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TRAVELS

IN

ASSYRIA, MEDIA, AND PERSIA,

INCLUDING

A JOURNEY FROM BAGDAD BY MOUNT ZAGROS,

HAMADAN, THE ANCIENT ECBATANA, RESEARCHES IN

ISPAHAN AND THE RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS,

AND JOURNEY FROM THENCE

BY SHIRAZ AND SHAPOOR TO THE SEA-SHORE ; DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAK BUSH IRE, BAHREIN, ORMUZ, AND MUSCAT; NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDI- TION AGAINST THE PIRATES OF THE PERSIAN GULF, WITH ILLUS- TRATIONS OF THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS, AND PASSAGE BY THE ARABIAN SEA TO BOMBAY.

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BY J^ S.' BUCKINGHAM,

AUTHiiR OF TRAVELS IN PALESTINE AND THE COUNTRIES EAST OF THE JORDAN; TRAVELS AMONG THE ARAB TRIBES; AND TRAVELS IN MESOPOTAMIA; MEMBER OF THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF BOMBAY AND MADRAS, AND OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL.

SECOND EDITION. IN TWO VOLUxMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON :

HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY

NEW BURLINGTON STREET.

1830.

I

LONDON:

PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,

Dorset Street, Fleet Street,

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CONTENTS

OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Stay at Shiraz, and Visit to the principal Places of that City 1

CHAP. II. From Shiraz, by Kotel Dokhter, to Kauzeroon . 46

CHAP. III.

Visit to the Ruins of Shapoor, and Journey from thence to Bushire ...... 78

CHAP. IV.

Stay at Bushire — its Town, Port, Commerce, and

Inhabitants 102

CHAP. V.

Bussorah — the Chief Port of the Persian Gulf. — Its Population, Commerce, and Resources . .126

CHAP. VI.

History of the Joassamee Pirates, and their Attacks on British Ships 208

IV CONTENTS.

Page

CHAP. VII.

Voyage from Bushire down the Persian Gulf — Ruins ofOrmuz . 251

CHAP. VIII.

Visit to Ras-el-Khyma — Negotiation with the Pi- rates— Bombardment of the Town . . . 338

CHAP. IX.

Harbour and Town of Muscat, and Voyage from thence to Bombay ...... 392

CHAPTER I.

CITY OF SHIRAZ, AS SEEN FROM WITHOUT THE WALLS.

1

n

n

CHAPTER I.

STAY AT SHIRAZ, AND VISIT TO THE PRIN- CIPAL PLACES OF THAT CITY.

Oct. £5th. — At an early hour this morn- ing, I received a visit at the caravansera from the Prince Jaffier Ali Khan, who invited us to take up our quarters at his house, in one of the best parts of Shiraz. This being acr cepted, I repaired with him to the Hamam- e- Vakeel, which was the finest bath I had yet seen in Persia. It resembled generally that at Kermanshah, but was much larger, and more ornamented. During our conversation here, I heard a Mohammedan describing to his friend, that Friday was set aside as a day of public prayer by Mohammed, because Christ, the Roah UUah, or Soul of God, was crucified on that day ; and this, it appears, is the tradi-

VOL. II. B

!a , SHIRAZ.

tion received by many. The same individual also said that the Persians stained their beards, as a peculiar mark of their being Sheeahs ; for though Imam Ali did not stain his, yet one of his immediate descendants did, — and this, he thought, was a sufficient precedent for the use of this as a distinguishing mark from the Soonnees, who do not generally fol- low this practice.

After the bath, we were conducted to the house of Jaffier Ali Khan, by a train of ser- vants who had been sent to attend us ; and on our arrival there a separate portion of his residence was appropriated to our own use, with accommodation for our horses, and a small private garden for retirement and re- pose. We all breakfasted together after the manner of the country, and passed the whole ^^f the day in agreeable conversation on sub- jects connected with Persia. In the evening we were visited by three of Jaffier's particu- lar friends, who, he said, were among the few of the old and respectable members of the community that remained in Shiraz, where, as throughout all Persia, the general cor- ruption of the government has led to the elevation of the lowest characters to the high-

SHIRAZ. 3

est offices of the state, and the consequent oppression and persecution of the heads of all the older and more respectable families.

After supper, chess followed, at which the greater number of the party played skilfully ; and during the game, the conversation turned on a late affair which had excited consider- able attention at Shiraz. A captain in the English navy, and a Civilian of the East India Company's service, who had come up from Bushire on a visit to Shiraz, were lodged in one of the villas and gardens of the Governor during their stay here ; when, one evening, some young persons of distinc- tion belonging to the Persian court, having drunk deeply, went there at a late hour to ask for more wine. The request was refused, and very warm language passed on both sides. On the following morning, however, the Per- sians, sensible of their fauLt, went in a body to ask pardon of the English gentlemen. A reconciliation was soon brought about ; and the principal offender advanced to embrace the young civilian, and kiss his forehead, after the Persian fashion. The Englishman being ignorant, however, of this custom of the coun- try, took this familiarity for an intended vio-

B 2

SHIRAZ.

^

lation of his person, and became more angry than before. It was therefore represented to the Prince, who was then the Governor of Shiraz, that these young Persian courtiers had a second time come in a body to insult the EngHsh guests. The Prince, without farther enquiry, and upon this mere representation, gave up the offenders, though all of them were young men high in his service, to be punished with death, or such other tortures as the English gentlemen might at their dis- cretion command. They were even brought into the public place of execution, in pur- suance of this sentence, — were there stripped, tied up, and rods prepared for flogging them; when, at the moment of the punishment being about to commence, they were released by order of the naval captain and his young friend, who expressed themselves perfectly satisfied with this measure of justice, without proceeding further. The Persians, however, knowing that the whole affair originated in a misconception, from ignorance of their man- ners, were very indignant at the punishment having proceeded so far.

