miles which together comes to XLI LXXXIV or 4184 Miles But Artemidorus and Isidorus reckon the Whole with Aegypt as far as Tanais LXXXVIII or 8800 Miles Pliny himself by whom all these Authors are quoted in more express Terms affirm'd the Length of Asia to be LXIII DCC Miles which to hold proportion with the former Numbers can be but 7050. However here the Plinian Interpreter forgetting himself suffers it to run on to 630750 perhaps because of the DCC that comes after the LXIII But this as it would exceed the Proportion formerly observ'd so it would bring back that Contradiction to common Sense and Reason which he seem'd before to endeavor to avoid The Breadth from the Aethiopick Sea to Alexandria XVIII LXXV or 1875 Miles reckoning the Miles as the manner then was by so many thousand Paces Strabo speaking of the Mountain Taurus running through the midst of Asia from West to East and measuring the Length of Asia by it affirms the Length of the Mountain to be 45000 Furlongs which comes to 5625 Italian or English Mile Matthias Quadus though he almost follows the Words of Strabo yet he makes a longer Mount Taurus for he accounts the Length of it 58060 Furlongs that is 7257 of our Miles and four Furlongs over and without particularizing the Breadth affirms it to exceed the Breadth of Europe and Asia put together Mercator extends the Length of Asia from the most Western Meridian passing through the 57th Degree of Longitude to the most Eastern passing through the 178th Degree including 121 Degrees which reduc'd to Miles comes to 7260. The Breadth he reckons from the Aequator to the 80th Degree of Northern Latitude which amounts to 4800 Miles Cluverius allots to Asia between the Hellespont and Malacca the farthest Emporium of India the length of 1300 German Miles which is of our Miles 5200 And for Breadth between the Mouth of the Arabian Gulph and the Promontory Tabis which is at the Streight of Anian 1220 German Miles which is of our Miles 4880. With this Measure Golnitius and Lucas de Linda exactly agree Martiny determines the Extent of Asia from West to East that is from the Archipelago to the Chinese Ocean to be 1750 Leagues from South to North that is from Malacca to the Sea of Tartary 1550 Leagues P. du Val accounts its Length from West to East that is from the most Western Parts of Anatolia to the Eastern Parts of China 2500 French Leagues the Breadth not comprehending the Isles 72 Degrees that is 1700 of the same Leagues and all under the Septentrional Temperate Zone except some Peninsula's which are found in the Torrid Zone Now to reduce all these several Computations to one Standard viz. of our own Miles there will be no great difference among the three Moderns last mention'd provided we reckon in Martiny's Account three Leagues to a Mile and in P. du Val's two French Leagues to a Mile according to which Reckoning all the Modern Accounts come short of the Ancient which is the more strange in regard late Discoverers have penetrated into such remote Easterly Parts of Asia as were altogether unknown in Strabo's Pliny's or Ptolomy's time and therefore may well be suppos'd to have stretch'd it to a far greater extent But some Mistakes may possibly arise from our not exactly enough accommodating of the Ancient Numbers or Measures to our own as may evidently appear by the vast Error that might easily have slipt from an inanimadvertency of Pliny's Numbers Of the Lakes or Seas of Asia THE greatest Lake if it be not more properly call'd a Sea not onely of Asia but generally so reputed of the World is the Hircanian Lake which contains in Length 270 German Miles in Breadth above 100 and although there be no visible Entrance of any other Sea into it yet in regard its Waters are generally Salt it is suppos'd to communicate with the Ocean or some other Sea by certain Subterraneous Passages as undoubtedly it partakes also of several great Rivers since in many Places it hath Fresh Water and abounds with some sorts of Fresh-water or River Fish The Ancients believ'd this to be a Bay of the Scythian Ocean but Herodotus one of the most ancient of the Greek Writers as also Aristotle and Diodorus were of a different Opinion affirming it to be a particular Sea by it self as being no where mix'd with the Ocean And Ptolomy for that Reason would rather have it call'd a Lake than a Sea to which Opinion of his many other Writers have given their Suffrage However it hath commonly had in times past the Appellation of The Caspian Sea and at present is term'd Mare di Sala or The Sea of Sala The next great Asian Lake is call'd Lacus Asphaltites or The Lake of Brimstone the same which in Holy Writ is call'd Mare Mortuum or The Dead Sea in regard the Water remains fixt and immovable in so vast a Circuit Upon this Lake stood the Cities of Sodom and Gomorra Admah and Zeboim the two first whereof are mention'd in Sacred Scripture to have been destroy'd by Fire from Heaven whereupon it hath been also known by the Name of The Lake of Gomorra And if the fore-mention'd much more this may be term'd a Lake in regard it is but very small in respect of that Over this Lake like as over that of Avernus or Aornus in Campania no Birds endure to fly neither are any Fish able to live in it by reason of the evil and noxious Savour and intollerable Stench of the Water which is not mov'd or stirr'd by any Wind because the Bituminous Quality thereof resists by condensing the Surface of the Water which is so thick that the heaviest Creatures are born upon it without swimming But it is not Navigable by any Ships both in regard of the thickness and immovableness of the Water and the noisomness of the Lake to all Passengers The next is the Lake or Sea in Persia call'd El-Catif The fourth is the Lake of Genesareth otherwise call'd Tiberius and by some The Sea of Galilee The fifth is the Lake Samochonites between which and that of Gennesareth the River Jordan flows Of the Chief Rivers of Asia THERE are many Rivers of Principal note in Asia as Euphrates Tigris Jordan Indus Ganges Ob c. Euphrates riseth in Great Armenia and is call'd by the Inhabitants generally Phrat But in its Progress through several Countries it changeth its Name for some space from its first rising it is call'd Pyxirates towards its entrance into the Mountain Taurus Omira again coming forth from out of the said Mountain it takes the Name of Euphrates afterwards it toucheth upon Mesopotamia on the Left Hand and Syria Arabia and Babylonia on the Right and then divides it self into several Arms one whereof takes its Course to Seleucia and falls into the River Tigris another runs through Babylon and loseth
Sea and as Olearius says is at this day call'd Cur or Aras The other which we now speak of glides from the North to the South through Persia by the Walls of the City Schiras and falls into the Persian Gulph From the Banks of this River the famous Cyrus was thrown in his Infancy and gave his Name to the Place and not to that where he was born which was call'd Agradat Most of the Persian Geographers as Olearius Garcias de Sylva Figueroa and others judge the River Cur or Bendemir to be the same with Araxes This Araxes is the biggest of all those Rivers which water the Provinces of Persia and Lara notwithstanding which it is not very broad but runs in a narrow Channel in many Meanders between high Mountains being well replenish'd with all sorts of Fish This River takes its Original out of the Mountain Jessel lying between the famous Cities Suster and Margascan formerly call'd Susa and Persepolis and first directingits Course Southward bends afterwards to the East separating the ancient Province of Susiana from the Western part of Carmania and so enters into the Kingdom of Persia and after having receiv'd the Waters of many little Rivolets and divided the Province of Kerman and the ancient Caramie Foelix finding its Current to the Sea stopt by the exceeding high Mountains it returns with great force to the North-East being grown bigger than before and much deeper by the Waters which fall from the fore-mention'd Mountains thence it again runs Southward visiting the ancient Gedrosie and at last falls into the Indian Sea making a spacious Bay Near the Ruins of Cehil Minar and the ancient Persepolis glides the River Pelevar which takes its Course towards the South and falls into the Cur after having first water'd one of the fruitfulest Parts of Persia Persia is very Mountainous in several Places but they are not altogether sterill for the Mountains of Neriz have many Iron Mines and some relate that many Smaragds are found in this Province About ten or twelve Leagues from Schiras are several high Hills full of Palm and Lentisk-Trees where breed many Wild Hogs The Inhabitants of Schiras which is common to all the other Provinces of this Kingdom are very white the Women generally beautiful and the Men well-proportion'd There is also a great Trade driven in Schiras occasion'd by the Caravans which coming from Samarcand and Zagatay pass through this Place with great Quantities of Silk Musk Rhubarb and Turcoises all which those of Chorazzan receive from the Merchants which come from Catay or the Northern China And by this means Schiras furnishes other Countries with Provisions as Wooll Copper and many other things besides Distill'd Rose-water for they make another sort than we in Europe by decocting the Roses They also get abundance of Silk from the Silk-worms they breed here and have likewise Rubies Balayses which come from the City Balasan and great store of Lazuus Stones and Tutty Persia or Fars is not very cold though its Situation be more Northerly than the other Provinces for in December all the Gardens about Schiras are green and the Trees retain their Leaves because the Ground being moisten'd by so many Rivers is not onely preserv'd from all extraordinary Scorchings but so cooled and the Fruit becomes ripe so late that it may be preserv'd all the Winter and kept very good till March. The Country about Schiras and the Plains between the Mountains and the River Pasa is naturally dry and barren The Country about Rexel near the Sea-coast yields very excellent Wheat and also good store of Fruit That Tract of Land which extends Southerly produces abundance of Dates as also the Ground about the City Com but no Vines The Country of Tarom with the other neighboring Places are all planted with Date-trees under whose the Inhabitants sow Cotton There is also abundance of Sweet-briar out of whose Flowers the Inhabitants distill a sort of Water which they call Gulaep that is rose-Rose-water Out of the gaping Ciefts of a high Mountain in the Country Stahanon distils a Liquor or Juyce which the King of Persia causes to be gather'd by Persons sworn for that purpose which yearly take up thirty Meticals or about forty or fifty Ounces of the said Distillation which by the Persians is call'd Monmaky Cony that is Precious Water and is kept onely for the King's Use it being as they affirm an excellent Antidote against all Poyson and an infallible Remedy against inward Bruises as also outwardly apply'd for Sinew-strains Contusions and the like The King many times bestows some of it upon those Princes that are in League with him as an extraordinary Mark of his Favor In stead of this the Turks use Terra Sigillata the Mahumetans of the Eastern Countries Pazar Cony which is a kind of Jews-Gum gather'd at Maxulpata or Musulipatan in India but is not of that Vertue and Power as this of India About Schiras the Persians find a sort of bitter Root by the Apothecaries call'd Cost from the example of the Arabians and Persians though they generally add the Word Talk to the same viz. Cost-Talk that is Bitter Cost to distinguish it from the common Indian Cost which they call Cost Xerir that is Sweet Cost The Bitter Cost hath a Root very hard and firm of a yellow Colour somewhat inclining to white if it be fresh and good but if it be digg'd out of season or carelesly dry'd it becomes blue or brown The Shell or Rind is streak'd and the Pulp white and bitterish The old Roots are very unsavory and ill-tasted It is brought into Europe either in round Pieces or else in long Slices The Country about Lastan produces abundance of Ingo by the Apothecaries call'd Assa foetida In Fars and Persia especially about Schiras they have very excellent Wine the best in all Persia which they call Xarao or Charab and it is sent to all Parts of the Country especially to the Court for the King and his Nobles drink no other and if any Person of Quality entertains another he always treats him with this Wine This Province also produces Bezoar-stones which the Persians properly call Pazahar which is a Compound Word of Pa and Zahar the first signifying Against and the other Poyson They are chiefly found in a County call'd Stabanon three days Journey from Lara where also grows in the Fields a Plant like Saffron which the Goats eating causes the foremention'd Stones to grow in their Stomachs and are esteem'd above all other Gems by the King of Persia Nay the Fields wherein the said Goats graze are constantly guarded and the collecting of the Stones look'd after by Officers appointed particularly for that purpose There is also a Stone by the Physicians call'd Lapis Judaicus that is The Jews Stone and by the Persians and Arabians Ager Alyud that is The Stone of Judas There is likewise the Armenian Stone otherwise call'd Lapis Lazuli and in the Persian Tongue nam'd Ager Armeni
to be the Caesius the Bustro to be the Gerras the Timeki or Terk to be the Alonia and the Kisilar to be the Adonta for between the River Albanus or Coisu and the Volga or Rha no other Rivers are to be found The Kingdom of Amadam THe Kingdom of Amadan or Hamadan is by Texeira call'd Amedon as also the chief City thereof which lying between Casbin and Curdistan extends thirty Leagues and boasts fifteen Towns the Inhabitants whereof are all Merchants Della Valle tells us that the City of Amadan lies in the Way which leads from Bagdad or Babylon to Ispahan and is large and populous and much frequented by Strangers though the Buildings are very mean rather like those in an ordinary Village yet behind these Houses are fair Gardens full of Fruit-trees so also are the Streets Markets and other publick Places which are also well furnish'd with all manner of Provision at reasonable Rates All the Streets where the Shops are by them call'd Bazars are Arch'd and Pillar'd like Piazza's It is exceeding cold here for you not onely see Ice in the Streets but it often Freezes any liquid thing in the Chambers though there is a constant Fire kept This City is the Residence of a Chan who hath many Towns and Villages under his Jurisdiction as also a Daroga or Deputy Thus much of every Province of the Kingdom of Persia in particular next we will give you an Account of what concerns Persia and all the Provinces in general and also of such Remarks of some Provinces in particular as shall be requisite to be spoken of viz. of the Air Property of the Soil Plants Beasts Customs Food Liquors Language Learning Funerals Arms Religions Government and what else is necessary to be describ'd Temperature of the Air. THe Air of these Countreys is for the most part very healthful and temperate with very little Rain especially towards the South and in some places as in Gamaron near the Sea-Coast not once in three years By reason of the vast Extent of Persia viz. from the twenty fifth Degree of the Equinoctial Line to the thirty seventh Degree Northward and likewise for the rough rocky Mountains of Taurus which run through the middle of the Countrey and spread out with several Arms the Air is not every where alike temper'd but different in many Provinces Such as dwell Southward from the Mountains feel the Heat exceedingly in the Summer but those to the Northward have the Seasons more temperate wherefore the Persian Kings us'd formerly at Set-times in the Year for their Pleasure and Health sake to remove their Courts to such Provinces where they judg'd the Weather would best agree with them for in the Summer they kept their Courts at Ecbatane now call'd Thus where because of the Mountains in the South-West it is very cool and in the Winter at Susa now Susistan which City lies next to the Northern Mountains on which the Sun-beams reflecting make the same a warm and delightful Place as appears by the Name for Susa in the Persian Tongue signifies a Lilly In September and March they remov'd to Persepolis and Babylon The Kings of Persia to this day make use of this convenience of the Air for Schach Abbas in the Winter resided in the Province of Mazanderan at Ferabath Schach Sefi according to the Custom of the Persian Kings often going on Progress sometimes kept his Court in Tabris otherwhile in Ardebil or Casbin But the present Seat of the Kings being in Ispahan is no inconvenient Place either in Winter or Summer because it is situate on a Plain three Leagues from the Mountains and enjoys commonly a very temperate Air. All Strangers in their travelling through Persia are sensible of this alteration of the Air in several places not without great prejudice to their Health being forc'd by reason of the excessive Heat to travel in the Night and rest in the Day especially between the Mountains where the Passage goes Southward But in all parts of Persia it is very cold in Winter and sometimes travelling Eastward with a Northerly Wind it is so exceeding cold that the Travellers lighting from their Horses in the Morning are so benumm'd that they can hardly stand Della Valle says that the Heat in Persia is not very great yet the Beams of the Sun in the Plains are much hotter than in Italy The Inhabitants in the Summer go Cloth'd in a thin Sute of Callico in which they walk and do all their Business Neither is the Cold troublesom to them partly because it is not very great notwithstanding it Snows much there and partly because it lasts but January and February Several Distempers in Persia. By reason of this difference in the Air there are several Places in Persia less healthful than others and the Inhabitants subject to all manner of Distempers and especially in Schirman and Kilan where Fevers and Agues much afflict them The Air at Tabris is accounted the most healthful in all Persia for the Inhabitants thereof are never sensible of any such Diseases nay they affirm that if any so troubled come thither they immediately recover from whence as the Inhabitants say the City Tabris or Tebris after the Kilan pronunciation hath receiv'd its Name for a Feaver is by them call'd Teb and Ris signifies To poure out But besides Agues and Feavers there are many other Distempers which rage amongst them as the Bloody-flux and Plague though not so often and vehement as in Europe also Morbus Gallicus by the Inhabitants call'd Schemetcaschi that is The Casehanian Pox because it is most there The Persians live long The Persians generally attain to a great Age many of them living above a hundred years and at that time when Olearius was in Persia the Governor was above a hundred and forty years old They commonly suffice themselves with a little and not too high Food and live for the most part very temperate The Soil Nature of the Soil AS to what concerns the Soil in this great circumference of Land it is of a different Nature for in some places it is exceeding fruitful by reason of the many Rivers which water the same especially on the side towards the Caspian Sea the rest is subject to great Drought and hath many Wildernesses and craggy Mountains But to speak in general most of these Provinces have plenty of several sorts of Grain and excellent Fruits as well of those that grow naturally them as transplanted from Europe and elsewhere The Soil in Persia specially so call'd is very dry and stonie and therefore requires much Manuring to fatten it by which and the Water convey'd in Pipes the Fields are fertiliz'd and produce several sorts of Corn and Fruit in great abundance About the Village Becktahab a League from Ispahan the Land is barren and white which Della Valle ascribes to the Salt with which it is mix'd The Champain except that of Kilan Olearius reporteth to be mix'd with red Gravel and
and Iberia as also a part of Armenia and some of Albania within whose Limits as Strabo tells us is inclos'd the Countrey inhabited by the Moschi for Georgia extends in length from the Eastern Shore of the Black Sea almost to the Caspian Others make Georgia comprise the ancient Iberia and the Countrey of Georgia mention'd by Pliny and Mela. It hath for Neighbor on the East the Countrey of Albania now under the Jurisdiction of the Persians and wherein the Towns of Bacu and Demircapi or Derbend lie and bending from thence a little Southerly it touches upon the Province of Scirvan in the West it verges with the Black Sea Its Bounds in the North fronts the Caspian Mountains which are Branches of Mount Caucasus and extend along from the Black to the Caspian Sea and defend Georgia from the Northern Blasts as also from the Invasion of the Salvages on the South it conterminates with that part of Armenia which borders upon Media and somewhat lower Westerly towards Trebizonde with a part of Cappadocia and is by the Circassian and Caspian Mountains divided from Muscovy It s several Denominations The right Name of this Countrey according to Texeira is Gurgistan that is The Countrey of the Gurgians It is also call'd Garia and Chartuelaba as a Georgian in the Countrey Language Chartueli or Kartueli which word Della Valle affirms to signifie a Christian The Turks name them Kurchin or Gurgin or Jurian to which must be added the Turkish word Lar a sign of the plural Number and is pronounced Jurianu-Lar The Name of Georgia or Georgians some suppose they have receiv'd from St. George whom they highly reverence and carry his Picture in their Standards though Postellus affirms from the information of the Georgians in Constantinople that the Name of St. George is altogether unknown to them Division of the Countrey Georgia is by some divided into several Provinces the chiefest whereof are Imereti or Busciaciuk Cacheti Cardel or Carduel Curiel and Mengrelia This Countrey of Georgia is very fertile It s Fertility and in many places produces plenty of Corn Wine and other Fruits Most of the Vines grow up by the Trees There are likewise many Woods and Mountains and abundance of Mulberry-ttees for the feeding of Silk-worms which furnish Persia with great quantities of Silk Wild Beasts are also here in great numbers Wild Beasts and likewise Faulcons and Eagles which they call Avigi Rivers and Lakes It is water'd by the Rivers Araxes now call'd Aras Cyrus now Cur and the Canak The Cyrus or Cur which the Natives of the Countrey call Ser the Turks Chur and others Elkar takes its original with the Araxes out of Mount Taurus in Armenia from whence it glides down to the Plains of Georgia where augmented with the Waters of many Rivers and at last united with the Araxes disembogues into the Caspian Sea There are also two very eminent Lakes the one call'd Geluchalatdu in the North is four days Journey in circumference and hath on its Banks the Castle of St. Leonard the other nam'd Esechie is taken for the ancient Lake Licinitis The People very courteous The Georgians are very civil and courteous after their manner The Nobles are call'd Asnaure which going continually Arm'd always maintain War against the Unbelievers or Mahumetans But they are not so much inclin'd to Learning as the Greeks neither are they so ambitious proud and subtle but very meek and honest of an affable nature and so easie of belief that their greatest misfortunes have fall'n upon them from the Mahumetans through their too much credulity Cootwick tells us that the Georgians are much inclin'd to Drinking and that they will not Engage with an Enemy before they have drank their Fill. The Women are very courteous civil modest and the best featur'd in all Asia both Men and Women are tall and slender having generally brown Hair black full Eyes white and ruddy Complexions occasion'd perhaps by the abundance of Wine which they drink The Language one through the whole Countrey Through the whole Countrey is but one sort of Language spoken which being peculiar and common to these People is by them call'd Cardueli it is written with two distinct Characters or Letters the one call'd Cudsuri which is us'd onely in godly Books and in their Churches and the other Chedroli is us'd in all other Affairs The Alphabet of the vulgar Georgians hath thirty six Letters shap'd like those represented in the Sculp Figueroa tells us that the Georgian Characters differ from the Caldean Hebrew and Armenian and that they write like the Europeans from the left hand to the right They are of the Greek Church The Georgians receiv'd the Christian Religion in the time of the Emperor Constantine who kept his Court at Constantinople from the Greeks by means of a strange Slavess of whom they relate many great Wonders but to this day none of them know her Name yet the Roman-Catholicks in their Book of Martyrs call her Ancella And as they receiv'd the Christian Religion from the Greeks so they likewise observe their Church Ceremonies and Liturgies They perform Divine Service in their own Language and not in the Greek as Minadoi and others affirm nor do they boast the antiquity of their Church as the Greeks do and though they acknowledge the Patriarch of Constantinople yet nevertheless they are not subject to him for they chuse their own Church-Rulers They bear great reverence to Rome St. Peter St. Paul and the Pope to whom contrary to the Greeks they attribute the antiquity of their Church They shun the company of the Armenians and abhor their Superstition but affect the Latines and Roman-Catholicks and what Conquests soever the Turks and other People have gain'd over them yet they have always remain'd firm in the Christian Faith and though their Princes have very often apostatiz'd and forc'd many after several ways to change their Opinions yet nevertheless the Christian Religion hath gotten the upper hand and the Christians have regain'd the Dominions which they had lost or forc'd their Princes again to embrace Christianity which they had forsaken Many Ways lead into Georgia especially three the first and shortest whereof is through Constantinople from whence they travel thither by Land viz. through Scutarie in Asia with the Caravans who go along the Way of Trabizonde and finish their Journey in a Moneth though it is much shorter over the Black Sea viz. in five or six days more or less according to the Season The second Way is through Persia from whence they go easily with the Caravans into the Prince Luarsab's Countrey The third and last Way is through Poland cross the Black Sea from whence in a few days you arrive in Georgia as we said before This Countrey was formerly Govern'd by a King Government whom the Persians as Texeira affirms call'd Schach of Gurgistan for Anno 1430. Cara-Issuf falling into Gurgistan
Black Sea The first of them which rises Eastward is the Stream by the Ancients call'd Fasis and now Faso or Fas by the Scythians according to Thevet Debbassetcha and by the Inhabitants Rione which as Procopius affirms falls with such force and violence into the Sea that it makes the Water fresh for some Miles But this is contradicted by Agricola And Archangel Lamberti who hath seen the same several times says this River at first runs very swift from its Fountain Head but coming amongst the Plains it is so slow that 't is scarce discern'd to move and yet certain it is that its Water doth not commix with the Sea The Stream Faso disembogues it self into the Sea through two Mouths between which it makes an Island by the Ancients call'd Ea wherein the Turks in the Year 1578. built a Fort which was since pull'd down At the same time the Turkish Emperor Amurat took the City Teflis from the Persians supposing it would have been a very convenient Harbor for him to keep his Galleys in that from thence they might go with the more ease to conquer Persia which then he design'd and make himself Master of the City Colatis the Entrance and Key into the Countrey on that side to which purpose his Galleys also went a great way up the Stream But the Georgians having fortifi'd themselves at the Entrance of the River where it is narrowest Entertain'd them so roughly that they forc'd them to return Above the Island the Stream is above half a Mile broad where its Banks are also overgrown with Trees and frequented by Fishermen who come thither to catch Sturgeon Farther up into the River lie many small Islands of which several are Inhabited To each House which is built on the same belongs a small Barque made of a hollow Tree in which the Women Row from place to place Arrianus who by the Emperor Adrian's Command went to discover this River saith in one of his Letters that on the left side of the Mouth of the River he saw the Image of the Goddess Rhea in a Temple which in the time of the Emperor Emperor Zenon was Dedicated to the Virgin Recas The next River is Sceni-Skari that is The Horse-River by reason of its swiftness Arrianus and all those Geographers that follow him place other Rivers between the Faso and Sceni but by mistake for it is certain that the Sceni is the first Stream which falls into the Faso but afterwards receives the Abassin and Tachut the Abassin is the Glaucus of Strabo and the Tachut the Sigam of Arrian though he places it towards Copo There is at this day another Tract of Land through which this Stream flowing receives its Denomination TABULA COLCHIDIS HODIE MENGRELIE Next follows the River Enguria anciently call'd Asteltes which Arrian places near the Cianeus It falls with extraordinary swiftness from the Mountains inhabited by the Sovanies and swelling with the melted Snow that likewise glides from them to that heighth that it cannot be cross'd without a Barque The next in order to the Enguria is the Rivulet Heti which is not found in the Maps by reason of its smalness but is very eminent for a strange sort of Fish which is taken therein It discharges its Water into the Black Sea at a place call'd Gahbidas Another River nam'd d'Ochums glides through a Tract of Land call'd Tarscen from which perhaps the Name Tarsura had its original and by which it is mention'd in the Maps The next is the Echalis and after that the Stream Moquis which borrows its Denomination from the City and Bishoprick of Moquis through which it passes The last is the Stream call'd Coddors anciently Corax This divides Mengrelia from the Abascians as the Fasis from Guriel and Georgia In many places of Mengrelia are great Lakes especially on the Plains where the Ground sounds hollow when any one Rides over it which is no small testimony of the affinity between the Black and Caspian Seas to which may be added that in these two Seas one sort of Fishes are found for there is abundance of Sturgeon in the Black as well as in the Caspian Sea Several sorts of Sturgeon At the Mouth of the Paso and Enguria the Inhabitants catch abundance of Sturgeon from April till August of which they have three sorts one of which call'd Zuthi being of a far better taste than the rest is carry'd to the Court and dres'd for the King's Table The second sort call'd Angiachia differs not much from the first onely it is the bigger and the Flesh not altogether so good The third sort nam'd Poronci is yet larger and almost like a Buffalo but its Flesh is not comparable to the other The Inhabitants cut these Fish into pieces of two Hands breadth which the Salting dry in the Sun and afterwards use as Rarity Of the Rocs they make Caveare which putting into small Vessels they Salt setting it in the Sun till it condense into a Body or thick Substance The least Sturgeon call'd Zuthi hath a bigger Roe than the rest neither is any part of thrown away but the flat Bones which stick in the top of the Skin besides which it hath no other except a Gristle about a Finger thick which extends from the Head to the Tail The Fishermen have certain signs whereby to know when it is best Fishing as by the hollowness of the Water which from the melted Snow falling into the same is greedily coveted by the Sturgeon They also take here another sort of Fish call'd Suia and by the Turks Calcan Baluch which signifies a Pilcher being exactly of that form and cover'd with little Scales but hath two Eyes on one side the one grey and the other white This Fishing begins in December and continues till April In some Seasons there are abundance of Herrings in this Sea and the greater the number of them is the more Sturgeons they are sure to catch that year Anno 1642. the Sea had thrown so great a number of Herrings on the Shore between Trebizonde and the Countrey of the Abcassians that they lay above half a yard thick upon one another like a Bank There are also Oysters which the Fishermen throw into the Sea again when they catch them in their Nets yet some of them have course Pearls in them such as Pliny writes he saw in the Bosphorus of Thracia The Rivers are full of Voorn of which there are two sorts the one call'd Calmakka is very small and the other Aragoli which is bigger the first sort are catch'd in the North Sea and the other onely in the Rivers in which and on whose Banks are likewise Beavers contrary to Aristotle's opinion who affirms that no four-footed Beasts can live in the Sea Venison carry'd hence into Greece The Countrey abounds also with all manner of Venison and great numbers of Pheasants which Bird hath its Denomination from the River Fasis about whose Banks it breeds as also through all
Journal ten thousand Curdes Subjects to the Turk deserting their Countrey went and desir'd other Lands of Schach Abbas King of Persia who giving them a sufficient Maintenance occasion'd a War between the Turks and Persians They have absolute Command in some parts of their Territory as in Gozire a City of Mesopotamia built on an Isle in the River Tigris and in the Mountains by the Inhabitants call'd Tor. The Inhabitants are very valiant and are look'd upon to be able to do great prejudice to the Turk against whom they commonly maintain War Their Arms are Bowes Arrows Shields and Simiters Their Religion Their Religion is that of the Mahumetans either according to the Turkish or Persian way as they see convenient Moreover they are strongly inclin'd to divers Superstitions which are peculiar to them and savor much of Idolatry Some affirm that they worship the Devil because he should not do them or their Cattel any hurt Many Chaldean Christians of the Sect of the Nestorians or Jacobites live in the Dominion of the Curdes and Serve them in the Wars THE EMPIRE OF THE Great Mogol AND INDIA Of India in general India why so call'd INDIA is so call'd from the River Indus and the Word East generally added to India because it is the most Easterly part of Asia and hence America or the New-found World has borrow'd the Name of West-India in opposition to it It s Division Extent and Bounds Ptolomy affirms that anciently and to this day India is divided into two great parts whereof one which extends from the River Indus to Ganges is by the Persians call'd Indostan that is The Countrey of Indus and by the Greek and Latine Writers India intra Gangem or India within Ganges The other part is call'd Mangi or India extra Gangem or Without Ganges The first comprehends all the Countreys under the Great Mogol's Jurisdiction as also the Kingdom of Narsinga or Bisnagar Kannara Orixa the Coast of Cormandel and Malabar the Kingdom of Golconda and many others The second part without Ganges contains the Kingdom of Bengala Arracan Pegu Siam Malacca Cambaya Champa or Tzampa Lao Cochinchina besides many lesser and lastly the vast Empire of China Both these parts also comprehend divers Islands amongst which Japan if so it be is the most Eastern as also the most eminent This whole vast Countrey according to the ancient and modern Writers conterminates on the West with the River Indus the Countrey of Arachosia and Gedrosia on the South with the Indian Sea on the East with the Eastern Shore and on the North with some Branches of Mount Taurus or Imaus a part of Taurus Texeira tells us that India begins at the end of the Kingdom of Macran The largeness of its Circuit lying in 106 Degrees of Longitude and extends to 159 from East to West a Degree being reckon'd to be fifteen Leagues a Tract of eight hundred Leagues in a direct Line India also extends from North to South from the Equinox to the Cape of Malacca almost to the 40. Degree the utmost part of China a Tract of about six hundred Leagues not reckoning the Indian Isles some of which lie a great way to the Southward of the Equinoctial The most eminent Rivers of India are the Indus and Ganges Rivers which come from the Northward out of the Mountains Imaus and Caucasus by the Inhabitants according to Castaldus call'd Dalanguer and Nangracot and both as the Inhabitants affirm spring from one Head though some Geographers make the distance between them to be a hundred and eighty Leagues and others but a hundred and thirty though the first seems most probable because the Ganges takes its course Easterly and the Indus Westerly Philostratus places the Head of the River Indus in Mount Caucasus and makes the same in some places to be a League and a half broad and transplanting abundance of Soil along with it which like the Nile in Egypt makes the adjacent Grounds exceeding fertile MAGNI MOGOLIS IMPERIVM The Course of the River Indus The Indus or Send thus enrich'd with the Waters of other Rivers takes its course Southward through the Provinces of Attack Backor and Tatta and near the City Dul which gives its Denomination to the same it discharges its Water through two Mouths into the Ocean and not through seven as Texeira affirms These Openings are in 23 Degrees and 35 Minutes Northern Latitude Most Maps and many Geographers are greatly mistaken in placing this River as if it fell into the Sea near the utmost Point of the Gulf of Cambaya but this is a great error and as wide from the truth as the whole Countrey of Zuratte is broad for the Indus runs not from the East to Zuratte as it should do if it disembogu'd at Cambaya but the River which discharges its Water into the Bay of Cambaya is another call'd Mehi The River Indus hath divers Isles especially near its Mouth which are very pleasant and fruitful and one City nam'd Varaxes Pliny affirms that nineteen Rivers contribute their Waters to the Indus the chiefest whereof are the Hydaspes now call'd Moltan which receives four other lesser Streams the Catabra the Hypasis and Acesina The Course of the River Ganges The River Ganges now call'd Gangia arises from Mount Caucasus and bends its course to the South through or between the Rocks of the Province of Siba and soon after becomes very broad then proceeding on its course Southward it receives by the way the Waters of thirty Rivers as Ananias saith or according to Pliny ninety so that it swells exceedingly and spreads above four Miles in breadth yet not above eight Fathom deep and at last after a long course falls through many Mouths into the Sea the chiefest whereof and most Westerly is Satigan or Satiguam so call'd from a City of that Name built on its Banks a Sea-port Town where the Portuguese us'd to drive a great Trade the other being the most Easterly is also near a famous Sea-Harbor and is call'd Chatigan both which are under the Jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Bengala The Ganges at last discharges its Water through two noted Mouths into the Bay of Bengala These Mouths Ptolomy places in the eighteenth and nineteenth Degree of Northern Latitude but Barros and Linschot set them in twenty two or twenty two Degrees and a half Accounted holy and why Those of Bengala as the same Linschot writes affirm the Head of Ganges to be in the terrestrial Paradise and therefore account the Water thereof holy and for that cause the Benjans and other Indian Heathens go thither in Pilgrimage to bathe themselves and to drink of it and the Inhabitants of Bengala lying on their Death-beds cause themselves to be thrown into the said River or at least to have their Feet dipt in A Pint of Water a thing very remarkable of the Ganges Lighter than other Water is not above half so heavy as that of
World which we inhabit they call Boulocon This Boulocon say they comprehends seven Worlds more each separated from the other by a Sea The World seated at the Center they say is surrounded with a Sea of clear sweet Water the next to it with a Sea of Milk on which they make the Mountain Tricoweta stand which is 10000 Leagues high and as many broad the third with a Sea of Butter the fourth with a Sea of Tayer or Cream the fifth with a Sea of Wine the sixth with a Sea of Syrrup the seventh with a Sea of Salt Water which is our World all which have their Names from those Seas which surround them According to others there are seven Seas in this our World alone viz. one of Water one of Milk one of Cream one of Butter one of Salt one of Sugar and one of Wine Matsjas of Matx autaer d'eerste Kaurams of Kourmas autaer de tweede In the Watery Sea they place five Paradises in the Milky Sea the Spiritual Priests which are call'd Jogues in the third by them nam'd The Glory of Divenderen those which are inclin'd to Bodily Pleasures in the fourth which is The Glory of Brama the Happy and Fortunate in the fifth which is The Glory of Wistnow the Unfortunate in the sixth call'd The Glory of Kailasan the Poor and in the seventh call'd The Glory of Vajacandam the Rich. The Mountain Merowa In this World they place the Mountain Merowa which they affirm higher than the eight foremention'd Worlds which are above Boulocon and extends a vast way downwards below Patalam or The Infernal Pit and that the Sun Moon and Stars move about it and that those which shall taste of the Fruits which grow thereon will never be hungry dry nor grow old On this Mountain come no Humane Creatures except the Deweta's which are the Sons of Diti Wife to Cassiopa And notwithstanding they ascribe the Beginning and Creation of the World to Bramma yet they seem to make the World in a manner perpetual ascribing to it four Ages The four Ages of the World The first they call Critaigom or Cortesuigke the second Tretasuigke or Treitagom the third Duaparugam or Duapersuigke the fourth Caligom or Calisuigke The three first are already expired but the last is still in being The first Age say they continu'd 17 Lak and 28000 Years each Lak they reckon to be 100000 Years the second 12000 Lak and 96000 Years the third 8 Lak and 64000 Years the fourth Age which is yet running will last 4 Lak or 432000 Years of which according to their Annual Accounts are already expir'd to this present Year 1671 4772 Years So that the World according to their Calculation will scarce ever have an end for they certainly affirm That a thousand times turning of the Four Ages Cotesuigke Tretasuigke Dwapurâ—gam Callisuigke is but onely one day in the Account of Bramma who they say is to live a hundred Years of such Days and that fifty thereof are already past and the one and fiftieth running on They believe a general Conflagration of the World After the expiration of this time they believe the World shall be consum'd by Fire after which the surface of the Earth will be cover'd with Water and the Rain fall in such abundance as if it were powr'd out of the Trunk of an Elephant and not long after Bramma will die In these four Ages great Miracles and Wonders have as they affirm been perform'd by four of their Idols of which they make mention in their Writings call'd The Ten Altars The ten Appearances of Wistnow And as they affirm their Supreme God Wistnow or Mahadeu performed these Miracles in this lowermost World in ten peculiar Bodily Shapes which is also mention'd by Barthrouherri in his Book of Conversation where he saith Wistnow hath taken the trouble upon him of being reborn ten times and that these Births were in the manner following First Wistnow was born and appear'd as a Matja or Fish Secondly As a Gourma or Tortoise Thirdly Like a Warraha or Hog Fourthly Like a Narafimha half Man half Lion Fifthly By the name of Wamana a little Brammasary Sixthly By the name of Paresje Rama a Settrean Seventhly By the name of Deserratha Rama An Ajot-ja Eighthly By the name of Cristna Brother to Bella Rama a Settrean Amongst all the ten Appearances this is accounted the most eminent for when Wistnow came into the World by the name of Cristna he was accompanied with his whole Godhead and left the Heavens empty when as in the other Appearances he came onely with a part of his Godhead like a Spark which flies from a Great Coal of Fire Ninthly By the name of Boudha And tenthly In the shape of Kelki or a Horse Kircher relates from the Information of Henry Roth a Jesuit long conversant in these Parts That the Heathen Indians which live about Ganges acknowledge in some measure a Trinity They acknowledge in some measure a Trinity and affirm that the second Person hath already appear'd nine times in the Flesh and is to appear once more The Persons of the Trinity are by them nam'd Brahma Bexno and Mahex which are all one and the same in Nature though distingush'd by several Names as Acher that is Immovable Paramanand or Supreme Lord On s or Being and many such like Moreover that which Mahadeu perform'd in the World in each of the formention'd Bodily Shapes some relate more at large and being written in their Vedam or Law-book is to this effect Matsjas or Matx Altar the First The charge of Bramma BRamma who is represented sitting on a Water-Lilly with four Heads and as many Arms and resides in the Air hath the charge of the Vedam or Law-Book which the Giant Sancasoor otherwise call'd Bhensasar taking from him dived with them into the Sea whereupon Bramma complain'd to Mahadeu or Wistnow and desir'd his Assistance who granting his Request descended into the Sea in the shape of a Fish and swam through the Ocean to find out the Giant Sancasoor whom he slew and brought back the Book of the Law to Bramma wherewith Matx Altar which had lasted 2500 Years ended Caurams or Courmas Altar the Second The Riches of the Sea THe Sea with its Surging Billows swelling up to the Clouds burst forth in these Words viz. Who is so powerful as I and possesses as many Riches as lie hid in my glased Halls the Moon hath her habitation there The Water of Everlasting Life which being drunk makes all Men happy is hid therein There is Hierawanhsti the Elephant with seven Trunks the seven-headed Horse Exmognogora or Sepmogroot and whole Fields of Corral c. This highly incens'd Mahadeu who commanded the Deytes a Family of the Giants and the four-headed God Bramma to go to the River Siamboerwetty and the Golden Mountain Meerparwat or Merouwa 40000 Leagues high and lying in the Center of the World near the foremetion'd River