Oct. 26th. — Being attended by a servant of Jaffier Ali as a guide, we went out to-day

THE MOSQUES. 5

to see some of the principal places in the town, and paid our first visit to the Musj id- No, an old mosque, now so much ruined, as to be scarcely more than a spacious square- court, with fountains, benches for praying on, &c. We next went to the Musj id Jumah, the most ancient perfect mosque in the city, being upwards of eight hundred years old.^ There was, however, a square building in the court before it, fast going to ruins : the columns had diamond-cut pedestals in the Indian fash- ion, fluted shafts, and Arabic capitals ; the whole of these were of marble, and of better proportions than usual, approaching nearly to the Doric in the relation between the dia- meter and height. A pedestal of an inverted lotus flower, fully opened, was shown us here, standing by itself, and exactly like the pedes- tals of the columns at Persepolis, from which it was no doubt brought; as the ruins of that city or temple are said to have been employed in the structure of Shiraz, which was founded in the seventy-sixth year of the Hejira under

* The memory of Atta Beg Saad is to this day held in great respect at Shiraz. He surrounded that city by a wall, and built the Musj id Jumah, or chief mosque, which still remains.— Hist, of Persia y vol. i. p. 388.

6 SHIRA2:.

the Ommiades. In the mosque itself is a fine old niche for prayer, with a rich pointed arch over it, and the words ' Bismillah-el-Rakh- man-el-Rakheem,' &c. written around it in Cufic characters, in high relief The deco- rations of this arch are exuberant, but they are all well-disposed : the ground-work is formed of clusters of grapes and vine leaves, —a very singular combination for a Moham- medan sanctuary ; and over the concave part of the roof is a large stem disposed into three branches, with a full-blown lily at the end of the central one, and a half blown one at the end of the other two. A wooden flight of steps leads to a pulpit near, which is equally old ; and over it, among the full-carved work of the back part, is the confession of faith, * La lUah ul UUah, oua Mohammed el Roo- sool UUah.' The conquest of Persia by Ta- merlane was celebrated in this mosque ; and though at present in a very ruined and im- perfect state, it was long the first in Shiraz. The whole wears an appearance of much greater antiquity than the Mohammedan era. From hence we went to the Musjid Wa- keel, which is the most modern, and reckon- ed to be the best mosque in Shiraz. It was

THE MOSQUES. 7

begun by Kerim Khan, but was never com- pletely finished, and it still remains in an incomplete state. Its entrance faces a broad way, which connects it with the great square, leading to the Ark, or Citadel, and the Prince's residence ; so that its situation is imposing. Within the gate of entrance is a large square court, with piazzas around it, and a long reservoir of water in the centre. It was now filled with soldiers preparing to appear before the Prince, and with men in every stage of decrepitude, halt, blind, and lame, preparing to ask alms. The mosque within is one large hall, unusually low, and its roof formed of a succession of vaulted coves. The points of these are supported by marble columns, of which there are four rows of twelve each. These are without pedestals, and the shaft and capital of each is one piece of white marble. The shafts are spirally fluted, though beginning and ending in a straight line : the capital swells upward like an inverted bell ; and between two astragals, at the top and bottom of the capital, are ar- ranged perpendicular leaves, like those of a spreading palm, sculptured in relief. There is here a flight of steps going up to the

SHITJAZ.

oratory of the priests ; the whole flight being formed of one entire block of Tabreez marble, finely wrought and beautifully po- lished. Some parts of the roof or ceiling, and the wall about the niche of prayer, have been tiled, but the rest remains bare ; and while the sculptured marble slabs of the sur- basement of the outer court appear as fresh as if finished yesterday, the coloured tiling of the arches above is already falling to de- cay, and no repairs are even spoken of as in- tended. Though this is considered to be the most beautiful mosque at Shiraz, it is inot to be compared with either of the prin- cipal ones at Ispahan.

After quitting this, we went to the Shah 'Gheragh, the tomb of one of the sons of Imam Moosa, — Shah being a name given to Fakeers and Dervishes, or holy persons dis- tinguished for their piety or their wisdom, as well as to kings. In the centre of this place is a large and lofty edifice covered by a dome, a fine tomb of wrought silver in open work, like the tomb in Henry the Seventh's Chapel at Westminster Abbey, with folding-doors; the bars of silver used in this grating work being an inch in circumference. Around the

THE BAZAARS. 9

tomb are tablets covered with fine Arabic writing ; and on the tomb itself are offerings of silver vessels, with a highly embellished copy of the Koran. We each kissed the corners of this with great devotion ; the omission of which mark of respect would have been dangerous. The carpets around this tomb were painted; and rich gilding was used on the ceiling of the roofs and the walls. This place received a constant suc- cession of visitors, each of whom generally left a small sum with the MooUah at the door, who was employed, when we passed him^ in writing Arabic sentences on hand- kerchiefs of white cotton for sale. As I wore the Arab dress, I was saluted as a Hadjee, or Pilgrim, and paid much greater respect than I expected, considering the hatred which the Persians generally bear to the sect of the Soonnees and all its adherents.

The Bazaar-el- Wakeel was the part of Shiraz that we next visited. This is long, large, and lofty, in the style of the best bazaars at Ispahan, and is quite equal to any of them. It was now filled with shops, all excellently furnished. Some of the smaller bazaars have a raised causeway or pavement

10 SHIRAZ.

of flag-stones on each side, and in the centre a deep space for camels or beasts of burthen. The dealers expose their wares on high benches, where also sit the Serafs, or money- changers, with their strong chests of silver and copper coins for changing on commission.

The Bazaar-No, or New Bazaar, is not yet completed. It is inferior only to the Bazaar-el- Wakeel, and is distinguished by the most fantastic paintings of battles, &c. All the monsters of the fabulous ages are here realized, and draw crowds of gazers. Nadir Shah, Shah Abbas, and Futteh Ali Shah, have their portraits among them — either engaged in war, or beholding barba- rous executions. The loves of Shirine and Ferhad are depicted in other compartments, and the variety is without end. This is not ye't complete.

The Kaisereah-Koneh-Khan, which was once one of the largest and oldest caravan- seras in Shiraz, is now entirely in ruins, ex- hibiting only a large octagonal frame-work to show what the edifice once was, the inner space being now built upon by smaller houses. When perfect, however, it must have been a very fine edifice.

THE GARDENS. 11

In passing homeward, we went by the Ark, or Citadel, — a large square enclosure of high walls, with round towers at each end, and surrounded by a ditch. Near this is the great square, in which the public executions take place ; and at the arched entrance, op- posite to the great mosque of the Wakeel, we were shown the wooden pins at which men are suspended by the heels when they, are beheaded, and then cut down in halves like a sheep by the knife of the butcher. Fresh blood was here shown us upon the wall ; and we were taken into a prison, where several men lay in chains for execution on the following morning.

Oct. ^7th. — We extended our excursion to places without the walls of the town to- day, and, still having one of the Khan's ser- vants for a guide, we went out of the nor- thern gate of the town by a wide road, and, after about a mile's ride, came to the garden and royal seat called Takht-e-Kudjur, or throne of the Kudjur. On an eminence of rock, at the foot of the mountain, is built a neat pleasure-house, which commands a fine view of the plain, and the town of Shiraz bearing directly south of it. The interior

IQ SHIllAZ.

decorations of the chief apartments are rich and varied, and consist of painting and gild- ing in the Persian style. There are smaller apartments adjoining ; an open paved court with a fountain behind ; and a fine large garden in front, thickly covered with trees, among which the cypress is predominant. In the centre of this was a place called Koola Frangi, or Frank's hat, from a resemblance to it in shape. It stood in the middle of a large piece of water, and served as the ele- vated stage of a fountain. This place was built by Aga Mohammed Khan, the eunuch King, and first of the Kudjurs who ascended the throne — from whence it derives its name.^ From hence, about half a mile eastward, we came to a new garden and palace, now building by the Shah Zade, and called Bagh- No. In the way, we saw on our left, high on the mountain brow, the tomb of Sheikh Baba Bund Baz, who was a Persian poet ; and a little below it another, with gardens,

* The Takht-e-Kudjur, at Shiraz, was built by the present family of Persia on the site of one called Takht Karrajah, built by the fifth AUa-Beg, the founder also of a college there. — Hist, of Persia, \.\. p. 386.

The Turkish tribe of Kudjur were brought from Syria to Persia by Timoor. — Ibid, v. ii. p. 125.

THE GAlli)ENS. 1^

of Sheikh Ali Baba, also a poet: but being unbelievers, or philosophers, their works are disregarded and scarce. The Bagh-No, or new garden, promises to be very fine when completed. After passing an outer building in the centre of its south-west front, in which are upper and lower rooms for servants or visitors, it opens on an extensive and beauti- ful garden, now filled with fruit-trees and flowers in full bloom. In the centre of this, a double walk, with a canal between each, of not less than one thousand feet long, leads up to the principal edifice. As the ground rises here on a gentle ascent, there are about twenty high steps, with little cascades pass- ing from one to the other, the marble being cut like the scales of fish, to improve the effect of the waterfall ; and small pillars are placed through all the length of the canal, with holes in them for water-spouts to issue from. At the end of this walk is a fine piece of water, of an octagonal form, occupying nearly the whole space in front of the palace, and seated on an elevated pavement, in the centre of which it stands. As this was now full to the brim, it formed a beautiful sheet of water, and reflected the whole of the build-

14 SHIRAZ.

ing, as in the clearest mirror. The palace is neat, without being so gorgeously magnifi- cent as those at Ispahan ; and its interior decorations are nearly in the same style, though of inferior execution. The portraits of Futteh Ali Shah and his several sons hold a distinguished place here. Many of the great men of the court have their por- traits also preserved in this place. In one compartment of a large painting, the present King of Persia is represented in a battle with the Russians, over whom he is of course vic- torious. The Russian troops are dressed in red, in the European fashion, and marshalled in close ranks ; while the Persians are in the utmost disorder, which is characteristic of the custom of each nation. In the chief com- partment of the centre, the King is seated on a rich throne, surrounded by his great men, and is receiving a present from an European ambassador, followed by his suite. These are known chiefly by their blue eyes and yellow hair; but their dresses are so oddly portrayed, that it is not easy to deter- mine for the people of what Frank nation they were intended. There are two columns supporting the open part of this principal

THE GARDENS. 15

hall, of the same style as those in the palaces at Ispahan, and, like them, cased with mir- rors in a fancy frame-work ; but the co- lumns are in much better proportions, being of greater diameter compared to their height, though still more slender than the Corin- thian or the Composite. The apartments for the females in this palace are above, and are much the same as we had seen in other Persian edifices of state. The Bagh-No is close to the left of the road leading to Is- pahan, and about half a mile to the north- east of the town.

Almost opposite to this, on the north of the road, and less than a furlong distant, is ano- ther large garden, formerly called the Bagh- e- Vakeel, from its having been built by Kur- reem Khan, but now called Bagh Jehan Newah. To this we next directed our steps, leaving on our left, at some distance, the Teng-e- Allah- Ackbar. This garden is smaller than the former, but also has a house over the front gate, with some neat and richly decorated apartments, and its chief building within. This last, however, is in the centre of the garden, with walks leading from it in several directions. It is of an octagonal form,

16 " SHIRAZ.

and its rooms are very small, as if intended for an arbour, or place of temporary retire- ment only. In its original state, it was richly adorned, and the surbasement of the inte- rior is of Tabreez marble, finely polished ; but it is suffered to fall into decay, being entirely neglected, — so much is it the fashion here to abandon old establishments to their ruin, and then to lavish great expense in rearing new ones. The cypresses of Shiraz^ are among the largest I remember to have seen any where, except at Smyrna, and in the valley between Mardin and Diarbekr, in both of which places they are taller and fuller. These are, however, very beautiful, and from their number and regularity give great noble- ness of appearance to the place. It was this garden which was given to the naval captain and the young Indian civilian by the Shah Zade, and it was here that the quarrel and misunderstanding already described arose.