of the Earth that it may rather be call'd a River than a Spring The Water thereof is so exceeding cold that one cannot hold ones Hand in it The Garden is very large and pleasant having many brave Walks and abundance of Fruit-trees as Apples Pears Plumbs Apricocks and Cherries and also many Fountains and Fish-ponds Not far from Achiavel is another brave Royal Garden in which are all the foremention'd things for recreation but it excells in having a Pond full of Fish which upon calling or throwing of Bread into the same appear above Water the biggest of them have been seen with golden Rings in their Noses with Mottoes engraven on them which are said to have been put on by order of the famous Nourmehalle Queen to the Great Mogol Schach Selim. A Description of the Mosque at Baramoulay About as far from the City Cachemire as Send-brary is a Place call'd Baramoulay where a curious Mosque is built and in it a brave Tomb of one of the famous Mahumetan Pires or Saints which daily as the Moors relate works miraculous Cures upon the Sick which resort in great numbers to the said Tomb. Near this Mosque is a Kitchin in which are many great Copper Kettles full of Flesh and Rice which perhaps is the Load-stone that draws the Poor thither and the Miracle which cures them On the other side is a Garden about which are Chambers for the Mollahs who quietly spend their Lives there A wonderful Stone There is also another Wonder viz. there is a thick round Stone which the strongest Man can scarce lift up from the Ground yet nevertheless eleven Men by the help of the foremention'd Saint may take up the same without any trouble by putting each of them onely one Finger thereto Eleven Mollas saith F. Bernier who was present Anno 1664. at the working of this Miracle standing close round about the said Stone with their long Coats prevented the exact discerning after what manner they lifted up the same but all of them said that they touch'd it not but onely with the ends of their Fingers and that the Stone felt as light to their appearance as a Spunge As for my part who well observ'd them and look'd upon them with a curious Eye I could not perceive but that they took great pains and made use of their Thumbs besides their Fingers yet I forgot not to cry with the rest of the Mollas and other Spectators Coramet Coramet that is A Miracle A Miracle and at the same time gave a Ropia to the Mollas earnestly desiring them to let me be one of the eleven which should next lift up the same which at first they would not grant till throwing them another Ropia and seeming really to believe the Miracle one of them gave me his Place they judging amongst themselves that ten of them would be enough though I took no pains to lift it up so nimbly that I should not perceive them but they were exceedingly deceiv'd for the Stone which I lifted not but with the end of my Finger stirr'd not till they pushing the same on me I was forc'd to put my Thumb to it also in which manner we lifted the Stone though with great trouble from the Ground yet when I saw they all look'd angrily upon me and being a Stranger fear'd they might have ston'd me I readily cry'd out with the rest Coramet and gave them another Ropia A considerable distance from Baramoulay is a great Lake through the midst of which runs a River to Baramoulay It is full of Fish especially Eels and swarms with Geese wild Ducks and other Water-fowl which draws the Governor of Cachemire thither to spend the Winter In the midst of this Lake is a Cell with a little Garden about it which is said to drive after a strange manner upon the Water In this Place a Recluse spends his Life without ever coming from thence They relate divers Stories concerning this Hermitage but by most it is generally believ'd that an ancient King of Cachemire out of curiosity built the same on great pieces of conjoyn'd Timber About this Lake is also a remarkable Spring which boyling leisurely rises very slowly with little Bubbles and also casts up a certain fine Sand which returns back to the bottom after the same manner as it came up In a moment after the Water becomes still without boyling or casting up the Sand and then begins a fresh as before yet without observing exact times between It is said that this Wonder proceeds from a Man's speaking or standing near the same especially if he stamp with his Foot against the Ground In the Mountains is a great Lake which is full of Ice in Summer and resembles a little Icy Sea for the Winds breaking the Ice asunder moves the same up and down The Stone Sengsafed Next you come to a Place call'd Sengsafed which signifies A White Stone which is very eminent because it is overgrown with several sorts of Flowers all the Summer and at all times when many People travelling that way make a great noise there instantly falls a great Shower of Rain But whether this be true or no may be a little question'd for when Schach Jehan went over the same some years since he thought he should have dy'd there by reason of an excessive and unusual Shower of Rain notwithstanding he had given strict order to make as little noise as was possible The same happens often on the Mountain Pire Penjale The Character of the Cachemirans The Cachemirans are accounted a beautiful People and have as handsom Bodies as the Europeans having no resemblance at all with the Tartars onely they have little Eyes like those of Cachever and great Tibet their Neighbors The Women are very slender and streight Bodied which makes most of the Strangers that come to the Mogol's Court covet them for Wives to have Children by them that may be whiter than the Indians and so pass for right Mogollans Women of any Quality come seldom into the Streets but the meaner sort scruple it not These People are very crafty and more subtil and ingenious than the Indians and no less addicted to Poesie and other Sciences than the Persians Moreover they are very Lahorious and quick of apprehension and are good Artists in making Sedans Bedsteads Cupboards Desks and other neat Works They varnish their Wood-work very curiously and imitate the Veins of a certain Wood on any thing what they please by Inlaying it with Gold Wyres But that which is remarkable and peculiar to these People and that which brings a Trade and Money into their Countrey is the great number of Sashes or Chales which they make and also teach their Children the Art of making them These Chales are certain pieces of Stuffs about an Ell long and three quarters broad Embroider'd at both ends The Mogols and Indians both Men and Women wear them on their Heads or throw them over their Shoulders like a Cloak
Cambaya erected in a Temple which is much frequented by the superstitious Benjans A Mile from the City is the Garden and Palace of Chanchonna Son to the great Byram Chan of Persia The Countrey of Cambaya to Amadabat is for the most part desolate and uncultivated In the Way are several Pits each above thirty Yards deep in which is salt Water though at a great distance from the Sea it is drawn out by Oxen. The Countrey about Amadabath is nothing but a vast Wilderness and the Ways very dusty and troublesom for Travellers The High-ways are Hedg'd in on both sides with a certain Fruitless and Leafless Plant which shoots forth onely little long Stalks of a deep Green both Winter and Summer out of which when broke asunder drops a milky Juice like that of green Figs and being very sharp eats into that part of the Skin on which it drops The Fields which border the High-ways are full of Ambe-trees which bear a Fruit like great Olives and also af Tamarind-trees Without the City are many great Tombs of Marble erected by the Moors and are much statelier than their Houses A League and a half from the City lies a great Village call'd Zirkes or Sirkesia where there is a very magnificent Tomb the whole Structure with its Floors being all of polish'd Marble and distinguish'd into three parts one whereof rests on a a hundred and forty Marble Pillars each thirty Foot high curiously adorn'd with Festunes and Pedestals after the Corinthian Order This Structure is said to be the Tomb of one Cacis Tutor to one of the Kings of Zurratte to whom they ascribe great Sanctity and Wonders and that the said King who with three other Kings lies buried in another Chappel built the same in commemoration of his Tutor At a certain time of the year most of the Mahumetans come hither in Pilgrimage firmly believing thereby to obtain pardon for their sins On one side of it is a large Pond About a Mile from the City is another fair Tomb of an eminent Mahumetan Merchant call'd Hajom Majom who being enamor'd of the Beauty of his Daughter and threupon Ravishing her was Beheaded by the King's Command and buried here with all his Family wherefore the Inhabitants to this day call the same Betychint that is The uncover'd shame of your Daughter De Stadt Souratte The Water of the foremention'd River is convey'd round the said Banquetting-house not far from which you come into another Garden over a high Stone Bridge four hundred Paces long and though this Garden be but small yet it is very pleasant and high and hath also at the end against the Bridge a brave Banquetting-house The Water in the droughty Season is drawn up but of the Wells by Oxen and put into two great Stone Cisterns before the Banquetting-house This Garden wherein commonly young Women Bathe themselves in the foremention'd Cisterns is call'd Nicunabag that is The Garden of Precious Stones and is said to have been made by a beautiful and rich Lady There is yet another delightful Garden with a Banquetting-house which was built by the Great Mogol Ecbar in commemoration of his conquering the last King of Zurratte call'd Sultan Mahomed Begeran in that very place whereby the Kingdom of Zurratte became subject to the Great Mogol Ten Leagues from Amadabath lies a little Town full of pretty Houses and Pagan Temples call'd Niervant Six Leagues from the said City also lies another Town call'd Mamadabad on the Bank of a pleasant River on the North side of it is a fair Palace The Inhabitants of this Town are for the most part Weavers Description of Suratte The City Surat or Surratte according to Davity the Village Surastra or Syrastra of Ptolomy is for its neatness by the Moors call'd The Mogol's Beard and lies in about 21 Degrees and about 30 Minutes Northern Latitude near the River Reinier or Reunier otherwise call'd Pani Hind that is The Water Indus and Tapi or Tapti and Tyndee two Leagues up into the Countrey from the Bay or Gulf of Cambaya The City extending along the Banks of the foremention'd River built square lies open towards the Water but inclos'd on the Land-side with Mud Walls and dry Ditches It hath three eminent Gates which are lock'd every Evening the one leads to the Village Brion which is a Throughfare for those that travel to Brotcha Cambaya and Amadabat the other to Brampour and the third to Nassary It is adorn'd with many fair Houses with flat Roofs built after the Asiatick manner There are also many stately Palaces in this City which for its defence hath a strong Castle near the River built after the manner of the Romans and surrounded with Walls of Free-stone and deep Moats which receive their Water out of the River Reinier It is an ancient Structure built by the Inhabitants long before the coming of the Portuguese into these Countreys or as some say by the Romans According to the Relation of the Inhabitants to Mandeslo the Turks coming thither with many Ships out of the red-Red-Sea and conquering several Places built this Fort which hath but one Gate towards the side of a great Plain or Market and is very strongly guarded none daring to come into the same but those that are upon Duty nor are any Persons Listed to serve in the same but native Indostans the Rasbutes though valiant Soldiers often mutinying against the Mogol the Benjans and Usbecks being accounted Enemies and the Benjans and Cambayans never serving for Soldiers accounting it a great sin to shed Blood Next to the Castle is the Nabab or Sultan's House and next to that the Custom-house and the Market to which the Inhabitants of the neighboring Villages and Strangers bring their Goods to sell The City Surratte is very populous and inhabited partly by native Indians and partly by Strangers and Foreigners for Trade The Indians of these Parts consist generally of Zurrattans Cambayans Benjans Brahmans Decans and some Rasbutes who are all generally Idolaters or Mahumetans the last mention'd are the smallest number and the Benjans are the richest driving the greatest Trade All these People live very quiet one amongst another for the Great Mogol though himself a Mahumetan makes no distinction amongst his People of several Religions but gives them Offices alike both at his Court and in his Army Amongst the Foreigners or Strangers the English and Hollanders drive the greatest Trade here besides which there are Portugueses Arabians Persians Armenians Turks and Jews wherefore Suratte is accounted one of the most eminent Cities for Trade in all India both in respect of its Haven and because the convenience of carrying the Commodities through all Suratte from Cambaya and other Places draws the Merchants thither The English and Dutch Traders have many fair Houses in the City very convenient to dwell in and also to stow their Goods The People of several Nations have each of them a Church here and their own Teachers Without
the City the Inhabitants have many pleasant Gardens and Banquetting-houses along the side of the River Chief Remarks in Suratte Amongst the Remarks which this City hath the chiesest is a mighty Pond with divers Angles rais'd with Free-stone in a manner like Steps on which the People descend to the Water in the middle of which lies an Isle that none can have access to but in a Boats or by swimming On one side of this Pond is a pretty long broad and deep Channel or Moat over which lie several Bridges that lead to another larger Pond which here would be accounted a great Lake though there it be look'd upon as a very small one This also hath many Angles and is wall'd about with Free-stone with which also the sides of the Moat are strengthned Between the great and lesser Ponds near the Moat stands a Tomb of two eminent Mahumetans which kill'd one another This Pond or Pool was in the beginning of this Age made by a rich Inhabitant of this City with the expence of his whole Estate insomuch that his Daughter became miserably poor none of the Townsmen once relieving her though her Father had for their accommodation and the publick good exhausted all his Treasure The Pool is call'd Gopi Telau from the Builder whose Name was Gopis Without the City towards the Sea side is a every pleasant Garden which formerly belong'd to the King of Suratte It is but little yet full of Trees Plants and Herbs There is also a little Kiosk or cover'd place built at the end of the Garden over a large Pool which is no less commodious to the Inhabitants than the Pool at Suratte Not far from thence stands a Mosque also built over a Pond before the Gates thereof sit commonly many People on the Ground begging Alms of those that pass by Within the Mosque near the Wall in a narrow dark Corner stands a little Marble Pyramid call'd Pyr that is Old which perhaps is the Burying-place of one whom they worship as an ancient Saint There is generally a great resort to this Mosque not onely of Mahumetans but also of Heathens or Idolaters who give sufficient testimonies of their superstitious and ridiculous Worship The Entrance is always crowded with People especially Women those that go into the Mosque strow Flowers and Rice for an Offering to which purpose there stand many at the Door who sell the same But the Idolaters are much more zealous herein than the Mahumetans On the North side of the City is another great Pool encompass'd with a Wall of Free-stone having eighteen Angles each twenty five Yards broad The Legend of Oman Hidal Chan. with Stone Steps to descend In the middle stands the Tomb of the Builder call'd Omar Hidal Chan a Mahumetan who as the Inhabitants relate was a General in his Life-time they also tell many strange Tales of him viz. That he Encountred with the Devil and conquer'd him but out of compassion releas'd him again That he convey'd the Stones to this Building by Leopards and Tygers And that he threw the Mountain Morna lying not far from Derman with his own Hands from the ancient City Reinier In this Pool they gather rain-Rain-water which in the dry Seasons for it often happens that not a drop of Rain falls there in a whole year is wholsomer to be us'd than the Water out of the River Reinier which is brackish with the ebbing and flowing of the Sea On the North side of the City stands an Indian Wonder-tree under whose Boughs and Shadow may lie three or four thousand Men. Under the same Tree is a Chappel in which a Benjan Saint call'd Gemsch lies buried Before the Door stands an Image in a very horrid shape Divers Lamps burn night and day in this Chappel whither a great number of Idolaters repair to perform their Devotion About a League and a half Northward from the Mouth of the River Tapti or Reinier The Haven or Harbor of Sohali and four or according to Mandeslo two Leagues from the City of Suratte is a Road or Harbor by the Inhabitants call'd Sohali or Swali or Suhali from the neighboring Village It extends North-East and by East and South-West and by West under 21 Degrees and fifty Minutes between the Main Continent and the Sand-banks which are dry at low Water or very shallow It is defended from all Winds except the Southern and a Musquet-shot broad at the Mouth where the Ships lade and unlade and hath at high Water seven and at low five Fathom with a hard and even Ground The Goods are from thence carried by Land which is very plain in Carrs or in Boats up the River to the City Suratte The English and Hollanders have several Huts along the Shore where they first unlade their Commodities and afterwards put them into their Store-houses It is impossible for any Ship to ride at an Anchor here from May to September by reason of the great Storms and Tempests mix'd with Thunder and Lightning which to avoid the Ships go to the Cape of Comori Cormandel and Bengala till such time as the foremention'd blustering Season is over and then they return again All the Countrey about Surratte is very plain and the whole year round very green and pleasant About the Village Sohali grow many Coco Tamarind and other Fruit-trees Both within and without the City are many Gardens full of all sorts of Fruits as Oranges Lemmons Citrons Peaches and others Not far from the City lies a very fruitful Grove of tall Coco-nuts Citrons Oranges Tamarinds and other Indian Fruit-trees and is not only able to furnish the City with Wood but also the adjacent Towns nay they whole Province with Timber for the building of Houses and Shipping Fertility of the Soil The Soyl about the City is also very fertile and yields abundance of Rice Barley Beans and what else is requisite for humane subsistance There are also many excellent Pastures and consequently abundance of Cattel as Buffaloes Oxen Sheep Goats and all manner of Venison as also many Asses but few Camels and Horses This City under whose Jurisdiction are above four hundred Villages is Govern'd by a Sultan who determines all Cases in Surratte and the adjacent Villages and receiving the Customs and Revenues sends them to the Mogol Besides him there is another Officer appointed by the Mogol to Govern the Castle with whom the Governor of the City hath nothing to do they live both very magnificently especially he of the City the King's Standard being always carried before him and the Drums beating when he goes out The Derivation of the Name and Situation of Cambaya The City of Cambaya first receiv'd that Denomination though corruptly from the Portuguese for its right Name is Cambewath or Cambebath that is The City Cambe It lies in a pleasant Plain in the innermost Jaws of the great Gulf of Cambaya so call'd from the City near the Shore of the River Meli or Mai otherwise
Guandari at the place where it falls into this Bay sixteen Leagues Northward from the City Brotcha or Brotsch and according to Linschot fifty three Leagues from Diu. The compass and strength of it Cambaya being twice as big as Surratte is two hours walking in circumference and is surrounded with a double Stone Wall which hath twelve Gates It s chiefest Ornament consists in its great Suburbs The Streets are streight and broad and lock'd up every Night with a great pair of Gates The Houses are partly of Brick and partly of Free-stone but all kept very moist and consequently cool and would here be accounted but mean Houses yet are reckon'd the best in the Countrey being cover'd with Tyles and having Gutters to receive the Rain-water which in the three Summer Months falls in great abundance The Description The City is not very old and perhaps built out of the Ruines of some other It hath three great Market-places in the middle and fifteen pleasant Gardens full of Mangas-trees the Fruit whereof grows so plentifully here that they are sent to all the adjacent Countreys besides all which there are four Pools out of which the Inhabitants have Water all the year On one side of the City is a a square Pool rais'd with Marble and several Steps on which they descend to the Water for besides that which is sav'd in these Pools during the rainy Season there is little else in Cambaya This City hath no Haven of any great consequence put onely a bare Road by reason of the inconvenient Situation and low Shore yet it is call'd a Haven because of the great number of Ships which come thither from all Places At high-High-water the Ships may Anchor close before the City but lie dry at low-Low-water which are only small Vessels for Ships of Burthen are forc'd to lie a good distance from the Shore in deeper Water The Ebb and Flood of the Sea about Cambaya is exceeding swift the Sea rising in a moment and in less than a quarter of an hour to its usual heighth which is done with such wonderful swiftness that no Horse can out-run the same for it comes so furiously out of the Sea that like a great Current it overflows a vast Tract of Land Many Villages are under the Jurisdiction of this City where all Goods which are brought thither by Water pay Three per cent and Four if they come by Land This City was formerly the Seat of the King 's of Surratte and famous for Transporting of Agats and other Precious Stones Both without and within the City are many Hospitals for sick and maimed Beasts as is already mention'd which the Benjans look to and cure with great care for they abominate the killing of any Beast About a League and a half from Cambaya in the way to Amadabat lies a Village call'd Saima seven Leagues and a half farther Southwards another nam'd Mator and three from Cambaya another call'd Sarode which is inhabited by Rasbutes who Rob on the High-ways and Rivers Most of the Inhabitants are Pagans or Idolaters who are very careful in the preservation of their Laws the rest are either Moors or Mahumetans In the Village Cansari lying not far from the City stands a Pagode which hath several Cloysters and Walks on the out side built after a pretty kind of fashion as also the whole Structure which though it be not very big yet it is built in a handsom method Within this Pagode which belongs to the Indians call'd Vertias who shave the Hair from off their Heads stands upon a high Altar which is ascended by Steps an Idol with divers burning Lamps hung before him Hither resort many People to Offer Incense before the Idol Not far from hence is another square Pagode furnish'd with divers Idols A League from Cambaya lies the Village Agra which according to the Relation of the Benjans was anciently the Royal Seat and chief City of the Kingdom of Surratte Descriptio of the City of Brotcha The City of Brotch otherwise call'd Brotsch and Baroch and by Della Valle Barockci and Bebrug lies twelve Leagues Northward from Surratte and about two from the Sea side near the Northern Shore of the Stream Nardabat or Nardaba otherwise Nerheda which in a broad though shallow Channel glides by its Walls and coming down from beyond Decan and Mandou discharges its Water into the Bay of Bengala By reason of its great distance from the Sea it never comes up to the City though at high Flood The City which is pretty large lies on a Hill and is naturally well fortifi'd and by reason of its convenient Situation may be made the strongest Fortress of all India It is surrounded with Walls of hard Stone in manner like a Fort and strengthned with Bulwarks and hath three Land-Gates each with a Portal and according to the fashion of the Countrey is very strongly built besides two more along the side towards the River out of which the Water that is us'd in the City is fetch'd daily with Buffaloes There also with leave of the Receiver of the Customs many Boats with Wood are unladen On the Land they keep a strong Guard in several places without whose leave none may pass through them The Inhabitants relate and some old Rubies testifie that Brotcha was formerly a stately City but at present the best Houses are fall'n to ruine and few People of note inhabit the same Most of them being Benjans maintain themselves by making of Callicoes which they sell to a good advantage About the City or at the Foot of the Mountain lie two Suburbs call'd Poera inhabited by People of several Nations which also maintain themselves by making and Trading with Cotton Goods and they make the best Callico that is to be had in all Surratte and therefore send it to all parts of India They also make strip'd Stuffs half of Silk and half of Cotton which are much us'd and highly esteem'd in India for though it be wash'd never so often it changes not its colour The English have a Factory in this Town and pay Two per cent for all their Goods The Jurisdiction of this City The Jurisdiction of Brotcha extends over eighty four Villages and did formerly over three Towns which now have each a peculiar Governor Herbert affirms that it Commands over many great and remote Towns as Medapour lying seventeen Leagues from it Radgipour or Brodera six Leagues from thence Jown-basser seven Leagues from thence and many others which at this day have each their peculiar Lord of whom the Mogol receives yearly a Million two hundred and sixty thousand Momoedies for a Revenue The Harbor for Ships is before the River Nerheda in the open Sea without a shelter against the Winds For some Leagues about the City the Countrey is very plain and fertile being water'd by the River Navar or Nardabath Northward from Brotcha lies the Stream Dilavel and eight Leagues from the said City in the Way
to Cambaya you may see a great Village call'd Giambierser or Junbuglar otherwise Jambouser A Tomb whereto Pilgrimages are made Between Brotcha and Amadabat is the Tomb of a certain Mahumetan Saint call'd Polmedony being highly reverenc'd by the Inhabitants who out of a mad zeal go thither in Pilgrimage believing that they shall merit great things thereby and that they may seem to be the more penitent they load themselves with Iron Chains and Stones by which means they imagine they shall obtain fair Children Health Riches and what else their Hearts can wish or desire Description of Goga Goga is a Town or great Village lying about three Leagues from Cambaya near the Sea side where the Gulf or Bay of Cambaya grows narrower and appears like a River It is a pretty large Town but hath neither Gates nor Walls except towards the Sea side where there is a Wall of Free-stone near which is the Road and Place of Rendezvouz for the Portuguese Frigats which come as Convoys to their Merchants Ships and when laden conduct them to Goa and other of their Factories About nine Leagues Westward from Goa lie two Villages call'd Pattepane and Mangerel Bysantagan a City Bysantagan a great City lying in the midst of Surratte boasts twenty thousand Houses large Towers and Temples and in the middle of it a great Pool wherein the Inhabitants both Men and Women bathe themselves every day It is inhabited by Brahmans and was formerly but a mean Village but is come to its present splendor by the fertility of the Soyl about it which drew many People thither from other Places Pattan a very large City Pettan a large City six Leagues in circumference is surrounded with a Wall the Houses built of Stone In the middle of the City is a most magnificent Mahumetan Mosque built formerly by the Heathens on a hundred and fifty Pillars of Marble and other Stone Besides this there are many other fair Structures and without the City divers pleasant Gardens but most of them being decay'd have left their ruin'd Heaps to testifie their former splendor On the East side of the City stands a great Castle surrounded with high Walls and strong Towers and is the Residence of the Governor The Inhabitants are most of them Benjans who are exceedingly perplex'd by the Coelies being certain Robbers that dwell in an adjacent Territory who often force them to pay Contribution to the great prejudice of their Trade Cheytepour is a Town of Village lying six Leagues from Pettan and forty five from Amadabat built on the Banks of a pleasant Rivulet Messane an open Village lying seven Leagues and a half from Cheytepour hath an old decay'd Castle where the Governor resides with two hundred Horse A little League from Amadabat is a Village call'd Jessempour which hath a great Sary or House of Entertainment for Travellers A League and a half farther is another great Village nam'd Batova with a large Pool Three Miles from Batova is a Village nam'd Canis which lies near a River of the same Denomination Fourteen Leagues from Amadabat and nine from Brotcha is a little Town call'd Nariadet or Niriaud or Nieriaut built with fair Houses and Pagan Temples Seven Leagues and a half from Nariadet lies the Castle Wasset with the Villages Sejantra and Amenogy between both two or three Leagues one from another It is an old decay'd Structure built upon a high Hill near a River which falls into the Bay of Cambaya There are generally a hundred Horsemen in Garrison who in the King's Name receive one Ropia and a half for every Carr which the Caffilas drive by this Place Brodera a Countrey Town lies between Amadabat and Brotcha one and twenty Leagues Eastward from the first and thirty Westward from the last on a sandy Plain near a small Rivulet nam'd Wasset It was built by a Heathen call'd Rasia Ghie Son to Sultan Mahomed Begeran the last King of Surratte about a League and a half from old Brodera then call'd Radiapora which by this means was ruin'd and left desolate all the Inhabitants going to the new Brodera This Town or City which is surrounded with Walls and Bulwarks of Chalk and Stone hath five Gates one whereof is lately stopt up for want of a Way On the West side is a large Suburb inhabited by Weavers and Dyers who are for the most part Benjans Ketteyans and a few Moors Two hundred and twenty Villages are under the Jurisdiction of this City seventy five whereof pay Tribute to the Governor for the maintaining of his Soldiers the rest are by the King given to several of his Officers that by some heroick Exploits or good Service have oblig'd him in requital whereof he gives them the Revenues of the foremention'd Villages to maintain them Within the City are ten magnificent Houses Gardens and Tombs whereof one very stately built in the midst of an Orchard is the Tomb of a mighty Lord and all his Family Besides all these there are five pleasant Gardens full of Fruit-trees Flowers and Herbs On the East side right before the Gate that leads to Brotcha is a pretty deep Pool about half a Furlong broad and flank'd on one side with a Stone Wall from whence the Inhabitants fetch all their Water On the East side also about eight Leagues from Brodera lies a Village call'd Sindickera and five or six Leagues Westward from Brodera are eight or ten Village more which are all under the Jurisdiction of Brodera some Leagues from which towards the side of Amadabat lies a Castle or Fortress on a Mountain surrounded with a Wall near a small Brook More Northerly is an old decay'd Town call'd Surbrodra where there is a Custom-house Next to that is the Village Amemoygra where there is a Well of excellent Water Daman a large City with a Castle The City Daman lying on the right hand at the coming in of a Sea-Bay forty Leagues South-East from Diu in 20 Degrees Northern Latitude It is a great City situate near a River at the Sea and fortifi'd with a strong Castle Della Valle affirms that it is not very big but well built and surrounded with strong Walls like a Fortress This City was in the Year 1559. conquer'd by the Vice-Roy Constantine for the Crown of Portugal Conquer'd by the Portuguese for when the Portuguese had with the consent of the Inhabitants built a Fort near the City for the securing of their Trade the Inhabitants endeavor'd afterwards to force them from thence but the Portuguese being well fortifi'd oppos'd them and in a short time made themselves Masters of this Place making it an Example to all the Kings of India especially the Great Mogol who being warn'd by the Fall of his Neighbors would not permit any Europeans to build Forts in his Dominions nor give them a Foot of Land in possession The Blacks Natives of this Place Converted to Christianity are the best Musquetteers of all India of
which have no peculiar Name but belong to other Villages are in general call'd Bary One Kos from hence lies the Village Worry and two and a half further another call'd Attrowaad adorn'd with a Pagode built on a Mountain which may be seen at a considerable distance Two Kos and a half further lies the Village Badaraly and as much beyond that the Dorp Kerwes two Kos more from which is Secoery Five Kos from hence is a Pagode from whence you may plainly see the City Mirsie with its Castles and Towers Seven Kos from the Village Secoery lies Raiabaeg a pretty large and Trading In-land City fortified with a Castle and belonging properly to the King's Consort About one Kos from the City is a fair Well and two Kos further runs the River Gagni Three Kos and a half from this City of Raiabaag is another City call'd Gotterny which hath a Fortification at one of its Gates A Cannon-shot from thence are two Villages call'd Coetesy and Omgar and half a Kos further the eminent River Corstena one Kos and a half from which is the Village Eynatour beyond that the Dorp Caterna and one Kos and a half further the River Agery with the Villages Tangely and Erary Three Kos from Erary is the City Atteny and one Kos beyond the City Bardgie from whence to Agger is three Kos and a half more three Kos thence to the City Talsenge and as much from thence to Hamowaere Tickocata lies three Kos further and about six from Visiapour having Nouraspour and Sirrapour between both Tickocata is an In-land City provided with a large Sarry or Publick Inn for Travellers The Kingdom of Cuncan is water'd by several Rivers viz. A little to the Northward of Goa is the River Madre Dios and beyond the City Banda the River Dery falls into the Sea and is Navigable in small Vessels Two Kos from the City Kaiabaag glides the River Corstena which passes through the whole Country of Cuncan to the Jurisdiction of Masilipatan about three Kos from whence the Stream Agry hath its Course Between the two Towns Great and Little Graeen runs a large River call'd Coecenna on whose Banks those Towns are situate The River Coyna which signifies Great Water passing through the Village Helewaek hath its Original near the City Chaury lying twelve Gau or thirty six Leagues up into the Country and extends it self in several Branches beyond the Metropolis Visiapour and the whole Kingdom of Cuncan The River Ghayhkeer discharges its Water into the River Helewacko whose Shore is border'd by many Dorps and planted with Cocos and other Trees very delightful to the Spectators This River hath its rise out of the Mountains of Ballagata and posses by the City Eabul into the Indian Sea where it makes a convenient Bay From the North to the South Point cross this Bay is a Bank which at low Water is quite dry so that those which sail up the River to the City must pass along close by the South Point At the entrance is commonly five or six Fathom Water at low Tide Four Leagues to the Southward of Dabul and thirty to the Northward of Goa glides the River Zanguizar by Barbosa call'd Cinguicar Its entrance into the Sea is in 17 Degrees and 13 Minutes Northern Latitude and makes a large Bay or In-let with several commodious Roads for Shipping Next is the River Bardes which runs by a Town call'd Banda The Stream Aliga of Sintacora which rises in the Mountains of Gate from thence taking its Course to the Westward falls into the Sea opposite to the Island Anchedive in 14 Degrees and a half of Northern Latitude The many Rivers and Brooks which flow through this Country of Cuncan make the same very fruitful especially in the production of Rice which is sow'd in such Grounds as lie low and are overflow'd in the Winter Yet it produces but little Corn but abundance of Areka and Betel especially on the Banks of the River Betel The Fruit Mangas growing in Ballagate are highly esteem'd weighing about two Pound a spiece and are of a much pleasanter taste than those which grow in Charanna Quindor Mandanagor and Dultabado and especially those of Nisamoxa Ballagate and Decan produce also abundance of Grapes but inferior to those of Spain and also great Quantities of Cotton and Silk There are likewise divers sorts of Stones found in Ballagate as Amethysts Chrysolites and Hemathites or Blood-stones and by Decan beyond Ballagate very rich Diamonds are found on the Mountain which the Portuguese call Rocca Velha that is The Old Rock Some of these Precious Stones which are cut naturally are in the Country Language call'd Naiffez and are by the Indians esteem'd above all others By Ustabado is a certain Stone found by the Arabians call'd Hageramini and by the Portuguese Pedra Armenia that is The Armenian Stone because the same sort being of a blueish green are found in Armenia The Moors make use of them in their Sickness to provoke Urine About the Countries of Ballagate is a sort of excellent Varnish Here are also many Tygers and Serpents of a prodigious length and bigness The Natives of Decan and Cuncan are either Decangeans or Cuncanyns and corruptly by the Portuguese call'd Canaryns and Corumbyns but besides there are Moors Persians Benjans and other Heathen People which far exceed the Natives in Number Linschot tells us That the Inhabitants both in Complexion Constitution and Clothes do very much resemble those of Zurratte and the Benjans But Barbosa makes them Black and Barthema Sallow or Swarthy They are naturally Valiant being for the most part extracted from Strangers excellent Horse-men and well skill'd in managing of Elephants but they are very proud insolent and self-conceited Their Women are much enclin'd to Venery Their Clothes are either of Silk or Cotton except their Shoes which are open at the Toes and lac'd over their bare Feet on the top yet Pyrard saith That they are Red sharp-toe'd gilt and open on the top The Women walk with their Faces veil'd and the Children stark naked till their seventh or eighth Year They eat all things without distinction except Cows Hogs and Buffaloes which Beasts according to an ancient Custom of the Brahmines are accounted Holy nay they are so superstitiously grounded in this belief that they sleep a nights under these Beasts and catch their Dung in their Hands imagining that thereby they do their Gods great Service They also abstain from all sorts of Fish Most of their Houses are built of Straw with such little Doors that they are forc'd to creep in and out Their Furniture is inconsiderable for a Mat spread on the Ground serves them in stead of a Bed and a Hole digg'd in the Earth for a Mortar to stamp their Rice in There are many Gold and Silver-smiths among them and also very good Artists in the working of other Minerals besides many other Handicrafts and Tradesmen Physicians Chirurgeons Carpenters Masons and the like Every Child is
it self in certain Lakes of Chaldaea but afterwards shoots it self forth again and from thenceforth anciently it ran directly towards the Sea where it disembogu'd it self with a great Mouth but since having that Course stopt by the People thereabout for the fertilising of the Ground it was forc'd to take its way through the Tigris again This River swelling like Nilus in some places useth to overflow the Fields of Mesopotamia and make them very Fruitful The River Tigris by the Inhabitants call'd Tigil in like manner hath its Source in Great Armenia in a plain Champaign place There where this River runs with a slow gentle Stream it is call'd Diglito where it carried with a swift precipitous Course Tigris which in the Median Language signifies A Dart. It breaks through the Lake Arethusa and a little after the Mountain Taurus hindring its Course makes it self a hidden way under Ground and rises on the other side of the Mountain then having pierc'd through another Lake nam'd Thospites sinks again under Ground and with another Subterranean Course measures six German Miles After it hath taken in other Rivers in Assyria and Armenia it separates Assyria from Mesopotamia and at Seleucia is divided into two Branches one whereof glides to Seleucia and the other to Ctesiphon and so makes as it were an Island though of no great Magnitude As soon as its Streams conjoyn into one again it is call'd Pasitygris At length it insinuates it self into a Lake of Chaldaea out of which having broken forth with great violence it directly tends to the Persian Gulph in which it terminates with two Out-lets The River Jordan springs from two Fountains though not far distant frnm each other the one of them nam'd Jor the other Dan of the contexture of which two Words is fram'd the Name of Jordan This River is extremely pleasant and beautiful in its Prospect About twelve Miles from its Source it runs into the Lake Samochonites thence into the Lake Genesara or Tiberias after which it waters Judaea and Samaria and lastly is immerst into the Lake Asphaltites or Dead Sea in the way making several Turnings and Windings as if loth to lose it self and its sweet Waters in such a noisom Sea In India are two most Noble Rivers Indus and Ganges Indus vulgarly Hiind or Inder rising from the Mountain Parapomisus takes in nineteen Rivers whereof the Chief are Hydaspis and Hypasus The greatest Breadth of this River is fifty Furlongs and the Depth of it fifteen Paces With seven Mouths it empties it self into the Sea Ganges now Guengam ariseth out of the Scythian Mountains affords in many places very rich Pearl and plenty of Gold-dust The least Breadth of this River is said to be two German Miles and its least Depth 100 Foot The grand Rivers of Tartaria Asiatica are Ob and Parapomisus now Orchardus both which fall into the Northern Ocean Rha now Volga Jaxartes now Chesel and the River Edel which disgorge into the Hircanian Sea Of Persia Oxus now Abia or Abiamu Arbis now Ilment and Samydaces Not to omit in Media the Rivers Cyrus Cambyses Amardus Strato and Corindas Of China Cantao Of the Chief Mountains of Asia THE Principal Mountains of Asia are in Colchis under the Turkish Empire Corax Not to speak of Caucasus which is accounted part of the Mountain Taurus as likewise Imaus in Scythia in Media Coronus Jasonius Orontes Zagrus and Choatras In Galatia Olgasis Didymus and that call'd The Tomb of the Celaeni In Bithynia Orminius In Phrygia the greater Cadmus In Mysia the lesser Mount Ida In Lydia Sipylus Tmolus Mesogys and Mimas In Caria Phaenix Mycale and Larmus In Phoenicia Mount Libanus Antilibanus and Carmelius In Antiochia Casius and Pieria In Mesopotamia Masius and Singaras In Arabla Petraea Sinai and Horeb In the Isle of Cyprur Mount Olympus In Palaestine Mount Gilead But the Mountain Taurus which extends from the Coast of Pamphylia over against that of the Isle of Rhodes through the whole length of Asia as already specified is certainly the biggest Mountain not onely of Asia but of the whole World if it be not rather a Conjuncture of several Mountains into one for so it seems to be by taking several Names as it passeth through several Places as Imaus Emodus Parapomisus Circius Chambades Pharphariades Croates Oreges Oroandes Niphates Caucasus Sarpedon Coracesius Cragus and at last Taurus again Those Gaps where the Mountain divides and affords Passage through are call'd Pylae i. e. Gates as the Pylae Armeniae Pylae Caucasiae Pylae Ciliciae which last is famous for that grand Overthrow given by Alexander the Great to Darius Codomannus King of Persia Of the Productions of Asia NO wonder the Luxury of the Persian Empire still overcame those that were Conquerors by the Sword as being anciently the Chiefest and still one of the Principal Kingdoms of that Quarter of the World which besides its fruitfulness of all things necessary for Humane Sustenance produces also all those richest of Commodities that have in all Ages been sought for from other the remotest Parts of the Earth and which especially at this day now that much more of Asia is discover'd than was formerly known render the Levantine Trade the richest and most flourishing of all others The Ancients were not silent of the great Riches of Asia but seem'd not to have that particular knowledge thereof that the late Voyages and the Relations of those who Traffick thither give us Pliny writes of great Quantities of Crystal found in several Parts of Asia particularly at Alabanda and Orthosia and Xenocrates of Ephesus is quoted by him to affirm That in the Isle of Cyprus and divers Parts of Asia great Pieces of Crystal have been thrown up in the Plowing of Lands The same Pliny makes mention of the Stones Alabastrites and Coralliticus the first to be found about Damascus in Syria the other in some other Parts of Asia Solinus having describ'd those two rich Gums of Arabia Frankincence and Myrrh and those two rare Birds the Phoenix and Cinnamolgus comes to speak of the Gems or Precious Stones of this Country and in particular of that famous Sardonix Stone which from the Coast of Arabia was presented to Polycrates King of Samus The other Stones he mentions are the Molochites something resembling in Colour a Smaragdus or Emerald onely of a deeper Green the Iris so call'd because held in the Sun it represents all the Colours of the Rain-bow the Androdamas so call'd as partaking something of the Nature of the Adamant or else because it abates the force of Anger and Passion and the Paederotes a very beautiful Stone and by some thought to be the same with the Opal Neither forgets he the Balsom of Judaea which indeed is generally accounted the richest of all other Balsoms not that of Peru it self excepted nor in India the Pepper and Eben-wood which are produc'd about Mount Caucasus nor in other Places the Adamant Magâ—â—â— and Lychnites Stones Neither omits he to