The tomb of Hafiz is within a few yards of this, to the south, and nearer the town ; but we left this for our route of return.

From the Bagh-e- Vakeel we went to the Chehel-ten, a garden in which forty Der- vishes are buried ; and their plain graves,

TOMB OF KHALOO SHEIKH SAADI. 17

without a stone or an inscription, are shown there, arranged along the south-eastern wall, in a double row of twenty each. In another corner is a very old tomb of Khaloo Sheikh Saadi, or the brother of the poet Saadi's mo- ther, who must have been buried nearly six hundred years ; and it was for his sake, he being a Dervish, that this place is said to have been built. The small tomb erected over him is nearly in the form and size of an ordinary coffin, and is very old : the inscrip- tions are in Arabic ; but from their age, and the confused manner in which they are written, the words being run into and inter- laced with each other, they are very difficult to be read. There are apartments here for Dervishes, of whom we found several en- joying their shelter : they plucked us flowers from around the tomb of the saint, and fur- nished us with a nargeel, while a metaphy- sical conversation was supported with great warmth between them and my Dervish, Ismael, whose superior learning and elo- quence they all acknowledged.

Close by this, a little to the north-east, is a similar establishment, called the Haft-ten, or eight bodies, to which we next went. The

VOL. II. c

18 SHIRAZ.

garden of this is finer than the former, and has fountains of water and large cypresses. On the left, and facing a second garden, is a small but fine edifice, of ancient date, apart from the dwellings of the Dervishes, and once carefully adorned, but now falling to decay. In the open front of the central apartment, are two pillars, of the Arabic kind, i. e. with Arabic capitals ; the shafts plain, and without pedestals, each being in one piece of white marble. Like the columns we had seen in the court of the old mosque of Jumah, these were in as fair proportions as the Doric, the order to which they ap- proached nearest, in that respect. It is here that the Patriarchs are introduced, — Abra- ham offering up his son Isaac, and Moses feeding Jethro's flock. In one compartment, an old white-bearded man is represented, below a window, addressing a fair and gaily- dressed lady in a balcony above. This is said to be a certain Sheikh Semaan, of whom the story says, that he loved an Armenian lady, who forced him to change his religion, drink wine, eat pork, and drive swine ; and then laughed at him for his pains. In oppo- site compartments, at each end of the room,

GRAVES OF THE DERVISHES. 19

the poets Saadi and Hafiz are represented in fulUength figures, said to be portraits. Both of them wear the Dervish's cap, sur- rounded by a green turban, and are white bearded. These portraits are better exe- cuted, on the whole, than any of the other pictures.

In front of this open apartment is a neat little garden, with cypresses and a large spreading fir-tree. In this, the eight bodies of the Dervishes, first buried here, have their graves in a line together : their tombs are formed of plain cases of smooth marble without inscription or date. Many other Dervishes are buried both here and at the Chehel-ten ; but it is said to be only those who are distinguished from their fellows by superior piety, or superior understanding, who are granted that honour.

Above these abodes of Dervishes, in the mountains on the left of Teng-e-AUah-Ack- bar, and north-east of this, are other smaller dwellings of the same people ; and on the summit of the mountain is the tomb of Baba Kooe, an old Dervish and philosopher, whose verses and sayings in Persian were after his death collected, and are still extant under

c 2

20 SIlIllAZ.

his name. At the small building on the right of the rocky pass of Teng-e-AUah- Ackbar is kept a copy of the Koran, said to be the largest in being, and written by Imam Zain-el-Abadin, the son of Imam Ali ; but as the person who had the custody of this large book lived in town, and we could not see it without much difficulty, we did not go to the place where it is kept.

From hence we went south-easterly, to- wards the tomb of Saadi, which is distant from this nearly a mile. In our road, when about half-way, we turned up on the left, towards the mountain, along whose foot our path lay, to see a deep gutter and a small arched passage, through which a child might barely walk, cut through a neck of rock, and called by the natives Gaowary-e-Deer, or cradle of the demons, from a belief that it was the work of genii, and their nightly place of repose.

From hence, going for a quarter of an hour on the same course, we came to a large garden, called Dil-i-gushah, or ' the heart- opener.' * It might have once been worthy

* When Nadir Shah encamped at Shiraz, Hadjee Hashem, the governor of the city at that period, gave him an entertain- ment in this garden, near the tomb of Saadi. — Hist, of Persia, vol. ii. p. 176.

TOMB OF SAADI. 21

of admiration, but it was now in a state of great ruin. It had between two walks a cen- tral canal of water, with little falls, like the Prince's garden before described, and an open building in the centre, remarkable chiefiy for a mixture in its construction of the pointed and the very flat arch, but containing nothing else worthy of notice.

From hence to the tomb of Saadi the road turned to the north-east, and went along by the side of the highway, leading to Yezd, Kerman, &c. the distance being less than half a mile. We found here a poor brick build- ing, formed of three large recesses, or vaulted apartments, open on one side, and a small garden, in bad order, in front. The central recess had once been ornamented, — though the one on the right of it, when looking to- wards the garden, was quite plain— and the one on the left contained the tomb of the philosopher and poet whose name it bears. This was simply a case of marble, of the size and form of a common coffin, with little raised posts at the upper corners. The co- vering of it was entirely gone, leaving only the two sides and the two ends, and the outer one of the former had a large hole wantonly broken through it. The inscrip-

22 SHIRAZ.

tions were in Arabic and Cufic, and the let- ters of each in relief, but in so old a style, and so much run into each other, as to be difficult to read. The date of his interment was however more easily made out, and was in the year of the Hejira 691, or 540 years since: this being the year of Islam 1231. The tomb was reared over his grave at the time of the poet's death, and he was buried on the spot where he had himself passed all the latter part of his life. He was said to be one hundred and twenty years old ; the first thirty of which were consumed in study at Shiraz ; the next sixty were employed in travelling over India, and the countries east of this, in the character of a Dervish, and always on foot ; and the last thirty he passed in retirement in this valley, hemmed in by lofty and bare hills, either writing his odes, or giving lectures to his disciples in philo- sophy. The present building and enclosure was a work of later date than the tomb ; but we could not learn by whom it was con- structed. The pointed and flat arches are here also mixed in the same work, and the walls are covered with verses and inscriptions of native visitors. The place bears nearly

TOMB OF HAFIZ. 23

east-north-east from Shiraz, and is distant from it about a mile and a half.

From the tomb of Saadi we went back by the same road to that of Hafiz, which is dis- tant nearly a mile. Here also is a square enclosure, surrounded by a brick wall, but of greater extent ; and the space is filled by a burying-ground on one side, and a garden on the other, divided by a building running across the whole breadth, in the centre of the square. In the burying-ground, into which the door of our entrance led, were at least a hundred graves and tombs, and that of Hafiz was scarcely to be distinguished at a distance from the rest, though it stands nearly in the centre of them all. It is formed of an ob- long case of marble, twelve spans in length, by four in breadth, and about the same in depth, standing on a basement of stone ele- vated about a foot from the ground, and pro- jecting a foot each way beyond its lower di- mensions. The sides and ends of this case are perfectly plain, and the marble is marked by slightly waving veins running horizon- tally along the slabs in close order, changing the general colour of white by its variation of shades to a cloudy yellowness. The upper

SHIRAZ.

slab, which is laid flat on these sides and ends, is free from such veins, and may be called perfectly white. Around its edges is a small rope moulding, neatly cut; and the body of the interior contains the Ode of Hafiz, in the letter Sheen, beautifully executed in high relief; the letters large, and of the finest possible forms. This ode occupies the whole face of the stone, except just leaving room for a small border round it ; and this border is formed by a succession of certain sentences and sayings of the poet, in separate compart- ments, going all around the edge of the tomb. The marble is said to be that of Tabreez, which is in general described to be formed of a combination of light green colours, with here and there veins of red, and sometimes of blue ; but in this instance the upper stone is perfectly white, and the sides and end ones only streaked horizontally by a close succes- sion of cloudy and waving lines, thus differ- ing from any other of the Tabreez marbles that I had elsewhere seen.

Like the tomb of Saadi, that of Hafiz was said to have been placed on the spot which he frequented when alive ; and his grave, it is believed, stands at the foot of a cypress

TOMB OF HAFIZ. - 2l5

planted by his own hands. It is only six months since that this sacred tree had fallen down, after having stood so many years ; and though it was sawed off, the trunk is still pre- served above ground, to be shown to visitors. Had such an event happened in England, every fibre of it would have been preserved with as much care as the mulberry of Shak- speare, but here it was generally disregarded. The first constructor of the tomb of Hafiz was one of his contemporaries. Nadir Shah, however, on the occasion of his being at Shi- raz, having visited it, and opened the copy of his works, always kept here for inspection, found a passage so applicable to his own case, that he embellished the whole place, and re- stored the tomb, which was fast falling to de- cay. The present structure is, however, a still more recent work, and is ascribed to the munificence of Kurreem Khan, not more than forty years since. The period at which Hafiz wrote is about four hundred and forty years ago.^ The original copy of his works, written

* Shiraz was in its greatest prosperity when visited by Ti- mour. Hafiz, the poet, was then there, and treated with dis- tinction by the great conqueror. — Hist, of Persia, vol. i. p. 447.

Timour's battle and entry into Shiraz are described in the same work. — Vol. i. p. 463.

26 SHIKAZ.

by his own hands, was kept here, chained to the tomb, until about a century since, when AsherafF, the King of the AfFghans, took Is- pahan, and afterwards Shiraz, in the reign of Shah Sultan Hussein ; and the book of Hafiz was then taken by him to Candahar, where it is now said to be. A copy was brought to us, of a folio size, finely written and embellished, from the pen of Seid Mohammed Ali, a cele- brated writer in the service of Kurreem Khan, who was personally known to my Dervish, Is- mael, and who lately ended his days at the tomb of Imam Hoossein, at Kerbela.

In the open central portico of the building which divides the burying-ground from the garden, are some marble pillars with Arabic capitals, no pedestals, and plain shafts, each in one piece; their proportions being, like those already described, nearly Doric. The garden beyond it has many fine cypresses and flower-beds, but there are no tombs there.

We smoked a caleoon, and conversed with some of the Dervishes here ; but we were not suffered to depart without opening the Book of Hafiz, for an ode suited to our respective conditions. Ismael found one, which told him that the sickness of his heart was occasioned by an absent lover for whom he pined. The

THE BOOK OF HAFIZ. 21?

one on which I opened, inveighed against earthly fame and glory, compared with the enjoyments of the present hour ; and others of our party thought the passages found by them, on opening the book, equally well suited to their several cases. From the time of Nadir Shah, no one indeed comes here with- out making this trial of the prophetic power of the poet, by opening his book at random, and finding in the first page presented a pas- sage suited to his condition, and all go away perfectly convinced of its unerring truth ; so powerful is the influence of a well-grounded faith and previous persuasion. The Soofees believe that souls arrived at such a state of wisdom and purity as those of Hafiz and Saadi, have a perfect knowledge of all that is going on in the present world ; and that they thus still take an active part in the direc- tion of its affairs. My Dervish, Ismael, firmly believed the hand of Hafiz to have directed the opening of the leaves of the book to us all ; and insisted on it that the poet knew the hearts of all present. Travelling Der- vishes from all parts of the East come here occasionally to occupy the few chambers that are set apart for them ; but the place itself, with the Book of Hafiz, and the tomb, are

28 SHIRAZ.

all under the charge of a Moollah of Shiraz. The Persians, however, do not come here to drink wine, and pour libations on the tomb of their favourite poet, as has been asserted by some. Those who drink wine in Persia, at the present day, do it more secretly ; and respect for learning and talents is not so ge- neral, as to draw many visitors here on that account alone.