take them away On the North side of the City as you go to Ispahan lies a Mountain over which you travel along a Stony Road through which runs a Stream which waters all the adjacent Gardens and Orchards Three Leagues to the Northward of Schiras stood a large Caravansera which though half ruin'd yet by its great Walls and Arches sufficiently testifies its former Magnitude This Province contains four great Cities besides Schiras viz. Casirum Bunitzan Firusabath and Astar as also the Towns Arboy Chiminar Sava the Metropolis of Savas formerly the Country of the Massabates It comprises likewise Firusbate Berdezzil Senorgande Cazaran by Texeira call'd Carriu and by Ananie Casrum also Camara Zemilen Bendarepe Serustan Agiane c. Texeira also places in this Province these Towns and Villages viz. Tarum Iaharom or Jarum Lasta or Lastan Stahabanon Neriz Pacah Daragued and Duzgun near Lastan between Comoron and the City Lara eighteen Leagues from Ormus There are also the Cities of Rey and Gibal The first City of this Province according to Figueroa is Guin as also Benaru with the Ruins of the Castle Gabriel in the utmost Confines of the Kingdom of Lara though both Places lie very near one another in a great Plain The City Guin is separated from the rest of Persia by high Mountains over which you must travel to go to Jarum and thence with the Caravans through the Desart It is apparent that this City hath been built many Years and Peopled by a Colony of Persians because the Inhabitants are of a better Spirit and more Morallised than the neighbouring wild Arabians Their Complexion also is whiter and the Habit of the Women neater and more Civil On the left Hand going from Guin lies a Village call'd Denia full of fair Houses About two days Journey from Guin lies the little City Horum so call'd from its Beauty and great plenty of Dates as also another of the same denomination between Cabrestan and Lara Between Guin and Horum you meet with a barren and uninhabited Desart of three days Journey not having in all that way above two Pits of Water The Village Tarum which is the Chief of many Villages was much decay'd Anno 1630. The Inhabitants thereof are subject to the Prince of Lar. It hath under its Jurisdiction the Village Seid Geuder beyond which is a large Plain and at a small distance runs the Brook Absciur which signifies Salt Water A little further is a Village call'd Pelengon that is A Panther so nam'd from the great number of that sort of Beasts breeding thereabouts Two Leagues from Pelengon you come to a narrow way between the Mountains in the Persian Tongue call'd Der Tenghi Cebar Rud that is The narrow Gate of four Streams because in Rainy Weather four great Currents which come from several Places unite their Waters there After three or four Leagues travelling through a pleasant Way you come to a Place call'd Curihazirgon that is The Merchants Grave perhaps so call'd because a Merchant died and was buried there Four Leagues further lies a solitary and ruin'd Place nam'd Ser Zehi Rizevon about which stands onely a few Huts shaded on one side by a Grove of Date-trees And four Leagues further is Tastek inhabited by none but the Rabdary or Watchmen to guard the Way Two Leagues from Tastek along an even Way between the Mountains lies a Place call'd Abi Dungher the utmost extent of the Dukedom of Lar and the beginning of the Country which belong'd to the King of Ormus when he was absolute Master of Persia and Arabia The Road from Schiras to Ispahan Travelling from Schiras to Hispahan you pass by these Places viz. First the Village Zargan in which is a handsom and well-built Mosque Four Leagues further you come to Mahin which being an open Town contains between five and six hundred Houses but is so inclos'd with Gardens and Orchards of all sorts of Fruit-trees that it rather seems at a distance a shady Grove than a Town A little forward from Mahin you come to another Village call'd Amanzada consisting onely of a few Houses all enclosed within a Wall'd Caravansera in which stands also a rich Pagode out of whose Revenue all Travellers that rest there are maintain'd for three days The whole way from Mahin to this Caravansera is very craggy and troublesom to travel and is border'd on the left Hand by a high Mountain whose top lies crown'd with Snow till the middle of Summer Three Leagues from Amanzada lies Ugion a Village on a Plain and between both a very steep Mountain whose Southern side is full of Lentisk Trees out of which drops Mastick In this Place stands a Mosque to which the Natives shew great Reverence by reason of a Tomb in which lies Interr'd one of Aly's Successors and the Villagers report that many sick blind and decrepit People have receiv'd Health and been restor'd to their Sight and Limbs by imploring the aid of the foremention'd Person whom they account a Saint The Plain on which this Village is situate is water'd by a small River whose Stream though muddy is yet very full of Fish Four Leagues from Ugion is Acopas a small Village enclos'd with a Mud-wall and surrounded with high Mountains In the middle of the Village on a Mount stands a small decay'd Fort round about which and within the Walls are above a hundred Houses most of them Inhabited by Circassians Hard by stands a large Caravansera and not far from it a Garden planted with divers sorts of Fruit-trees and curious Walks of Cypress and Palm-trees which one Alavardy Chan planted a little before his death Four or five Leagues from Acopas lies Curcuzar a small Fortified Town with a Caravansera adjoyning All the way between Acopas and Curcuzar is low and Morassie the Air also is unwholesom Wherefore the Persians have not without great reason call'd this Place Curcuzar which signifies Infectious Air. Beyond this is the Village Dergriger three Leagues from which stands a Caravansera and another pretty Town next to which follows Comixan containing about fifteen hundred Families A little beyond Comixan lies the Dorp Mahiar And lastly between that and Hispahan about a League from the latter is a Village nam'd Jarustan The Province of Persia is water'd by a large River call'd Cur which is a corrupt Name of Cyrus Philip of Ferara in his Geography Olearius and others will have this to be the same River which the Latins call'd Begradas But Della Valle contradicts this Opinion affirming That Bendemir is the Name of a Bridge which lies cross the River near the way coming from Ispahan to Schiras but its right name is Curis as is before mention'd for Bend-Emir signifies The Bridge of Emir because the Persians call a Bridge Bend and Emir was the Name of the Builder The ancient Writers make mention of two Rivers in Asia which bear the Name of Cyrus the one whereof having washt Armenia and Albania discharges its Water into the Caspian
Arabia to these Provinces Wherefore this City is much frequented by Merchants as well Persians and Arabians as Benjans and Jews and to that purpose are built many Caravanseras for the accommodation of strange Merchants that come thither with their Commodities This City hath been much ruin'd by Earthquakes one of which in Anno 1400. threw down above a hundred Houses and another Anno 1593. above three hundred or as Texeira affirms five hundred at which time also many Water-Cesterns and the greatest part of the City Walls were spoil'd The ancient Castle formerly built by a Georgian call'd Melek on a Stone Rock on the East side of the City was also cast down A League from Lar is a Caravansera call'd Charcaph The last Place in this Dukedom of Lar at the entrance of the Country which belong'd to the King of Ormus when he was absolute Master of his whole Kingdom on the Main Continent of Persia and Arabia is Abi Dunger Concerning the Climate we cannot say there is any great Cold at Lar the Air being so temperate that in March you can scarce get into the City for the abundance of Flies and Gnats which in great Swarms fill the Air. But in June there blows such a hot and dry Wind that on all Places over which it passes it leaves Impressions as of Fire and withal scorches the Faces Hands and Legs of Strangers to their great trouble and pain call'd therefore by the Persians Bad Semum that is An infectious and burning Wind. The whole Country of Lar is very destitute of Water for there are neither Brooks Springs nor Wells onely in several Places on the Road are plac'd Troughs which catch the Rain-water which serves for the accommodation and refreshment of Travellers Mr. Herbert says this Water is very unwholesom and occasions many Distempers as well in the Inhabitants as Strangers viz. Rheums Sore Throats and Worms in the Legs which causes Itching and Lameness and is not to be cur'd without taking out the Worm and this must also be done with great care for if the Worm chance to break it causes Putrefaction and Numbness in the Part affected which is only to be remedied by continual cutting and slashing of the Flesh There is nothing worthy of praise in all the Country about Lar but the Charitable Inclinations of divers of the Inhabitants who besides the Cesterns which the ancient Kings of Lara and their Governors made for the Publick good and Refreshment of the Inhabitants and Travellers which come daily hither in their last Wills appoint certain Persons to build with their Estates Cesterns Caravanseras and Alms-houses some great and others little according to their Capacities and Zeal in their Religion and by this means there are so many Cesterns that the adjacent Plain is full of them and the Water therein is very clear and cool in Summer notwithstanding the great Heat About Lar and the Parts adjacent are several sorts of Fruit-trees as Oranges Lemmons and the best Dates in all Persia Most of the Inhabitants live on Dates partly by making them their Food and partly by selling and bartering them for other Necessaries Between Lar and Gamron grows abundance of Assa Foetida by the Maleyans and Javanners call'd Hin The ancient Inhabitants of this Country were Arabians of which there are yet many living SCHAMACHIE Schirwan or Scerwan in ancient Times call'd Media Atropatia or Little Media The modern Names of Media Atropatia THis Province anciently a Kingdom is at this day in the Countrey Language call'd Schirwan and Xirwan or Xyruan and generally by the Europeans Serwan Magin supposes Xyruan to comprehend all Media though it be onely a part as Minadoi Leunclavius Olearius and others have observ'd who take it onely for old Media or Atropatia Our Mr. Jenkinson will have the same to be Hircania But Schirwan is rather the Northern Media as appears by the nature of the Soil for accordtng to Herodotus and Strabo that part of Media is mountainous as the Countrey now call'd Schirwan is found to be The Bounds This Province conterminates in the East with the Caspian Sea on the West with Georgia on the North with Albany and somewhat higher with the wandring Tartars which inhabit between Mount Caucasus and the River Volga and in the South it juts out against Great Armenia where the River Canack running betwixt serves for a Boundary and thence passes on till at last it comes to limit Great Media It s whole length is accounted about a hundred Miles The Metropolis of this Province of Schirwan is by divers Writers differently nam'd by Bizarro and Barbaro Sumachia by others Samachia and by the Spaniards Namachi but the common Name is Schamachie of which Namet here is but one City in Media or Persia notwithstanding Ferrarius in his short Geography makes mention of two one anciently call'd Ciropolis and the other Samunis It lies in 84 Degrees and 30 Minutes Longitude and 40 Degrees and 50 Minutes Latitude about six days Journey from the City Derbend or Demircapi by reason of the turnings and by-ways which you must travel through the Mountains but it is not above two days Journey along the Caspian Sea through Bacuy and the Mountains of Lahats and very passable either on Foot or on Horseback The Cammels commonly go the first Way finishing the Journey according as they are laden It is situate in a Valley betwixt Mountains which prevent its being seen till you come just upon it The Castle thereto belonging stands on a Hill near the City Walls which together with the City was built as the Persians affirm by King Schirwan Sehach The Description of the City Schamachie This City formerly was much bigger in circumference than at this day having been much ruin'd in King Abbas's time by the Turkish Wars It was anciently divided into two parts each being severally inclos'd with a Wall but the foremention'd King seeing that the Turks aim'd at nothing but strong and well fortifi'd Places for the better maintaining of their Conquest and never medled with open Villages also observing that the Forts lying in the middle of the Countrey and not on his Borders did him more hurt than good he caus'd the Walls of the Southern part of the City to be pull'd down and likewise those that inclos'd the Cities Tauris or Tabris Nachtzuan and Kentze This South part of Schamachie lies like a peculiar Town separated from the Northern by a little Hill which serves as a publick Market-place to both It is said that when the Turk conquer'd this City and went about afterwards to fortifie it he demolish'd the Persian Tombs to repair the City Walls with the Material thereof The North part of the City lies at the foot of another Hill and being somewhat less than the foremention'd South part is surrounded with a sleight Stone Wall so ruin'd that though the Gates which are five in number belock'd you may get into the City at any time of the Night over the
Walls The Streets in both Towns are narrow and the Houses built of Stone or Earth are very low after the Eastern manner The Caravansera's or Royal Inns. Hard by the Market-place stand two great Caravansera's or * Built at the Kings Charge Royal Inns provided with many Galleries and large Rooms in which the Merchants of other Countreys dispose of their Commodities which they sell by whole-sale The one call'd Schach Caravansera is appointed for the Muscovites who lay up their Goods in the same The other nam'd Losgi Caravansera is built for the Circassian Tartars who also bring thither their Merchandise which for the most part consists in Horses Women young and full grown Maids and sometimes little Children which they either buy or take from the Russians on their Borders or else from one another Moreover the Jews have their Residences in the Caravansera Losgi bringing very fine Wooll thither from Tabessaran The Hamans or publick Baths There are likewise three publick Hamans or Baths in the City which are very much frequented by the Persians two of them stand open in the day-time for the Men and in the Night for the Women The third call'd Hammam Schech being onely for Men near which stand two large Trees which are held in great veneration by the Persians as having been planted there by one of their Saints call'd Schich Murith who not far from thence lies bury'd in a Metzit or Temple to which the People flock more than to any other in the City which contains in all six Metzits or Temples The Revenues which the Baths produce yearly are bestow'd on those things which go to the setting forth of their Funerals and what happens to be over and above is distributed amongst the Poor The Bazar or Market-place On the South side of the City is a Bazar or Market-place with several little Streets or rows of Shops furnish'd with all sorts of Cotton Stuffs Silk Cloth-of-Silver Bowes Arrows Simiters and other Manufactures which are all to be bought at easie Rates The Inhabitants are generally Persians Armenians and Georgians speaking each their peculiar Languages besides the vulgar Tongue of Scervan which is the Turkish There is nothing remarkable or of Antiquity in this City excepting the great Tower which Mr. Cartwright affirms to be built of Free-stone and Flint intermixt with the Sculls of their ancient Noblemen who being overcome and taken Prisoners in a War against the King of Persia were put to death and had their Heads so fixt for a signal Mark of terror to prevent future Insurrections But this Assertion is by some deny'd and judg'd to have been grounded upon the appearance onely of Heads carv'd there in Stone Half a League Northward from the City on a pretty high Hill call'd Caleculistan appear the Ruines of a decay'd Fort where there is a large Cave Vaulted with Free-stone and near it a deep Well Culistan whence denominated The Persians have a Tradition that Schirvan an ancient King of this Province caus'd this Castle to be built in memory of Culistan one of his Concubines from whom it also took Denomination They add moreover that it was taken by Alexander the Great and afterwards by him demolish'd But it is more probable that it receiv'd the Name of Culistan from an adjacent Valley made very fruitful by a Brook and exceeding pleasant in the Spring from the variety of Tulips and other diverse colour'd Flowers Culistan signifying a Valley of Roses Tulips or whatever sort of curious Flowers and Cale a Castle or Fort. Not far from Cale-Culistan towards the side of Schamachie stand two Chappels on another high Hill In the first and chiefest which is built in form of an oblong Square appears a high Sepulchre Rail'd about each Bar arm'd at the top with an Iron Spike and adorn'd with Tassels or small Pennons of divers colour'd Cloth In the other Chappel are other Tombs bedeck'd after the same manner being the Sepulchres of their Saints to whom the Persians often kneel and pay their usual Devotions This last Chappel leads to a deep Vault Amaleck Canna ' s Tomb. in which they say Amaleck Canna one of their King's Daughters lies bury'd who being forc'd by her Father contrary to her Inclination to Marry a Tartar Prince slew her self and some have reported that all Virgins thereabouts come yearly to the foremention'd Burying-place of Amaleck Canna to Mourn there over her Tomb. 'T is true indeed the Inhabitants of Schamachie and those also of the neighboring Villages in some Weeks in the Summer do repair to the foremention'd Mountain not for Amaleck Canna's sake as some imagine but rather for the coolness of the Air which at that Season they find upon the tops of those Hills when at the same time it is intolerabe hot below Some Artificers and those of the meaner sort that use Manufacture go thither in the Morning and having tarry'd there all day at their Work return to their Houses in the Evening but the Nobility commonly take up their Residences there for three Moneths together during which time the Heat continues The Cattel at that time also are driven to Mount Elburs where there is not onely a temperate Air but also good Pasturage The Elburs is part of Mount Caucasus bordering on the side of Tabesseran and Georgia and may plainly be seen from Culistan and other Mountains The Worshippers of Orimasda fled to India It is said that in ancient times the Persians preserv'd and worshipp'd their Orimasda or ever-burning Fire on this Elburs but at this day neither the Fire nor the Worshippers thereof are according to Texeira and others to be found in all Persia nor Jesche but some relate that they are fled from thence to India where they affirm is at this day a sort of Fire-Worshippers At Schamachie is yet to be seen a Cross of hard black Wood which some believe was a piece of Noah's Ark. The Village Mordow To this City belongs a Village call'd Mordow which in the Turkish Language signifies Morass because the Countrey about it is Fenny and all drown'd with abundance of Water which descending with the concourse of many Brooks and Rivulets falls with such violence that the disturbed Waters never freeze in the hardest Winter The Rusticks live here like the Tartars in Astracan in little Houses like Huts In the foremention'd Village and in others thereabouts dwell a People call'd Pedar which speak a peculiar Dialect though not much differing from the Turks and Persians and are of their Religion with some different Perswasions for they account it a great Crime to eat their Meat hot holding it as an Abomination that any should breathe upon it which if any one chance to do they will not touch it but judge the same to be defil'd by their prophane Breath Three Leagues from Mordow lies the Village Tachousie and three Leagues from Schamachie lies Pyrmaraas in which is the Tomb of an eminent Saint or Holy
Muscur This Countrey of Muscur is every where very pleasant to the Eye affording a green Prospect till November The Soil is fertile producing plenty of Barley Rice and Wheat besides all manner of excellent Fruit and Trees of delightful shade and harbor to melodious Birds The Cattel lie abroad in the Fields as well in Winter as in Summer so that they have little need of providing Hay more than what just serves for Travellers and Strangers The Vines grow up and down without Planting and run upon the Elms or such like Trees as in Italy There is likewise variety of wild Fowl here especially Pheasants also store of Hares and a sort of Foxes call'd by the Inhabitants Schacal having thick Wooll on their Backs white Hair under their Bellies black Ears and a less Tail than ordinary which they call Tulki In the Lakes and Pools about the Village Mardow are abundance of wild Swans which are commonly taken in the Winter much esteem'd for the fineness of their Down The Rusticks keep Buffalo's which are us'd in their Draughts their Fodder is Schenbile or Grecian Hay with which whole Fields are Sow'd it is Mow'd when green and given Seed and all to the Buffalo's which makes their Milk so rich that it yields Cream two Inches thick of which is made excellent Butter They never make Cheese of Cows Milk but all of Sheeps ISFAHAN The Province of Parthia or Erack The modern Names and Bounds of Parthia THe Province anciently nam'd Parthia is at this day call'd Arach Harach or Erach as also in the Countrey Language Erack and by some Jex but according to Texeira its proper and true Name is Hyerack or as Olearius will have it Erack But it is to be observ'd that the Name Hyerack or Erack is given to two distinct Provinces one whereof lies in Arabia or as Olearius says it comprises Bagdat or Babylon and was anciently Assyria and is by some nam'd Eracain the other lying in the middle of Persia and is generally call'd Erack Agemy or Erack Atzem whereas the first hath the Denomination of Erack Araly This Province of Erack borders Eastward at Arie and by a long Road at Corazan on the West it conterminates with Media on the North with Hircania and juts Southerly towards the Wilderness of Caramia The Metropolis of Erack is Ispahan the other chief Towns are according to Olearius Casuwin or Casbin Solthanie Sencan Caschan Ebbeher Saway Rey Hemedan Com Scha-Herrisur Dercasin and Theheran The City Ispahan by Josaphat Barbaro is call'd Spahan by Contareno Spaa or Spaam by Peter Bizarro Aspacham Spaha was by the ancient Greeks for its largeness nam'd Hecatompolis that is A hundred Cities A little before Tamerlanes time it was call'd Sipahan partly from its populousness and partly because there the Armies had their Rendezvous for Siphan is the same with the ancient Persian word Sipa which signifies an Army wherefore they at this day call the General of an Army Sipesalar but since Tamerlane's time it hath had the Denomination of Ispahan by transposing the Letters and placing the I before the S. An Arabian Writer call'd Ahmedbin Arebscha who writ the Life of Tamerlane calls this City Isbahan and some modern Writers of the Persians Isfahan Situation and Bounds of the City Ispahan This City lying in 32 Degrees and 26 Minutes North Latitude and 86 Degrees and 40 Minutes Longitude is situated upon a Plain and half environ'd with Mountains at three or four Leagues distance viz. towards the South and South-West with the Mountains Demawend and towards the North-East those of Jeilack Perjan It is eight Leagues in circumference with its Suburbs but it is fenc'd onely with a a slight Wall of Earth six Yards thick at the bottom and not above a Foot on the top with several Stone Redoubts The Moat about the same is almost quite dry insomuch that one may go over it dry-foot in several places both in Winter and Summer The Castle which is also the Treasury is built pretty strong and Plaister'd over with Lime On the South-West side of the Town runs an indifferent large Stream call'd Senderuth which springing out of the Mountain Demawend divides it self into two several Branches call'd Haws and Burke Besides which there are divers Wells and Springs up and down so that the whole City is very well serv'd with Water Out of the same River runs a third Branch just above the City into a Park of Deer call'd Hazartzirib and in another place it is convey'd in Pipes under Ground into the King's chief Garden call'd Tzarbag a little below which Allawerdich Chan of Schiras built a fair Stone Bridge cross the Stream Schach Abbas during his fourteen years Reign made it his principal Business to lead another Stream which passes on the other side of the Mountain Demawend through the said Mountain though in a manner all Rock into the River Senderuth employing daily a thousand Men about it allowing each man four Abas a day but by reason of the excessive Cold and abundance of Snow which falls thereabouts they were never able to work above three Moneths in a year which very much retarded the Work yet through the alacraty of the Nobles and Grandees in assisting the King it was brought to a great forwardness and had been quickly finish'd had Schach Abbas liv'd but after his Death his Successor never employ'd a Man about it The Description of the City This City was also twice laid waste by Tamerlane first when he conquer'd it and next when it rebell'd against him In Schach Ismael's time it began to flourish a little but when Scach Abbas by reason of its pleasant Situation remov'd his Royal Seat from Casvyn thither he not onely enlarg'd and beautifi'd the City with fair Buildings but also made it very populous by reason of the great concourse of People that flockt thither from all parts insomuch that at this day the Inhabitants thereof are estimated to be above five hundred thousand Every House of the City which much enlarges it hath two fair Gardens being generally much esteem'd by the Persians who though they beautifie them not so much with all manner of various colour'd Flowers as is usual in Europe yet they Plant them very handsomly with divers sorts of Fruit-trees Vines and especially the Tzinar Tree besides which they adorn them with pleasant Fountains and conveying the Water from one Pipe to another cause them at their pleasure to overflow the whole Garden Persons of Quality have also commonly two or three Pleasure-houses in every Garden which are better furnish'd than their Dwelling-houses Besides the Citizens ordinary Habitations there are several Palaces in the City which are not so beautiful without as within they are for the most part built of Sun-dry'd Brick and square Tile and after the Persian manner many two some three and others four Stories high each having a peculiar Name the Cellar they call Sirsemin the lower Story or Hall Chane the Rooms
or Chambers above it Cush the third Story Tzaufe the fourth Casser and the upper Chambers or Garrets being built like Galleries winding about the top of the House Eiwan which by reason of their coolness serve them for Sleeping-Rooms in Summer the Windows which are almost as big as their Doors and reach down quite to the Floor have no Glass but are onely Bars or Rails like Balconies which in the Winter they close up with Oyl'd Paper Their Winter Rooms are commonly below and have Stoves in them Most of the Houses have Courts through which they go into their several Apartments It is said that the Lanes and Streets were formerly so broad that above twenty Men could Ride abreast in them but since Schach Abbas built more Rows of Houses most of them are become so narrow that two can scarce pass one by another especially not far from the Maidan and Basar where there commonly walk many People who are forc'd when Mules come loaden which frequently happens twenty or thirty one after another to stand still tâ—ll they are all pass'd by Description of the Maidan or Market-place On the East side of the King's Palace is a Maidan or Market-place of seven hundred Paces long and two hundred and fifty broad the like whereof is not in any other City On the West side where the King's Court stands are two Arches built along the Maidan one against another under which Goldsmiths Jewellers and other Handicrafts drive a Trade in Eiwans or open Shops before which stand Trees by the Persians call'd Schin-schad which with their large Boughs shade the Shops before the Trees are long Troughs or Gutters of Stone by which fresh Water is convey'd all about the Maidan The East side which is opposite to it hath a broad Walk Arch'd and supported with Pillars under which also all manner of Artificers have their Working-places for the Persians seldom or never work in their Dwelling-houses Agaâ—nst this Walk near the King's Court is a Structure which having two Entries is call'd Nacarachane where the Kettle-Drums Sackbuts and Cornets are play'd on every Evening at Sun-set and whenever the King passeth either in or out This playing at Sun-set us'd through all Persia in those places where Chams and great Lords dwell hath been in use ever since Tamerlane was Lord of this Countrey Description of the King's Place The King's House or Court which is near the Maidan by the Persians call'd Dowbet Chane or Dor Chane Schach hath a high Wall about it but is not otherwise fortifi'd against any Assault Before the Palace Gate lie several great pieces of Ordnance which Nicholas Hemming a Hollander who travell'd through most parts of Persia affirms to have been brought from Ormus the least carrying a Bullet of thirty six Pound weight the biggest of forty eight Over the Gate is a large Forum or place of Judicature where the Diwanbeki or Judge commonly Executes Justice In the day-time the Gate is guarded by three or four and in the Night by fifteen Halberdeers but at the King's Chamber thirty Men most Chans Sons Watch whil'st as many more go the Rounds The Kischicktzi or Captain of the Guard delivers the King an Account every Evening of such Persons as are to Watch that Night that so he may know what People are near him The said Forum over the Gate is a very high Room glittering with fair Windows on all sides and adorn'd with rich Pictures and gilded Carv'd work The other chief Rooms of the Court are first the Tabchane or great Hall in which the King with his Chans and other great Lords keeps a splendid Feast on Naurus or New-years-day next an open Room call'd the Divanchane that is House of Justice in which the King hears and determines all Businesses of State and gives Entertainment to foreign Princes The Tabchane or Banquetting-house ascended by three Steps is twelve Yards long eight broad and abought six high The Pillars which support the Roof being eight-square are of Wood and Gilded The Room within is also adorn'd with Gilded Sculpture or Carv'd-work The Floor is commonly cover'd with rich Carpets and hath a Fountain in the middle of it Before the Divanchane is a long narrow Walk Planted with Tzinar-Trees These kind of Walks they call Chiewan The third is the Haramchane or Hall for the Women in which his Casseha or Concubines which are at other times kept up in private Apartments come together to Dance before the King to the Musick of several Instruments or the Voices of Eunuchs The fourth is the Deke or place in which the King spends his time most part of the day and ever but at Festival times or when busied about State Affairs Dines with his Queen and the rest of his Wives Besides these there are other fair Apartments which contribute to the splendor and accommodation of a King's Palace besides divers brave Banquetting-houses and pleasant Gardens But above all the rest about forty Paces from the chief Gate is a Door on the right-hand which leads to a great Garden in the middle whereof stands a Chappel This Garden being a priviledg'd Place is by the Persians call'd Allacapi that is Gods Gate Hither Debtors Man-slayers and other Malefactors flie for sanctuary and so long as they can maintain themselves there at their own Cost and Charge they are unmolested but Thieves they will not suffer to be there long Behind the Palace is the Taberick Cale or Treasury being rather a Castle than a House for the word Cale signifies a Castle It is an indifferent large Structure encompass'd with high Walls and Redoubts of Earth which Nicholas Hemmius takes to be Towers This Castle is constandy Garrison'd with divers Companies of Soldiers and the King having a considerable Magazine often keeps his Court in it Moreover on the other side of the Maidan in a peculiar Street is another Sanctuary or priviledg'd House call'd Tseche hit Sutun so call'd from forty Beams or Pieces of Timber all which resting upon one single Pilar which stands in the middle of the Metzid belonging to it support the Roof thereof Hither the Persians flock'd in great numbers when Tamerlane going to destroy the rebelling Citizens resolv'd to spare onely the Temple and all those that were in it for he put to the Sword them that were in the Temple Court and caus'd all the Houses thereabouts to be pull'd down which Schach Abbas re-building made it a priviledg'd Place The Persians Belief concerning Mehedi On the South side of the Maidan is a large and sumptuous Mosque which being begun by Schach Abbas and almost finish'd his Successor compleated it and overlaid the Walls with a rich sort of Marble brought from Erwend Anno 1037. this Mosque was Consecrated to Mehedi the last of their twelve Imams or Saints of the Race of Aali of whom it is vulgarly believ'd that he lies slumbering in a Cave near Cusa from whence he is expected to return at the Day of Judgment and Riding
about the World on Duldul Aaly's Horse to convert all People to the Alcoran wherefore it is call'd Metzid Mehedi Saheseman which words are inscrib'd over the biggest Gate in Persian Characters At the end of the great Hejat or Court before the Metzit is a Gallery or rais'd place Pav'd with square Stones in the midst of which is a large Cistern of Water where those that go to Pray wash themselves Behind this Cistern you ascend by Steps to a Porch through a Row of Marble Pillars and one Step higher to the Temple it self that being very large and high and supported with large Marble Pillars where the Meherab or Altar and the Cahib or Vestry is The Gate is of fine Marble and as high as that at Sulthanie at the Meschaich of Chodabende the entrance through which is under an Arch of an exceeding heighth of blue Stone Gilded beyond which is a broad Walk the Floor whereof is spread with Mats on which the Persians kneel when they Pray Over the lower Walks are lesser ones like Galleries supported by Marble Columns gilded On the right-side of the Mosque is a large Garden The greatest splendor and magnificence of this Mosque is that all the Walls Galleries Gardens and the chief Temple are from the bottom four Yards high upwards cover'd with polish'd Marble each piece which is for the most part white and excellently well polish'd being five or six Foot square The Marble is all cut out of one Stone except the two Pillars on each side of the Pulpit Schach Abbas caus'd the like Metzid though smaller to be built at Tabris in honor of the same Mehedi all of pure white Marble and as slick as Glass being fetch'd from the Mountain Erwan Places of Games and Exercises In the middle of the City not far from the King's Palace stands a Pole not unlike our Posts in which we put the â—ings that are to be run at on which they often put a Melon Arupus or Apple and sometimes a Silver Plate with Money upon it at which the King and his Chans run full speed for great Wagers and whoever hits off the same comes off with great honor and applause but the Money which falls from the Plate is taken up by the Pages and Footmen Great Lords also have another Exercise call'd Kuit Schaucan which they perform in the same place viz. Riding full speed they strike a Ball with a crooked Stick to a set Mark and also toss the Tziud or Bar. Near the Maidan stands a little woodden Hut nam'd Chaneschin which is set upon four Wheels for the conveniency of its moving from place to place in which the King often sits a Spectator of the foremention'd Games Hereabouts especially on the West side not far from the Dewletchane sit divers Soothsayers Houses of Entertainment Opposite to the Northern part of the Maidan stand several Houses of Entertainment the first whereof is the Schire Chane to which resort the most loose und debauch'd sort of People who hire the Surkers or Dancing-Boys as also common Strumpets to Dance before them naked with all kind of leud and obscene Postures The second is the Tzai or the Chattai Chane that is The Catayan or Chinese Tee-house in which they generally play at Chess The third is the Caweh Chane or Coffee and Tobacco-house These three Houses are also frequented by their Pot-Poets and Comedians who commonly sitting in the midst of the House on high Stools tell all manner of pleasant Tales and talk continually with a little Stick in their Hands like our Juglers Barbers Shops Not far from these Houses two sorts of Barbers keep their Shops some whereof practising Chirurgery and call'd Tezerrah never shave or Trim Men the other call'd Dellack shave and cut Hair and are made use of to Circumcise Children To this last sort of Barbers there is continual resort of People because they always keep their Heads shav'd and every one brings his own Rasor with him because the Persians fearing the Venereal Distemper will not suffer a strange Rasor to touch their Heads From the North part of the Maidan you go directly to the Bazar or Street full of Shops where there is a square large Portico under which are all manner of rich Merchandise to be sold over the Entrance of which is a stately Dial which is said to have been made in Schach Abbas's time by an English-man call'd Festy which at first there being then no Clocks nor Dials in all Persia was look'd upon as a great Wonder The Bazar or Market-house it self is divided into many Divisions with Passages between them like little Lanes which are most of them cover'd on the top where all manner of Goods that the Countrey affords are to be sold every thing in a peculiar place The famous Coffee-house in Ispahan In the Caravansera near the Bazar where the King receives foreign Ambassadors is a House which is one of the fairest in the whole City Ispahan and call'd The Coffee-house from the Liquor which is sold in it In this House also are brought up Youths of several Nations but most Mahumetans though some are of Christian Parentage as Circassians Georgians and Armenians who are taught all manner of Dances At the Entrance of this House is a Court with a Fountain in the midst of it The King oftentimes Dines here with foreign Ambassadors but is satisfi'd with few Dishes having sometimes but two whereof one is Mutton the other roasted Poultrey which whil'st he is eating the Youths Dance before him in a very strange and ridiculous manner In Ispahan dwell also Merchants and Shop-keepers of several Nations of which some sell their Goods by Wholesale others by Retail for besides the Persians Indians Tartars from Chuaressam Chineses and those from Buchare there are English Dutch French Italians Spaniards Portuguese Turks Jews Armenians and Georgians The Indians who generally have their Shops next to the Persians Trade in Silk Cotton and other such like Stuffs By reason of the great Trade in Ispahan there are many Caravansera's where the several Commodities are dispos'd of by Wholesale Amongst other places the Kings Parks for wild Beasts are none of the meanest having towerd Lodges call'd Kelemenar inclos'd with Walls made of several sorts of Deers and other Beasts Horns mix'd with Earth The Garden Izarbag Without the City Walls not far from the great Bridge on the South side is a Garden call'd Tzarbag which hath not its equal for curiosity and delight in all Persia Tzarbag signifies a Garden or whatsoever else divided into four parts this being so branch'd into four Squares by cross Ways and a Brook nam'd Vendemith about a Mile in compass and having four Gates and four stately Banquetting-houses one on each side On the South side stands a Hill plain on the top in the middle whereof and on each side are three Aqueducts of Stone whose Channels are a Yard broad which lying very steep cause the Water to
descend in great abundance from whence there are lesser Pipes that convey the Water under Ground which supplies with much variety several artificial Fountains which gliding from thence fall into a Lake on the farther side of the Garden The Suburbs of Ispahan About this City of Ispahan are several Suburbs the greatest of which they call Tzulpha having in it three thousand Houses and twelve Mosques or Churches which in beauty are not inferior to any within the Walls being the Residence of rich Armenian Merchants whom Schach Abbas remov'd from Armenia thither they pay the King yearly two hundred Tomans for Tribute On the other side of the River Senderuth lie the Suburbs Tabrisabath otherwise Abasabath so call'd because Scach Abbas brought the Inhabitants thither from Tabris Another part of the Suburbs call'd Hassenabath is inhabited by Castilians brought thither from Georgia they are great Merchants and like the Armenians travel from one Countrey to another The Manners and Religion of the Kebbers Another eminent part of the Suburbs lieth on the West side and is call'd Kebrabath and the Inhabitants thereof Kebbers who are also rich Merchants they have long Beards and wear other fashion'd Clothes than the Persians viz. long wide Coats which are open in no place but about the Neck and on the Shoulders where they tie them together with Ribbons The Women go without Shoes and bare-fac'd They are accounted a civil and courteous People Extracted from an ancient Pagan Family and to this day suffering themselves neither to be Baptiz'd nor Circumcis'd They have neither Temples nor Priests neither do they with Hottinger's good leave worship the Fire as the ancient Kebbers did When any one dies they drive a Cock into the Fields out of the House of the Deceased which if it be caught by a Fox then they believe that the Soul of the Deceased is taken up into a better World but if this proof chance to be hindred by any Accident then they try another way on which their assurance chiefly depends viz. they carry the Corps clad with their best Apparel and adorn'd with Gold Chains and other Ornaments to the Church-yard where they set the Body up against the Wall propping up the same by placing a Pole under the Chin where if the Fowls of the Air pick out the right Eye then they assuredly believe the Soul to be ascended to Heaven but if the left they judge it to be gone to Hell They have also two sorts of Graves in one they tenderly lay the Bodies of their supposed Saints and into the other those whom they believe to be Damn'd are thrown headlong In a small circumference about the City Ispahan are reckon'd a thousand four hundred and sixty Villages and Hamlets all inhabited by Weavers The City Jarustan A League from Ispahan and seven from the Village Mahier lies the City Jarustan pleasantly situated as it were in the midst of a Garden on the Bank of a River It is full of Inhabitants and hath plenty of all manner of Provisions and several fair Structures but one more magnificent than all the rest surrounded with a Gallery and containing many handsom Rooms the biggest and chiefest whereof is built after the fashion of the Chappels belonging to the Jesuits Cloysters in Europe with many Windows on the top The Persians tell us that this Structure was formerly a Colledge wherein Schach Thamas's time Disputations were held Near this House is also a Garden with several Springs and Fountains in it but not always flowing KOM SABA In the Way from Casbyn to Ispahan are several Places whence Salmon is brought salted from Kilan where the best Salmon is caught in the Mouth of the River Araxes From Ispahan runs a straight and pleasant Way on both sides of which are several fair Houses and delightful Gardens Situation and Description of the City Cashan The City Caschan or Cashan lies according to the Persians in thirty five Degrees Longitude and thirty four Northern Latitude But Olearius after three days observation found the same to lie nine Minutes more Southerly It being built long extends half a League from East to West and is surrounded with Walls and Bulwarks of a clayie sort bf Earth round about the same is good arable Land On the South side of the City is a kind of a Tilt-yard with a Post in the middle where the Persians use to run at the Ring On the left side of the foremention'd Way is one of the King's Orchards in which are two Banquetting-houses one near the High-way and the other in the middle which last hath very many Windows which according to the manner of the Persian Gardens open the Doors into as many Walks two Doors amongst the rest generally stand open opposite one against another the Walls are a Yard thick When the King comes hereabouts he commonly takes up his Residence in this Garden Cashan is one of the most populous and greatest Cities of Trade in all Persia having many fair Houses stately Caravansera's and above all a magnificent Bazar and Maidan set out with arch'd Portico's and Rooms and being every where so neatly built that no City in Persia is comparable to it It is inhabited by all manner of People but especially Persians and Indians who have every one their peculiar Trade or Manufacture which they exercise in Shops open to the Streets but most of them are Weavers of Cloth-of-Gold and Silks The several Names with the Description of the little Town Natens Twelve Leagues from Caschan lies the little but pleasant Town call'd Natens but by Contareno in the Description of his Travels Nethas and by Clavius and Herbert Natan by Ananâ—as Jesâ—i by Texeira Yazd and by Thevet Jex from whence it is said that this Province hath receiv'd the Name of Jez The several Streams of fresh Water which run through the same make the Countrey very fertile in the production of Corn and Grapes It lies in a pleasant Valley at the end whereof towards Ispahan appears a fruitful Mountain over which they travel to Ispahan The Valley is full of little Villages interspers'd with neat Gardens and lying at so small a distance from each other that they seem to be one entire Town and therefore have no peculiar Names Opposite to the City lie two high spiring Rocks or Mountains on the highest of which stands a Turret which Schack Abbas built in commemoration of a Falcon that conquer'd an Eagle for the foremention'd King travelling by this Place took up one of his Falcons which spying an Eagle broke loose and flying at him after a long and fierce Combat brought him down According to Mandeslo's observation the Tower on the foremention'd Mountain is built of eight-square Brick or Coctile Stone and runs up sharp with a glaz'd Roof about which is a narrow Walk The Arch underneath is eight Paces crossways and by the multiplicity of Windows and Doors is very light Besides this there are several other Structures upon
and other Field-pieces which belong to the Castle On the Mortar-piece is the Figure of a Spread-eagle and over it two Letters A and Z The Bullets thereto belonging are of Marble The Tower which crowns this Structure is eight-square and surrounded on the top with a Gallery a little above which stand eight little Spires like Pillars to which there is an Ascent by winding Stairs Before the Temple is a great square Well which receiving its Water from the Mountain Keider is inclos'd within a Wall behind which is a large pleasant Garden Planted with Rows of high and low Trees and a stately Banquetting-house in the middle Schach Ismael 's Mosque The other Metzid was built by Schach Ismael the first the Entrance into the same is through a very high Door over which stands a round Tower near which also rises a high Pyramid surrounded by eight Marble Columns The Temple it self hath lofty Arches and Pillars as also Galleries round about and in the middle a very high Pulpit To this Structure belongs a very pleasant Garden and in it a Tower whose top ends in the form of a Pyramid But the most beautiful part of the Mosque is a peculiar place built like a Chappel and separated by a Partition from the rest of the Mosque In the middle of it opposite to the Door stands like an Altar a large Tomb built for one of the Sultans and cover'd with rich Cloth-of-Gold and Silk This Chappel is enter'd at an Iron Door neatly Carv'd and Gilded Not far from this Temple stands a high Arch which seems to be the Ruines of an old triumphal Arch built between two Towers above a hundred Foot high A days Journey from Sultania lies the Village Chorademh pleasantly seated among shady Woods and Gardens and by a sweet River The City Ardebil by the Turks call'd Ardevil and in the Maps wrongly spell'd Ardonil is an ancient City and of great repute amongst the Persians partly for being the Seat and Burying-place of divers ancient Kings especially of Schach Sefi who also was born there and secondly for its great Trade to all parts It is said that Alexander the Great in his Journey to Persia kept his Court there for a considerable time and it appears the more probable in regard of the affinity of its Name with Arbela of which Quintus Curtius makes mention It lies in 38 Degrees and 5 Minutes Northern Latitude and in 82 Degrees and 30 Minutes Longitude thirty seven Leagues Westward from Sultania on a Plain three Leagues over and surrounded with high Hills the highest whereof call'd Sebelahu lies West ward and is never without Snow but towards the South-East is the Mountain Bacru Ardebil is somewhat bigger in circumference than Schamachie though without Walls Each House hath an Orchard belonging to it which makes it seem rather a Wood than a City yet there is no Timber there fit for Building but what is brought thither from the Province of Kilan Through the City flows a little Brook call'd Bacuchlu which coming out of the Village Schamasbu a League Southward from the City and having over it several Stone Bridges divides it self into two Branches just before the Town the one runs quite through and the other gliding about by the left side falls into the Stream Carasu By reason of the abundance of Snow which melting in June and running down from the Mountains this Brook swells into a great Stream so that if it were not led in time over an adjacent Plain which is done by casting up a Bank before the River it would quite drown the City as it hapned in the time of Schach Abbas when the Water breaking through carry'd away a great number of Houses and drowned many People and Cattel The chief Streets Besides many little Streets this City hath five eminent ones viz. Derwane Tabar Niardawar Cambalan and Cafircutze all of them pretty broad and Planted with Ash and Willow Trees which afford the Inhabitants a pleasant Shade in Summer There is also a great Maidan or Market-place The Market-place three hundred Paces long and half as broad full of Shops on each side wherein Tradesmen of sundry Vocations have their Shops apart each Trade by it self wherein at the Entrance thereof on the right side behind Schach Sefi's Tomb is a Metzid or Temple wherein Imam Sade one of their twelve chief Saints lies bury'd If a Malefactor escape thither he is secure from being Apprehended and may from thence immediately get to Schach Sefi's Tomb which is a place of greater priviledge Behind the Maidan is a Bazar or Exchange where under a high square Roof call'd Caisere are sold all manner of Gold and Silver Works Precious Stones rich Silks and other Commodities Out of this place passing three Gates you come to a close Street where all manner of ordinary Commodities are to be had at low Rates The Caravansera's or Royal Inns. There are likewise several Caravansera's or Royal Inne in which foreign Merchants as Turks Tartars Indians Chineses and others Lodge and put their Goods Moreover there are many Hamans or Baths and also Metzids Temples the biggest whereof is the Metzid Adine built in the middle of the City on a little Hill it hath a round and pretty high Steeple and is much frequented on Fridays the Mahumetans Sabbath from whence it hath its Denomination for Adine in the Persian Tongue signifies Friday Before the Temple is a Well which a prime Minister of State call'd Saru Chotze otherwise Mahumed Risa caus'd to be made and led the Water thither out of a Mountain lying a League South-West from the City in Pipes under Ground Those that go into the Temple to Pray first warn themselves in this Well according to the Custom of the Mahumetans Description of Schach Sefi's Tomb. Not far from the Maidan is the foremention'd stately Tomb of Schach Sefi one of the most renowned of the late Kings of Persia The Gate through which you must go into the first Court is exceeding large from the top of which hangs a great Silver Chain which the Chan of Merraga is said to have Offer'd with great Devotion The Court which is very large and Pav'd with great square Stones hath on each side long and high Arch'd Walls under which are several Shops and behind the Court a pleasant Garden where every one may freely recreate themselves Not far from hence is another Gate over which hangs also a Silver Chain in a Triangle plac'd there by Mahumed Chan and Kentz No man is permitted to enter into this Temple with any manner of Weapon not so much as with a Knife upon pain of Death The Threshold of this Gate is of white Marble Carv'd round in form of a Pillar and not to be trod upon but stept over with the right Leg foremost because many thousands coming to the Tomb kiss the same On the right side of the Garden is a Fountain of excellent clear Water which through a