From hence we went to the large tomb of Shah Mirza Hamza, a son of Imam Moosa. It is a spacious edifice, crowned by a lofty dome, and stands close to the road on the left when going towards Shiraz. The ex- terior is much injured, and falling fast to de- cay; the interior is in somewhat better pre- servation. The tomb of the saint is enclosed in a frame-work of wood, with a grating of brass bars ; and on it are many pious offer- ings of silver vessels, with a copy of the Koran, and many gilded tablets written over in Arabic* The decorations of the roofs and

* Shah Mirza Hamza, whose tomb is at Shiraz, was the eldest son of Sultan Mahomed, one of the early SufFavean kings, and fell under the blow of an assassin named Hoodee, a barber, who stabbed him in his private apartment, and effected his escape. — Hist, of Persia, y oh i. p. 59,\.

I

TOMB OF SHAH MIRZA HAMZA. 29

walls are later than the construction of the edifice itself; they are ascribed to Kurreem Khan, who died before they were completed, and they have never since been continued. After seeing the other Persian monuments of a similar kind, this has nothing worthy of particular notice ; but on beholding so proud an edifice as this, so richly ornamented, and so abundantly furnished with offerings, reared over the ashes of one who had no other claim to distinction but that of being the son of an Imam, who multiplied his species by hun- dreds from his own loins, while the graves of Saadi and of Hafiz are scarcely distinguished from the common herd, we had a striking proof of the triumph of bigotry and super- stition, among an ignorant and declining peo- ple, over learning, genius, and fame.

We returned to Shiraz before sunset, hav- ing occupied nearly the whole of the day in our excursions. Each of the places we had visited was indeed of itself sufficiently in- teresting to have detained us longer, had we possessed time to examine them separately ; but this was not at my disposal. Our even- ing was passed in great happiness with my excellent and intelligent friend, Jaffier Ali

30 SHIRAZ.

Khan, and a small party of learned men whom he had invited to sup with us.

It was remarked by Herodotus, that among the ancient Persians the dishes were sepa- rately introduced, which occasioned them to say that the Grecians quitted their tables unsatisfied, having nothing to induce them to continue there ; as, if they had, they would eat more.* It is worthy of mention that, in social parties, the same custom still continues, and that rarely more than one or two dishes at most are laid on the table at a time, these being succeeded by others when removed.

Oct. £8th. — As both the air and water of Bushire was represented to be much inferior to that of Shiraz, and as I had not yet per- fectly recovered the effects of my fever at Hamadan, it was recommended to me to dis- patch a messenger to the English Resident at Bushire, to know at what time it would be necessary to be there for the first vessels that were to sail, in order that I might prolong my stay here, rather than in the hot and sandy plain of Bushire. I accordingly wrote such a letter, intending to go on as far as Shapoor,

* Herod. Clio, 133.

TOMB OF SEID ALA-AL-DIN. 31

about midway, and then meet the messenger, who would bring his answer to Kauzeroon.

When this duty was performed, we went out to see such other principal tombs in the town as we had not yet visited. The first of these was that of Seid Ala-ul-Din, son of Imam Moosa. This building is equally spa- cious and lofty with that of Shah Ameer Hamza, is in much finer preservation, and the decorations are infinitely superior. The tomb itself is nearly of the same kind, en- closed within a large frame, like a sanctuary, with cage-work of brass, finely wrought ; it is covered with silver vessels as offerings, and on it lies a copy of the Koran. Above is sus- pended a gaudy canopy, and the pavement is covered by carpets of a blue ground, of the manufacture of Yezd, in which Arabic in- scriptions are wrought around the border in characters of white, well formed and distinct. The surbasement of the walls is formed of slabs of a dark and clouded marble, some- times of a reddish kind, speckled with white, like porphyry : the columns and pilasters at the angles, which are spirally fluted, with Arabic capitals, are in excellent proportions, and all the stone-work is well wrought. The

32 SHIRAZ.

decorations of the roof of the dome, and the walls, in which Cufic inscriptions are inge- niously introduced, into flowers, &c. are quite equal in design and execution to any thing at Ispahan ; and the coloured glass windows, though much broken and injured, are sur- passed in beauty by none that I remember, not even those of the room in which I slept at the palace of Shah Abbas. The building itself, and its decorations, are the finest in Shiraz. It is, however, much neglected ; though it is held to be of such sanctity, that poor pilgrims who cannot go to that of the Imam Hussein, at Kerbela, are thought to have sufficiently performed their duty, if they come here and go through the same cere- monies of their pilgrimage. We met many devotees on the spot. In the outer small porch of entrance we noticed an old tomb entirely of the stone like porphyry ; and in front of the door a rude lion of the same material, over the grave of one who had been a champion in the athletic exercises practised here, in houses set apart for that purpose.

We next went to the tomb of Hadjee Seid Ghareeb, and Seid Mohammed Ibn Zaid Ibn Imam Hassan. This was a low building.

TOMB OF HADJEE SEID GHAREEB. 33

vaulted in the usual way ; but its decorations on the walls and ceilings are more simple than we had seen before. The number of little silver cups, with tassels, brought as offerings, were here suspended at the points of the dropping ornaments in the concave s6mi-arches, and produced a singular effect. The bodies of the two saints named were contained within one frame-work of wood and brass, like the others described; and each was covered with offerings, and had a copy of the Koran. We saw here a large brass candlestick, of many branches, the pedestal of which was round and flat ; but where the trunk or stem began, it was made to rest on the back of an elephant, well wrought in brass.

From hence we went to an octangular building, standing isolated in the midst of a large cemetery, and called Beebee Dochte- roon, the daughter of Imam Zein-el-Abe- deen ; but, the door being closed, we did not enter it. On the grave-stones here and else- where, we noticed the emblems of the pro- fession or trade followed by the deceased, as was customary among the Greeks, who in the Iliad are represented as putting an oar to

VOL. II. D

SHIRAZ.

designate the tomb of a pilot. Here were swords, shields, pistols, and spears for war- riors ; combs and circles for those who prayed much, as it is customary for devotees to lay a comb before them on the ground, and place the forehead on it when praying : there were also scissors and cloth for tailors, who are not ashamed of their profession in Persia. On our way back to the town, we met five horned rams, who were leading forth for a public fight, this being a favourite diversion at Shiraz. We noticed many birds, kept in cages, in the tradesmen's shops, — a practice unknown in Turkey or Arabia.

In the afternoon we went with Jaffier Ali Khan, to see a friend of his, who was a descendant of the great Jengiz Khan, the Tartar conqueror. This man was now at the head of at least twenty thousand horsemen, in Fars, who look up to him as their sovereign and leader. We found him superintending the laying out of a new garden, in which he appeared to take great pleasure. He was a fine, robust, and warlike-looking man, of very dark complexion, and of features very diffe- rent from Persian. He wore talismans on

^

A DESCENDANT OF JENGIZ KHAN. 35

both his arms, spoke roughly, and was sur- rounded by a train of dependents. Our conversation turned chiefly on the affairs of Europe, of which he was by no means igno- rant. We were waited on by many Tartars, who spoke a harsh dialect of Turkish. The people attached to this chief are wandering tribes, living in tents, and occupying the whole of the Gurrum Seer, or the hot dis- trict, and the borders of Fars, Khorassan, and Seistan. They speak Persian to others, but among themselves Turkish is mostly used. This leader is thought to be the richest man in the whole kingdom, excepting only the sovereign, whose wealth in gold and jewels, hoarded at Teheran, is said to be immense. The chief's treasure is also conceived to be in great part hidden in caves and mountains, known only to himself and his sons ; so that the Persian Government dares not oppress him ; indeed his faithful force is a sufficient protection against this. After our interview here, he accompanied us to Jaffier Ali Khan's house, and remained with us till evening prayers. Though plainly arrayed in his gar- den, he dressed himself for his visit in a rich

36 SHIRAZ.

white shawl cloak, and a still richer red shawl of Cashmere around his waist, and was accom- panied by an innumerable train of servants.

Oct. 29th. — As the drum beat for the as- sembling of the Gymnasts, or Athletes, at the Zoor Khoneh, or house of strength, at an early hour this morning, we attended its call, and went there to witness the exercises. The place was small and dark. The arena was a deep circle, like that in the ancient amphi- theatre, for fights of beasts ; and the seats for spectators were arranged around, as in theatres generally. The soil of the arena was a fine firm clay. About twenty men were soon assembled on this, each of them naked, excepting only a strong girdle to conceal their waist, and thick pads at the knees. There were also two little boys and a black slave lad. At the sound of a drum and gui- tar, the men began to exercise themselves with large clubs held across their shoulders, moving in a measured dance : they next be- gan to jump, and then stoop to the ground, as if about to sit, springing up again suddenly on their legs : they next swung one foot for a considerable length of time, and then the other ; after which there was violent jump-

THE GYMNASTS, OR ATHLETES. 37

ing and dancing, and afterwards a motion like swimming on the earth, by placing their breasts nearly to touch the soil, then drawing their bodies forward, and rising again, some even in this position bearing a man clinging fast to their loins. They next began to walk on their hands, with their feet in the air, falling from this position hard on the ground, turning head over heels in the air, and, last of all, wrestling with each other. All these feats were performed to measured tones of music ; and each encounter of the last de- scription was preceded by the recital of a poem, in order to encourage the combatants, which was done by the master of the place. One young man, about twenty-five years old, from six feet four to six feet six inches high, with the most muscular, and at the same time the most beautiful form that I ever beheld, threw all his antagonists ; and was indeed as superior to all the rest in skill and strength, as he was more nobly elegant in his form and more graceful in all his motions. Jaffier Ali had known this champion from a youth of five years old. When a lad, he was so handsome that all the women of Shiraz who saw him were in love with him. He had

38 SHIRAZ.

constantly frequented the Zoor Khoneh, and his strength and beauty of form had improved together. For myself, I never beheld so com- plete a model of manly beauty, and had never before thought that so much grace and ele- gance could be given to violent movements as I witnessed here : it realized all the ideal strength and beauty of the sculptures of the Greeks. There were many strong and active men among the others, but none to be com- pared with this.

These houses of strength were once patron- ized by the Persian Government, but they are now no longer so supported ; the people of the country are however much attached to the exercises, and attend them fully and frequently. The money given by visitors who take no part in the exercises goes to a fund for the institution ; and the rich and mid- dling classes, of whom there are many who enter the lists, make up the deficiency. On Fridays the place is crowded with visitors, who give presents at their discretion. There are four or five of these houses at Shiraz, many more at Ispahan, several at Kermanshah and Teheran, and indeed in all the great towns of Khorassan and Turkomania, as far as Bok-

THE GYMNASTS, OR ATHLETES. 39

hara and Samarcand, according to the testi- mony of my Dervish, who says he has seen them and frequented them often. At Bag- dad and Moosul there are the same institu- tions, and by the same name of Zoor Khoneh ; which proves their having been borrowed from this country, as the name is purely Persian. At Bagdad, about two years since, there came a Pehlawan, or champion, named Melek Mo- hammed, from Casvin, and addressed him- self to the Pasha. It is the custom for these champions to go from place to place, to try their strength with the victors or champions of each ; and if there be none at the place last visited, the governor is obliged to give a hundred tomaums ; but if there be one, and the stranger vanquishes him, he must be con- tent with the honour of victory and succeed- ing to the place of the vanquished. The Pasha of Bagdad replying to Melek Mohammed that he had a champion already attached to his court, a day was appointed for the man of Casvin to try his strength with him of Bag- dad. Moosa Baba, the Pasha's Kabobshee, or sausage-maker, appeared, and both the com- batants were stripped, and girded with the girdle of the Zoor Khoneh alone, before the