about it a hundred other Shops in the Bazar the Cattel Corn Salt and Oyl-Market the Afrabnischins which are those that sell their Goods in Tents of the Villages belonging to Ardebil thirty three belong to the said Tomb as also five Houses in Serab in the City Tabris sixty Houses and a hundred Shops besides two Villages near the City several Caravansera's and Baths in the City Caswin as also in the Provinces of Kilan and Astara in the Plains of Mochan the Villages Abchur and Eleschur with divers others in the Counties Chalchal Kermuth and Hascheruth besides what comes out of Tartary and India where several Places inclin'd to the Persian Religion pay also Tribute to the same Moreover it is a Custom amongst the Persians that when they go to Travel or undertake any Business of concernment or when they are in Sickness or Trouble they make great Vows to Schach Sefi which they perform as surely and willingly as they would desire to be sav'd nay many of them when they come to celebrate the annual Obsequies of their Saint bring great Presents with them and often in their Wills and Testaments leave their whole Estates to the foremention'd Tomb where also there are daily Offer'd Sheep Horses Camels Money and other things Those that bring the Presents receive a handful of Anniseed in testimony that their Souls shall receive an extraordinary Consolation for the same The Presents are receiv'd by two sworn Stewards by them call'd Nessurtzian from the Arabick word Nessurt which signifies a Promise or Vow they sit every day in a House on the left side near the Metzid Tschillachane where between them stands a round Coffer cover'd with red Velvet into which is put the Money through a slit at the top The Camels Horses and Mules that are Offer'd are immediately sold and converted into Money but Sheep and Oxen are kill'd and distributed amongst the Poor To these Stewards Schach Ismael gave the Revenue of a large Village call'd Sultanabeth a League from the City Ardebil for their Maintenance but Anno 1618. this Village was demolish'd by Schach Abbas upon the approach of the Turkish Army together with the City Ardebil ARDEBIL Opposite to this Tomb is another little Chappel in which several eminent Persons also lie bury'd Four Leagues from Ardebil near Sultania Village Bâ—sun lies Busun a large Village with several other smaller thereabouts in a Valley full of good Pasturage for Cattel Five Leagues from Busun is another Village call'd Sengoa Sengoa beyond which are several steep Mountains and four Leagues farther another pleasant Valley with a remarkable Fountain Not far from this Valley Northwardly appears the Mountain Taurus by the Persians thereabouts call'd Perdelis near which on the South side is a Cavity which is worn by time above three Miles deep from the top of the Mountain and two Miles broad and serves for a Receptacle or Den for Thieves by whom Travellers sustain great mischief if they have not a considerable Party in company with them Through this Chasme or Gap runs the River Kisilosein which from thence precipitating it self River Kisilosein and descending through Kilan at last disembogues its white Water into the Caspian Sea Four Leagues from this Valley lies the Village Keintze and two Leagues from thence on the right hand a Village call'd Hatzimir and six Leagues farther there is another Town call'd Kamal beyond which lies Sencan to the Southward whereof appears a large Sandy barren Desart The City Caxem Caxem which Texeira calls Cahem and which Davity places in Margiana is the first City in Media upon the Road from Pâ—rsia It is considerably large comprising at least five thousand Houses standing on a Plain where sometimes they feel excessive Heats being under 32 Degrees and 5 Minutes Northern Latitude In this City is a very long Street being rather a Market-place full of Shops with all sorts of Commodities which though it be not so long as that of Schiras yet is much broader and beautifi'd with Trees that stand ranging on both sides and are a shade to the Houses But that which is most ornamental to this City is their stately Caravansera built An. 1610. being able to Lodge very many Strangers with all accommodation and convenience of Reception Near this stands a stately Palace erected by King Abbas which though but indifferent on the out-side yet magnificent and beautiful within and indeed one of the best contriv'd Houses that the King hath in his whole Dominions within whose Walls having pass'd one Garden you enter into another larger than the former being the Haram or Seraglio for his Women and surrounded with a Hedge of delicate Fruit-Trees The City Caxem is none of the biggest nor the least in this Province yet the Kings of Persia always held the same in great esteem partly because the People were civil and quieâ— and in their Dealings just and honest and party for its Wealth and flourishing Trade in all manner of Silk-Stuffs but especially the best and fairest Carpets of all Persia made in the Villages belonging to the Jurisdiction of this City none in all Persia comparing with them except those of Ispahan The Weavers live all together in a little part of the City inclos'd with a Wall and all those other Workmen who prepare and make ready the Silk But the Suburbs are much more pleasant than the City it self being full of delightful Gardens and having many fair Caravansera's for the reception and accommodation of Strangers There is no Water about this City but what is in Wells which nevertheless is very wholsom Moreover there is little good Water all the way between Ispahan and Casbin by reason of the thirsty and hot Earth but this want is supply'd by the abundance of Snow which lies thick on the tops of the Mountains all the year A days Journey from this City is a Village Village Cencem call'd Cencem whose adjacent Hills exhale bituminous and sulphureous Vapors which makes the Air very unwholsom especially in the Night when these Vapors chiefly rise they also make the Summer Heats extream sultry This Town hath onely one small Mosque in it and that not remarkable for any thing that may require a Description In the Year 1617 it had a hundred and fifty Families but the next year following they had been all swept away with a pestilential Distemper had not the Spanish Agent Garcias de Silva coming there by chance in his way to Hispahan given them advice to be Let-blood which prov'd a present Remedy Places lylng between Ardebil and Caswin In the Way from Ardebil to Caswin according to Della Valla lie these Places viz. Halfa League beyond Ardebil is a Village in the Turkish Language call'd Task-Chiesen that is Stone-cutters Town from the Artificers that Carve there in Stone Four Leagues farther stands Tagi Bujur and five Leagues beyond that Chivi where the Way which leads to Caswin parts into two Roads one whereof runs through
the troublesom Valley of Perdelisk and the other extends Eastward Three Leagues from Chivi lies another Village call'd Hoin and beyond it a Valley that is scatteringly inhabited Five Leagues from the before-mention'd Hoin appears the City Scial at the foot of a Mountain so inconsiderable that it is scarce worth the mentioning from whence you go through narrow Roads very foul and troublesom which brings you first to Derram in the Countrey of Taron where all the Fields quite to Caswin are Planted with Cotton Eight Leagues from Derram is the Village Ibrahim so denominated from the Builder thereof A League farther runs the Stream call'd Chizil-Uzen which augmented with several Brooks and Rivulets falls into the Caspian Sea From thence you soon arrive at Caswin The Province of Iran or Carabach Situation and Description THe Province of Iran by most especially by the Vulgar call'd Carabach lies between two famous Rivers viz. the Araxes and Cyrus now call'd Aras and Cur It compriseth part of Armenia and Georgia or Gurtz and is divided into sixteen Counties viz. Cappan Tzulfa Schabus Sisian Keschtas Sarsebil Eruan or Iruan Kerchbulach Achstawa Aberan Schorgel Sarschat Intze Thaback Meleck Thumanis Alget and Vzilder In these Counties are several fair Cities Villages and Fortresses of which the best known are Berde Bilagan Schemcur Kentze Bercuschat Nachtschuan Ordebat Bajefied Macu Magasburt Tiflis and Tzilder It is a very fertile Countrey abounding especially in Silk and hath been often Invaded by the Turk who borders upon it Drangiane or Sagistam Borders of Sagistam DRangiane at this day call'd Sagistam borders in the North and West with Aria in the East with Arachosia or Cabul and in the South at a part of Gedrosia The several Names of its Metropolis According to Olearius and Ananias the Metropolis of this Province is call'd Sistam which Ananias will have to be the City Propstasia of Ptolomy otherwise nam'd Phrada whereas Davity saith Sistan and Sagistam are two several Provinces and will rather have the City which Anaâ—ias calls Asiam to be the Propstasia of Ptolomy by reason of the similitude in the Names which will not hold good if as some are of opinion Sistan be a contraction of Sagistan The other Towns according to the same Ananias are Bigui which is the Begis of Ptolomy Canasi Mulete Bachagi Aeloud perhaps the ancient Aricada of Ptolomy and Timocaim of which last Marcus Paulus Venetus makes mention The chief Towns The chiefest Towns in this Province according to Olearius are Sistan Chaluck Ketz c. Ptolomy also places the River Drange in this Province which glides Southerly from the side of the Mountain Bagoe In the Maps and by Ananias this River is call'd Ilment but the whole Countrey being surrounded with Mountains hath so pent it up that it can scarce find any Passage There are but few Towns in this Province the People are under the Subjection of the Persian Sophi and use Persian Manners and Customs Here Texeira makes us believe contrary to the receiv'd Opinion that there is a Mountain on which some of the Persians to this day worship their ancient God Orimasda or the never-dying Fire The Countrey of Nixabur or Nisabur Situation of Nixabur THe Countrey of Nixabur is by Texeira plac'd between that of Carason Usbeck Tartary and Turkestan The Metropolis is also call'd Nisabur and according to Olearius not far from Mesched being in 102 Degrees and twenty Minutes Longitude and in 38 Degrees and 40 Minutes Northern Latitude The Countrey is full of Sandy Desarts which are in a perpetual motion as if they boyl'd though there be no Wind. Near the City Nisabur lieth a Mountain on which are found excellent Turkoises so call'd perhaps from the Name of the Countrey in which the Hill lies namely Turkestan The Province of Kilan or Gilan Denomination and Situation of Kilan THe Province of Kilan or Gilan by the Ancients call'd Hircania hath receiv'd that Denomination from a peculiar People nam'd Kileck It lies between high Mountains and the Caspian Sea like a Cross on an even Plain which being clayie Ground is much fertiliz'd with many Brooks and Rivers that fall from the neighboring Mountains but in some places it was heretofore unpassable by reason of the Water untill King Abbas rais'd a Cawsey which crosses the whole Countrey from Astarabath to Astara so that you may now travel with great ease It conterminates in the South with the Province of Erack in the North with the Caspian Sea and in the West and North-West at Schirwan or the Mountains of Schamachie and the Plains of Mocan This Province af Gilan is divided into twenty Counties Division in which there are several Towns Villages and Hamlets viz. Kisilagatsch Maschischan Buladi Cilekeran Disekeran Rihk Lahetzan Deschtewend Lengercunan Schichkeran Howe Lissar Kesker Masanderan Marancu Astara Nokeran Lemur Tzeulandan Rescht and Astarabath You enter this Province on the South from Erack through a narrow but well known Road by Writers call'd Caken or The Straight of Hircania but in the time of Alexander it was call'd Pylae and is the same which Olearius calls now The Caspian Gate The Way is very narrow through which you come into the Province of Kilan At the Mouth of this Pass are two Streams that coming from the right and left side of Erack conjoyn their Waves and gliding along come at last to a Stone Bridge which being Vaulted and accommodated with several Rooms of Entertainment supplies the place of a Caravansera and passing thence divide again and fall by two Mouths into the Caspian Sea Beyond the Bridge you come into a fair Road which presently divides it self into two Ways one leading to Ardebil and the other to Kilan the first is very troublesom and dangerous by reason of many Rocky Descents and steep Passages incumbred with great Stones and often so narrow that a Camel and a Horse can scarce pass one by another but the right Way that leads to Kilan is rather worse having such Caverns and Precipices that Travellers are forc'd to walk afoot and lead their Horses over the Mountains of which at the same Season one side is very cold and the other extream hot but more Northerly through Kilan are very pleasant Shades with all manner of Fruit-Trees and others fit for Timber In a Valley near the Stream Isperuth lies a Village call'd Pyle Rubar encompass'd with Hills Though this Village be at the Entrance into Kilan yet the Persians will not allow it to belong thereto but to the Mountains of Tarum A League from Pyle Rubar in the middle of the River Isperuth are to be seen the Ruines of an old Wall and Bridge destroy'd as they say by Alexander the Great The Country of Rescht The County of Rescht borders North on the Caspian Sea West with Kesker and East with the River Isperuth It hath a City of the same Name which is also the Metropolis it stands two Leagues
the aged People wear Cotton Coats They are taken to be a kind of Salvages divided into several Tribes The Habitations on this Plain are little Cottages and very mean according to the Nature of the Persians by the Tartars call'd Olack built of Straw and Bushes and within furnish'd with as bad Implements Five Leagues from the Entrance upon the Plain from the South towards the North stands a Chappel wherein lies bury'd Bairam Tecle Obasi who in the time of Schach Abbas when the Turks under the Command of the Bashaw Tzacal Ogli fell into Persia was a famous Robber and having under his Command a great company of the like Shifters turn'd his Praedatory Practise upon the Enemy for which the King not onely pardon'd his former Crimes but made him General of an Army of twelve thousand Men with which he did the Enemy more mischief than the King with all the rest of his Persian Forces and withal rais'd him to the Dignity of a Prince and gave him many Villages hereabouts On this Plain breed also a sort of wild Beasts not seen any where else in Persia which keep together in great Herds and are by the Turks call'd Tzeiran and by the Persians Ahu they are very swist-footed and shap'd like a Roe-Buck In most places of Mocan grows abundance of Liquorice to the thickness of a Man's Arm the Juice boyl'd out of the same is much better than our English or that which grows in Germany Ten Leagues up into the Plain from the River Cur flows a Brook call'd Baharu where many * Vulgarly call'd Turtles Tortoises are found which lay their Eggs on the high Banks and in the Fields in Holes made in the Sand against the Hills but always towards the South that so they may be the sooner hatch'd by the heat of the Sun Stream Aras Through Mogan or Mocan runs a River now call'd Aras and by the Ancients Araxis but not the Araxis in Persia by the Inhabitants call'd Cur and by some miscall'd Beademir The Ancients have perhaps given the Stream Araxis that Denomination from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is To break off or Rent asunder because by the violence of its Course it often takes away pieces of the Land leaving the Banks steep and jutting It springs from the Mountain Ararat in Aâ—menia and carries the Water of many Streams along with it the chiefest whereof are Carasu Senki Kerni and Arpa and at last sinks into the Ground near Carasu afterwards appearing again not far from Ordabath falls with great noise and violence which may be heard into the Province of Mocan for Mocan in respect of Armenia and Schirwan lies very low through Mocan it runs very slow towards the Caspian Sea and unites about a quarter of a League beyond the Village Tzawat six Leagues from the Sea in 39 Degrees and 40 Minutes Northern Latitude with the Stream Cyrus now call'd Cur which comes out of the North from Georgia or Gurstan Both these Rivers are very large each being a hundred and forty Paces broad the Water thereof smooth deep and brown-colour'd runs between two high Banks The conjoyn'd Streams of Aras and Cur are by the Inhabitants call'd Causchan The Village Tzawat The Village Tzawat hath receiv'd that Denomination from the Arabick word Tzawas which signifies a Passage or Through-fare because at the same place there also lies a Bridge cross the River over which none are permitted to come into Persia without a Pass Every Spring in March when the Water rises they have an Art to remove this Bridge left it should be broken for then the River overflows its Banks and the adjacent Plain above a League so that none can travel during that time The Province of Betziruan Description of Betziruan ON the West side of the Plains of Mocan lies a Countrey and Mountain call'd Betziruan which is water'd by a winding River so that those which travel through this Countrey to Ardebil are forc'd to cross the same Amongst several others there is one Village call'd Schechmuras where the Front of the Houses are built of Stone and the Back-parts cut into the Mountain but cover'd over with Canes Straw and the like On the top of the Mountain rises a clear and sweet Spring which passing between the Rocks breeds abundance of Craw-Fish Not far from hence are other Mountains of two Leagues long and behind them a Village call'd Disle in which the Indians that come to Trade at Schamachie built a Caravansera Anno 1639. Between these Mountains in divers place grow abundance of Fig-Trees Five Leagues from Disle lies the Caravansera Aggis built very large In this Way the Travellers never suffer their Horses or Camels to eat by reason of the poysonous Quality of the Grass of which some that have tasted dy'd soon after Somewhat farther lies the Village Tzanlu near a pleasant Hill surrounded with Gardens and Orchards Beyond Tzanlu lies Tzizetlu a Mountain three Leagues over By the foot of it glides the River Carusu which coming out of the Kilanean Mountains falls into the Aras It also runs by the Village Samiam under a Stone Bridge with six Arches Half a League from which and two little Leagues from the City Ardebil is the Hamlet Tzabedar Little Fewel is to be had hereabouts wherefore the Inhabitants burn Cows Horses and Camels Dung in stead thereof having first dry'd the same sufficiently in the Sun Having in this our Relation hitherto often made mention of the Caspian Sea it will not be amiss to give a short Description of it The Caspian Sea The several Denominations of the Caspian Sea THe Caspian Sea or Lake hath several Denominations from the divers adjacent Villages and Countreys viz. The Russians call the same Chualenca or Gualenscoi More the Moors Bohar Corsun that is Inclosed Sea which Name they also give to the Arabian Gulf the Persians Culsum a Name agreeing with the Red-sea the Latines both ancient and modern following the Greeks Mare Caspium and Hyrcanum as others from the City Bacuje in Schirwan Mare de Bacu also Kilan Giorgia Terkestan Corasum and Cunsar It s length and breadth The length of the Caspian Sea is by most Writers accounted fifteen days Voyage and the breadth eight in Boats with Oars without the help of the Wind. The length from the Mouth or Entrance of the Sea from Astrachan to Ferabath is accounted eight Degrees or a hundred and twenty German Miles and the breadth from the Province Churesin to the Circassian Mountain six Degrees or ninety Leagues Paskeart vande CASPISE ZEE The great Fish Naca There is a great Fish call'd Naca taken in this Sea having a short Head and Belly wide Mouth and round Tail three or four Yards thick This Fish doth great mischief to Fishermen for it will hang with its Head under Water and overset a Boat with its Tail if not opportunely prevented The White-Fish No less dangerous is the White-Fish
of which so many breed here that the Fishermen dare not go into above four Fathom Water which Pomponius Mela seems to have observ'd when he saith in his Geography This Sea is more dangerous than any other by reason of the many Monsters that breed therein It hath been reported that in Kilan over against the Mountain Sahebelan where they breed most they are taken with Hooks fastned to thick Lines and Baited with Flesh Divers other sorts of Fish Nor doth it onely breed Monsters for contrary to the Opinion of Contareno and Bizarro it produces several sorts of excellent Fish as Salmon Sturgeon Carps an Ell long a sort of Herrings great Breams call'd Chascham Scwit or Schivit and a sort of Barbels a Yard and a half long but others less which are tough and not fit to be eaten The Inhabitants there catch another sort of Salmon-Trouts which they dry in the Smoak and Dress after this manner viz. They lay the smoak'd Fish wrapt in a Linnen or Cotton Cloth upon a hot Hearth and then cover it with Ashes till it be enough whereby it gaineth a most delicate taste This abundance of Fish breeding in the Sea causes the King of Persia to Farm out the Fishing thereof towards the Mouth of the fresh Rivers which brings him yearly considerable Sums of Money This Fishing Farm begins in September and lasts to the end of March during which time the Rivers are shut up to prevent Intruders that have no right to Fish there but all the rest of the year not onely the Rivers but the Sea it self lies free and open to all Persons This Sea in the Summer the Persians Tartars and Russians Navigate in sleight and miserable Vessels with which they dare not Sail but onely before the Wind nor venture from the sight of the Shore There are but few Harbors and those neither good nor safe the place between the Island Tzenzeni and the main Land is counted one of the securest and therefore the Persians always Anchor there in the Night they also us'd to Ride with their Vessels near Bacu Lenkeran and Ferabath according as the Wind favors them But the best in all that Sea is towards the East on the Tartars side and is call'd Chuaresm and Minkischlack but by some nam'd Manguslave This Sea according to Herodotus Ptolomy and Aristotle is distinct from all other being wholly inclos'd within the Land so that it may justly be call'd a Mediterranean from whence appear the Errors of Dionysius the Alexandrian Pomponius Mela Strabo Pliny Solinus Basilius Magnus and others who would make it to mix with the Scythian or Tartarick Sea or else a Bay of the Northern Ocean and not totally surrounded by the Land The Province of Mazanderan Borders of the Province of Mazanderan THe Province of Mazanderan or Mazanderon conterminates in the West with Gilan or Kilan the East Borders upon Estarabat the South touches Erack Media and a part of Gilan and the North verges with the Bacu or Caspian Sea Its length is accounted to be thirty Leagues and Compriseth twenty five Cities the Metropolis of which bears the same Denomination with the Province but Della Valla and Olearius name it Ferhabad and aver that formerly it was call'd Tahona Description of Ferhabad The City Ferhabad which lies about two thousand Paces from the Caspian Sea is in a great Plain and as Della Valla witnesseth in a few years after the first Building grew to the bigness of Rome or Constantinople but was not inclos'd with Walls Nor have the chief Cities in this Countrey any such Inclosures The Teggine Rude that is The Swist-River runs through the middle of the City over which there is but one Bridge but that neatly built in that place where commonly the greatest concourse or People is in other parts a good distance from the Bridge they Ferry over in slat-bottom'd Boats made of one great Tree This Place by reason of its nearness to the Caspian Sea and convenience of the beforemention'd River is accounted a Sea-port Town because the Ships Sail up to the aforenam'd Bridge where they drop their Anchors and though the Vessels are not very big yet all that drive this Trade viz. to the City Gilan Esterabad Bacu Demircapt and to Astracan in Muscovia lade and unlade here King Abbas not long since call'd it Ferhabad that is The City of perfect Joy which is an Arabick word compounded of Fer which signifies Joy and Habad that is Finished Two Reasons induc'd the King to build this City the one was a desire he had to beautifie his Kingdom and extend the Limits thereof for he built divers Cities in several other places the other was his kindness to this particular Region partly because it was the Birth-place of his Mother and partly because it was the strongest part of his Dominions for it lies on one side surrounded with the unnavigable part of the Caspian Sea and on the other with inaccessible Mountains through which none can come but by narrow and craggy Paths besides all which this Countrey lay remotest from the Enemy especially from the Turks The Houses in the beginning were not above a Story high and cover'd onely with Canes to keep out the Weather The Walls consist of a certain Stuff very common in this Countrey which being mix'd with Straw is call'd Calghil that is Straw and Earth to which a quantity of Sand being added and beaten like Mortar makes a most strong and durable Cement But the King's Palace is built of Sun-dry'd Brick which in the time of a great Fire proving a safeguard to it self and all within caus'd the King to command all the Houses to be built of the like Materials The City Eskerf Eastward from thence lies a City call'd Eskerf about two Leagues from the same Sea at the end of a large Plain near the foot of a Mountain which environs the same on the South side This City was also built by Abbas at the same time with Ferhabad It hath many Gardens and a great Bazar or Street full of Shops besides divers other meaner Houses standing without order among shady Groves in a delightful Plain which is full of Inhabitants sent thither by the King and is much frequented especially when the Court Resides there which is the greatest part of the Summer for in Winter Ferhabad was the Royal Chamber and this the King did to draw Inhabitants thither and cause a Trade and likewise because it was well seated for Hunting and other Recreations The Houses are built under high Trees and so shaded with the Boughs that they are scarce to be seen insomuch that one may doubt whether Eskerf be a City erected in a Wood or a Grove inhabited like a City In the middle of the Gardens behind the Houses stand Chambers or rather Galleries because they are onely cover'd on the top which being about a Man's heighth above the Ground are ascended to by Steps and serve both for Eating
a great Wood through which is a broad Way shadow'd by high Trees This Road is very plashy because many little Brooks run in it which in the Winter makes it so deep and rotten that the Camels though they have long Legs often sink up to the Knees Four Leagues from this Village lies a strong large and populous Place call'd Saru where the King hath a magnificent Palace and thereby has gain'd the repute of a City though consisting chiefly of a sort of Thatch'd Houses except a few scatter'd Dwellings that are Tyl'd It is call'd Saru which signifies Yellow from the abundance of Oranges and other yellowish Fruits that grow about the same Beyond Saru lie several great Plains which in former Ages were overgrown with Woods but since that being clear'd and Manur'd they are become very fertile and the Ways which then were very deep are now the Ground lying open to the Sun become very hard and some places of late made into Pav'd Cawseys These Plains are also inhabited by several People most of them Christians sent thither from divers Countreys An. 1620. to make several Plantations especially from Armenia and Georgia The Way from Saru hath all along the sides Houses rais'd onely of Boughs and Mud viz. of the Trees which were cut down in the same place by the Inhabitants to make the Countrey fit for Cultivation This Province is divided from the South to the North by the River Teggine Rude which taking original out of the Mountains more Southward of the Rice-Valley runs through it as also the City Ferhabad two thousand Paces from which it discharges its Waters into the Caspian Sea having in the Way receiv'd so many Brooks Streams and Rivulets that from the City Saru it is Navigable with flat-bottom'd Boats made on purpose of the Bodies of great Trees to Row with Oars Some of them can carry ten or twelve Men or Goods of the like Burthen The Townsmen of Ferhabad often go out a Fishing for their Pleasure into the Caspian Sea with such Boats and make use of them in the City to go from one place to another The Brook Cinon About a League from Ferhabad glides the Erook Cinon which also sends its Water into the Caspian Sea and is somewhat broader than the Teggine Rude The Countrey Lahetzan The County Lahetzan where the best Silk is to be had campriseth the Towns Lenkeru Cutzesbar and Amelekende The Countrey of Chusistan Situation of Chusistan with us several Denominations CHusistan that is The Countrey of Chus lies between Fars or Persia and the Stream Ditzel and was anciently by Mercator and since by Olearius call'd Susiana and as the same Olearius believes comprised Elam from whence came the Elamites Cluverius will have Chusistan to be the ancient Assyria and Susiana the Countrey at this Day call'd Elaran in which he partly agrees with Olearius Bounds of Susiana Susiana as Ptolomy saith conterminates in the North wiâ—h Assyria in the West with Babylon in the East hath * Properly so call'd Persia and in the South Borders at part of the Persian Gulf. Susiana compris'd anciently Meltilene Elimais Cabamene Characene Cissia Chaltapitis and the fertile Countrey of Dera The eminentest Rivers which water'd Susiana Rivers were Moseus Oroates by Ptolomy nam'd Rhunates by Ammianus Vatrochites and Euleus by the Prophet Daniel Ulai both which had such exceeding clear Water that the Kings would have no other to drink The Inhabitants of Susiana were Elamites and Cossites Inhabitants Chief Cities The chiefest City was anciently call'd Susa mention'd by Daniel in the place where he speaks of the destruction of Persia and foretells the beginning of the Grecian Monarchy It is now nam'd Desu not far from which was the Royal Palace Susan lying at the Stream Ulai by Pliny call'd Uleus where Ahassuerus who Reign'd over a hundred and twenty seven Provinces made the great Feast to all his Princes mention'd in sacred Writ The other populous and Trading Cities are Alewas Ramehormus Schabur Asker and Arhan The Inhabitants who have the Mountains to the Northward of them are forc'd by the violent heat to retire amongst them during the Summer Carmania or Kermon otherwise Kirman The several Names THis ancient Countrey by Ptolomy call'd Carmania is at this day nam'd Kirman and by Niger Kerman from its Metropolis According to Cluverius it compris'd anciently these Territories viz. Modomastice Parepaphitis Cabadine and Chantonice but at this day onely Kirman Goadel and Ormus It is inhabited by the ancient People Isaticheans Zuthians Gadanopidrans Camelobocians By what People inhabited Sozotes Agdenites Rhudians Arians Charadreans Pasargades and Armozens The ancient Cities were Carmania Samydace Alexandria and Armuze It is water'd by one River nam'd Samydace hath the Mountain Semiramis and the Wilderness Reobarle Kermon or Carmania is divided into two Parts the one Great Carmania Division which conterminates with the Sea and is by the Persians call'd Erach Ajan the other which lies farther into the Country and was anciently nam'd Wild Carmania hath now the Denomination of Dulcinde or as Corsal saith Rasigut Erack Ajan compriseth yet two Kingdoms viz. Macran and Guadel Besides these two Carmania's this Countrey comprehends Mogostan and the Kingdom of Ormus Wild Carmania borders according to Ptolomy in the North upon Parthia the West verges Persia the South looks upon Great Carmania and in the East it lies terminated by Aria The old Wild Carmania compriseth the well known Kingdoms of Lara and Oessa commonly call'd The Kingdom of Monbareca or Mombareck from the Name of the Governor besides the Countreys of Mogosthan The Countreys which lie to the Northward from the Tigris and Euphrates at the side of Persia were formerly possess'd by one Mombareck Son to a mighty Arabian which Texeira places hard by Bagdad or Babylon where there are many good Cities as Magdon Oexa and Ooreca surrounded with rich Land yet lying waste for fear of the Turks who have many Garrisons in this Mombareck's Countrey to guard those which pay him Tribute The greater Carmania borders in the North upon Wild Carmania in the East faces Gedrosia the West looks upon a part of Persia and a part of the Persian Gulf and the South is limited by the Indian Sea The River Bagrada so call'd by Ptolomy and plac'd in Wild Carmania is now nam'd Bintmir or as others Budmir by Niger Biserti and in the Arabick as Thevet affirms Biquelmick This Countrey Davity tells was possess'd by Zizaerian Arabians that formerly dwelt in Bassora Wild Carmania as Maginus writes hath not one City nor indeed doth Ptolomy mention any therein Great Carmania boasts the River Bassiri and the Cape Jasquette or Jasques about twenty five or twenty six Leagues from Ormus near the Persian Gulf opposite to Arabia Felix Ortelius says Ptolomy call'd it The Cape of Ormus Up into the Countrey lie the Towns Sirgian Tesirco Serent and Kirman or Kirmon the chief City of the Region
that is Darius's City Beyond Darabghierd we see the Villages Dechair and beyond that the Wilderness of Moghokiel Next you come to a Mosque of an Imamsade's Tomb who was call'd Meir Abas Son to Iman Giafer Sadick a Man highly esteem'd amongst the Persians yet the Mosque is quite ruin'd notwithstanding it is near a Village About it are pleasant Gardens with all sorts of Fruit-Trees water'd by a little Brook At the entrance is a Court where several People superstitiously desire to be bury'd In the middle of this Court stands a great Palm-Tree by whose Foot runs another Brook replenish'd with all sorts of Fish for the Service of the Court. Meir Aba 's Tomb. On one side of the Mosque is Meir Abas's Tomb cover'd with sleight Turkish Linnen Here Della Valle says he found a bound Book and also some Leaves of an old Book with certain Medals which were brought from Kierrila and the famous Hossein's Tomb on which were Imprinted in Arabick Letters the name of GOD and some other pious words as Elhemdu lillah that is God be praised Beyond this Tomb you come between narrow Mountains which formerly serv'd for the Boundaries between the two Provinces of Persia and Lar when Lar was a peculiar Dukedom and not subject to the Persians Somewhat farther you come to the Village Furg and beyond it to several Heaps of Rubbish being the Ruines of an ancient Structure by the Vulgar call'd The Mountain of the King of Behmen who as they report Reign'd a considerable time in Persia before Darius was conquer'd by Alexander the Great Next you approach the Village Tascui and Seid Geuder in the County of Tarom the salt Water of Absicur the Village Pelengon and the Tenghi Cebarrud or Narrow Gate beyond which a Brook glides gently into a Moat near which Travellers commonly resting themselves cut their Names and Verses on the Rocks which shadow this Brook from the heat of the Sun all the day Hence you go to Pise or Pisce a little Village in the Countrey of Gurhe not far distant Next appears the Town Curihazirgon and Serzehirevevon the Mountain of Ginan and Countrey of Issur where the Way again parts into two one running by the Village Abidunghur to the City Mina and the other to Cambru In the Road to Cambru lies the Village call'd Ciah Ciacor the common Resting-place for Travellers beyond which is a Row of Houses nam'd Pailulon or Pailuli Dagheli that is At the foot of the Lulen full of Leaves for by these Houses grow abundance of Trees by the Inhabitants call'd Kuli Dagheli as if they would say Trees full of Boughs for out of the great Branches grow many lesser down to the Ground which taking Root produce new Trees which being very common in India are by the Portuguese nam'd Arbores de Raiz that is The Rooting Trees Lastly you come to the Fort and City Combru at present by the Persians call'd Abassi The nature of the Inhabitants of Wild and Great Carmania The Inhabitants of Wild Carmania are most of them Thieves and Robbers but in Great Carmania the Women work all sorts of Shapes on Cloth of Tissue or Silk of divers colours as also on Curtains Hangings Cushions and the like In this Province are made also excellent Saddles Bridles Spurs and all manner of Weapons for War The Inhabitants drink a kind of Beer in stead of Wine and make use of the Arabian Abe The Inhabitants in the Wilderness Reobarle which lieth in this Province live by Pilfering and are great Sorcerers like the Arabians Their Turbans are long but narrower than those of the other Persians with a great Lappet behind Herb Daru Kermon Amongst many other soveraign Herbs growing here there is one exceeding good against Worms call'd Daru Kerman or Daramnack Kermony which is to be understood two several ways viz. for a Medicine for Worms or for a Medicine from Kermon for Kermon is a compound word signifying not onely This Province but A Worm and Daru or Daramnack is a Physical Herb. The chiefest Commodities with which the Inhabitants Trade are Rose-water Wormwood or Daru Kermon and the Stone Surmah Commodities of the Countrey The Carpets made here are by the Persians call'd Caluchey by the Portuguese Alcatifas and commonly by other Europeans from their Example corruptly Alcatifs which are made in three several Places in Persia viz. the richest finest and dearest are made in Izad a City in Hierack where some are sold for a thousand Ducats the second sort are those of Kerman and the third from Carason There is also a black and glittering Stone found in this Countrey which looks as if it were strew'd with File-dust or Sand and is call'd Surmah of which there are two sorts one is found in Kerman as also in Carason which is of greatest value and the other Moches because it comes from Mochi or Mecha The Arabians Indians and Persians use this Stone much against the Distemper of the Eyes for the cure of which it is very prevalent being prepar'd with other things It is good to preserve Beauty insomuch that both Men and Women wiping their Eyes with the Stone wetted account themselves much younger and fairer Gedrosia or Circan Cache Guadel and Macran The several Names of Gedrosia THis Countrey by the Ancients call'd Gedrosia is at this day according to Castaldus nam'd Circan and by Olearius and Melam taken to be the Kingdom of Tarsus of which the Psalmist speaks Niger thinks it is compris'd in Carmania Maffeus calls the Gedrosians Nautaques which are the same the Portuguese call Motages Cluverius will have Gedrosia to comprehend Kesimur and Guzaratte and anciently the two Provinces of Paradene and Parisene and several People as the Orbites Parsires Musarnes and Rhamniers The chiefest Towns were Parsis the Metropolis Chief Towns Arbis and Cuni. Ptolomy borders Gedrosia in the North Borders at Drangiana or Cagisan and Arachosia or the Countrey of Cabul Carmania bounds the West the East borders upon India or the Kingdom of Cambaya and the South fronts the Indian Sea and includes the City Guadel with the Lands belonging thereto and the Towns Calamare and Partinis beyond the Mouth of the River Ilment sometimes call'd Arke near which the Motages and Nautaques reside The County of Mecheran In the same Tract in the Province of Kirman lies another County Eastward call'd Mecheran otherwise Macran and by Texeira Macron who hath given it the Name of a Kingdom with the Denomination of Kyche or Chike by the Portuguese call'd Cache between the Dominion of Guadel and the Abindes of Indostan and betwixt the Countreys of Persia and Send or India and to the Eastward of the Kingdom of Sistan The known Towns of Mecheran are Thir Kitz and Chalack The Metropolis is by some nam'd Mecheran The Inhabitants of Erack seldom come into this Province There is also a City by some call'd Cobinam where very excellent Looking-glasses or Mirrors of Steel are made The
River which waters this Countrey is now call'd Barbarum and formerly Arabis Commodities of Cache The Kingdom of Cache produces plenty of Hemp and Flax of which the Inhabitants make Linnen Cloth and affords Oyl of Gegelin and other sorts in great abundance There are likewise many Horses call'd Cachis from the Name of the Countrey which are as good as the Persian or Arabian Guadel hath its peculiar Xeque or Vice-Roy and Macran a particular Prince but Cobinam is under the Jurisdiction of the Sophy The Province of Moghostan Bounds of Moghostan THe Province of Moghostan which signifies Date-Tree Wood because that Tree grows all over the Countrey conterminates on one side with the Dukedom of Lar and extends from thence East and South of the places which verge with the Persian Gulf. There is another Moghostan anciently so call'd for the reason before mention'd but quite differing from this by Diodorus Siculus mention'd to lie in Arabia Felix not far from the Arabian Gulf. The Village Ciuciululion The first place in this Province as you travel out of the Countrey of Lar is Ciuciululion consisting of about forty Houses built a good distance from each other in a Wood of Dates Olive and other Trees which bear no eatable Fruits but onely Leaves from whence this Village hath receiv'd its Name Five Leagues from Ciuciululion passing towards the Metropolis Mina is a very mean Hamlet call'd Dazrack Near the Sea lies Benderi du Ser a small Town that is A Haven with two Mouths Not far from which is the Shore of Scechierri or Sechierri The Haven of Combru is about two days Journey from Mina and was formerly so call'd by the Portuguese but the Persian King Abbas taking it from them gave it the Name of Abassi from his own Name The Metropolis Mina The Metropolis of Moghostan call'd Mina which is two days Journey from Ciuciululion and twelve with Camels from Lar lies in 26 Degrees and 35 Minutes Northern Latitude and hath two Fortresses on the East side inclos'd within a Wall which runs directly through the Town and at a certain distance having some sleight Towers the biggest hath two great Gates one respecting the North and the other the South and almost quite surrounded with Water In the City Mina are two Baths near neighbors to each other the first is very large and formerly had several Shops and Houses about it which were most of them ruin'd Anno 1632. the other being much less is built upon a Hill on the East side of the great one and being wash'd by a little Brook is inhabited by the Beigh and his Guard which keep Watch all the Night and call aloud at certain hours according to a Custom amongst the Eastern People Not far from Mina lies Binder Ibrahim that is The Haven of Ibrahim Cuhesteck is a Town lying on the Coast of Mina near Ormus where the Air is so unwholsom that most Strangers coming thither are afflicted with the Disease of the Countrey in so violent a manner that few escape The Houses in Mina are made of the plash'd Boughs of Date-Trees In this Province grow abundance of Trees Trees by the Arabians call'd Nebo and by the Persians Conar which bear a small Fruit with a Stone in the middle like our Cherries the dry'd Leaves thereof rubb'd to Powder and put in Water not onely turn the same white but make it Lather like Soap which most People use when they Bathe themselves Here also grows a Tree call'd Amba brought from India In Moghostan and other Places in Persia Beasts breeds a strange sort of Beast in colour and shape like a Tyger but hath a Head and Snout like a Hog it makes a great screeking in the Night and desires to prey upon the dead Bodies of Men which it endeavors to scrape out of the Graves wherefore Della Valla believes it is the same Beast which the Latines and Greeks call Hyena or a Mungrel Wolf The supream Governor of Moghostan is styl'd Sceheriari and being subject to the Chan of Schiras keeps not his Court in the Metropolis Mina but in a neighboring Village where one Schach Sefi Reign'd Anno 1630. Lorestan BEsides the Provinces before mention'd those of Nimruz Sichar and Lorestan are reckon'd Members of the Crown of Persia though we onely know the Names of the two former but Lorestan some call Luristan and Paulus Venetus onely Lor which perhaps is the Name of its Metropolis for Stan is a vulgar word in Persia for Land or Countrey John the Persian places Lorestan ninety Leagues from Casbin and makes Cormana to be the Residence of the King of Persia but Texeira who calls it Cormatu and Cormavat affirms that it is onely a strong Place in this Province the Kings of which paid as a yearly Tribute fifty thousand Ducats The Province of Chorazan THe Province of Chorazan or Carason by Olearius taken to be the ancient Bactriana contrary to Davity who makes Bactriana a part of Zagatey or Usbeck Carason according to Davity compriseth the ancient Countrey of Margiana bordering upon the River Gehun by some styl'd Geichon and by others Oxus which according to Ptolomy conterminates in the North with Margiana Chorazan saith Davity comprises also a great part of Aria and Texeira places Kerman or Carmania between Persia and Carason and Ptolomy borders Carmania in the West with Persia and in the East at Ery Cluverius nevertheless takes Margiana for Elsabat which is accounted a part of Tartary and Zagatey Castaldus calls the ancient Margiana Jezelbas or Jesilbax that is Green Head the general Name given by the Tartars to Zagatey who formerly possess'd this Countrey and was first taken from them by Ismael Seff but afterwards being lost was by Schach Abbas re-taken and ever since kept Herbert divides Chorazan into three great Territories viz. Hery Farihan and Tocharistan anciently call'd Aria Paropamisa and Tocharia Chorazan according to Olearius conterminates in the East with Mazanderan and is divided into many lesser Counties amongst which Hery is the chiefest Chorazan taken for the ancient Margiana borders in the East upon Bactriana m the West faces Hircania or Starabat the South verges with a part of Aria and the North looks upon a part of Tartary or Scythia viz. from the Mouth of the River Oxus to a part thereof near Bactriana The City Mesched This Countrey comprehends many large Cities the chiefest whereof is Mesched otherwise Maxad and by the Persians call'd Thus. This City standing on a Hill near the River Habin is environ'd with Walls and strengthned with Moats Towers and other Fortifications insomuch that Texeira affirms there are three hundred Towers a Musquet-shot from each other and that with the Gardens and Banquetting-houses the City is accounted to be six Leagues in circumference and inhabited by a hundred thousand People In this City may be seen a stately Tomb of one of the twelve Persian Imams or great Saints of the Family of Aaly call'd Imam
overgrown with Brambles and Thorns which the Inhabitants wanting Wood use for Fewel But in the low Grounds where the most Villages are built it is green and fertile for the Inhabitants convey the Brooks which are not above four or five Foot broad and spring out of the Mountains about and through all their Lands and Gardens which they water therewith for as we said before there is little Rain falls in Persia Their Fields are generally ten or twelve Rods in the square which being surrounded with Water and inclos'd with Banks about a Foot high they stopping their Sluces drown the same when they please and can let the Water out of one Trench into another nay oftentimes when occasion requires they let their Lands lie under Water in the Night and in the day-time drain it off again to be dry'd by the Heat of the Sun Every Chile of Land affords ten Truss of Hay Plants Plants and Grain THe Grain which the Persians commonly Sowe are for the most part Rice some Wheat Barley Rye and Oats though of no great esteem they have also French Wheat Tares and Pease which are of two sorts the best they call Nagud and the worst Culul and likewise whole Fields of Ricinus by the Arabians call'd Kicaion Santjone Alcaroa and Kerva by the Persians Cuntzut by the Italians Gira Sole and with us The Sun-Flower which in those Countreys continues many years but with us dies every Winter Out of the Seed they press a sweet and delicate Oyl call'd Schirbache which the Persians poure on certain Meats The Rusticks eat the Seed whole mix'd with Currans in stead of Sweet-meats Cotton by the Persians call'd Pambeh by the Indians Algodon Cotton abounds in Persia and by the Arabians in Egypt Gotne Mesegiar is Planted in most Provinces in great abundance and grows on a Sprig of a Yard long having Leaves like those of the Vine but much bigger On the top of the Stalk grows a Cod about the bigness of a great Walnut which when ripe opens in three or four places through which the Cotton appearing is gather'd and much thereof made into Cloth and the rest sold in Bags There are several Villages which do nothing else but plant and sell Cotton which most of all grows in Armenia Iran Nachzuan Carabach Adirbeitzan and Chorazan In Kilan because there grows no Cotton they Sowe much Line-seed which they Spin into Thred and make Linnen thereof The Plant Gontscheh There is also a sort of Grass in the Countrey Language call'd Gontscheh which being Sow'n grows a Yard and a half high and having Leaves like Clover bears blue Flowers and being twice Mow'd in eight Weeks grows up again six years one after another without new Manuring but in the seventh Year the Land must be turn'd up and Sow'd afresh This requires also as much Moisture as that of Rice or Wheat Of this Grain they make Hay for Great Mens Horses as their best Food but in some places where it is warm and moist especially in Muscur near the Caspian Sea where there is no want of Grass either in Summer or Winter they have no occasion to make such Hay Here also are whole Fields of Faenum Graecum Fenugreek or Fenugreek in the Persian Tongue call'd Schembebile It is excellent Fodder for Oxen Cows and Buffalo's which are fatned therewith The Persians say that if Butter lose its taste and become rank being melted with the Seed of this Plant and a piece or two of Onion put therein it recovers its former rellish By reason of the Heat in Persia where it is more Summer than Winter and in the Summer much constant and Sun-shiny Weather there are many excellent Garden Fruits not onely for the Kitchin but to delight the Palate as also all manner of Herbs which we have in Europe and among others great and delicate Colliflowers In the Province of Tarum grow Onyons of three pound weight Several sorts of Melons The Persians esteeming Melons Plant them in great abundance and being very delicate eat them before Meals There are several sorts of Melons viz. Summer and Winter the first call'd Kermeck from Kerm that is Warm are the sweetest and ripen in July the Harvest Melons call'd Charbusei Pasi are ripe in September and weighing from thirty to fifty pound not onely keep good all Winter but the whole Year if hung up between green Canes or Reeds where they are well preserv'd till they have new ones and are not known from them but by the softness of the Rind After the same manner they keep Grapes and other Fruits a whole year so that they have them fresh as if from the Trees in the midst of Winter There is yet another sort of Melons call'd Schammame about the bigness of an Orange with red yellow and green Spots between which the Rind glitters exceedingly and though they smell very sweet yet taste unpleasantly and therefore they are onely carry'd in the Hand for their curious colour and smell which hath given it the Arabian Name of Schammame There is also a sort call'd Tochmesksems being half Persian and half Arabian and signifies Grain or Seed of the Sun which is of an excellent scent and taste There are likewise Water-Melons nam'd Hinduduane from their original out of India as also many sorts of Calabashes among which one call'd Cabach is bigger than a Mans Head with a long Neck and round Knob on the top The outermost Rind of the ripe ones areas hard as the Bark of a Tree and tough as Leather The Pulp dry'd affords nothing but the Seed which taken out they use the Shells in stead of Bowls or Cups to put Water or Drink in The Fruit Badinstan There is another sort of Fruit not known to us in Europe call'd Badinstan in bigness form and manner of growing like our lesser Melons the Fruit is commonly grey except at the end of the Stalk where it is of a Violet colour the Seed is round and long and by reason of the bitterness not eaten raw but being boyl'd or fry'd with Butter is a pleasant Dish Many Vines grow also in Persia and in all the Provinces thereof which bear large and sweet Grapes of which Texeira says the Inhabitants make excellent Wine in the Turkish Language call'd Xarao or Charab But the Mahumetans are forbidden either to make or drink it The Persians of the Lees of this Wine compose a Syrrup The Persian Composition Duschab by them call'd Duschab after this manner viz. They boyl the Lees a sixth part away till it comes to a thick Oyl which being mix'd with Water and Vinegar makes an excellent Liquor and sometimes they boyl their Duschab so thick that it may be cut with a Knife which Travellers commonly carrying with them and putting the same in Water to dissolve Drink Moreover the Persians often put this Duschab in their Wine especially those of Kileck because their Wine there is not so sweet as that in
the Southern Provinces At Tabris they make an excellent Dish of Duschab and call it Helwa after this manner viz. They take bruis'd Almonds Wheat Flowre and Kernels of great Walnuts all which being put into long Bags with the Duschab is pounded together and dry'd till it become so hard that they must chop it in pieces Of this Mixture they also make a sort of long Puddings which they call Sutzuch Here are are several sorts of Grapes but the sweetest and best are at Sciras and Tabris where they are call'd Tabersel which though they may be found in several other Places yet not in so great abundance they are long without Kernels and keep good a whole Winter Keseki is another sort of Grapes yellow and exceeding sweet growing most in Tarum Tabris and Ordebath but attended with this evil Quality that whoever eats of them too freely is sure to be tormented with the Bloody-flux The Currans Kismisch There are also Currans without Stones call'd Kischmisch which are long green and bigger than those brought into Europe and grow chiefly about the Village Bawanat near Herat those both new gather'd and dry'd give an excellent taste to the Pilao and other Meats wherewith they may be mix'd Besides these there are two sorts more which are not in Europe the one call'd Hallage which bears Grapes an Inch and a half long and an Inch thick brown of colour and having a hard Pulp without much Juice or Kernels these may be kept fresh and good till the ensuing Year produces others The second sort is nam'd Encur Aali Deresi the Bunches whereof are extraordinary big and half a Yard long each Grape as big as our Pear-plumb brown of colour very juicy but of short continuance therefore are eaten as they are pull'd from the Trees they grow in no place but Iran between Ordebath and Chodaferum why they are call'd Encur Aali Deresi the Persians give us this Account viz. That some Ages since in the Winter their great Saint Aali coming to the foremention'd place met with a Vine-Planter whom he ask'd for some Grapes but he telling him the impossibility thereof at that time of the year was commanded by Aaly to go into the next Vineyard where he should find enough the Man giving credit to those words of Aaly went immediately thither and saw the Vines hang sull of the best and biggest Grapes that ever his Eyes beheld from whence as they say the Grapes before mention'd grew and were call'd Encur Aaly Deresi that is The Grapes in Aaly's narrow Valley Fruit-Trees and Fruit of several kinds Persia hath also all manner of Fruit-trees which grow in Europe besides many other of their own among which a kind of Pear at Ordebath call'd Melletzo in colour and outward shape like a Cittron sweet of smell and very juicy Granates Almonds Dates and Figs grow also in several places especially in the Kilanean Wilderness and Mountains The wild Granates are all sowre but the Kernels of them dry'd in the Persian Tongue call'd Nardan from Nar a Pomegranate are carry'd to be sold in remote Provinces where they use them to colour their Meat black and make it tartish by laying them to soke in Water and squeezing the Juice thorow a Cloth Many also boyl the Juice out of them when green and poure the Liquor over Rice to give it a sharp rellish There are also whole Gardens of white and red Mulberry-trees the Leaves whereof serve to feed the Silk-worms they are Planted so close that a Man cannot go betwixt them neither do they suffer them to grow above five Foot and a half high that they may the better reach to lop all the Boughs There grows a sort of Shell-fruit call'd Mask which is green and about the bigness of a Pescod but not so flat About Ispahan may be seen a little Tree nam'd Bidmisk that is Willow-Musk from its resemblance with the Willow and smell of Musk it hath in stead of Leaves or Flowers a kind of Cod of pale green Threds out of which is press'd a very cooling Liquor being an excellent Medicine against any Burning There is likewise the Tziaccacuei or Fistick-Tree both Male and Female which differ little in shape but the Males onely bear Fruit being Berries like those of a Lawrel which grow at the ends of the Leaves five or six together In these Berries breed little Flyes Beasts Beasts breeding in this Countrey THe Beasts for Food or Burden are generally Sheep Goats Beeves Buffalo's Camels Horses Mules and Asses The Sheep are kept in great Flocks as in Europe for Mutton is their daily Food but different from ours in taste shape and bigness being for the most part bigger than ours with high crooked Noses long hanging Ears like Spaniels with Tails of ten twenty and thirty Pound weight which are nothing but Fat yet their Bodies lean enough though their Tails have exactly the same Joynts as our Sheep yet the Fat grows so thick about them that they are much larger in circumference which makes them that they cannot run fast or skip The same kind of Sheep are amongst the Tartars on the West and North side of the Caspian Sea There are also whole Herds of Goats whose Flesh is eaten and their Tallow of which one hath often twenty five Pound weight made into Candles Their Skins being Tann'd are sent into Poland Muscovy and all over Europe There breed likewise many Buffalo's especially in the Northern part near the Caspian Sea in Serab near Ardebil Ervan and Scherul where some Husbandmen have five or six hundred of them They thrive best in moist places and their Milk is said to be very cooling The Kilanean Buffalo's like those in India have a fat Bunch in their Necks near their Shoulders The Persian Cows will not suffer themselves to be Milk'd except their Calves be near them so that when the Calf dies for they never kill any they stuff their Skins full of Straw and strowing Salt thereon bring the same to the Cow which they Milk whil'st she licks off the Salt for else she would never give down her Milk They have little regard for Hogs and seldom or never eat of them therefore the Armenian Christans which living amongst them have Dwellings apart as in Tzulfa and the Suburb of Ispahan keep onely a few But Crusius affirms that they eat Swines-flesh by permission of their Prophet Aaly and Schach Ismael Those Swine which breed here are most of them speckled The Inhabitants keep many Camels of several kinds for some of them have two Bunches Camels of several sorts and those we name Dromedaries and the Persians Bughur and those with one Bunch Schuttur of which last they have four sorts and being of several Natures are valu'd accordingly the best sort are by them call'd Ner which are generated by a Bughur and a Schutter those which seldom breed being call'd Maje are very strong and at certain times are able to carry a thousand weight
abundance of Cooks Shops Abundance of Cooks Shops wherein they sell Meat ready drest which is so common that Persons of great Quality though they have Cooks in their Houses when desirous of Varieties of Meat well drest they send to those Shops for them Those tyfeats which they baste with their Butter at first seem very ill tasled to a Palat not accustom'd thereto but afterwards obtain a more pleasing Rellish They also have a Bak ' d-meat call'd Perian and another call'd Carik dress'd after the Indian manner There are also preserv'd Cucumbers which are very palatable and in the midst of Summer cooling They have likewise a dainty Dish call'd Peluda made up of Ameldonk or Amelcores in the manner of a Tart either made white like Snow or else they colour them with Saffron The Tart cut in pieces is put into a China-Dish and rose-Rose-water and Sugar pour'd over it and a great piece of Ice laid by it which melting in the Rose-water with the Sugar makes a delicious and cool Liquor into which are put Almonds and the Herb Purslan cut into small pieces which give it a very pleasing Rellish This Liquor put into the same Dish with the pieces of Tart is both Meat and Drink and a choice Delicate in the midst of Summer In the Southern Countreys especially Westward about Ormus they use many Herbs in their Drinks as also Brandy and other hot Liquors amongst which one call'd Jarkin which is in great esteem in the Island of Java and all the Southern Provinces of the Eastern Countreys they use also much Sale and though between Ispahan and Ferhabad there is a large Plain that yields great quantityes the Soyl being full of Salt yet they use another sort contemning this though good by reason of it's great plenty Before and after Meals the Persians both in Winter and Summer have warm Water to wash their hands which they wipe with their Handkerchiefs After Supper They paint their Skins they commonly present their Guests with dryed Leaves of Hanna or Alkanna to colour their Hands and this Ceremony is as much to the satisfaction of the Eastern Countrey-people as a Ball with Dancing or Musick after a Banquet Some discolour their skins all over in this manner when they please viz. they lay the Alkanna tempered in water on their Hands or that part of the Body which they intend to colour and binde it on with a String that it may not fall off this the Women do for the most part after Supper before they go to Bed that so the Colour lying on all Night may make the better Impression in the Morning the Paste being dry falls off and leaves an Orange-tincture on the Skin but if over-dawb'd it makes them Red or Black Amfion or Opium Thee Coffee and Tobacco MOst Persians use Amfion or Opium that is Juice or Oyl of Poppy by them call'd Offiuhn and Tiriak as the Berry Chas Cehask and by the Turks onely Maslac which they making up in little Pills like Pease swallow Those that use themselves to it may take a quarter of an Ounce or more at a time Some take it every other or third day onely to set them into an intoxicating Extasie where they please themselves with strange Imaginations They are gathered in several Places of Persia especially about Ispahan after this manner The white Poppy being cut produces a milky Juice which having stood a while and becoming black is taken and made fit to be used The Druggists and Apothecaries make great advantage thereof But Opium is not onely used much in Persia but also in Turky and India It is also said that some Women when their Husbands and they cannot agree contrive their dispatch with a Dose of Opium Coknar a sort of Drink and the use thereof From the Husk or Shell the Persians also extract a Juice which they call Coknar much drunk by the Soldiers especially in the time of Schach Abbas when they were forbidden to drink Wine for it revives the Spirits for the present but is nothing so wholsome for soon after their Bodies are so debilitated that they are unfit for Service wherefore Schach Abbas prohibited upon pain of Death either to make or fell this Liquor Moreover all Vessels with this Liquor wherever they were found were broken no and stav'd immediatly before their Doors But after all this and the before mention'd first Law made by King Abbas he preferring an Inconvenience before a Mischief permitted the People to drink Wine again as formerly in stead of Cocknar Take much Tobacco They are great Takers of Tobacco insomuch that People of all sorts and Degrees Smoak it in their Temples and other publick Places They have it from Bagdad or Babylon and Curdistan but so ill preparâ—d that they desire our European Tobacco which they call Inglis Tambacu because the English bring the greatest quantities thither They take it not as we do but suck it through two Pipes joyn'd together but first they take a Glass Bottle or Indian Nut or a Cabach which is a kind of Shell that holds about a Pint into which they put more or less sometimes sweet Water leaving sufficient room for Smoak then they put the two Pipes through the Mouth of the Bottle the one contains the Tobacco in one Bowl and through the other goes the Smoak the end of one Pipe stands as far from the bottom as the end of the other is from the Water viz. about a Thumbs breadth The Persians generally with their Tobacco drink Coffee made from the Arabian Caowa or Persian Cahwee which they dry and pulverize and after decoct as we now use and have learn'd from them of which we shall enlarge when we come to Arabia the Place where it grows They use also Tee or Tea being very common and sold in publick Houses by them call'd Chat tai Chane that is Houses of Catayan Tzai or Thee of which likewise in its proper place Of their Marriages Use Poligamy PErsons of Quality in this Countrey are seldome satisfied with one Wife and of old had many which they may turn off when they please which as Strabo relates was anciently for the Childrens sake for the Kings gave Annually Presents to those that had most Children But at this day they affect not this Multiplicity having not so many Wives as formerly yet they make no more of Wedlock than a Play of Fast and Loose turning them off when they please and are still for Variety and this Liberty they take the rather because Mahomet in his Alcoran allows Polygamy Rich Merchants who Trade in divers Places in the Countrey make a great Convenience of it having at their Countrey-houses and where else they Trade not onely Furniture but a Wife so that where e're they come they are still at Home They Marry their nearest Relations but not so incestuously as of old they were wont to do for in antient times as Brissonius affirms out of several Writers they
also from all kind of Pleasures Many poor People digging a deep Hole in the most populous Street go into it where standing up to the Chin they cover their Heads with an Earthen Vessel full of Holes in which manner they stand a whole day whil'st another poor Man sitting near begs Alms of those that pass by Others as an extraordinary sign of sorrow anoint their Bodies with a black shining Colour which makes their Skin like Jet some paint their Bodies red thereby to represent the innocent Blood and cruel Derth of Hossein and Sing several Elegies in a doleful Tone in which they relate the Circumstances of his Death One of the Molla's or Priests especially of those that boast their Extract from Mahomet stands every day at Noon in the Maidan or other open place upon a high Stool with a green Turbant where he makes a Sermon declaring the noble Acts and Holiness of Hossein and the Circumstances of his Death The like Sermons are Preach'd in their Metzids or Temples Another Feast and Procession On the tenth of the Moneth Muharrem which they call The Murthering Day and is our eighth of January they go in Procession through all the Streets in Ispahan as on the day of Aasly's Death for they wear the same Clothes and have the other things belonging to that Ceremony as Pennons Ensigns and Horses richly caparison'd and loaden with Armor and Turbants Moreover they have a Camel which tarries a Basket wherein are two or three Children which represent the Children of Hossein that were carry'd to Prison These are follow'd by Biers cover'd with Velvet on the top whereof stands a Persian Tag or Turbant In these Processions the Men for the most part go Arm'd and oftentimes Fight one with another thereby to represent the Confusion and Hurry in which Hossein was Martyr'd certainly believing that whosoe're is kill'd in this Bussle goes directly to Paradice nay they affirm that during these Days of Asciur the Gates of Paradice stand always wide open and the Mahumetans which die in that time go directly thither without stop or stay Lastly all the Ceremonies for Hossein's Martyrdom are one and the same with those of Aaly's though the first are kept with greater State and Magnificence The night before the last day the Effigies of Abubeker Osman and Omar and some other contrary Parties are burnt publickly in the Maidan or Market-place On the twenty fifth of November the Persians keep a Feast of the Brotherhood as is already mention'd The Feast Abrisan On the fifth of July they keep a Feast by them call'd Ab Pascian or rather Abrizan that is Sprinkling of Water for Ab in the Persian Tongue signifies Water and Risan to Sprinkle on which day the King and all his Nobles Clothe themselves in short Vests after the Mazanderan manner and wear little Caps in stead of Turbants in which Dress they repair to a Brook or some other pleasant watry place where taking up the Water in little Cups they poure the same over one anothers Bodies but at last they grow so zealous that throwing away the Cups they endeavor to force each other into the Water with such eagerness that this Day never passes without the loss of many Persons This Feast is kept in Ispahan near the River Senderuth at the same place where it flows under the great Bridge in the Street call'd Tziaharbah Rui Gonzales Clavio tells us that this Feast is kept in Ispahan on the Bridge of Senderuth whither resort all the Townsmen and People from the adâ—acent places where they do as we have before related From whence this Feast hath its original we do not certainly know neither do the Persians themselves as we suppose Some ascribe the rise thereof to the Christians in commemoration of John the Baptist and this Opinion they strengthen with this Reason viz. That the Christians and almost all People of Asia keep the same though not upon one day or as others say in memory of the three Kings and because our Saviour was Baptiz'd at the River Jordan by John the Baptist The Armenians call this Day Cackciuciran that is Cross-water-day for they place a Cross in the Water on that Day from whence this Festival Day hath receiv'd its Denomination The Chineses Japanners and many other of the neighboring People keep such a kind of Feast as this which they call Tuonu The Feast Istend The Persians also observe a Feast call'd Istend so styl'd from an Herb of the same Name which shoots first out of the Ground in the Winter Season at the appearance of which this Feast begins and consists onely in the abundance of lighted Candles and Torches which they burn all the day and the following night in their Shops as a sign of their joy that the Winter which about that time ends in those hot Countreys is so near expiring This Feast is kept on that day when the Sun passes by the twenty fifth Degree of Aries which generally happens to be on the fifteenth of February The Feast of Freedom On the fifteenth of the Moneth Schabahan the Persians keep a great Feast call'd Scebiberat that is The Night of Freedom or Choise on which they do nothing but Pray give Alms to the Poor and the like pious Actions which they do in commemoration of the Souls of their deceased Friends Their Policy in Government Oeconomy and Splendor of the Court. The Government absolutely Monarchical THe Government of this Countrey is by absolute Monarchy for the King being the Chief hath all things in his own power to do whatsoe're he pleases being able to make or break Laws without any contradiction nay to take away any ones Estate or Life though he be the greatest Lord in the Countrey in short his Will is a Law in all things to his People The Kings Title The general Title of the King is Sophy deriv'd from the Arabick word Suff which signifies Woolly because the last Kings have instituted an Order to wear Woollen and not Cotton or Linnen Turbants as the Turks do or else because Sophy signifies Wise or Experienc'd according to the Greeks Olearius tells us that Writers call the last Persian Kings Sophy because the Promoter of their Sect was call'd Schach Sefi from whom it is become a Title of Honor as Defender of the Faith to his Majesty of Great Britain Most Christian to the French and Catholick to the King of Spain King Ismael also caus'd himself to be nam'd Schach Sade that is The Son of Schach as a token of his Extract from Schach Sefi who was so highly esteem'd amongst them Some say that this Name Sophy signifies a Man which renouncing the World endeavors onely to serve God so that Xeque Ismael bore the Title of Sophy because he appear'd to be the greatest Promoter of his Sect. And sometime before him Halilah being advanc'd to great Dignity was for the same reason call'd Sophy But since Schach Ismael none of
occasion requires he wets the Seal with Ink which the King constantly wears about his Neck to make an Impression with from whence he also receives his Denomination Dawat or Ink-carrier for the Persians Print all their seals wetted with Ink on Paper in stead of making Impressions in Wax Mohur signifies a Signet or Seal-Ring and the word Dar which hath a general signification of Officer is us'd in a commanding sense in stead of having as if you would say Haver or Keeper of the Seal Besides the Great Seal the King hath a less Signet to seal his Letters withal which he sends to his Vice-Roys and Governors and other publick Writings wherewith no Person is intrusted for the King wears the same in his Ring and makes an Impression with his own Hand therewith The Myrachurbasschi is the Master of the Horse Myrischicar the chief Falconer Sechhahnbaschi the Huntsman Jesaulcor like our Knight Marshal which rides before the King and with a Cane clears the way is under the Lord Marshal and hath a Deputy under him call'd Jesaul which are as our Marshals Men whom he imploies on all occasions and sometimes to apprehend Malefactors Suflretzi the King's Carver Abdar the King's Cup-bearer who has deliver'd to him the Wine or Water for the King 's drinking in a seal'd Vessel which he publickly opens and so presents it to the King Chasinedar the Treasurer Ambadar the Purveyor of Corn Jesaul Nesar the Person that keeps the Kings Shoes when he goes into the Hall Mehmandar or Mehimander he that provides Lodgings and all other Necessaries for Forraign Ambassadors and not onely waits upon them but also acquaints the King with their business he being the first that hath any knowledge thereof given him nay all Affairs of what consequence soever must pass through his Hands though the Agents were sent from other Princes to treat of nothing else but Matters of State which makes the Mehimander to be in great Esteem and Reputation The King also ordains another peculiar Mehimander to take care and provide for such Ambassadors as he esteems more than ordinary the other Officers are of meaner degree viz. the Isauly are a People who as Messengers wait at Court and are sent abroad on all occasions The Kischiktzibaschi is Captain of the Guard as the Tzabedar is Master of the Ordnance and the Tzartzi chief Herald at Arms who proclaimeth all the King's Edicts The Tzelaudarbaschi is Captain of the King's Horse-Guard and Master of the Stirrop The Mostofi is the principal Secretary of State who is permitted to keep several Clarks The Seraidar or Surveyor of the Works who keeps in repair pair the King's Pallaces The Clitar serves as Porter the Muschrift is the Clark of the Kitchin the Cannati is the Confectioner the Sbherbedar buies all the King's Sweet-meats the Omatzdar being an Archer teaches His Majesties Pages and other Courtiers to shoot at Marks the Bildars are Pyoneers which keep constantly at the Court and attend when the King travels cleaning the ways or cutting steps in rocky Ascents which otherwise the Camels having round feet are not able to climb they also help to pitch the Tents and dig deep Pits in the ground for water The Schatir are the Footmen the Rica carry Battel-axes and oftentimes perform the office of Execution and always attend the King as his Life-guard All Officers or Servants belonging to the Court have each according to their Qualities great Pension or Salary which is not paid them out of the King's Revenue or Treasury but from several Villages which are allotted for that purpose The Allowance of the Chans The Chans have certain Lands and Villages thereto belonging allowed them yet they receive the Revenue and are as Magistrates judging and determining all things but Matters of Life and Death some have certain Customs given them others receive for their Salary the Taxes laid on Houses of Entertainment They hold durance beneplacito All the foremention'd Officers keep their places during the King's pleasure who seldom discharges them but for Misdemeanor or else to prefer them to some greater Dignity The most eminent Officers and Courtiers belonging to the King which were living Anno 1640. in the time of Schach Sofi and had serv'd also his Predecessor Schach Abbas being of a mean condition Schach Sefi kill'd all but two viz. the one a Herdsman's Son the other a Slave to Schach Abbas who were afterwards by Sefi promoted to greater Dignity Those that he put to Death were Eahtemad-Dowlet a Scriveners Son born in Mazanderan The Wakenuis or Privy-Counsellor a Rusticks Son born in the Village Dermen near Casbijn most of them had Christian Parents viz. Georgians Circassians or Armenians for the Persians repose greater confidence in a Chistian if he be circumciz'd than in one of their own Religion Their highest Oath The King is exceedingly honor'd in his Realm when any one takes an Oath they never swear but by the King's Head which is accounted the most sacred and solemn of all other Their Complements In their wishing of Joy and Happiness one to another they say not God give you Joy but in the Turkish Language Schach Mura di sun that is I wish that the King may shew his favor to you and many other things they attribute to their King which belong to God onely All see the King once a year According to an antient Custom in Persia and the Command of King Abbas none dare though a person of but an indifferent Estate neglect to see the King and shew him Reverence once a year On their Neuruz or New-years Day the King according to an antient Custom receives Presents from all his chief Officers unless the day be suspected ominous for then the King never comes out of his Haram or Seraglio How the King gives Audience to Ambassadors as we have before mention'd The King seldom grants Audience to any Ambassadors in private but always at a publick Dinner and in presence of all the Guests notwithstanding their business be never so secret No Persian whatsoever whether Subject or Stranger may appear before the King without great Presents nay not the Ambassadors from strange Princes which is a very antient Custom and was as Philostratus tell us us'd in the time of the Kings of Media The King expects Presents The Kings of Persia demand Presents from those that are their Homagers who pay no Tribute and this Custom is kept amongst all Eastern Princes to this very day they publickly provide that if any Foreigners bring Presents that are not thought fit for the Emperors Greatness they make him remain still there with more of the like Petitioners so by that means their Presents make the greater shew and appear the more glorious to the Spectators they report further that if the Present seems not equivalent to the King's Greatness there is an addition out of the Wardrobe silently hinting that they or whoever else cannot come too well provided
of Cloth-of-Gold or embroider'd Sattin with rich Fringe The Dishes wherein the Meat is brought to the Table are of massie Gold as also their Drinking-Cups which hold about a Pint and a half But Schach Abbas had all his serv'd up in Glass for a distinction from others They deliver with every Cup a great woodden Spoon or Ladle with a long Handle which they use more to drink out of than to eat withal neither do they make use of any other Spoons but what are made after that manner and of sweet-smelling Wood which having been once us'd are never brought to the Table again They never use Forks or Knives but the Steward who performs the Office of a Carver cuts the Meat with a great square Golden Slice which he always carries in his Hand How their Meat is serv'd up In the setting the Meat on the Table the Servants bring not the Dishes together but standing in a row from the Kitchin they hand them from one to another to the Table They commonly have but one Mess for they set all their Dishes at once upon the Table Each Person also receives Wine from a Waiter in order according to his Quality out of a golden Tumbler Every one is permitted to rise from Table without shewing Reverence to any and if their Occasions chance to call them out of the Room they go away without taking leave of any though the King himself be present The Water with which they wash their Hands is brought in gold en Basons The King and other great Persons seldom drink any Wine without Ice or Snow The Ice which they use is made of the clearest Water after this manner viz. Not far from the City in a great Plain a Bank is rais'd or cast up directly from East to West which being about a hundred and fifty Foot long and very thick is so high that it shadows the Plain from the Sun-beams when the Sun is at the heighth At the end of this Bank are two Arms which extending from the South to the North are full as high as the main Bank and about twenty four Foot long and keep off the Morning and Evening Sun so that this Plain lies shaded all the day long In this shady place is a Moat of about twenty or thirty Foot deep extending from the one Arm of the Bank to the other In the midst of Winter when it Freezes hardest they Plough this Plain which lies open to the Northern Winds full of small Furrows about three or four Fingers deep and so letting in the Water overflow it which in one Night freezing to the bottom is the next Morning before the rising of the Sun thrown into the Moat and Water pour'd upon it to make it condense the harder and this Practice they continue for a whole Moneth together or longer till the Moat is fill'd to the top with Ice then they cover it with Straw to prevent the melting thereof by the heat of the Sun and to keep it from Rain In the Summer this Ice being broken with Pick-axes is carry'd through the City to be sold on Horses or Mules two or three pieces being a sufficient Burthen The Ice being broken with a Hammer into greater or lesser pieces is either put into the Vessel with the Wine or into the Cups when they drink They also lay pieces of Ice in their Dishes with Fruit and other Cates which is very pleasing to the Eye especially if that which lies under the Ice appears through it The King's Dishes Urns and Drinking-Cups which he uses at his Table are all of massie Gold The Chans and other Nobles have their Pilao or Rice colour'd black and yellow and made savory with Herbs or else dulcifi'd with Sugar brought on their Tables also in Gold and Silver Dishes The Government of the peculiar Provinces How the Provinces are Govern'd ALl the Provinces in Persia which are remote from the King's Court are Govern'd by Chans Sultans Calenters Darago's Visiers and Caucha's The King chuses the Chans who are as much as Princes or Vice-Roys and makes them Governors of what Provinces he pleases but commonly he elects them who by their valiant Exploits Piety or other noble Vertues have gain'd the love of their Countrey wherefore many in hopes to attain to that Honor behave themselves very valiantly in any Engagement and desperately venture their Lives for the Title of Chan. But the Children of those who are thus chosen Inherit not amongst the Persians for though they are held in great Respect and enjoy their Father's Goods yet they are not honor'd with his Title nor succeed him in his Office except they are judg'd worthy thereof by their own Merits But Della Valle tells us that the King gives the Dignity of Chan to one of his Subjects not onely for his Life but also permits his Children to succeed him after his Death and that there are Families found that have enjoy'd this Title above two hundred years As soon as the King hath made any one a Chan he immediately gives him Lands and Men to support his Grandeur which he enjoys as long as he lives but if at any time he chance to be suspected by the King he is immediately turn'd out of his Employment and all his Goods seiz'd Each Province hath a Chan and a Calenter who resides in the Metropolis thereof The Chan being the King's Vice-Roy Executes the Law doth Justice to all and passes Sentence of Death on Criminals without any special Order from the Court. The chiefest Chan is he who Governs Sciras the Metropolis of the Province of Persia properly so call'd who is able to bring an Army of thirty thousand Men into the Field the Countrey which he Commands being said to be bigger than Portugal The Calenter is as a Collector or Treasurer of the Province gathering all the Revenues and giving an Account thereof either to the King or Chans A Darugo or Darago otherwise Hacom is like a Governor or Mayor of a City every City having one A Caucha is as much as an under Sheriff The Equipage of Ambassadors The King usually sends the Chans and Sultans as Agents to foreign Princes and fits them out after this manner viz. The King orders them to give great Presents to those Princes unto whom they are sent of which the one half is given out of the King's Treasury and the other part as also all other Necessaries the Province which the Chan Governs is to provide which often causes great disturbance and confusion In some Provinces the Chans must maintain a certain number of Soldiers for the King which besides their own must be ready for Service on all occasions but then the King receivs no Tribute from them The Chans make great Presents to the King The Chans commonly on New-years-day make great Presents to the King Some Provinces especially where there are no Chans but onely Darago's and therefore no Soldiers kept as in the Towns of Caswin Ispahan
Mengrelians for accounting them delicate Meat They have no Corn neither do they make use of Salt There are an innumerable company of Hawk sand Falcons which they teach so well in eight days that letting them flie at the Game they return with the same upon the gingling of a Bell and are from thence lent to Constantinople Persia and Georgia Their manner of living Hunting and Hawking is their chiefest Business and Recreation They inhabit neither in Towns nor Castles but fifteen or twenty Families together who erect Tents or Huts on the top of some pleasant Hill which they fortifie with a kind of Pallisado's that they may not be suddenly surpris'd and taken by their own Natives Some affirm that the Woods are their places of Residence and that when once they setlte themselves in any one place they never desert the same They endeavor to take away and sell one another for Slaves to the Turks who highly esteem these Countrey People Riches and Trade Their Riches and Merchandise consist in all manner of Skins Wax Honey and Slaves Their Nobles commonly sell their Vassals to the Turks in Barter for other Commodities There come yearly into the Haven of Eschissumuni several Ships from Lazi Trebizonde Constantinople and Caffa where they stay sometimes all the Winter The Merchants which come in them go not ashore with their Commodities but sell them aboard having beforehand given Oath or Hostages not to hurt one another Amongst other Customs peculiar to these People one is That they neither bury nor burn their Dead but put the Corps into the Body of some hollow Tree hanging up the Arms and Garments of the Deceased about it They go Cloth'd after the manner of the Circassians onely their Hair they wear otherwise Habit. They let their Mustacho's grow but shave their Beards On the contrary the Papari let all their Beards grow They maintain constant Wars against the Circassians and Mengrelians Wars and are good Soldiers both on Foot and on Horseback knowing well how to manage Fire-arms as also Simiters Bowes and Arrows The Alans and Zichi agree for the most part in their manner of Living with the Sovanians and Abcassians The Caracholians dwell also to the Northward of Mount Caucasus Some call them Caraquirquez that is Black Circassians for Cara is Black in the Turkish Language But they are of a fair Complexion and therefore we may rather suppose that this Name was given them because the Air of that Countrey which they inhabit is always dark and cloudy and full of Snow They speak the Ottoman Tongue notwithstanding they dwell in the midst of so many several forts of People but so exceeding quick that they can scarce be understood The Jesuite Archange Lamberti affirms that these People had their original from the Hunnes At the Black Sea dwell a sort of Mahumetans call'd Lesgi who acknowledge no Prince abroad but being divided amongst themselves are under many petty Governors in their Language call'd Myrza or Princes of which some have scarce twenty Men under their Command Moreover they are a robust and rude kind of People chusing rather to live in Villages in the Countrey than in wall'd Cities They are salvage and cruel and implacably hated by their Neighbors as a People that live by robbing and stealing The People call'd Lazi or Curten The Curten are Herdsmen THe People call'd Lazi otherwise Curten border upon Georgia and the Countrey of Trebizonde They inhabit the high Mountains along the Shore of the Black Sea They are a laborious People bred in the Woods and spend their whole Lives in no other Employment but keeping of Cattel The Black Sea The several Names of this Sea THe Water known to us by the Name of the Black Sea perhaps from the Example of the Greeks who according to Bellonius call'd the same Maurothalassa that is Black Sea or as Niger affirms by the Grecian Navigators Maurum is by the Inhabitants of Mengrelia and by the Italians call'd Mar Majore that is The Great Sea and by the ancient Greek and Latine Writers is mention'd under several Denominations for Herodotus sometimes calls it The Cimmerian Sea then The North Sea and in his fourth Book Auxiotheaton that is Worth the seeing Plutarch in the Life of Pompey and Eumenes and after him Ptolomy and Jornandes call it The Pontick Sea Pliny Pontus Axenus that is A Sea without Harbors But the common Name which the Latine Writers give it is Pontus Euxinus which in the Greek signifies A Sea with Harbors and is so call'd per antiphrasin as Ammianus Marcellinus affirms or that afterwards her Shores were provided of Harbors Towns and other Accommodations whereas before it was inaccessible and desolate and that so this Sea from Axenus or Harborless became Euxenus or Receptive It is subject to Storms The Black Sea is subject to many Storms and tempestuous Weather especially in Winter when the North Wind blowing cross the same fills the Skie over this Sea with Clouds and Darkness whenas inother Countreys it makes a serene clearness so that Horace justly said Illic umbrosiae semper stant aequare nubes incerta dies that is There always lie dark Clouds on this Sea from whence probably the Name of The Black Sea which is given to it proceeds There are no Islands in this Sea unless some small Rocks mould be nam'd Isles which lie near the Coast The Cossacks from Poland come into this Sea as Pyrates to meet with the Turks Frequented by the Cossacks and are absolute Masters thereof their place of Residence is at the entrance of the River Niger beyond the Mouth of the Black Sea Aelian tells us that there are many Tunneys caught in the Black Sea though Archangel Lamberti during his stay in Mengrelia never saw more than one of them which was brought as a strange Fish to the Patriarch's Table neither did the Fishermen of the Countrey know it but Aelian may perhaps have mistaken a Sturgeon for a Funny The Province of Circassia Who the Circassians are THe ancient People Zyches or Zyges according to Stephanus and Strabo whom Pliny places in the Asiatick Sarmatia about the Lake Meotis are at this day as George Interian and Scaliger affirm call'd Circassi or Circassians but amongst themselves Adiga and by the Poles Pient-Zorsti that is Inhabitants of the five Mountains Bronjof calls them Pythagoreans Ananias Pitorses Ramusco Comans and their Countrey Comania but Comania comprehends Colchis or Mengrelia Georgia and Albania These Circassians are those which are call'd Mamelus or Mamelucks and by the Turks in the time of the Soudans Zerhars There are two remarkable Streams The Rivers the one call'd Pisi which falls into the Lake Calbane the other Sil glides by Cabarta There are many other Rivulets of little note because a Man may wade over them The Countrey of Circassia shews it self like a Semi-circle from the South-West to the North Bounds where a large Inlet
made by one to another in the presence of one single Witness without any farther Ceremony How they order their Children The Women being generally Deliver'd of their Children on Beds of Straw and Chaff made for that purpose carry the Child to the next River though full of Ice and washing it give it the Name of the next strange Person that comes into the House When a Noblemans Child comes to the age of three or four years it is given to one of his Servants to be brought up and instructed after their manner Their manner of living They live for the most part upon Sturgeon and other Fish though sometimes they eat both tame and wild beasts Their Bread is principally of Barley and the usual Drink of the common People is Water but they make a Liquor of a sort of Grain which they call Boeza or as John de Luca saith they mix their Water with Honey and Barley which letting stand ten days to soak they afterwards boyl whereby it becomes pleasant to the taste and as strong as Wine In stead of Cups or Glasses the Vulgar use the Horns of wild Buffalo's or other Beasts but the Nobles drink out of Golden Cups worth from three to five hundred Ducats some also are of Silver out of which they drink with great deliberation and Ceremony and commonly in the Name of God and their Saints or deceased Friends They commonly sleep with a Coat of Mayl under their Heads in stead of a Pillow and with their Arms by them As soon as they rise they put on the foremention'd Coat of Mayl The Men and Women lie together but Head to Feet yet on one Bed which is commonly made of Leather and fill'd with Rushes and Rose-Leaves John de Luca affirms That the Houses are made of two rows of Poles stuck in the Ground between which they lay plash'd Boughs which they cover with Mortar and Straw nor are the Princes Palaces built of better Materials though bigger The Circassians often Engage with the Tartars for there is not a year passes but the Tartars as well Mogaians as others make Incursions into their Countrey on purpose to get Slaves The continual Alarms in which their Enemies keep them Their Arms. hath made them the best Horsemen in all these Parts They use Arrows which they shoot forward and backward and wear a Sword by their Sides and a Helmet on their Heads which covers their Faces they also use Lances and Javelins all which they handle with extraordinary dexterity They never make any difficulty to rob one another Thievery encourag'd which makes Stealing common here for they never punish those which are taken in the Fact may ancient People and Persons of Quality never proffer any Drink at Meals to young Folks if they have not committed some notable Robbery Their Opinions in Religion The Circassians are of different Opinions for some follow Mahumetanism others the Greek Church but the number of the Mahumetans is far the greater for though the Priest who is at Derki Baptizes yet he instructs them little in Matters of Religion wherefore they daily turn Turks and retain nothing of the Greeks but the Custom of carrying Meat to the Graves of the Dead and to keep some Fasts In the Countrey of Cudosci or Holy Places are abundance of Rams Heads which be Relicks of the Curbans or Offerings made there On the Trees also hang Bowes Arrows and Swords which are sighs of the Promises they made to the Deceased and therefore are so revereric'd that the greatest Robbers will not touch them The Circassians incline much to Paganism and though they suffer themselves to be Circumcis'd and Believe in God yet they have neither Scripture Priest nor Temple but at some set-times make their own Offerings especiallyon Elias's day Ceremonies at the Death of a Nobleman Upon the Decease of a Nobleman both Men and Women coming into the Field kill a Goat at for an Offering and hanging his Skin Upon a Pole having first made Merry with the Flesh some Men stepping forth Pray to the Skin one after another which done they all depart home The Skin remains on the Pole till such time as they take it down to make room for another After this they raise a great Bed of Earth in the Fields on which they lay the Corps having first been imbowel'd and for the space of eight days his nearest Relations Friends and Vassals come to visit him and bring him Presents of Silver Cups Bowes Arrows and other things then they take a great Tree hollowing the Body into the form of a Chest into which they put the Corps with the foremention'd Presents and so carry it in great State to the Burying-place Some of these Circassians as Soranzo affirms are free others pay Tribute to the Precopenses or Crim Tartars but as others assert they neither acknowledge the Turks nor Tartars but are Govern'd by five prime Heads George Interian attests Their Degrees that there are Nobles Subjects and Slaves amongst them the Nobles being the chiefest have many Vassals under them whom they Govern by an arbitrary Power allowing none to be above them but God neither have they any Judges nor any written Laws but make use of their own Authority in deciding of Differences Some affirm that they Serve the Turk Persian and Muscovites for Pay They have no Money in this Countrey especially in those Places lying up into the Land No Money here but value all things by Bokissins which are pieces of Linnen or Woollen Cloth They Fight on Horseback Arm'd with Bowes Arrows Swords and Lances There are no Fotts in all the Countrey but onely a few old Towers to which the People repair in time of War They Fight daily against the Tartars who inclose them in all parts but are so much valianter that a few Circassians are able to put a considerable number of Tartars to flight because they are much nimbler stronger and generally better Arm'd Albania EAstward from Georgia lies Albania so call'd from the River Albanus by Nicephorus Zuirie and by others Chipiche and Zitracha as also according to Castaldus Garzena because the Inhabitants are inclin'd to Prognostications which the Hebrews call Garazenes But the Names Dhipiche and Zatracha are given them from two great Cities whose Jurisdictions were very large Cluverius tells us that Albania is the Eastern part of Georgia between Iberia and the Caspian Sea Dagestan is also accounted a part of Albania which borders in the East upon part of the Caspian Sea in the West at Georgia in the North faces a part of the Asiatick Sarmatia near Mount Caucasus and in the South looks upon part of Great Armenia towards the side of the River Gur or Chiur anciently Cyrm It lies between very high and almost inaccessible Mountains which soon lose the Way out of Tartary into Persia The Cities and chief Towns of Albania The Towns of this Territory according to Niger are Chipicher Tarracosia
any other Water in India and is also very wholsom and hath a good relish In the middle of the Ganges lie many great and small Isles which are very fruitful and all of them overgrown with wild Fruit-trees but most of them at this day lie waste by reason of the French Pyrates from Racau yet they have store of wild Swine and divers sorts of Fowls on the same as also Tygers which swim from one Island to another and therefore it is very dangerous to Land on any of them The Ganges is suppos'd to abound with Gold and Pearls Its Riches and from its bottom are fetch'd all manner of Precious Stones on some of which are perfectly represented the shapes of Beasts Plants and other things There is another Ganges being onely two Streams joyning their Waters which rise first Eastward of Gavel near the Mountain Gate in 18 or 19 Degrees of Northern Latitude The River which comes out of the Northermost Spring is call'd Kinsuar as that out of the Southern Benhora but by their conjunction losing their former Denominations are call'd Ganga like the other But this River at last discharges its Waters into one of the Mouths of the Ganges between Angely and Picholda in about 20 Degrees of Northern Latitude The Inhabitants also hold this Water in great veneration by which means it is very advantageous to the Mahumetan Lords of the Countrey through which it runs because they permit no Person to wash his Face in the same without paying them a certain Sum of Money The River Bark rises from another Spring on the West side of Mount Gate and empties it self through the Gulf or Bay of Bombain separating the Kingdom of Zuratte or Cambaya from that of Decan The Stream Aliga likewise discharges its Water on the West side of the same Mountain against the middle of the Isle Anchedive in 14 Degrees of Southern Latitude having before separated the two Kingdoms of Decan and Canara The great River Nagundy gliding from Mount Gate which is beyond Cananop and Calicut runs Northerly but within sight of the Aliga changes its course Eastward and passes on through the Metropolis of Bisnagar and the Province of Orixa and afterwards loses it self in the Bay of Bengala between the sixteenth and seventeenth Degree where the two Towns Guadenary and Masulipatan are built The Lake of Chiamay lying in the North towards Tartary is the Head of six great Rivers The Lake of Chiamay of which three uniting one with the other make a large Stream which cuts through the middle of the Kingdom of Siam as the other three fall into the Bay of Bengala Many more Rivers and Lakes hath India and the Mogol's Countrey which in our following Discourse shall be describ'd in their proper places Floating Bridges Cross the Rivers near which any High-ways lie are almost no other Bridges made than of Ships by reason of the Waters in the rainy Seasons which would carry away any other that do not float In several places of India are Wells or Cisterns on which the Inhabitants bestow great Cost being very large and spacious rais'd up with Free-stone neatly joyn'd together and cover'd on the top with an Arch the Water is drawn up by Oxen in little Pales or Buckets The Stagna's or Ponds which are all artificial of which there are very many in India may justly be accounted amongst the best of their Rarities though they account them for things of small consequence they are made in low places and some of them very deep and broad and a Mile or more in circumference and are able to furnish a populous City with Water a whole year most of them are inclos'd within a low Stone Wall having several Doors and about the inside of the Wall are many Steps leading down to the bottom which is pav'd with Free-stone These kind of Ponds are near populous Towns for the accommodation of the People and built for the most part at the charge of the Publick they are fill'd with Water in the rainy Seasons being first made clean that so the Water may be clear and it continues so sweet that not onely Men and Beasts drink of it but they also use it upon all other occasions The Mountains As to what concerns the vast Mountains in this Countrey the most famous are those of Balla-Gate which begin in the North and extend Southward to the Cape of Comory by the Inhabitants and also by Ptolomy call'd Cory a Tract of a hundred and twenty Leagues they begin to raise their tops near the River Carnate not far from the Cape and Mountain Dely and are good Marks to those that Sail along the Coast and lying in twelve Degrees and a half of Northern Latitude divide the Kingdoms of Decan Cuncan Canara and Malabar from Balla-Gate the Coast of Cormandel and Fish-Coast of which particularly and their general Denominations more hereafter India abounds with great and small Beasts Beasts as Oxen Cows Goats Sheep Hogs and all manner of other Cattel the Flesh whereof is not so well tasted as ours by reason of the great heat of the Countrey They seldom kill any Oxen because they use them to work Mutton is little esteem'd so that all sick Persons are prohibited to eat thereof but Pork is reckon'd very wholsom Food The Horses here are but ordinary the best being brought thither from Arabia and Persia by the Portuguese and of late from Usbeck are yearly brought twenty or thirty thousand as also a great number through Candahor out of Persia some also are transported hither by Sea from Ethiopia Arabia and Persia out of the Havens of Moca Bassora Bander and Abassy But here are great numbers of Buffalo's of whose Milk the Owners make little dry and salt Cheeses and when they do not yield that plenty they kill and eat them Here are also many Elephants and Rhinocerots call'd Abadas as also abundance of Apes and Bats as big as Cats which some call Flying-Cats In Malacca Siam and Bengala are abundance of wild Goats whose Horns are good against Poyson the Portuguese call them Cabras de Mato that is Wild or Forrest-Goats In India likewise are great numbers of Fowls as Pheasants Partridges Pigeons Parrots and Parraketo's of all sorts of colours There are also Camelions divers sorts of Serpents and Hedghogs In Balagate are Rams without Horns yet notwithstanding are so strong that a Youth may easily ride on them In many places of India up into the Countrey breed abundance of Tygers especiall in Bengala near Mount Caucasus and the Island of Iava insomuch that the Natives for fear of them dare not venture to gather such quantities of Gum Benzoin as they would Some say this Beast is about the bigness of an Ass others that it is no bigger than a Greyhound but Nearchus swells it to the bigness of a Horse affirming to have seen the Skin of one above five Foot long it much resembles a Cat having a thick Head spotted
them to provoke an Appetite Nimbo a Physical Tree and its Vertues Another Tree highly extoll'd for its Physical Vertue though very scarce is call'd Nimbo and by those of Malabar Bepole It grows to the bigness of an Ash and at a distanee seems very like it The Boughs are full of Leaves and white Cinque-foil'd Flowers with yellow Stalks smelling like Thyme The Fruit is like an Olive cover'd with a thin Shell and grows at the ends or extremities of the Boughs This Tree is much used in Physick The Leaves are very excellent for being bruis'd and dipp'd in Lemmon Juyce and laid on Ulcerated Wounds as well of Men as Beasts they suddenly heal the same because they first draw out all the Purulent Matter mundisie the Flesh and make the Skin to grow The Juyce of the Leaves is very good taken either alone or with Wine Water or Broth or applied outwardly upon the Navel with a little Ox-gall Vinegar or Aloes to kill and destroy all sorts of Worms and therefore the Inhabitants of this Countrey especially those of Malabar much use it The Flowers and Fruits also do them great kindness in curing of Aches Pains Ulcers Swellings and Weakness of the Limbs Out of the Fruit they extract an Oyl exceeding good against the shrinking of or pains in the Sinews if used warm and applied by the Malabars to cure Wounds Stitches and other Distempers The Nigunda another Physical Tree Two other Trees grow in many Places of India especially in the Province of Malabar and are found to be excellent Remedies against divers Distempers The first is accounted the Male and by the Canarians call'd Varalo Nigunda It is about the bigness of an Almond Tree with Leaves green at the top and woolly underneath with notches round about the edge The other being the Femal is by the Portuguese call'd Negundo or Norchila in Malabar Noche in Balagate Sambali and commonly in Canaria Nyergundi But the Arabians Persians and the Inhabitants of Decan call both the Male and Female Bache and the Turks Ayt. They both grow to about the same height or as Garcias affirms to the height of a Peach-tree but have broader and rounder Leaves much resembling those of the white Poplar The Leaves of both are in taste sharp and bitter on the Tongue Underneath most of Leaves in the Morning lies a kind of white or Froth which distils out of them in the Night The Blossoms of both are of a whitish Ash-colour resembling that of the Rosmary and the Fruit also of both is like black Pepper Its Vertues This Tree is very serviceable in the Countreys where it grows to all Diseased People and therefore would long ere this have been extinguish'd or at least been raised to a great value if the cut-off Sprigs did not grow again But the more the Boughs are cut the better the Tree thrives The Leaves and Flowers being bruis'd together and boyl'd in Water or fry'd in Oyl are with great success applied to all Sores whatsoever and have wonderful Operations on Bruises Sprains and Aches The Women wash and bathe their Bodies at all times with the Water wherein the Leaves of this Tree are boyl'd nay they believe that the Juyce of the Leaves Flowers and Fruit cause Conception The Daya's or Ladies also make use of this Tree Jambolins a wholesom Fruit. In the Fields of India grows a wild Plant shap'd like a Myrtle Tree but with Leaves like those of a Crab-tree or as Paludanus saith of a Hawthorn which bears a Fruit exceedingly resembling a great Olive but of a very sharp taste by the Inhabitants call'd Jambolins which are pickled up like Olives The Bark of this Tree is almost like that of the Mastick and according to Acosta is not used in Physick but boyl'd and eaten with Rice because it creates a good Appetite Jangomas what it is like The Jangomas is a Fruit in colour like Rasberries but in taste like a green Plum growing upon a large and prickly Tree It comes up wild in the a Fields as also in the Gardens of Basaim Chouly and Batequala The best way as Garcias hath it out of the Mouthes of credible Persons of Planting this Tree is to sow the Seeds with the Dung of a certain Bird who feeds on the Fruit. It s Vertue Jacob Bont affirms That this Tree is very like the Sloe-tree wherefore the Hollanders in Java call the Jangomas Javan-Sloes or Little Plums When ripe they turn yellow and the Juyce of these like that of ours mix'd with the Water of Champacka and Roses cures the Heat in the Throat and is an infallible Medicine against the Bloody-flux Loosness and Gripings Prosper Alpinus in his Book of the Egyptian Plants calls this Tree Paliurus out of whose Fruit is made a Syrrup which is no less famous than was the Juyce of Acacia amongst the Ancients Amongst the cheifest and most delicious Fruits of all India Mangostans is that call'd Mangostans which as Garcias tells us is as big as an Orange having an Ash-colour'd Skin and a Pulp like an Orange but not sticking to the Shell This Fruit grows on a small Tree like an ordinary Apple-tree but having Leaves like Laurel and yellow Flowers The Fruit in the Shell represents exactly the Granate and hath the same taste onely a little bitterer At the bottom about the Stalk it is cover'd with three or four little Leaves like a Rose but hath a Crown on the top the number of whose spiry points agree exactly with the Kernels within The Fruit which the Malabars and Portuguese call Corambola's is in Decan nam'd Camariz Corambola's their Description in Canara Camarix and Carabeli in Malaya Bolimba or Balimba by the Persians Chamoroch and by Linschot Bolunbak This Fruit is about the bigness of a small Hens Egg separated into four parts of a yellowish colour and grows on a Tree about the bigness of a Quince-tree The Blossoms thereof consist in five reddish-colour'd Leaves and like those of a Caper small and of no pleasing smell but fair to the Eye and in taste like Sorrel This Fruit as Bontius affirms lies in an oval Cod divided by thin Skins into four parts which inclose the Seed The green Fruit is sowre and attracting but the ripe is not of that quality Their Use and Vertues They commonly pickle them in Vinegar as many other Indian Fruits with Garlick Onions Green Ginger and Pepper and serve them to the Table in stead of Capers Olives and other Sawces to create a Stomach Of the Juyce thereof they make a Syrrup very good against the Bloody-flux Gripings Cramp Burning Fevers and all other Distempers proceeding from the Gall to which purpose the Inhabitants of the Island Java preserve the same Moreover this Syrrup being mix'd with Honey is taken for sore Throats The Canarians make of its Juyce and other Inland Medicines an excellent Water against Dimness and other Distempers incident to the Eyes
Deities and ever be constant in their Religion Notwithstanding the Children of the Brahmans are Brahmans in respect of their Extract yet they are not so accounted before they have gotten the Cord call'd Dsanhem about their Necks This Dsanhem is like fine Packthred The Cord Dsanhem to be worn by the Children of the Brahmans consisting of three Strings each of nine fine Cotton Threds None but Brahmans make these Cords and onely with their Hands without a Wheel or any other Tools They wear the same like a Gold Chain letting it hang on their left Shoulder cross their Breasts under their right Arm. About the fifth Year of their Age the Brahmans Children begin to wear the said Cord though they may forbear till they are ten Years old and commonly those that are of a poor Capacity stay till the tenth Year before they wear the Dsanhem which cannot be put on without a considerable Charge for the foremention'd Fire Homam which is made on a rising Ground under a Canopy of stretch'd-out Linnen must be kept lighted four days with the Wood Rawasittow the Tree whereof they account very holy and believe that it is most acceptable to their Gods on which every Brahman throws Rice in the Ears also some boyl'd together with Butter the Seed Zingele Wheat and Myrrhe whilst they say several Prayers and use many other Ceremonies Moreover the Parents of the Children must during the time of four days entertain the Brahmans which attend the Ceremony which stands the Nobility in great Sums of Money The Children having received the Cord which is done in August on the Feast Traswanala Poudewa at the Full of the Moon are call'd Bramasory's which Name they hold till they marry Neither may they by vertue of the Vedam lie with any Women in that time nor chew any Betel or eat above once a day and then of no other Food but what is begg'd that by their Abstinence they may be the more capable of Learning This Cord is highly esteem'd amongst them insomuch that if age having worn it out it chances to break a Brahman is not allow'd to eat or drink before he hath another for he that hath not a Dsanhem though he be a Brahman is not accounted one amongst them so long as he hath no Cord Therefore by way of prevention they always yearly renew their Cords in August on the Feast Tsrawannala Poudewa in the time of the Full Moon Their Ignorance in Astronomy and Philosophy The Brahmans are very ignorant in Natural Philosophy and Astronomy not being able to give a Reason of the Sun or Moons Eclipse or any Conjunction of the Stars yet despise they the Europeans Knowledge in Astronomy and support their own with this ridiculous Fable A strange Fable Wistnow and Eswara call'd the Dewetaes and Raetsjasjaes to Council to find out an Elixir of which whoever drank should never die but become immortal After serious consideration it was agreed to throw the Mountain Merouwa into the Sea and there turn it round In stead of a Cord they took a great Serpent by them call'd Sesja After this there appear'd a most beautiful Woman admir'd and coveted by all but at last Wistnow took her to himself for his Wife she being call'd Laetsemi hath a place in the Temple of Wistnow wherein her Image stands The Immortal Liquor Not long after when they had turn'd the Mountain round several times there appear'd that which they had consulted about viz. the thing which should take away Hunger Drought and Faintness and procure Immortality to such as drank thereof This excellent Elixir by the Brahmans call'd Amortam is a Liquor like Milk wherefore the Brahmans which dare not drink Water in any House are allow'd to drink Milk When Wistnow had made this discovery resolving to refresh the faint and wearied Dewetaes and Raetsjasjaes he commanded them to stand before him giving some of the Amortam out of one Pot to the Dewetaes It is denied to the Raetsjasjaes but to the Raetsjasjaes to whom he had not so much kindness he gave somewhat else out of the same Pot which was of no value The Sedition of Kagou and Ketou But Kagou and Ketou two Raetsjasjaes suspecting the fallacy went and stood amongst the Dewetaes by which means they got also some of the Amortam which the Sun and Moon seeing inform'd Wistnow of Whereupon Wistnow inrag'd to think that they should drink of the Amortam caus'd both their Heads to be cut off Yet they died not because they had drank of this for the injury which they had suffer'd demanding why the Amortam was not given to them equally with their Companions Wistnow in answer to Kagou and Ketou commanded them henceforth to be without Bodies yet they should live as happy as others with Bodies Now by reason the Sun and Moon had made that complaint of them they were incens'd with a perpetual hatred against them and when ever either of those Luminaries are Eclipsed they affirm that Kagou and Ketou are in Battel with them and that the darkness proceeds from hence because they are swallow'd up for a little while by their Adversaries which have the shapes of Serpents Marriage of the Brahmans Children The Brahmans marry their Children very young especially the Rich many about their eighth year and some immediately after the receiving of the Cord Dsanhem in their fifth year for before the receiving of this Cord neither the Brahmans Settreaes nor Weinsjaes may marry The Maid must always be elder than the Youth which is strictly observ'd A Brahman takes special notice of all things that he meets with in the way when he goes to chuse a Wife for his Son and as often as he meets any thing which he judges ominous or unfortunate so oft he returns and defers his intent If those of the Family Weinsja meet a Serpent on the day when they go to make their first Visit they look upon it as an ill omen giving over their Suit and will never be brought to renew their Addresses judging that it will prove a most unfortunate and bad Marriage The Maidens Fathers to whom the Addresses for Marriage are made commonly desire to see the Young Man and make inquiry into his Estate which if they approve and like the Suitor then he is permitted to go to her Friends and to see the Maid After the Consent of both Parties is obtain'd for the Marriage then a time is appointed on a Good day for the Friends to meet to celebrate the Ceremonies When the appointed time of the Marriages is come then they kindle the Fire Homam made of the Wood of their consecrated Tree Rawasittow and a Boti or Priest repeats several Prayers After this the Bridegroom takes three Handfuls of Rice which he throws on the Brides Head who doth the same to him which done the Brides Father according to his Quality adorns the Bride and also dressing the Bridegroom washes his Feet Lastly
together The Diet of the Indians As to what concerns the Meat and Drink of the Indians it is several according to the Situation of the Countrey but most Indians use boyl'd Rice in stead of Bread The Coco-tree is the chief and onely thing of their subsistence for it affords Fruit Oyl Milk Honey Vinegar and Wine The greatest Delicacy amongst the common People is Rice boyl'd with green Ginger and mix'd with a little Pepper and Butter Their ordinary Food is of wheaten Flowr but of a certain course Grain though well tasted which they make up into great round and thick Cakes and bake them on thin Iron Plates which they carry with them from one place to another when they travel they spread a little Butter on these Cakes and so eat them They have also a certain Dish call'd Massack or Matsack which is made of two parts Water and one of Brandy some Eggs beaten Cinamon Sugar and Bread which is boyl'd like a Posset Baril is a Broth which the Indians make of the Juice or Milk of Coco-nuts and Butter with all manner of Spices and amongst others Cardamom Ginger Herbs Fruit and several other Ingredients The Christians especially the Portuguese adde to the same the Flesh of Hens and Chickens chopt in small pieces which they lay upon the Rice that is boyl'd onely with Water and Salt They also boyl the Root Curcuma with their Meat and almost throughout all India they boyl no Meat without a little Bundle of Cammels Hay in Greek call'd Schoenanthos to give it a savory taste and to fortifie the Stomach as also a quantity of Calamus Aromaticus or Nard in the Malaian Tongue call'd Diringo The Indians in many places have also a delicate Dish or rather Sawce to procure an Appetite which is call'd Achor or Astjar and is us'd there after the same manner as here our Gurkins Olives and Capers it is likewise brought from thence into Europe where many People eat it with much delight it being made of Cucumbers Mangos or long Pepper Garlick green Ginger Roots and the young juicy Sprigs of Canes which are laid in Pickle with Vinegar Pepper and other Spices The Bunches of green Pepper are also laid in Pickle and brought to the Table either with roast or boyl'd Meat as likewise the Roots of green Ginger and Galanse besides the Fruit Manga Carambolas Astjae Billinbing Curcuma likewise Gurkins Melons and Pumpions in stead of Capers and Olives which in Zurratte and other places are also in great abundance Some Indians also eat that kind of Apple call'd in Latine Pomum Amoris and Pomum Aureum and by the Portuguese Pomod ' Oro which is a sort of Mandragora or Mandrake cold in the third degree though some put Achay or Brasilian Pepper in the Malaian Tongue call'd Lada Chili that is Pepper from Chili which is very hot to temper the extraordinary Cold thereof and pouring Oyl and Vinegar over them eat the same with roasted Flesh or Fish Some accustom themselves to chew Achay just as some People chew Tobacco These golden Apples are sometimes Preserv'd with Sugar but the Chineses on the Island Java roasting them in Ashes eat them with Pepper and Vinegar The Fruits Carambolas are also for the same purpose laid in Pickle Their several sorts of Liquor The Drink which is commonly drunk by the Vulgar is Water but People of note especially Moors mix Cinamon Juice and Sugar with their Water which being a pleasant Liquor is call'd Scherbet In many places they drink in stead of Wine a Liquor which is tapt out of the Palm-tree into a Pot which hangs at it a whole Night The Portuguese call this Wine Vinho de Palma that is Palm-wine the Indians in Cambaya Tari or Terri others Sura and Toddy and the Amboynans Towack This Liquor is of a white colour and somewhat thick and of a tart yet pleasant taste intoxicating the Brain like Wine if drank to excess but if moderately it is accounted an excellent Medicine against the Dropsie They generally tap this Liquor out of the Tree after Sun-set letting their Vessels hang to the same till Sun-rising for then it keeps sweet and pleasant all the day after for that which is tapt in the day-time is not so delightful to the Palate but is flat and eager which is occasion'd by the heat of the Sun and is good for nothing but to make Vinegar for which it is us'd by the Indians Of this Liquor Tara or Terri which of it self drops out of the Trees they make another sort of Wine by the Indians call'd Uraca which is the onely Wine of all India and being of a white colour is very hot and strong which the Indians nevertheless drink like Water The Portuguese temper this Wine by putting ston'd Raisins into the Vessel which they do not stop close but leave the Bung-hole open least by reason of the extraordinary heat and strength the Fat should flie asunder because it ferments like boyling Water Every day for a fortnight together they stir this Liquor after which it becomes of a deep Red and is of a sweetish taste They also drink abundance of the fresh Juice which is inclos'd within the Coco-nuts Another sort of Liquor call'd Zaguer brought from Banda and the Molucko Isles which drops out of a Tree not unlike the Coco But this Liquor is very unwholsom to drink especially for Strangers for it not onely occasions a great Loosness but also a kind of dead Palsie call'd by the Indians Beribery They have likewise a very strong Liquor like Brandy call'd Arack made of the Moisture that is inclos'd in the Coco-nuts and also of that which drops out of the Tree it self which they burn with Rice The Chineses to make the most of their Rice adulterate the same by putting into it a sort of poisonous Weed which drives upon the Sea whereby the Arack receives a corroding Heat very prejudicial to the Lungs and causing Consumption vomiting of Blood and other deadly Distempers especially to all Strangers that drink thereof The Hollanders in many places have a Liquor which they make of Spring-water Javansagar Tamarinds and Lemmons which they put all together in a Vessel hoop'd with Iron Hoops and stopping it very close let it stand twenty four hours in the Sun whereby throwing the Dross and Filth upwards it becomes a most excellent Liquor almost like March Beer Moreover in most places of India a certain Liquor is made call'd Palipuntz which by some is made after this manner viz. they take half Brandy and half Water into which they put Nutmegs Cinamon Sugar and Line Juice This Liquor by the English call'd Punch is very hurtful to European Bodies if drank excessively for it occasions Loosness Some also drink a Brewage made onely of clear Water and brown Sugar which if drunk in hot Weather is very unwholsome but is much temper'd if a Draught of the Liquor Palipuntz be taken after it Moreover they distill a kind
is to happen there At Jembrenata they affirm that a Fruit call'd Nerou Pandou should appear constantly every day at Noon at the Feet or the Idol That at Sirateni about the foremention'd time there grows daily a Flower out of a Stone lying in a Trough full of Water before the Idol Eswara The Pagode at Trisinapoli is become famous by means of an Image standing in the same which is said to have worshipp'd Bramma in Person as we have already related at large Though the Pagodes of Wistnow and Eswara are of a considerable bigness being much larger than those of the lesser Numens yet are they not comparable to the Churches of Europe being very low and flat yet some of them have high Steeples as amongst others the Pagode near Tegnepatram commonly call'd The White Pagode In many places the Pagodes are built in the Fields and are without Windows or Holes so that no Light comes into them but through the Doors so that they are generally very dark they are commonly divided into three Walks the first being a Vault resting on Stone Columns into which any one may come it being always open In it are several Statues of Elephants Oxen Horses c. which are us'd in the Service of the Idol who is often drawn upon them through the Streets of the Cities The second having a strong Gate is open onely in the day-time but the Brahmans who inhabit the same suffer none to come in thither which is generally furnish'd with Images of horrid Shapes as Men with many Heads and Arms. In the third Isle which is lock'd up with a strong Door stand the Images of Wistnow and Eswara They represent their God Wistnow or Mahadeu according to Della Valle in the likeness of a small Stone Column which grows less and less from the bottom upwards The Name Mahadeu amongst the Indians signifies properly Great God whose Vertues they highly extol believing him to be very wonderful adding moreover that whil'st he liv'd on Earth he daily grew bigger and bigger nay that his Image still grows greater as it stands in their Temples They also represent Mahadeu in another Shape of Crystal and make Offerings at his Fet which consist in Milk Oyl Rice and the like They also represent him like a Man but having sixteen Arms on each side Round about the Pagodes is a large inclos'd Plain full of smaller Buildings serving for their lesser Deities In the Pagode of Wistnow Laetsemi Consort to Wistnow hath a Chappel as also Garrouda and Annemonta both faithful Servants of Wistnow The Image Garronda is represented like a Man with Wings that of Annemonta or Hanneman with a Face like an Ape On the foremention'd Plains stand Cisterns in which grows the Herb Toleje which with its use is mention'd before They never go on these Plains about the Pagodes but always with their right Side towards the Temple The Brahmans account their Pagodes to be the Houses and Residences of their Gods and therefore enter into them with great Reverence Part of the Customs for Goods sold and bought are bestow'd on them as also part of the Sandal Wood Benjamin and long Pepper and likewise of all Monies that are Coin'd They also go in Pilgrimage to the Pagodes and upon certain Feast-days make great Presents and Offerings to them By means of the great concourse to this Pagode it hath great advantages amounting to a vast Revenue which arises wholly from the Presents brought thither none of the Heathens going with empty Hands but discharging their Promises and Vows there which they make for the obtaining of Health or accomplishing any Business The manner of worshipping Wistnow and Eswara They seldom have any publick Meetings in their Pagodes nor any set-day for Worship but frequenly carry die Image of Wistnow and Eswara on their Shoulders through the Streets of the City viz. they carry Eswara's about every Month on the Amawasi or first day and on the ninth day after the new Moon that of Wistnow They are carry'd after this manner The Image is plac'd on a woodden Horse with his fore Feet rais'd and his hinder Legs standing on a Plank and so carry'd on the Shoulders of several Men before the Horse they bear lighted Torches and Umbrella's over its Head near the Horse stands one who constantly fans the Image to keep the Flies from it and when they have done they return it to the old place in the Pagode again where some appointed for that purpose Dance before the Image whil'st others Sing Anthems in praise of the Idol playing on Cymbals and beating on Drums It is also a Custom in this Countrey to devote young Virgins to the Pagodes after which they are bound never to Marry but spend their Lives onely in Dancing before their Gods to whom as they say it is so acceptable that they shall merit Heaven by it Each Person also according to his Sect by virtue of their eighth Commandment of internal Religion studies to do honor to his Idol bestowing on it all manner of Service which he supposes to be best pleasing to it The Wistnowa's strew their Images erected in honor of Wistnow with Flowers put rich Clothes on it adorn'd with Diamonds Rubies and other Precious Stones thereby to make him appear glorious In the Eyes of all Men. But their God Eswara they affirm delights in something else viz. to be wash'd constantly with sweet Waters which his Worshippers are no way negligent in performing but continually wash the aforesaid Deity with all sorts of perfum'd Waters They also carry these Images every year on their Festival days through the most eminent Streets of their Cities in a Wagon as high and large as an ordinary House those which draw it are Fishermen and the like mean People accompany'd by a a great number of divers Tribes which is a Custom observ'd through the whole Countrey The Image of Wistnow every year on the tenth of January in the afternoon they carry out of the City into the Fields on a woodden Horse where they let loose a Ram which they endeavor to kill as he runs as also a Fox which they strive to destroy with their Clubs but he commonly escapes them Towards the Evening they carry the Image home again through the Streets accompany'd with abundance of People carrying lighted Torches and at last set it in the old place The following day they shew honor to the God Eswara by carrying of his Image into the Fields after the same manner as also on the twelfth though not on Horseback but onely on Mens Shoulders The Feast Gawri Dewi On the eighth of January all the Marry'd Women of the Brahmans keep a Feast call'd Gawri Dewi and by the Seiva's Maha Secti in honor of Parvati to obtain long Life for their Husbands and that they may never be Widows This Feast lasts ten days and is kept after this manner viz. The Women make an Image of Meal Rice and a sort of red Grain for
by the Brahmans The Brahmans belief concerning the transmigration of the Soul The Brahmans believe that each Man hath had a Life before this present and that that which he meets withal in this whither good or bad is either a reward or punishment for his works in the former so likewise they maintain that no Man meets with any reward for his good works in this Life but is to undergo the punishments inflicted upon him for his sins in his former Life and that those which do good in this Life shall meet with a reward proportionable in that to come And notwithstanding few see any probability by their good works to attain to or merit Wemcontam that is Heaven or a place of everlasting happiness because that is onely appointed for the faithfullest Servants of Wistnow and Eswara and find themselves destitute of these Perfections requir'd thereto yet they speak much of the forgiveness of sins and in order thereunto have invented several means whereby they alledge the remission or forgiveness of sins may be obtain'd nay some of them are so superstitiously zealous that they undertake to do more than their Vedam requires of them meerly out of an ambition to live a more perfect Life in hopes that thereby they may obtain an extraordinary place in Heaven and therefore many undergo great hardships torture and punish themselves divers ways some wearing Iron Collars about their Necks of twenty four pound weight in form of a Grate four Foot square Others have Iron Chains made fast about their Legs at one end carrying the other on their Shoulders Some also go on woodden Clogs full of Iron Pins which are so sharp that it is a wonder how they can go upon them Many others there are who chain themselves by the Legs to a Tree resolving there to end their Lives Some also lock themselves up in little square Houses or rather Cages built on two Images of the Idol Mahadeu with intentions never to come out of them notwithstanding they endure great hardship partly by the heat and smoak of the many Lamps which they burn therein and partly for the inconvenience of the Rooms which are so little that they can but just sit in them with their Legs across under them on the Floor Others hang a considerable time on a cross piece of Timber by an Iron Hook driven into their Sides notwithstanding the pain and effusion of Blood whilst with a Shield and Sword which they hold in their Hands they Fence in the Air and Sing Songs in honor of their God Others wound and kill themselves before the Idols There are likewise some who being desirous to go to Paradise leap into the River Ganges across which they swim several times in hopes to be devour'd by the Crocodiles All those People that torture themselves after this manner are call'd Fakyrs or begging Monks of which some that go stark naked neither set nor lay themselves down to sleep at no time but when they will rest themselves or sleep they tie a Rope to a House or Tree with a piece of Wood at one end on which only leaning with their Arms and Head they sleep Places accounted holy and visited by the Brahmans Followers Besides these means the Brahmans have invented several others for remission of their sins and to purifie themselves viz. to visit such holy Places as are highly esteem'd amongst them the chiefest and holiest whereof are six viz. Ayot-ja Matura Casi Canje Awentecapouri and Dwaraweti Many things they relate of these Places viz. That all those which die in the Casi shall immediately ascend to Heaven whether Man or Beast but those that die in any other of the foremention'd Places shall go to Bramma and there having stay'd a considerable time shall return into the World again to be transmigrated into one or other Body but if they have liv'd out their time and have dy'd twice then they shall go directly to Heaven and not return again into this World They affirm that it is sufficient for the Vulgar to die onely in the holy Places from whence they undoubtedly go to Heaven These Places have each their Limits but are not of an equal bigness for that of Casi is but a Mile that of Ayot-ja twelve Leagues and notwithstanding they account it a happiness to die in one of them yet none are allow'd out of a longing desire of Salvation to bereave themselves of life there except at Preyaga of which more hereafter As to what concerns these Places in particular they are describ'd after this manner Ayot-ja lying twelve Leagues Northward from Casi was the Birth-place of Wistnow under the Name of Ram. In Matura near Agra the Great Mogol's Court Wistnow came into the World by the Name of Cristna Casi otherwise call'd Waranasi lying in Bengala near the Kiver Ganges twelve Leagues from Ayot-ja and twelve from Preyaga is situate twelve Leagues higher up the Ganges then Casi and nearer to the City Agra where three Branches of the Ganges uniting are accounted so holy that the Heathens believe those which die in this Water to be certainly purg'd from their sins and therefore this Place is very famous amongst them which indeed is no wonder because as they say all those which die there are happy The City Canje or Cansjewaram a great and well known City in the Kingdom of Carnatica hath many Pagodes and is therefore accounted very holy Awentecapouri or Awenteutica is a City lying Northward from Agra Dwaraka or Dwaraweti formerly lay near Zurratte but is said to have been wash'd away by the Sea In this Place they relate that Cristna dy'd and that his Body when according to the Custom of the Countrey it was going to be burnt was also wash'd away by the Sea and driven to Sjangernata or Prousotamai a Place near Bengala wherefore they account the Pagode Sjangernata to be very holy The visiting of these holy Places extends not onely to the forgiveness of sins but they also ascribe so great a power thereto that by the naming of them onely they believe they shall obtain pardon wherefore Persons of Quality that are religious read over the Names of them every Morning therefore those that cannot go to Casi and other holy Places content themselves onely with the bare naming of them They hold that the keeping of their Feasts and washing their Bodies with salt Water also merits remission of sins also they go in Pilgrimage to the Pagode Rammeswara by the Malabars call'd Rammanatakovil partly for the great Sanctity of the Place and partly because the sea-Sea-water that flows by this Pagode is always clear and fit to wash in The like opinion they have of the Ganges and therefore the Inhabitants of Bengala which dwell about it have a Custom to bring all dying Persons thither and put one half of their Bodies into it to wash away their sins But all Persons are not permitted to wash themselves therein without paying Tribute to those Kings
Persons of Quality drink is Persian Wine they also drink Spirits distill'd out of Dates and Sugar also Palm-Wine call'd Terri or Tori which they drink when fresh tapt out of the Palm-trees The Habits of the Mogollans The Habits both of Men and Women are almost of one and the same fashion and made either of Cotton-Linnen or Silk or Cloth of Tissue each according to his Degree and Quality Their Coats call'd Cabaya are narrow at the top and close about their middle hanging down to their Knees Their Breeches hang in divers Pleits down to their Feet Their Shoes made after the fashion of the Countrey either of Leather or rich Silk they tread down at the Heels that they may pull them off with the more ease when they go into their Temples or Houses or sit down on their Floors which are cover'd with white Carpets On their Heads they wear Turbants after the Turkish manner generally made of fine white or red Callico wrought with Silk and Gold which they never take off when they salute one another About their Shoulders both noble and ignoble wear in stead of a Cloak a yellow red green white or other colour'd Cloth call'd Pomerys against the Cold or Rain About their Middle they wear a Girdle wrought with Gold and Silk and over it another small white Linnen one pleited Persons of Quality wear a short Sword or Dagger by their Sides the Hilt and Scabberd being of Gold and often beset with Precious Stones this Weapon they call Ginda or Kitteren The Women commonly adorn themselves with Diamonds and Pearls and also wear Gold and Silver Pendants and Armlets each according to their Qualities Christians disperced all over India In divers places of India are many Christians from all parts of Europe as also Jews and native Heathens converted to Christianity by the Catholicks and Protestants residing amongst them Moreover there are Thomists or Followers of St. Thomas in the Countrey Language call'd Armenians Abyssines c. each of a peculiar Sect. In Zurratte is a Sect or Tribe of Heathens which the Moors call Guenure the Persians Atexperes Zarduxt Kebbers and Gauri and the Indians Persi which Name they give themselves because they derive their original out of Persia Thus much concerning India in general we shall now give a Description of the Mogol's Realm and Kingdom in particular running through all the Provinces in order into which this whole Kingdom is divided The Realm of the Groat Mogol otherwise Hindostan or Indostan The Bounds of the Kingdom THe Kingdom of the Great Mogol or Mogor which for its bigness and Power over the Substitute Kingdoms deserves the Name of Empire is on the West bounded by the River Indus and Eastward by the Ganges in the South it verges with one part at the Ocean and with the other at the Kingdom of Cuncan or Visiapour in the North it borders at Usbeck the Mountains of Tibeth and the Kingdoms of Srinagar Caparangue and Radock and lastly in the East at the Kingdom of Neckbal Edward Terry makes this Kingdom border in the East at the Kingdom of Maug or Mavy in the West at Persia in the South at the Ocean the Kingdom of Decan and Gulph of Bengala and in the North at the Mountains of Caucasus and Tartary Texeira conterminates the same on one side onely with the Indus and on the other with the Ganges According to Peruschi the Mogols Kingdom is properly the Main Land lying between the Indus and Ganges just like the Holy Land between the Tigris and Euphrates Others as Bulaye le Gouze and Daviti bound this Kingdom in the North at the Countrey of the Great Cham of Tartary and at Samarcan in the South at the Kingdom of Visiapour the Gulph of Bengala the great Indian Sea Diu and Damaon both Countreys lying under the Jurisdiction of the Portuguese in the East at the Kingdom of Pegou Edrabat and Thebet in the West at Agemistan or the Empire of the Schach or King of Persia But there can be no certain Boundaries ascrib'd to this Kingdom because of the continual losing of old and taking in of new Provinces Anno 1582. the Mogol's Dominions extended Northward to the Mountain Imaus now call'd Cumae which separates the Mogol's from the Tartars in the South it border'd at Calecut the Gulph of Bengala and the Indian Sea along Cambaya in the East at the utmost Borders of Bengala in the West at the Stream Indus and the Border of Persia This Countrey of the Mogols compris'd within these Bounds viz. from the River Indus to Ganges the Ancients call'd Inward India or India within the Ganges otherwise Indostan or Hindostan that is The Countrey of the Indus for Stan signifies Countrey The Circumference and Extent The Circumference of the whole Realm was at that time 900 French Miles the Length from East to West 600 and the Breadth from North to South 400. Others affirm That it is at least a thousand Cos from East to West two Cos being an English League or three Miles Terry tells That this Kingdom 1615. had in length from the North-west to the South-west above 2000 English Miles and from North to South about 1400 laying the utmost South Point in twenty and the utmost North Point in forty three Degrees of Northern Latitude And that the Breadth at that time from the North-east to the South-west was about 1500 English Miles The Division Purchas according to the Instructions of Mr. Hawkins divides the Realm of the Great Mogol into five Kingdoms the first whereof is call'd Pengab by Davity taken to be the Countrey lying near the River Hind otherwise call'd Pangab which signifies Five Waters the Metropolis whereof is call'd Lahor the second Bengala its Metropolis being Sonargham the third Malua with its Metropolis Vagain the fourth Decan whose Chief City is Barampor the fifth Cambay with the City Amadavar Boterus maintains That the Great Mogol Governs over forty seven Kingdoms According to Edward Terry the Great Mogol Anno 1615. had thirty seven Provinces anciently peculiar Kingdoms under his Subjection the Names whereof being by him copied out of the Mogol's Books of Account are these Candahor Cabul Multan Haiacan or Bolochi Buckar Tatta Soret Jesselmeera Attak Peniab Chismeere Banchish Jengapore Delii Bando Malway Gwaliar Ayra Sanbat Bakar Chytor Guzarat Chandis Berar Narvar Nagrakat Siba Cacares Gor Petan Canduana Patna Jesuat Mevat Udessa and Prugale A Province is by the Inhabitants call'd Soubach The South side of the Mogol's Countrey between the Bay of Cambaya and that of Bengala extends a vast way Southerly in the form of a Triangle There are neither Gold nor Silver Mines in Hindostan Bengala a fertile and rich Kingdom The Kingdom of Bengala is exceeding fruitful the whole Countrey being stor'd with rich Commodities as Silk Cotton Indico and the like This spacious Countrey possesses fruitful Plains and abundance of all sorts of Provisions it lying between the two great
as big as a Hens Egg about his Neck hung four Strings of Pearl each Pearl being as big as a Musquet Bullet When he sat on his Throne he us'd commonly to order his Elephants Horses Dromedaries Camels and Mules to be drawn by him to see if they were all fed and kept as they ought excepting onely the Tsam-days on which he gave audience to all Persons of what Degree soever Rising from the Throne he retires to a place call'd Gosselchanne where none but his chief Nobles may appear except those which are call'd by his Majesty The Walls of this Edifice are of white Alabaster inlay'd with golden Flowers and the Floors cover'd with Carpets Near this place stands a Pond of clear Water which runs into the same through golden Pipes very curiously made Near this Tank or Pond stands also an invaluable Throne though low made after the manner of a Footstool with four Feet This place also is the King's Treasury for his Jewels which he often looks upon there and also sits here in Council about State Affairs after which he repairs to his Haram or Seraglio where he spends his time commonly till Evening in seeing his Concubines Dance and hearing them Sing with other such like Pastimes then the King to delight himself the more causes two Elephants to fight after which he goes to the Gosselchane where the Nobles must again appear before him and wish him a good Night the King having first commanded one of them with ten or twelve of his trustiest Servants to watch at his Chamber His Entertainment of Ambassadors The King also to Entertain foreign Ambassadors causes Lyons Tygers and Bulls to fight one against another or with noble and valiant Men who would be accounted the Heroes of the Countrey or else fight to gain the Mogol's Favor Next a Tygar being let in a strong Person entred the Lists to encounter him but the Tygar being too subtil and nimble leap'd suddenly upon him first tearing out his Throat and afterwards his whole Body In the third place a little Man of mean aspect entring the Lists ran undauntedly like a Mad-man to the Tygar and at the first Encounter cut off both his fore Feet which forcing him to fall he gave him his mortal Wound Whereupon the King calling to him ask'd him his Name he answer'd Geiby then the King immediately order'd one of his Servants to carry him a Cloth of Gold Cambay or Coat who when he deliver'd it to him said Geiby receive this Coat which the Mogol of his Bounty hath sent you He receiving the Coat with great humility kiss'd it seven times pressing it each time upon his Eyes and Breast and soon after holding it up Pray'd to himself for the Mogol's prosperity which done he cry'd aloud God grant the Mogol to grow as great as Tamerlane from whom he is deriv'd may he live 700 years and his Generation continue for ever No sooner had he utter'd his Wishes but he was conducted by an Eunuch to the King and coming near the place where his Majestry sat he was receiv'd by two Chans and brought before him to kiss his Feet and at his going away the King said to him Be prais'd Geiby Chan for your heroick Exploit this Name you shall keep for ever I am your favorable Lord and you my Vassal The Mogol also keeps several tame Lions which walk up and down peaceably like Dogs at the Court amongst the People never hurting any yet they have Keepers that always have an Eye over them The Mogol possesses an incredible and unvaluable Mass of Treasure having according to report in ready Money in his Treasury seventeen Caroor or Caroras each Carora being a thousand Tun of Gold besides Jewels and other Rearities Purchas affirms the Revenue of his whole Realm to amount to fifty Crous Ropias or five thousand Lecks that is seven Millions and a half yearly of English Money The King's Revenuâ—s According to the testimony of the King's Books of Accompts the Countreys and Realms of Candahar Habove Cassamier Chasane Bannazad Guzeratte Sinde Hatta Ganday Barampour Bengala Orixa Odillo Maloveagra witht he adjacent Places and Delly afford him yearly six Areb and ninety eight Carroras or according to the Accompt of the Countrey a hundred and seventy Caroor and forty five Lack or Leck or a hundred seventy four Millions and five thousand Ropias or nineteen Millions a hundred ninety five thousand pound Sterling In the Treasury at Agra as it is suppos'd is in Gold six hundred Lecks of Eckbars Seraphins which are ten Copias and ten thousand more which are not above half that value besides all which there are thirty thousand Tols each worth a silver Ropie twenty five thousand pieces of another Coin each worth ten Tols and fifty thousand of another sort each worth five Tols In this Treasury likewise is thirteen Crous Eckbars Ropias fifty thousand pieces of another Coin each worth a hundred Tols forty thousand pieces each of thirty Tols thirty thousand each of twenty Tols twenty thousand more each of ten and a hundred thousand each of five besidâ—s two Lecks Savoys and one Leck Jagrys This Treasury incloses also a Batman and a half in Diamonds of which some are rough but the least two Carats and a half in weight two thousand Rubies Balais two Batmans in Pearls two Batmans of Rubies of all sorts and five Batmans of Smaragdes of all sorts besides a great quantity of Topazes Coral and the like almost invaluable There are also two thousand two hundred golden Swords beset with Precious Stones two thousand Ponyards full of Gold and Precious Stones besides an incredible number of Gold and Silver Arms and two thousand Batmans worth of Golden Dishes and other Vessels and a thousand Batmans more in other wrought Gold In Lahor is another very rich Treasury The Mogol keeps a great part of his Riches in six strong Castles viz. in that of Agra Guallier Ratomboe Hassier and Boughtaz His Throne in the Royal Metropolis Lahor is of massie Gold Inlay'd with Precious Stones and richly Enammell'd Likewise the Throne at his Court in Agra which Schach Selim made is beset with Precious Stones and Pearls worth many Millions The Architect of this last was one Augustine Hiriart a Frenchman All the Ground and Land of the whole Countrey is the Kings own so that no Man possesses a Foot of Land but through his favor The King gives to each of his Commanders and Grandees that are in his Countrey certain Lands Lordships and Revenues for which they are oblig'd excepting onely one Third which is the Kings to maintain a certain number of Soldiers as well in time of Peace as War as also some Elephants Horses Camels and Leopards When a Nobleman dies all his Goods not onely what was given him by the King but also what he purchas'd himself falls again to the Mogol who commonly leaves their Widows the Horses and Housholdstuff and gives to the Children some Place of note
colour'd Silks which they use for Carpets Boxes Cabinets and other curious Wood-work Inlay'd with Mother-of-Pearl which by the Portuguese and others are carried from thence to India Tatta is one of the most eminent Provinces for Traffick of all India Many great Barques by the Inhabitants call'd Risles and Capuses come fraighted with all sorts of weav'd Stuffs Sugar Anniseeds and other Commodities down the River Sind from Lahor Multan Agra Dely Nandou Citer Utrad and other Places and putting into the Haven Lowribandel lay the said Commodies aboard of bigger Ships for Ormuz where they are unladen by Netherlanders Portuguese and Mahumetans The Inhabitants are all Mahumetans yet by reason of the great Trade which is driven in this Countrey there are commonly People of all Religions found in the same The Great Mogol Ecbar first conquer'd this Territory The Provinces of Sorit Jesselmeer and Attack SOret The Borders a small but rich Province borders Eastward at Zurratte in the West at Tatta in the North at Jesselmeer and in the South at the Sea The Metropolis is call'd Janagor or Ganagor The Territory of Jesselmer The Limits or Jesselmure verges Southward at Soret Eastward at Bando Northwards at Attack and Westward at Buckor and Tatta The chief City bears the same Denomination with the Countrey The County of Attack conterminates in the West The Bounds with Haiacan the River Indus onely parting them in the North it is bounded with Penjab and in the East with Jenba and Mando The Metropolitan Town bears the Name of Attack The Province of Penjab or Pangab The Name THe next is the Province of Penjab or Pangab which in the Persian Tongue signifies Five Waters for its Situation between five Streams viz. the Ravy Behat Obcan Wiby and Sinde or Sindar all which discharge their Waters into the Indus and make a great Lake somewhat Southward from Lahor The City of Lahor The chief City of this Territory according to Terry is Lahor but others affirm Lahor to be the Metropolis of Multan The City being very large and ancient is one of the most eminent Towns in all India and is no way inferior either in bigness or beauty to Agra It lies in 35 Degrees and 50 Minutes Northern Elevation and hath large and well pav'd Streets The Air in and about Lahor is very healthful The Air. There are also many remarkable Structures in the same as the Palace Mosques Hamans or Baths Tanks or Springs Gardens and many other delightful Places It is a spacious and fruitful Territory and the most pleasant Spot of Ground in all India and is that part of it which according to Della Valle was in the time of Alexander the Great Govern'd by King Porus. There is a Castle which being very large strong and artificially built in a delightful place of white hard polish'd Stones hath twelve Gates three whereof respect the City and the other nine lead into several parts of the Countrey Within this Castle is a stately Palace into which you enter through two Gates and two base Courts and after you have pass'd through the last you come to two parting Ways the one leading to the Durbar or Joreo where the King appears daily before the People and the other to the Diwanchane which is a great Hall wherein he spends part of the Night viz. from eight of the Clock till eleven with his Omrahs On the Walls of this Castle are Engraven the Images of Kings Princes and other Great Men as Schach Selim the great Mogol Ecbar's Son sitting on a rich Carpet under a costly Throne with his Son and his Brothers d' Han Schach or Daniel and Schach Morat on his right Hand and opposite to him Emorza Sherif eldest Brother to Chan Asorn With many other Persons of note The River Rawy which springs out of Mount Caximir and runs through the same with several Rivulets having finish'd a Course of three hundred Miles along a deep Navigable Channel discharges its Water into the Indus near the City Tatta not far from Diul It lies in 23 Degrees and 15 Minutes Northern Latitude The Kingdom or Territory of Caximir THe Kingdom of Caximir or according to some Cascimir and Cachmire by Mercator taken to be the ancient Arachosia or Archotis of Ptolomy and by Herbert for the ancient Sogdiana The Borders borders in the North at Mount Caucasus in the North-West at the Province of Banchish the Indus onely separating them in the South-East at Penjab in the West at Cabul and Northerly at the Kingdom of Maurenahar Jarrick conterminates this Kingdom with that of Rebat It is but a small Countrey and lies as Texeira tells us fifteen days Journey from Lahor and according to Herbert in 41 Degrees and 9 Minutes Northern Latitude about three hundred Miles from Agra Jarrich gives the Name of Syranacar both to the chief City of this Kingdom and to the Countrey it self lying in 30 Degrees Northern Latitude About three Leagues from the City is a Lake or Pool of sweet Water about fifteen Miles in circumference Navigable for great Ships yet not above half a League broad In the middle of it lies a pleasant artificial Island with a Royal Banquetting-house therein whither as Jarrick affirms the King resorts when he intends to recreate himself in catching of wild Geese and Swans Through the midst of this Lake as also through the Countrey glides the Stream Behat or Bhad which by its trending or meeandring Bays makes many Islands and at last unites it self not far from Jahor with the River Indus or as others say with the Ganges which last is somewhat improbable because of its distance towards the East Another River call'd Chanab by Jarrick Chenao and by Terry Nilab having also its original in this Countrey unites it self likewise with the Indus The Countrey abounds in Rice Wheat and other Provisions and also hath plenty of Grass Woods Gardens and Springs Of the Roots of their Mulberry-trees they plant Vines This Countrey formerly lay under Water The ancient Histories of the Kings of Caximir make mention that this Countrey was formerly a great Lake and that a certain ancient Man call'd Cacheb open'd a Passage for the Water through the Mountain of Baramoule But this seems to be incredible yet not but that this Countrey was formerly overflow'd with Water but to open a Passage for it through the foremention'd Mountain is a thing altogether impossible the Mountain being so very high and broad rather an Earthquake to which this Place is very subject opening the Earth swallow'd up a part of the Mountain and so open'd a Passage for the Water But however it was dreyn'd It s Extent and Situation Caximir is no more a Lake but at present a most fertile Soil about eighteen Leagues long and three or four broad interlac'd with many little Hills It is the farthest part of Indostan to the Northward from Lahor and inclos'd by Mount Caucasus the Mountains of the
with Water-courses Channels and some little Lakes and Rivulets and every where planted with European Trees and Flowers as Apples Pears Plumbs Apricocks Nuts and Vines European Plants and Herbs here in great abundance In the private Gardens of this Countrey grow Musk-melons Patequos or Water-melons Beets Raddishes most of our Potherbs and some which we have not yet these Fruits are not so good as those in Europe which proceeds rather from the ignorance of Gardners than the Soil wherefore the Mogols have not improperly call'd this Countrey The Terrestrial Paradice neither did the Great Mogol Ecbar without just reasons take so much pains to get it from the lawful Kings and his Son Schach Selim was so much taken therewith that he could not possibly forsake it often saying That he would rather lose all his whole Kingdom besides than Cachemire When Oranchzef came Anno 1664. from Deli to recreate himself in this Countrey in the Month of March all the Poets strove to exceed one another in making Verses in praise of the same which Oranchzef receiv'd rewarding the Authors of them very bountifully The Description of the City and Lake of Cachemire The chief Town of this Countrey bears the same Denomination with the Kingdom and being without Walls is three quarters of a Mile long and half a Mile broad It is situate in a barren Field about two Leagues from the Mountains which seem to make a Semi-circle about a Lake of sweet Water of about four or five Leagues in circumference This Lake is made by running Springs and Brooks which glide from the Mountains and discharges its Water through a navigable Channel into a River which runs through the middle of the City and hath two Bridges over it This Lake is also full of Islands which resemble so many pleasant Gardens with delightful Walks and Arbors and are surrounded with Poplar and other Trees which have Leaves about two Foot broad and are as tall as the Masts of Ships with Boughs onely on the top like Date-trees On the other side of the Lake upon the hanging of the Mountains are also abundance of Banquetting-houses and Gardens for which that place is most convenient because it hath a delicate Air a Prospect on the Lake Islands and a City and is full of Springs and Rivulets The best of all the Gardens being the Kings is in the Persian Language call'd Schach-Limar that is The King's Garden Out of the Lake they go into this Garden through a Channel between two rows of Trees planted along its Banks about five hundred Paces long This Channel leads to the King 's Sugar-house which is also in the midst of the Garden where begins another brave Moat reaching to the upper end of the Garden The bottom of the foremention'd Channel is pav'd with Freestone and the sides thereof rais'd also with the same Stone in the middle thereof are many Springs of Water which being in a row fifteen Paces distant one from another shoot up above the other Water Moreover there are Receptacles of Water like Ponds out of which by means of several Springs the Water rises up in many small Streams which make divers Figures This Channel ends at another great Banquetting-house not much unlike the former The foremention'd Pleasure-houses built almost like Cloysters lying in the middle of the Moat are surrounded with Water between the two rows of Poplar Trees they have Galleries or Balconies built round about them and four Doors opposite one to another two whereof fronting the two rows of Trees have two Bridges which lead cross the Water one on each side the other two front the two ends of the Channel Each Summer-house consists in a great Room in the midst of four lesser which make the Square the Walls of both the great and small Rooms are richly Gilded and Painted and full of Inscriptions in large Persian Characters the four Doors are very stately of large Stones with two Columns fetch'd out of the ancient Pagan Temples which Schach Jehan caus'd to be ruin'd The value of these Stones is not known nor of what species they are unless Marble or Porphyrie Most of the Houses are built of Wood two Storeys high not for want of Stone there being many old ruin'd Deuras or Temples but for the cheapness by reason of the abundance of Wood which grows on the adjacent Mountains from whence it may be fetch'd for a small matter and carried to the City along a little River The Houses built along the River side have each of them a Garden which hath a Prospect on the Water The other Houses that do not stand near the River have Gardens also and many of them a little Channel which runs into the Lake into which they can Row from their Houses in small Boats At one end of the City appears a very steep Mountain at the foot whereof are many fair Houses with Gardens and on the top a Mosque with an Orchard and Garden belonging to it In regard whereof the Inhabitants in their Language call this Mountain Hary Porbet that is Green Mountain Opposite to this appears another Mountain being also crown'd with a Mosque and likewise an ancient Structure which seems to have been a Deura or Pagode but it is call'd Tackt Souliman that is The Throne of Salomon because as the Mahumetans say Salomon built it when he came to Cachemire A wonderful Spring At the Confines of this Kingdom two or three days Journey from the City Cachemire a Spring near the foot of a Mountain works Wonders as the Mahumetans affirm in May when the Snow melts on the Mountains viz. it ebbs and flows for fifteen days together three times in a day in the Morning at Noon and at Night after the first fifteen days its Course is not so exact and after a Months time it stops altogether the remaining part of the year except in the time of great and long Rains when it overflows like other Springs The Heathens have on the Brink of this Spring a little Deura or Pagode built in honor of one of their Idols wherefore they have call'd it Send Brary as if they would say Water of Brary whither many People go in Pilgrimage to Bathe themselves Many strange Relations they give concerning the original of this Spring the Mountain at whose foot it springs extends in length from North to South and appears at a distance like a Plain somewhat rising in the middle and is about a hundred Paces broad on the top the North side hath some Verdure but quickly decaying for want of the Suns influence the other side on the West is shaded with Trees and Brambles Some distance from the High-way is a pleasant Seat of the ancient Kings of Cachemire and at present of the Great Mogol call'd Achiavela The most remarkable thing belonging thereunto is a Spring whose Water runs round about the Structure and through all the Gardens in many little Channels This Spring boyls with such great force out
They make them of two several sorts of Stuffs namely Inland Wooll which is much softer than the Spanish and another sort of Wooll or rather Hair call'd Touz which grows on the Breasts of wild Goats which breed in Tibet These last are much dearer than the first the Hair of Beaver not exceeding it in softness but it is very subject to Moths and Worms if not beaten and air'd They are much worn by the great Omrahs who give for some of them a hundred nay a hundred and fifty Ropias each Ropia being 2 s. 2 d. whenas those made of Inland Wooll cost not above fifty It is said that the King of Caximir Govern'd formerly over all the Mountains which extend to Tartary and over all Indostan quite to the Island of Ceilon The Histories of this Countrey make mention that the Dominions of the Raja of Gamon Cachguer and Serenaguer were anciently under the Jurisdiction of this Kingdom the Inhabitants whereof were all Heathens till about three hundred years ago that the Mahumetan Religion was instituted so that the greatest part are now Saracens Caximir conquer'd by the Mogol To prevent all Invasions the Great Mogol keeps four thousand Soldiers in Caximir which was formerly a Kingdom by it self and was Govern'd by an absolute King who pay'd Tribute to none till Anno 1665. that Ecbar conquer'd the Countrey at a time when the Inhabitants were at Difference and maintain'd War one against another for otherwise he could never have master'd it because Caximir is the most powerful of all the neighboring Kingdoms At present Caximir is Govern'd by a Vice-Roy of the Great Mogol's The present Governor is call'd Diaretcan sent thither by Oranchzef Moreover the Great Mogol Ecbar took this Countrey by force from the last King Justef Chan after the following manner viz. When Ecbar was about to conquer the Kingdom of Maurenahar and the King of Caximir lying between was preparing to prevent him he sent Alli Myrza to tell him that he should immediately come to Lahor and bring his Son with him where he should be well Entertain'd and receiv'd with as much kindness as could be expected from a neighboring Prince and Friend who would leave him in quiet possession of his Countrey and assure him of his Fidelity but if he resolv'd to hazard his Fortunes on an uncertain War he would not onely drive him out of his Realm but also make him his Slave and banish his Son The King of Caximir affrighted with these Threatnings surrendred himself immediately to Ecbar But Jacob Chan his Son who was not able to brook this Oppression fled and was immediately followed by so many Friends that he had Strength sufficient to drive the Indians out of his Fathers Kingdom and caus'd himself to be proclaim'd King yet he enjoy'd the benefit belonging to that Title not long for Ecbar being exceedingly enrag'd at his rebelling sent Ally Myrza and Cassem Chan with thirty thousand Men against him with Command to give him Battel But the young Prince not daring to Engage with such unequal Forces fled into the high Mountains of Bunkery whither Cassem Chan pursuing him by the guidance of some of the Natives made himself Master of all the Mountains and forc'd Jacob Chan to flie to Serenaguer where in a short time after he was Besieged and though the Place was very strong and he had Men enough he was forc'd to surrender himself and being bound Hand and Foot was carry'd to Indostan The Territories of Banchish Jangapore and Jenba Their Situation and Bounds THe Territory of Banchish lies Eastward a little Southerly from Chismeer from whence it is separated by the River Indus it borders Northward upon the People Cackares and Southerly at Jangapore The chief City thereof is call'd Bishur The Province of Jangapore lies on the Stream Caul one of the five Rivers which water Penjab It hath Siba on the East Banchish on the North Jenba on the South and Penjab on the West The Territory of Jenba Eastward from Penjab hath Jangapore on the North Nagracat on the East and Dely on the South The Metropolis thereof is Jenba The Countrey is very mountainous The Kingdom of Dely. Situation and Limits THe Kingdom or Province of Dely or Delly is by Terry call'd Dellee and by others Dely which signifies A Heart because it lies in the heart of the Mogol's Dominions and as Terry saith between Jenba and Agra Maginus places this Kingdom between those of Decan Narsinga Orixa and Cambaya and extending about the Province of Narsinga is separated from the Kingdom of Cambaya by great Mountains The River Jeming running along one side thereof serves for a Moat over which a Bridge with ten Arches leads into the City The ancient Metropolis being also call'd Dely was once a fair and large City and the Seat and Burying-place of the Mogol Emperors who afterwards remov'd from thence to the new-built Dely. Its Glory consisted in many Tombs in which above twenty great Kings and Lords lie buried The superstitious Indians flock thither in Pilgrimage It hath plenty of all things and was anciently the Seat of King Porus who near this Place was conquer'd by Alexander the Great when he came to Invade him with Elephants and abundance of Horses Three Leagues from the City on a place call'd Old Dely where King Homayon Father to Ecbar lies buried stands a great Marble Pillar or Pyramid which having a Greek Inscription is the greatest Remark in all the Province notwithstanding the Letters are almost worn out with age About fifty years ago Schach Jehan Father to the present Great Mogol Oranchzef causing a City to be built not far from Old Dely call'd it Schach Jehan Abad that is The Peopling of Schach Jeham and made the same the Metropolis of the Realm in stead of Agra where he said the Heat was too great in Summer Jehan Abad 2 new City how seated By reason of the nearness of the two foremention'd Places the Ruins of the old City hath serv'd for the new one and there is at present scarce any mention made of Dely but altogether of Jehan Abad which is a new City lying in a barren Field on the Banks of the River Jemna and built onely along one side of the Stream there being but one Bridge over the same which is laid cross several Hulks It is quite unwall'd on that side which respects the Water The Walls are of Stone yet not very tenible or defensive there being no Moats nor any Breastworks but round Towers after the old fashion about a hundred Paces distant from one another and behind them a Mud Wall about four or five Foot thick The circumference of the Wall with the Castle which is inclos'd in the same is about two Leagues and a half but if you include a long Suburb which runs to Lahor and being a Rellick of the old Dely is inhabited it will make above a League in a direct Line and a Circumference which cannot justly
which are opposite to a Square interlac'd with several Brooks of Water and Springs During the time that they are on the Guard the King sends them all their Victuals ready dress'd which they receive with great Ceremony and Reverence repeating three several times the Taslin or Thanks and laying their Hands upon their Heads turn their Faces towards the King's Lodgings There are yet many more Divans and Tents erected in several places which are the Apartments of divers Officers Moreover there are a great number of Carcanays which are Shops wherein Handicraftsmen follow several Employments as Embroiderers Goldsmiths Painters Taylors Shoemakers and Silkweavers each in a peculiar Shop All these Tradesmen come every Morning to work in this Carcanays and staying there all day return home to their Houses in the Evening each Man living very peaceably and quiet none aiming to be higher than their Condition hath allotted them for a Taylor breeds his Son a Taylor and so the rest and no Person converses with any Man but those of his own Trade which Custom is punctually observ'd not onely by the Heathens who are oblig'd thereto by their Laws but also amongst the Mahumetans which is the occasion of many beautiful Virgins living unmarried when as they might Match to the raising their Fortunes if their Parents would permit them to Marry a Man of another Trade or Quality which they account meaner than theirs After having pass'd all these Places before mention'd you come to the Amacas which is a large Square with Piazzaes which have no Houses over them but are divided by a Wall with a little Door or Gate through which you walk out of one part into another Beyond the great Gate which is in the midst of one of the sides of this Square you come to a large Divan which is all open towards the side of the Court and is call'd Nagar-canay because it is the place where the Trumpetters or rather Cymbal-players are who in their Turns play both day and night But this seems at first a strange sound in the Ears of Strangers who are not us'd to it there being sometimes ten or twelve of these Trumpetters and as many Cimbal-players who play all together They have Trumpets which they call Carna a Cubit and a half long with an opening at the bottom of a Foot diameter So likewise there are Cymbals of Copper or Iron half a Yard wide from whence one may judge of the noise which they make their sound is so harsh in the Ears of Strangers and so loud that they cannot endure to hear the same yet custom makes it pleasant especially in the Night when it is heard at a distance on the tops of Houses wherefore those that are appointed to play are plac'd on high at a distance from the King's Lodgings Opposite to the great Gate of the Court over which this Nagar-canay is kept is a spacious Hall built on several high Columns and open on three sides all which look towards the Court. The Pillars and Floor of this Hall are gilded and painted In the midst of the Wall which separates this Hall from the Seraglio is a very high and broad Window where the King sits on his Throne with some of his Sons by his side and some Eunuchs standing near him who either keep the Flyes from him with the Tails of Peacocks or cool him with great Fans whilst others in other postures wait to receive his Commands Below him stand all the Omrahs Rajas and Ambassadors with cast-down Eyes and their Hands on their Breasts Below these stand the Mansebdars or inferior Omrahs in the same humble postures whilst the remaining part of the Hall or Court is fill'd with divers sorts of other People In this place the King gives Audience to all Persons every day about Noon for which reason this great Hall is call'd Amcas that is The Place of Audience During the foremention'd Assembly the King to recreate himself causes a certain number of his best Horses to be led by before him that so he may see whether they are well kept which he also doth by his best Elephants which are wash'd and colour'd black all over except two broad red Stroaks which running from their Heads cross their Backs unite near the Tail The Elephants at that time also are richly caparison'd with Embroider'd Cloths and two Silver Bells which hang on each side by a thick Silver Chain which lies cross their Backs and have large and curious Cow Tails brought from Tibet hanging about their Necks Moreover two lesser Elephants are led by their sides as if their Slaves and appointed to serve the bigger These mighty great Beasts as if proud of being set forth in such a manner walk very stately and coming before the King the Riders of them sitting on their Shoulders prick them into the Skin with an Iron Hook and speaking to them make them bow their Knees throw their Noses up in the Air and make a certain kind of noise which the People look upon to be a Taslin or Salute After the Elephants they bring out several sorts of Beasts as the Nilgaux or grey Oxen a sort of Elands Rhinocerots and great Buffaloes from Bengala to fight with their great Horns against a Lion or Tyger tame Leopards or Panthers with which the King goes a Hunting This done they lead by the King's Greyhounds sent him from Usbeck Lastly divers Birds of prey amongst which some are taught to seize on a Hare The Course of the River Jeminy The River Jeminy by Pliny and Herbert call'd Jomanes and by Ptolomy Hynamanes taking its original out of the neighboring Mountains runs through and by Agra from whence it glides with many trending Bays to Piage where it discharges its Water into the Ganges The nature of the Tree Baxama There grows a certain Tree call'd Baxama with such a poisonous Root that it immediately kills those who eat thereof but the Fruit thereof which is call'd Nirabix or according to Thevet Rabuxot expells the Poison and cures those that are infected by the Root yet Thevet tells us that the Fruit of these Trees growing on the Island Queixom lying in the Bay of Persia is so poisonous that it immediately kills those that taste thereof The same power he saith the Shadow of the Tree hath if any Person lie under it but a quarter of an hour Nevertheless the same Thevet affirms that the same Root in other Countreys is an expeller of Poison The Inhabitants as well Moors as Heathens are valiant Soldiers and good Horsemen Their Arms are Bowes Arrows Lances Daggers and Steel Plates call'd Checharany two Inches broad and round like a Dish they carry seven or eight of them under their left Arm and put one of them on the fore Finger of their right Hand which turning several times they throw it at their Enemy and if it chances to fall either on their Arm or Leg it certainly cuts off the same and with this Weapon which the most
which they have given sufficient testimony for about the Year 1644. when the Great Mogol's Son Besieg'd this City with ten thousand Men they behav'd themselves so bravely that the said Prince having lost a great number of his Men was forc'd to retreat from thence in a confus'd manner The Portuguese possess several Isles near Daman which pay Tribute to the King of Salsette wherefore he is call'd Choura of Daman Southwards from which lies a Place near the Sea call'd Dary beyond which is the Bay Kielme Mahi so call'd from two Villages lying near the Sea the one nam'd Kielme and the other Mahi and beyond them appears the City Bazaim The City Bazaim Sixty Leagues Southward from Deman near the Island Salsette lies the City Bazaim which Mercator affirms to be the Borace of Ptolomy in nineteen Degrees and a half Northern Latitude By reason of the many Rivers and Brooks the Way between Bazaim cannot be travell'd in less than three days The City being pretty large hath a convenient Harbor The whole Coast produces much Rice Pease and other Grain Oyl and Coco-nuts In the beginning of this Age many Houses were swallow'd up by an Earthquake in the room of which none have since been built On the Main Continent near the Island Salsette de Bazaim the Portuguese have a Fort call'd Manora and also a Village with many Hamlets near it â—â— Bay ende Stadt DABUL gelegen â—â—de noorder breetsâ—â—â— The Rock Asserim The Fortress or Rock of Asserim lies up some Leagues farther into the Countrey up which they generally climb bare-foot that so they may take the surer footing it being very high steep and slippery insomuch that those who ascend the same are in great danger of falling from the top to the bottom or else if they ascend on the other side they climb up by Ropes with which they hoise up Cows and other things which they want And though this Rock lie between many other which may easily be ascended yet it is so high above them that it seems to be a Fortress which Commands over the rest And as this Place is the Key to all the rest which the Portuguese possess to the Northward in India so it is likewise a great Eye-sore to the neighboring Kings who have for that reason practis'd divers ways to conquer the same which to prevent the Portuguese are continually upon their Guard especially at those Places which yield a good Prospect On the top of the said Rock is a large Plain surrounded with many great Stones which they throw down upon those that come to invade them Not onely the Soldiers but also the Inhabitants of the Place watch every Night and carry Torches made of a kind of Wood like Canes which last a long time and cannot be put out by any Wind or Rain which rather makes them burn the better This Place is also a Sanctuary for all Criminals who repairing thither for shelter are receiv'd and kept there for Soldiers which with their Wives and Children amounted formerly to about seven hundred The Portuguese conquer'd this Rock in the time of the Governor Francis Borrero The Countrey of Surratte The Countrey of Surratte is interlac'd by many Rivers viz. the Nardabat which takes its course by the City Brotcha and divides it self into two Arms about four Leagues from the City towards the South near the Village Hansoot in some places it is one and in others two Miles broad and is divided by many other Streams which have Passages into the Sea The Soil is for the most part clayie and mix'd with Sand except near the City where it is all Sand it extends East North-East and West South-West The other Rivers are Wasset and Bate which last springs out of the Mountains of Gate and falling into the Gulf of Bambain divides the Kingdom of Decan and Countrey of Surratte or Cambaya The Tapta otherwise Tyndee also glides between the Countrey of Surratte and that of the Benjans The River May otherwise Mehi or Guandari along whose Banks the City of Cambaya is built is dry at low Ebb except in three or four places which having always about four or five Foot of Water are dangerous to wade through without a good Guide because of the strong Current that is in them This River ebbs and flows daily seven Fathom perpendicular At High-water the Ships come to an Anchor close before the City but are left quite dry at low-Low-water The Ground being sandy and mix'd with Clay is much better and easier for those Vessels that lie dry upon it than if it were hard Sand. About a League Southward from Cambaya glides the River Mihi whose Shore must be travell'd at the low Ebb of the Sea and not without great danger because the Sea rising flows up above five Leagues and at low Tide you are forc'd to wade through two or three deep places if any one should venture to wade through at the coming in of the Tide he would undoubtedly be swallow'd by the Sea for when the Water flows with greater strength and higher than ordinary for it observes no Rule but rises and falls more or less according to the course of the Moon it carries and washes away both Horse and Man and oftentimes with such force that an Elephant cannot withstand the same nor all his weight prevent him from being carried away wherefore all travellers wait for a certain time to wade through the same viz. when the Sea is low which is at the new Moon at which time they may go over it in Coaches or on Horseback without any danger Coaches are commonly held fast on both sides that they may not be overturn'd by the Waves those that go on foot strip themselves naked and tying up their Clothes carry them on their Shoulders many times a whole Caravan with abundance of People travel over the same some in Coaches some in Waggons some on Horseback and others on foot both Men and Women stark naked accounting it neither shameful nor immodest The Soil between both viz. between the said River and the City Cambaya is firm and hard and is not overflown though plain and not far from the Sea In most Places of the Kingdom is excellent Water except in the City of Cambaya where there is great want of it There are several Pools of Water in the Towns and some of them so big that the Inhabitants filling them in the Winter have enough to serve them all the year In those Countreys which lie near the Indian Sea is a certain rainy Season or Winter viz. four Moneths in the year beginning in June when the Sun enters into the Tropick of Cancer and ending in September If it Rains out of the Season it is unusual but betokens a fruitful year for in the other eight Moneths the Weather is so serene and clear that there is scarce a Cloud seen in the Skie neither doth it rain constantly during the foremention'd four Months as in Goa but
then consults with the Father and Mother about naming of the Child which as soon as they have agreed upon the Mother in presence of the whole Company gives the Child its Name without any other Ceremony which done the Mother and Father taking the Child follow the Daroo to the Eggaree or Temple where the Priest takes clear Water which he stirs in the Bark of a certain Tree growing near Yesd in Persia call'd Holma on which it is affirm'd the Sun never makes any shadow and at last taking up a handful of the said Water sprinkles the Child therewith and prays to God that he would cleanse the Child from his Fathers and Mothers Uncleanness which said he leaves the Infant with the Parents When the Child is attain'd to the seventh year of its Age and judg'd fit to be receiv'd and made a Member of their Church the Parents carry it to the Temple to be instructed where the Daroo teaches the Youth several Prayers and instructs him in his Religion The Child being perfect herein repeats all the Prayers which he hath learn'd over a Fire with a Cloth ty'd about his Head which covers his Mouth and Nostrils so to prevent the Breath which comes out of his unclean Body from blowing upon and thereby defiling the holy Fire After performance of these Prayers the Daroo gives the Child Water to drink and the Rind of a Pomegranate to chew thereby to cleanse it from its inward uncleanness Then they wash his Body with clean Water and put him on a Shuddero or Cotton Coat which reaches down to his Ancles and also give him a Girdle made of Camels Hair by them call'd Cushee which the Youth must never leave off After all this the Daroo says this Prayer following God grant that you may be a faithful Maintainer all your Life of the Persian Religion of which your Habit is a Efficient Badge and never believe any other Law but that which Zertoost brought with him from Heaven Moreover that you may always remain constant in the worshipping of the Fire neither eat the Meat of others nor drink out of their Cups but undefil'd preserve the Ceremonies and Customs of the Persians This done the Youth passes for a real Persian and one of their Sect. They have five different kinds of Marriage among them which have each their proper Name Their Marriages The first call'd Shausan is a Marriage of the Son of one Man to the Daughter of another during their Minority which the Parents manage among themselves without the knowledge of their Children This sort of Marrying is highly esteem'd amongst them affirming That those who are thus Marry'd shall undoubtedly go directly to Paradise The second sort of Marrying call'd Chockerson is when a Widow Marries a second Husband The third nam'd Codesherahassan is when a Woman makes choice of a Man her self The fourth nam'd Ectsan is when a Youth or Maid dies after having been Betrothed before the consummation of the Marriage for in such Cases they have a Custom to give another Youth or Maid in Marriage to the Deceased because they account Marriage to be a great means to make Men happy in the other World Persons of Quality commonly Marry after this manner because with their Money they purchase such as will undertake such a Marriage as is before mentioned The fifth nam'd Ceterson is when a Father having no Sons but having a Daughter Married who hath Sons takes one of them to be his real Son and gives him in Marriage as his own Child for they esteem a Man most miserable who hath no Children to bestow in Marriage Their Burying Places Their Burying-places are built round a good heighth from the Ground pretty broad and pav'd with Free-stone In the midst of them is a deep Well into which drop the Bones of the Deceased the Bodies both of Men and Women being hung round the Wall in the open Air. These Burying-places are of two sorts and stand some distance from each other the one is appointed for those that have lived piously and honestly and the other for those that have liv'd viciously and wickedly and those that have committed Crimes and were punish'd for them whilst they liv'd When any Person amongst them lies upon his Death-bed they send for a Herbood or Priest who whispers this following Prayer in the dying Person 's Ear viz. O Lord thou hast commanded us not to sin yet nevertheless this Person hath sinned thou hast comanded us to do good yet this Person hath done ill thou hast commanded us to worship thee yet this Person hath neglected it but nevertheless good Lord pardon his Crimes and offences Their Funeral Solemnities As soon as the Breath is departed out of the Body the Priest keeps ten Foot distance from the same and commands the Nicesselars or Bearers to carry it away on an Iron Bier for by virtue of their Law they may not touch any dead Corps with Wood because it is a Material with which they keep in the Fire which they worship Moreover those that accompany the Corps are forbid to speak because the Grave according to their Opinion must be a Place of Rest and Quietness Coming to the place where the Defunct is to be buried the Bearers set down the Corps whilst the Priests who stand at some distance from thence speak the following words When this our Brother liv'd he was conjoin'd of four Elements now he is dead let each Element take his own the Earth the Earth the Water the Water the Air the Air and the Fire the Fire Next they implore Sertau and Asud whose Offices are to wait on Lucifer and some other Daemons that they would prevent all evil Spirits from doing the Deceased any harm when he shall go to cleanse himself by their celestial Fire for the Soul as they believe remains ranging up and down the Earth three days after during which time Jupiter they say would torment the same if it did not flie to the sacred Fire to avoid his punishments After this the Soul being try'd is according to her behaviour either condemn'd to go to Hell or convey'd to Heaven As this Opinion is firmly rooted in them so they forget not to meet every Morning Noon and Evening during the space of three days to implore God to shew Mercy to the Soul of the Deceased and to pardon the Sins which he hath committed in his Life-time After the expiration of the three days when the Soul hath received her sentence then the Relations make a great Feast on the fourth day and so end their Mourning One Twist tells us That they take the Sick from his Bed and laying him on the Ground or a Bed of Sand let him die there and about thirty or forty days after the Burying of the Dead they carry the said Bed of Sand and strew the same on his Grave But Herbert saith That they wrap up their deceas'd Bodies in a perfum'd Cloth and that the Relations which
another especially we that ought to be preserv'd Certainly your Valor will not be abated when I shall declare unto you my Condition and divide my Strength and Power with you nay rather being Friends we shall be capacitated for the Undertaking the greatest Enterprizes whatsoever and valiantly revenge all Injuries that shall be offer'd us Know then That the World is yet but like a young Child having far greater need of being replenish'd with People than bereft of them by force of Arms. Love and Nature teach us to study our own Preservation which may better be accomplish'd by being at Union than at Variance one with another Let us not therefore endeavor by forceable and unlawful Means to seek a Glory which may prove Mortal to both but let us rather study to settle a happy and everlasting Peace between us Toddikastre having with great attention hearkned unto a Proposal grounded on so much Reason after a little silence reply'd That notwithstanding she plainly discover'd sufficient marks of his Rage and Fury which might provoke her to Revenge yet she submitted to his Argument readily and freely consenting to his Proposal of Peace VVhereupon giving each other their Hands to confirm their new Friendship they of mortal Enemies became the greatest Friends in Nature and resolving to live and die together begat many Children producing a Race of Valiant and Heroick Spirits And thus was the VVestern Part of the World Peopled by these two Generous Enemies Shuddery the third Son of Pourous was sent Northward to Traffique as a Merchant taking with him his Weights and a Pair of Scales wherewith to weigh whatever was bought or sold Having travell'd a considerable way wishing to meet with an Adventure sutable to his Calling he came at last to a Mountain call'd Challa when beginning to Rain very hard he was necessitated to seek for shelter in a small Cave which was in the said Mountain The Rain ceasing the Sky began to clear up but the Water having cover'd most of the Ways kept Shuddery from Travelling that day But no sooner had the thirsty Earth drunk up the Water and the Sun dry'd up the remaining Moisture when in order to proceed on his Journey he leaves the Cave and scarcely arriv'd at the bottom of the Valley but he found several Shells which out of Curiosity opening he concluded by their Brightness and Beauty that they ought carefully to be preserv'd though altogether ignorant of the Value so putting them up very safe he went on and having scarce pass'd through the Valley he found himself near another Mountain upon which appear'd a Rock of Diamonds wich having been wash'd by the great Rain appear'd very glorious and sparkling causing a great admiration in Shuddery who judg'd it to have been a great Fire Passing on and perceiving the suppos'd Fire did not spread it self yet encreas'd in Lustre he was curious to be satisfied what it might be by touching the same with his Finger whereby he perceiv'd that though these glittering Diamonds sparkled like Fire yet they had not that Heat with them wherefore he resolv'd to expect the next Morning to see if he could make any further Discovery of this great Mystery But the Day caus'd a far greater alteration than he expected which no sooner appear'd but the Light of the Diamonds vanish'd nothing remaining but a Rock of whitish Stones of which he took as many as he could carry carefully observing the Place against his Return in case he should be better inform'd of the Value Whence proceeding he at last espy'd the Nymph that was ordain'd for him walking by the side of the Wood which border'd on the Plain he was crossing He directed his Course towards the Object which at that distance appear'd to him most pleasing and beautiful The Nymph was not a little surpris'd at the sight of him remaining in suspence whether to fly or stay till Shuddery approaching near her thus express'd himself Most admirable and beautiful Creature so nearly resembling me I beg your Company not onely for the likeness between us to our mutual admiration which I hope may oblige you to love me and entertain a good Opinion of one that follows you with no bad Intent but that I may be happy in your Conversation since the Similitude between us seems to challenge a more intimate Familiarity Visagondah for such was her Name express'd by her silence the pleasure she took in Shuddery's Presence no way distrusting her Safety at last she demanded of him how it came to pass that two Persons having never seen one another before could so perfectly understand each others Language To which Shuddery reply'd That God who had given their Bodies a like Shape had also endued them with one Tongue thereby to assist and discover their Secrets one to another Having thus shew'd great Testimonies of Friendship to one another staying some time in the Place Shuddery related to her his Adventures after which living many Years together they begat divers Children which grown up became Merchants with whom Shuddery work'd in the Diamond-Rock he had discover'd laying up great Quantities thereof and prizing them at a high Value made them so esteem'd of through the whole World And from the Issue of this Shuddery according to the Tradition of the Indians the Northern Parts of the World were Peopled Wyse the youngest of the four Brothers took his Journey towards the South taking with him the most useful Instruments which he had invented for the Benefit of Mankind for God had endu'd him with far more Understanding than any of his Brothers He was the Inventor of all Arts and taught his Children to Build Houses Towns and Castles to Till the Groud and all other things necessary to Humane Life for which reason he was call'd Viskarmah that is A Vertuoso because nothing was difficult to him that could be done Being endu'd with this great Knowledge and Skill in Husbandry and Building God order'd him to Travel Southward where in his way he pass'd by seven great Lakes leaving at each of them Marks of his Ingenuity and having pass'd the last he found himself in a Country call'd Derpe where he built a fair House near the Lake with many Apartments and a flat Roof Here he staid some time alone to refresh himself but he had not long enjoy'd the sweetness of his Repose when he was disturb'd by a strange Accident The Woman which was appointed for him passing by a neighboring Wood near the side of the Lake stood still to admire the Magnificent Form of the new-built Structure which she approach'd to view more narrowly having never before seen the like Wyse espying her so earnestly view his Habitation found himself struck with admiration at the sight of so surprising a Creature her Body being perfectly White and her Hair resembling the Colour of Gold wherefore he approach'd nearer the Person who at a distance had wrought a very great alteration in him whilst she was not a little abash'd to
this Castle were anciently kept according to the Custom of the Country seven Kings with their Families and Retinues which never came from thence except that King of the Country which was nearest related to him dy'd without a Male-Issue Within it is a Fountain of fresh Water The other Towns of this Country are Saddise lying near the River Tynde nine Leagues from the City Netherbey and two Days Journey from Brampour the next is Caddor fifteen Leagues from Brampour on the side of the Bulloits Country then follows Sawbon fourteen Leagues from Caddor Kanowe a great City three days Journey from Caddor fourteen Leagues farther flows the great River Andere which runs to Bengala where the utmost Limits of the Heathens terminate and crossing this River you go out of the Heathens Couâ—try into that of the Bulloits Five Leagues Journey from Agra is a Castle call'd Hoffer the most eminent and the strongest of all the Province of Chandish it is built on the top of a high and steep Mountain incredibly fortifi'd by Nature and able to contain forty thousand Horse in the middle of it are Springs which water the Mountain and make the Earth so fruitful in the production of Grass Herbs and Corn that there is no want either of Provisions or other Necessaries it is also Planted round about with very fine Brass Guns which were brought thither by the last King of Surratte But the Water which springs out of this Mountain is very unwholsom to drink and causes Worms to grow in the Legs which was the only Instrument whereby Ekbar conquer'd this Place The Inhabitants of Brampour are very affable and courteous occasion'd perhaps by their converting commonly with many of the Nobility by whose Example the Vulgar are very much civiliz'd Every Person may Hunt freely without any interruption and those that will not go on foot may be furnish'd with a Horse at a very low Rate The Inhabitants of Kanowe drive a great Trade in Clothes Swords Musquets and a certain Fruit to Dye withal and those of Brampour in Cloth of Gold and Silver Silks and Woollen Cloth The Country is sufficiently fortifi'd against an Enemy for Anno 1609. the King of Kanowe came with an Army of fifty thousand Elephants thirty thousand Horse ten thousand Camels and three thousand Dromedaries to attack the same It is at this day Govern'd by a Substitute of the Great Mogol's The Inhabitants are Heathens and worship the Sun as their Supreme God They eat not the Flesh of any living Creature according to the manner of the Pythagoreans They adore all Creatures as Gods and worship that Beast they meet with first in the Morning for their God all that Day Anno 1600. the City of Brampour with the whole Kingdom and Fort of Sye was conquer'd by the Great Mogol Ekbar for at the coming of Ekbar with his Army after having conquer'd the Kingdom of Dekan King Miram deserted die City of Brampour and fled with all the Inhabitants and their Goods to the Fort Sye so that Ekbar got nothing but the empty City and therefore went from thence to Sye with an Army of 200000 Men. The Fortress was plentifully stor'd for many Years with Wood Corn and other Provisions for sixty thousand Men and was fortifi'd with three thousand Pieces of Ordnance In the Fort was besides King Miram and the seven other Heroick Princes which though of the Mahumetan Religion yet Extracted Portuguese who having the sole Conduct of this War fortifi'd the Fort with no less Care than Art so that the Mogol's Labor though he had besieg'd the Fort with two hundred thousand was all in vain for the Besieged by the convenient Situation of the Fort their continual discharging of great Guns and prudent management of Affairs they prevented him from taking the same by Storm When Ekbar saw that it was impossible to Conquer the Fort by Force he resolv'd to try what he could do by Policy wherefore he endeavor'd to attain his Ends by Money and Presents and desir'd to enter into Conference with King Miram swearing by his Head the greatest Oath imaginable that immediately after he had spoken wiâ—h him he should return in safety to the Fort again Miram being doubtful what might be the Event of this Busines entred into Counsel with his Officers about it where the Abyffinian Commanders and seven other Princes judg'd it altogether inconvenient for him to go out of the Castle but others who were entic'd thereto by Bribery seem'd to be quite of another Opinion whose Advice he following went out of the Fort having upon him a Garment in fashion of a Cloke which reach'd down to his Knees as a testimony of his Submission Coming to the Great Mogol whom he found sitting like an Image yet with a smiling Countenance he bid him welcom three times upon which Miram approaching nearer to him bow'd down his Head when one of the Mogol's Princes taking hold of him threw him on the Ground to which rude Affront 't was judg'd Ekbar consented notwithstanding he seemingly reprehended him for his rashness and mildly perswaded Miram to send Letters to the Watches which Guarded the outward Walls After which Miram requir'd liberty to return to the Castle but Ekbar not regarding his Oath would not permit him to go back again The Abyssinian Governor was no sooner inform'd of what had pass'd but he sent his Son with a Letter to the Mogol in which he tax'd him with Injustice for detaining Miram contrary to his Oath advising him to to let him return peaceably according to his Promise The Mogol hereby understanding that the whole management of Affairs were left to the Discretion of this Abyssinian thought if he could but corrupt him the Place might be easily subdu'd wherefore he ask'd the Son If his Father would not come thither in case King Miram should command him To which the Youth boldly reply'd That his Father was no such Person as he took him for neither would he leave his Castle to come and Consult with him that he must in vain expect to obtain the Fort with his Father's Consent and if he would not release Miram yet there should not long want a Successor Which confident Answer so incens'd Ekbar that he caus'd the young Man immediately to be Stabb'd which when his Father had notice of he presently sent the Mogol word That he would beg of the Gods never to behold the Face of such a perfidious Prince and afterwards taking his Sash in his Hand he went amongst the Soldiers and thus bespake them Oh Brothers the Winter approaches which will drive the Mogol from the Siege and to avoid their utter Ruin force them all to retire home None but God shall ever he able to Conquer this Place unless the Inhabitants thereof will surrender the same therefore resolve valiantly to defend the same Having ended this Speech he went and Strangled himself immediately After his Decease the Inhabitants defending the Place for some time kept
especially near Sandaye where the Fruit call'd Mangas and Sugar-canes grow in such abundance that they give them to their Horses in stead of Hay Sheep are here in incredible numbers whose Wooll being like the Spanish is by the Inhabitants us'd to make Cloth The Woods abound with Elephants Lions Tygers Apes and other Beasts There are Inns in most Places where Horses Camels and other Beasts are set up and fed at the Expence of the Publick without any Charge to the Traveller In the City of Gorra are kept four Publick Schools The Bulloits were formerly a deceitful and cruel People At this day they retain that barbarous Custom of burning the Women alive after their Husbands decease but if any Woman refuse thus brutishly to sacrifice her self they then cause her Hair to be cut off and clothe her in Black and she is ever after accounted so ignominious and dishonorable that not the meanest Person will vouchsafe to assist or visit her In Sandaye is great store of Wooll and Cotton with abundance of Swords Lances and o her Weapons Many Merchants have likewise recourse to this City as Benjans Mesulipatans and great Caravans come to Barrandon where are sold all sorts of Arms Hats made of Wooll and Elephants Teeth The Province of the Hendowns or Hindous THE Country of the Hendowns or Hindous hath on the one side the Kingdom of Agra or Indostan where it is separated by the River Paddar which also divides the Country Zurratte and discharges it self into the Persian Gulph On the North it conterminates with the Kingdom of Multan or as others affirm they Inhabit the Northern Parts of Asmeer and those Parts that lye next to Multan They are also spread through all Surratte and are employ'd as Soldiers to Garrison Towns and Fortresses they being stout and undaunted People and not inferior to the Raspoutes and Patannes The Metropolis according to Daviti is Hendowne which bears the same Denomination with the whole Country The next Town is Rimala and the great City Mearta then follows Towri and about twenty two Leagues from thence the City Geissemer seated in a very delightful Place The Country yields plenty of Corn Cotton Fodder for Beasts and abounds with Sheep and Fowls The Inhabitants are generally great Robbers They dress and eat their Meat in a round spot of Ground into which while they are about preparing and eating their Food they suffer no other Person to come The Women from their Infancy wear little Silver Copper and Iron Chains about their Legs and Pendants in their Ears in which they make holes as big as they may easily thrust their Fingers through and Armlets from their Wrists up to their Elbows In Mearta are weekly kept seven Markets where they drive a great Trade in Indico Callico and Woollen Cloth as also at Gasmeer Moreover the Hindous though abstracted from Heathens eat all sorts of Meats both Flesh and Fish except that of an Ox or Cow When they pray they strip themselves stark naked and maintain a Doctrine different from the Benjans The Province of Sanbat or Sanbal and Bakar THE Province of Sanbat or Sanbal or Sanbe borders on the North at Bakar on the West at that of Agra and is separated on the South by the River Jemni from the Province of Narvar Some as Herbert call this Province Doab that is Between the Waters or Streams for Ab in the Persian Tongue signifies Water and Do Between It lies triangular and is encompass'd by the Streams Ganges and Jemni which make the Country very fruitful and 't was anciently mighty Populous The Metropolie is also call'd Sanbat In this Province twenty five Leagues from the City Agra near the Place where the Jemni falls into the Ganges lies a stately Palace now call'd Helabassa but formerly Praye and founded by the Rajas of that Place in testimony of their Subjection to Ecbar when they submitted themselves to his Jurisdiction The most remarkable thing near this Palace is a large and dark Valley wherein are kept as precious Relicks some Images which the Inhabitants affirm to be of Adam Eve Seth Enoch Methusalem and others which as they relate liv'd in this Place Great Companies of Benjans come daily hither from all Parts to bless themselves here and purifie or wash themselves from all their Sins in the River Ganges which they account Holy They shave off all their Hair and ease themselves thereof as an unclean and unnecessary Burden and promise to themselves great Benefits by the loss thereof The Palace is surrounded with a treble Wall whereof the first is of square Red Stones the second of White and comprehends an Obelisk of seventy two Foot high erected by Alexander the Great The King spent above twelve hundred thousand Ropias to build this Palace of which the Kings of Patan have often endeavor'd to make themselves Masters because of the conveniency of the Rivers which are so near it There is also a Sanctified Tree which the Kings of Patan have endeavor'd to root out but could never attain to it Near Helabas is a magnificent Tomb which King Sanghir built in honour to his first Wife the Raja Maminseng's Daughter who poyson'd her self when she heard of her Son Sultan Gosrou's Insurrection The Territory of Bakar borders on the West at the Stream Ganges on the South at Sanbal on the West at Nagrakat and hath Bikaneer or Bikameer for its Metropolis The Province of Nagrakat THE Province of Nagrakat or Nakercut borders Westward at that of Bakar and at the Stream Ganges It is a Mountainous Country and the utmost to the Northward of the Mogol's Jurisdictions The Metropolis call'd also Nagrakat is adorn'd with a splendid Chappel for the Cieling and Floor is In-lay'd with Plates of Silver in divers Forms which are continually kept scoured It was built in honour of an Idol they call Matta which is erected in this Chappel whither the Indians repair to their Devotion and out of Zeal often cut a piece of their Tongues off as an Offering to the Idol In this Province is another eminent Holy place built on a Rock and call'd Jallamakee where from the cold Springs which run out from between the Rocks are daily seen to arise Flashes of Fire to which the Idolaters kneel down and worship The Provinces of Siba Kakares and Gor. THE Province of Siba lieth to the Northward of Nagrakat and is divided by the River Ganges from North to South The Metropolis call'd Hardware is seated near the Ganges which gliding thereabouts through great Rocks soon after makes a large River The most eminent Rock through which the Ganges takes its Course hath according to the supposition of the superstitious Heathens the form or shape of a Cows Head and they come hither daily in great numbers to wash themselves for they ascribe a certain Divine Power to the Water especially of the Ganges The Territory of Kakares lieth Northward beyond that of Siba and being separated from Tartary by the Caucasian Mountains
of the City Mirisdie Mirisdie otherwise Mirdsy is a large and desolate City fortified on the South-west side with a strong Castle which is so well furnish'd with Men and Amunition that the Great Mogol after the conquering of many Towns and Fortresses could not subdue this Castle with his whole Army It is adorn'd with a Metzid built after the Moorish manner in which lie buried two Kings of Dely which died about 500 Years ago their Graves being adorn'd with Hangings and other rich Ornaments are frequented by the Inhabitants and travelling People who shew great Reverence to the same Two Kos from Mirdsy lies the Village Epour and three Kos further on the Banks of the River Koecenna are two Towns the one call'd Great and the other Little Graeen about a Cannon-shot one from another Five Leagues and a half-from the River Koecenna is the great and rich Trading City Asta with the Villages Toncaa and Astacka in the Road about two Kos and a half one from the other between which two Villages is a Barry or Hamlet Three Kos from Asta stands the large and well-built City Ballouwa and three Kos further two Towns about a Cannon-shot one from the other call'd Oerem and Jesselampour the last of which hath a strong Castle with high Walls wherein the Governor for the King of Visiapour hath his Residence Two Kos from thence is a Village nam'd Taffet and three Kos further another call'd Cassegam and two beyond that the decay'd City Caljaer Two Kos from Caljaer is the Village Galoure and six Kos beyond that the City Tamba and Village Winge near the City Quelampour and another Town call'd Domo The City Tamba is large and well Peopled built along a Running Water which hath its Original out of the River Coyna Two Kos from Tamba is the Village Morel two beyond that Suppera and four Kos further Beloure two more from hence lies a great Village call'd Werad nine Leagues from the Ballagatean Mountains Not far from this place is the Village Patan formerly the Residence of a famous Robber call'd Hiewogy who forc'd Tribute from all Travellers which none could hinder him from notwithstanding all possible means were us'd to prevent it for so soon as any Forces were sent against him he immediately fled into the Mountains which were naturally inaccessible Another Village call'd Helewaek lies about three Kos beyond Werad by which runs the River Coyna Three great Kos or a League and a half from the River Coyna on the Mountains of Ballagate is the Village Gatamata so call'd in respect of these Mountains for Gata in the Persian Tongue signifies A Mountain and Mata Above or On the top Three Kos further lies another Village call'd Poly at the foot of the foremention'd Mountains which by reason of their steep narrow and Rocky Ways are very troublesom to travel Two Kos from Poly or the Foot of the Ballagatean Mountains is the Village Combaerly and sixteen Kos from thence at the River Ghaybeer a great Village nam'd Chipolone from whence is a passage by Water to the City Dabul All Goods that come out of the Country of Decan are carried in Boats from thence to Dabul and so farther up into the Country which makes this Place to be very populous and plentifully stored with all manner of Provisions The Merchandises and Commodities which are brought thither by Water pay for each Kandy or 450 Pound weight one Laryn and a half Freight to Dabul Four Gau or twelve Leagues from Chipolone down the River Helewacko lies the City Dabul or Dabrul anciently very famous but of late much ruin'd by the Wars and decreas'd in Trade It lies in 18 Degrees Northern Latitude or as others affirm in 17 Degrees 45 Minutes and is built along the Shore of the River Helewacko ten Leagues from Chaul It lies open onely on the South-side which fronts the Water where are two Batteries planted with four Iron Guns On the Mountains are several decay'd Fortresses and an ancient Castle but without any Guns or Garrison On the Northern Point where the Bay begins stands a little Wood which at a distance appears like a Fort and below this Wood near the Water is a white Temple or Pagode as also another on the South Point on the declining of the Mountain besides several other Temples and stately Edifices This City was taken from the King of Idalcan by the Portuguese Anno 1508. but was afterwards won from them again and ruin'd by the English Two Leagues Southward from Dabul lies a Promontory or Cape by the Portuguese call'd Dabul Falso that is False Dabul because in sailing by the same they often find themselves deceiv'd taking it for the Point of Dabul which it very much resembles Beyond this Cape is a Bay by them call'd Enceada de los Brahmannes that is The Bay of the Brahmines because many Brahmines dwell thereabouts Beyond this is the Ragiaputa and the Cape Caraputa the Enceada or Sea-Bay Calasi or Calesci lying not far from the Cape Carapeta and next to that Tambona Four Leagues from Dabul lieth the Bay of Zanguizara in 17 Degrees and a half of Northern Latitude Twelve Leagues from Zanguizara or rather from Dabul and twenty from Goa lies the Haven and Road of Ceitapour in 17 Degrees and 20 Minutes Northern Latitude behind an Island which secures it from all Winds This Haven hath at the lowest but three and at the highest not above six or seven Fathom Water Beyond the River three Leagues from this Island and the Road Ceitagour lies the City Rasapour one of the eminentest Towns of the Kingdom of Cuncan and Visiapour Travelling from the Sea-side about Goa up into the Country to the Metropolis Visiapour you pass by and through the following Cities and Villages First A great City call'd Ditcauly lying three Kos from Goa Not far from thence near the River Madre de Dios lies a Castle call'd Ponda Banda a mighty City is about one Gau or three Leagues from Ditcauly two from Goa two from Wingerla and three and a half or nine Leagues from Ballagate It is built near the River Dery which glides by this City into the Sea having broad Streets with many fair Buildings and several Pagodes or Temples Between Banda and the Ballagatean Mountains lie several Villages as Amby two Kos from Banda and Herpoli four Kos Eleven Kos from thence on the other side at the Foot of the lowest of the Ballagatean Mountains is the Village Amboly beyond which near the River Herenecassy is another Village of the same Name A Cannon-shot from Herenecassy in the Valley between the Mountains of Ballagate is a Dorp call'd Berouly and two Kos further another call'd Weseree three Kos further Outor six and a half more Berapour half a Kos beyond Matoura and one more the pleasant Village Calingra close planted about with Trees A Cannon-shot from Calingra is the Village Cangier a little beyond a place by a general Name call'd Bary for all those Places
I offer my self to you Their Complements I prostrate my self at your Feet and the like for they are very full of such obliging Expressions Della Valle affirms the contrary and that their Meetings consist in Eating and Drinking without speaking all their Ceremonies being onely these words of course You are welcom How do you There is your appointed place which they repeat many times Olearius says that it is no shame among them in the Persian Tongue to say Drug Micui or in the Turkish Galan Dierfen that is You Lye or Galantzi You are a Lyer but in ancient Times they were of another Nature as Herodotus affirms They are very faithful one to another especially if they are sworn Friends for it is common among them to swear Fidelity and Friendship one to another as long as they live which is perform'd after the following manner They swear Friendship to one another The great Families or Tribes generally meet once a year when they Feast and make Merry and if any one have a peculiar kindness for another then he says Come let us be sworn Brothers and this is commonly perform'd between two And because these Brothers must have a Father they chuse one whom they think fit and taking him by the Lappet of his Coat say We make you our Babba or Father which he dare not refuse These going to the Califf who hath every ones Family Registred kiss his Hand in token of their Friendship and being set down in a Register for that purpose they lay themselves down one behind another on their Bellies first the Father and next the Brothers whereupon the Califf gives each of them three light Blows with a Stick on their Backs and at the first says Alla that is God at the second Mahumet and at the third Aaly which done they kissing the Staff Sign and conclude the Agreement of Brotherly Friendship which they really keep and are more faithful to one another than Brothers affirming that they shall sooner meet in Paradise than real Brothers An annual Feast of fraternal Society They also keep an annual Feast of fraternal Society on the twenty fifth day of November in commemoration of Mahomet's declaring his Son Aly Heir and Successor in the Califfdom on that day when also not onely many Enemies are reconcil'd one with another but divers from the Example of their Lawgiver Mahomet adopt Strangers which they do by putting them naked between their bare Bodies and Shirt and so pulling them out at the bottom thereof This Friendship they acccount so inviolable that they repute other Crimes in respect of the breach thereof but as Peccadillo's and therefore in ordinary Discourse say proverbially Mei buchur munbur bussusan oteschei Ender Chihesen Sakini But chane basch merdum Asari that is Drink Wine Set the Pulpit and Church on Fire Burn an Abdalla's Coat Be seen in an Idols Temple all which are abominable and forbidden Sins But wrong not your Friend Their Reconciliation after Difference If any thing chance to happen which causes a Contention among the Brotherhood they are forc'd to reconcile it at the next general Meeting the following year for then the Offended goes to the Offenders Door and stands in a mournful Posture with his Head and Hands hanging down till the Offender hath invited him three several times into his House from whence they go together to the Assembly which judges who is most to be blam'd of them and condemns the Offender to make a Feast and upon this Reconciliation they are Registred a second time The Nature and Disposition of the People They are grateful to those that give them any thing but revengeful to those that do them a Prejudice they are valiant and consequently good Soldiers and often hazard their Lives in apparent danger They seem to be modest and bashful being never seen to make Water standing but squatting down and immediately after washing their Hands to which purpose at all their Feasts stand Pots of Water in private places or if there be a Brook near them they run thither wherefore the Turks call them Cher Schahei that is The Kings Asses because the Asses whenever they go cross a Stream always Urine in the same The Turks on the contrary are by the Persians call'd Secksunni or Dogs because they Urine against the Wall which commonly the Soldiers and vulgar Turks do yet the better sort sit down like the Persians No Persian or Turk eases himself with his Face or Back towards the South because Mahomet lies bury'd in the South The right Hand is by the Persians as amongst us accounted the chiefest and highest place of Honor but on the contrary the Turks esteem the left most worthy They never pull off their Caps or Turbants unless when they go to Pray or appear before the King or other great Lords for their usual way of Salutation is to bow and to lay their Hands on their Breasts They account it a great piece of rudeness to ask any Person of Quality his Name or Condition or in his Presence to enquire after it They are lean and very strong Limm'd of a dark brown or sallow Complexion and in general are Hawk-nos'd as 't is said that great Persian King Cyrus was The Men shave the Hair off their Heads which is very black every eight days but the Seids wear long Hair as they say Mahomet did they all have long Mustacho's and the longer they are the more pride they take in them for such as wear Mustacho's that hang downwards are accounted great Zealots but such as turn up their Beards they say are presumptuous as if they were minded to Engage with Heaven There are also a sort of People in Persia which never cut the Hair upon their upper Lip The Persians take great care of their Hair and why but letting it grow over their Mouths are call'd Suffi or Sefi and this they do because as they say Aly wore his Beard after that manner and the reason thereof they give in the following Story viz. That when Mahomet was commanded by God up to Heaven Aly went after him and knocking at Heaven Gate they would not at first permit him to come in but saying that he was Schir Chadda that is Gods Favorite he was let in and saw the Angels Entertain Mahomet with a celestial Liquor of which a Cup being also brought full to him he drunk and therefore he thought it would be a great Sin to diminish the least Hair which had been drench'd in so heavenly a Liquor Moreover the Persians have a great aversion to red Hair neither do they delight in fair but are great admirers of Cole-black Hair wherefore many colour their Hair which they do after this manner They take the Herb with the Seed by them call'd Wesme and brought from Babylon which Olearius supposes to be one and the same with Securidaca an Eastern Plant not known among us adding Gauls a little Soap and Orpement amongst
them and boyling it in Water dip their Hair therein washing it off again with Lye mix'd with unslak'd Lime They also gather the Water which in the Spring comes from the pruned Vines and wet their Mustacho's therewith as also the Women their Hair for they affirm that it makes their Hair grow long and black They Paint their Hands The Persians as also the Turks colour their Hands red and yellow though some do onely their Fingers and Nails and this kind of colouring is at all their Nuptials set upon the Table amongst other Dishes before the Guests to use when they please It is also affirm'd that they Paint their dead Bodies specially those of Virgins with the dry'd Leaves of Chinne or Alcanna that they may appear beautiful in their Grave to their two Angels or Confessors Some to make the Colour look brown rub their Hands with the Leaves or green Rinds of Walnuts which keeps fresh on their Hands above forty days notwithstanding they warn them every day In their Walking they waddle from side to side like Geese especiallv the Women and there is not one Persian that hath a steady or handsom Gate which Oleariues supposes to proceed from their manner of sitting on the Floor like Taylors with their Legs under them but this is not probable for then all the Eastern People which use to sit after the same manner would be subject to the like Impediment Of their Venery The Persians much inclin'd to Wantonness The Persians exceed most Countreys in Wantoness and venerial Exercises for besides their great number of Wines they are very much inclin'd to variety of Women and in all their Cities except Ardebil are kept publick Brothel-houses under the Protection of the Magistrates for which Priviledge the Cabeh or Strumpets pay great Tribute The present Persians never keep any great Feasts nay the King himself at Court seldom Entertains foreign Ambassadors yet divers Ladies of Pleasure always attend there which are expert in Dancing Singing and the like But in Ardebil it being a Consecrated Place none of their Debaucheries are permitted by special Order from Schach Abbas A Master of a Feast always Presents his Guests with several sorts of Liquor and then such Women efpecially as they best like whereupon those that please retire into a private Chamber fitted for that purpose from whence after most inward Embraces they come forth without the least bashfulness the Man to his Place and the Woman falls to Dancing This Custom of providing Women at a great Feast is very ancient amongst the Persians for long since when the Persian Ambassadors were highly Entertain'd by Anuntas King of Macedonia they also desir'd to have Women saying It is a Custom amongst us Persians when we make great Feasts to bring in such to the heightning md compleating our Pleasures as is at large describ'd by Herodotus King Sefi kept several of these Women for his Recreation and Curtius tells us that Darius carry'd three hundred and sixty Concubines along with him in his Progresses and Travels which were all Cloth'd in Royal Attire Are guilty of Sodomy But that which is worse they are extreamly addicted to the horrid Sin of Sodomy which Herodotus affirms they learn'd from the Greeks but that seems an unjust Imputation because the Persians were guilty of the same before they had any Converse with the Greeks Della Valle tells us that at Cambru there are many Mahumetan Youths which from their Girdles upward are Cloth'd like Men and from their Wastes downward like Women and go up and down the Streets inviting to this Abomination But 't is no wonder they give themselves over to this kind of Sin since their Prophet Mahomet did not a little encourage them therein Nay they are instructed that all carnal Delights whatsoever will be the greatest and chiefest Enjoyment in the other World by which means this Religion is the more follow'd Their Apparel Their Habits AMongst the Persians the Men let their Garments hang loose about their lower Parts so that at a distance they shew like Women which Fashion Diodorus tells us they took from the Virago Semiramis who went accordingly Habited Della Valle tells us that the Persians gird themselves almost under their Bellies with two Girdles one upon another the longest is made of certain thick Silk-Stuff which being pretty broad and very long they wind three or four times about their Bodies some of them are streak'd and wrought with Gold others curiously flower'd and some plain Some Girdles also are double and made of two sorts of Silk without any Ornaments except that the one side is of one colour and the other of another The upper Girdle which they wear above the great one is shorter narrower and of one colour and is either made of Silk Camels Hair or Cotton yet not less esteem'd than those of Silk because they are often richer and sometimes dearer The Habits of Women The Habits of the ordinary Women are very mean but the rich wear Cloth and Silk wrought with Gold they are clear and of a more becoming shape than the Turkish Women Those that are Marry'd or Betrothed are permitted to wear a Girdle and a Plume of Feathers which is also a distinction of Nobility Habits of the Women The Womens Garments are much thinner than the Mens and hang loose about their Bodies having underneath Shifts and Drawers down to the Ancles like the Men. Their Stockings are commonly either Crimson or green Velvet Cloth of Tissue or other rich Stuffs They have no peculiar Head-Tires but are dress'd after the same fashion as the Ladies of Bagdat or Babylon Their Hair hangs down in Tresses both behind and in Locks and curls before About their Heads they wear two or three Strings of Pearl but none about their Necks and let them hang below their Cheeks Young Maids also wear a Diamond Ring in their right Nostril several Gold Rings on their Fingers and broad Silver Armlets The Men according to a Law made by Mahomet may onely wear Silver Rings Women of Quality go after the Eastern manner in the Streets with a long white Vail over their Faces which hangs down to the Ground and have onely a little Slit therein through which they look And this Fashion they took up not so much out of Modesty as some suppose or the Jealousie of their Husbands or by reason of any Law amongst the Mahumetans but rather from their proud Humor judging very few worthy to look them in the Face for before Mahomet's time the Women of Arabia and Mesopotamia went always with cover'd Faces And to this purpose Peter Bizarro in his ancient History of Persia makes mention of King Tyridates's Queen who coming with her Husband into Italy was Vail'd with Cloth of Tissue And the modern Custom confirms this Opinion because a great Lady in the Presence of a Nobleman King or Prince uncovers her Face in testimony of the great Honor and high Esteem she hath
Valiant Massaaan Boyling Miniehi Singing Pingan A Dish or Platter Ecot A Tail Lari To shun or avoid Macanan Spittle Negri A City Cuntsican To whistle Basiudi To play Molam In the Evening Tombo Pounding Maganti A Cobweb Baiki Sending Connyt Saffron Pandecan Striking on an Anvil Pande bissi A Smith Totan To be indebted Becatta Saying Jemma Sunday Tydon Sleeping Timor Sweet Tompa To spill Tsiusi Pure or clean Gapit Snuffers Calmari Since yesterday Pande contsi A Lock-maker Gyla Folly Brossu A stink Ini brossu To stink Baiparas Fair. Sappangan A Piece Mansuiri To stick Caiu A Stick Antra To play Paian The Sight Coran Small Barat Heavy Sadab To taste Pangali A Spade Caersia baiki To furnish Sompa To swear Tsiarri To tear Battu A Stone Jurtilis A Secretary Tidor To sleep Fellimo A Sheet Andrior To melt Becatta To speak Terran To shine Prande rebor A Musician Boatsiamar To defile Romal A Napkin Suruan Sending Matti Dying Barnan Swimming Cappal A Ship Oran tua paran A Mariner Antrante To spin Itam Black Gallam To stop Campon manaro To save Dosa Sin Pucol To beat Jalan The Street Marri Tearing Tiaermin A Looking-glass Malon Disgracing Manys Sweet Addeparapas A Sister Doduer To look Baon The Shoulders Dyem To be silent Apon Fair. Matary Salt Peca Silver Tehylacca Sin Corni Business or Affairs Negle Steel Bantatan Dying Pienning A Dish Goethieng A pair of Scissers Calvenetten To pin Padang A Sword Salwacke A Shield Pockul To stand Byte secate I am sick Cras Strong Domba A Sheep Prau A Boat Dia She. Gergafien To saw Lear de caesia To look in a Glass The Speech the same but the Character different According to Della Valle all the Provinces in India have one and the same Language though peculiar Letters for notwithstanding that the Language or Speech is understood in divers Countreys yet the Characters are different The Learned sort or Brahmans have a Language and Letters by Kircher call'd Nagher which being accounted Sacred is onely known to their Tribe or Family and us'd amongst them as Latine amongst the Learned in Europe Their Characters are fair and large taking up much room They also differ much from the Letters us'd by the Benjan Merchants in Surat According to Mr. Edward Terry the Vulgar Tongue of the Countrey of Indostan hath great Affinity with the Persian and Arabian Tongues but is pleasanter and easier to pronounce It is a very fluent Language expressing many things in few words They write and read like us viz. from the Left to the Right Hand The Court-Language is wholly Persian In India and the Countreys under the Mogol's Jurisdiction the Persian Tongue is more common Indian being generally spoken by the Nobility at Court and us'd in all Publick Businesses and Writings which cannot seem strange to any considering the Mogollean Princes have their Extract from Tartary and Samarcand whence the Persian Tongue was first brought The Vulgar Mahumetans Peruschi tells us speak the Turkish Tongue but not so eloquently as the natural born Turks Learned Persons and Mahumetan Priests speak the Arabick in which the Alcoran and other Books are written The Malayan Tongue much us'd But no Language extends further and is of greater use than the Malayan so call'd from the City Malacka from whence it hath its Original It is spoken in all the Isles lying in the Straights of Sunda and through the adjacent Countrey but especially us'd by Merchants Linschot tells us That many People of divers Nations which came to build the City and settle in Malacka made this peculiar Language of all the other Indian Tongues consisting of the most pleasing Words and neatest manner and way of speaking of all other the Neighboring People which makes this Language to be the best and most eloquent of all India and also the most useful and easiest to learn For there is not one Merchant which comes from the neighboring Countreys to Trade here but learns this Tongue The Netherland East-India Company have lately printed a Dictionary of the Common Discourse in that Tongue as also the New Testament and other Books in the same Language Moreover the Holland Ministers in their several Factories in India teach in the Malayan Tongue not onely in their Churches but Schools also The Creation of the World in Ten Bodily Appearances of Wistnow or Mahadeu The Creation of the World THe Creation of the World as we have already mention'd the Brahmans ascribe to one Bramma by the Power given him from Wistnow or Mahadeu But these People rest not in the making of one for they form divers imaginary Worlds which in the form of an Egg drive on the Water which being without the Principal World is God himself as shall be declared hereafter more at large Some have not stuck to affirm That Bramma made fourteen Worlds agreeing with the Parts of Humane Bodies viz. the first and uppermost Celestial World out of the Brain the second out of the Eyes the third out of the Mouth the fourth out of the Left Ear the fifth out of the Roof of the Mouth the sixth out of the Heart the seventh out of the Belly the eighth out of the Privities the ninth out of the Left Thigh the tenth out of the Knees the eleventh out of the Legs the twelfth out of the Toes of the Right Foot the thirteenth out of the Toes of the Left Foot and the fourteenth out of the Air round about him Out of these Worlds he also created Man according to the qualities of Humane Bodies viz. Out of the first he created Men with Prudence and Understanding out of the second with Conduct in Transitory things out of the third good Orators out of the fourth subtile and crafty People out of the fifth Gluttons and debauch'd Persons out of the sixth Noble and Famous Men out of the seventh Slovens and Ill-natur'd out of the eighth Lascivious and Venerial Humorists out of the ninth Handicrafts and Husband-men out of the tenth Gard'ners and Rusticks out of the eleventh poor Laborers out of the twelfth Murderers Robbers and Thieves out of the thirteenth Oppressors of the Poor and out of the fourteenth People endued with all manner of excellent qualities In this manner they describe the great Bramma Creator of so many People and Worlds which they believe so firmly in every particular that they represent his Image in all their Pagodes or Temples with a Circle on every of the foremention'd Parts in stead of a World The World as we said before they affirm to drive on the Waters in the form of an Egg which incloses Heaven Earth and Hell In this Egg they also know how to find the fourteen Parts of the World Under the Earth they place Patalam that is The Infernal Pit above it the Surgam that is Heaven or Brammar-Lokon and above that Kailosom Lilaweicontam and Weicontam in which three last Places they say God himself resides The Earth or Globe of the