40 SHIRAZ.

Pasha's house. The Casvin champion seized the Bagdad cook by the stomach, and so wrenched him with the grasp of one hand only, that the man fainted on the spot, and died within five days afterwards. The Pasha rewarded the victor with ten pieces of gold, a handsome dress, and made him his chief Cawass. Three or four months afterwards, came a man from a place called Dejeil, near the Tigris, and at a distance of ten hours' journey from Bagdad, on the road to Samara, He offered to combat the Casvin Melek Mo- hammed. A second combat took place, and though this new opponent was thought to be a man of uncommon strength, the victor caught him by a single grasp, whirled him in the air, and threw him so violently on the ground that he expired on the spot. After this, the champion was advanced in the Pasha's favour, and now receives about fifty piastres, or nearly five pounds sterling, per day ; twenty- five for his pay as Cawass, ten as champion of the Zoor Khoneh, and fifteen for his ex- penses in women, wine, and forbidden plea- sures ! — From this exhibition we went to the Medresse Khan, or chief college of Shiraz. It was originally constructed in the style of

STREETS OF SHIRAZ. 41

those at Ispahan, having two minarets with- out, coated with coloured tiles ; and in the centre of a square court, a fine garden, with two stories of chambers, facing it all round. It is now much decayed, and the lower cham- bers only are occupied by a few children under the tuition of MooUahs, their parents paying the charge of their education. There are several other Medresses or colleges, — some inhabited and others deserted, but all of them are smaller and inferior to this.

The streets of Shiraz are like those of all Eastern cities, narrow, dark, and generally unpaved : the new bazaars are however suffi- ciently wide for business and comfort. One of the great peculiarities of the place is the appearance of high square towers, with aper- tures at the top for catching the wind and conducting it to the lower apartments of the houses. They are called Baudgheers, or wind- catchers, and look at a distance like ordinary towers. The domes of the mosques at Shiraz embrace at least two-thirds of a globe in their shape, being small at the bottom, expand- ing in the centre, and lastly closing in at the top. Some of them are ribbed perpendicu- larly, and painted green ; others are coated

42 SHIRAZ.

with coloured tiles ; but, generally speak- ing, their effect is much inferior to those of Ispahan. All kinds of provisions, bread, and fruit, are varied, excellent, and cheap here ; yet there appeared to be more beggars in Shiraz than we had seen elsewhere in any part of Persia. The men are a fine, hand- some race, the children are fair, and the wo- men beautiful : these last dress in blue check cloths and white veils, with a little square grating of net-work before their eyes. The situation of Shiraz is very agreeable, being in the midst of an extensive and fertile plain, bounded by mountains on all sides. It lies on nearly the same level as Ispahan, and is only a little lower than Hamadan ; but the climate is considered better than . either of these, and diseases of any kind are very rare. The seasons are so regular, that they change almost to a given day : the spring and au- tumn are delightful ; the summer moderate with respect to heat ; and the winter of three months cold, with not more than one month in the year of either snow or rain.

The inhabitants of Shiraz are nearly all Moslems, of the Sheeah sect.* There are a

* Arrian gives a very striking description of the manner in

THE SHAH ZADE. 43

few Jews, and some Armenians ; the last two classes being chiefly merchants, trading bro- kers, and makers of the wine of Shiraz, which is said to be degenerating in quality every year. The Shah Zade has a good force of horse and foot, besides the wandering tribes, whom he can command in great numbers. The leading characteristics of the Prince are indifference and imbecility : he makes no pretensions to the crown of Persia, and is therefore not an object of jealousy. The Nizam-ud-Dowla of Ispahan had been lately appointed to the government of Shiraz, to act under the Prince. This man is said to

which the marriages of the ancient Persians were performed, in his account of the nuptials of Alexander and some of his generals. He says : * Alexander now turned his mind to the celebration of his own and his friends' nuptials at Susa. He himself married Barsine, the eldest daughter of Darius ; and in all eighty daughters of the most illustrious nobility, Persians as well as Medes, were united to as many of Alexander's friends. The nuptials were celebrated in the Persian manner. Seats were placed for those who were about to be married, according to their rank. After a banquet, the ladies were introduced, and each sat down by the side of her husband, who each, beginning with Alexander himself, took the right hand of his bride and kissed her. All observed this ceremony, and then each man retired with his wife.' The simplicity of this mode is a striking- contrast to the pompous ceremonies of the modern Parsees, their descendants.

44 SHIRAZ.

be the greatest extortioner that even Persia has ever seen, and is therefore a favourite with the King, who is cruel and avaricious, and is cordially hated by all his subjects. The people of Shiraz are free, open-hearted, polite, and given to pleasure. Wine is often drunk in private parties : and public women are in greater numbers here than even at Ispahan. Literature and the arts had been for years declining, and every thing has been growing worse for the last twenty years.

There are but few Guebres, as the an- cient disciples of Zoroaster, the fire-wor- shippers of Persia, are called, at Shiraz. They come occasionally frona Yezd and He- rat, but seldom remain to settle. When they do, however, they live in a separate class, like the Jews, and observe their own pecu- liar customs of marriage, funeral, and other ceremonies, which resemble those practised by the Parsees at Guzerat and Bombay.*

* Herodotus, at a very early period, makes the following observations on the manner in which the ancient Persian fune- rals were observed. He says : ' As to what relates to their dead, I will not affirm it to be true that these are never interred till some bird or dog has dis covered a propensity to prey on them. This, however, is unquestionably certain of the Magi, who pub- licly observe this custom.* — Clio, 140. Beloe, in his note on

PERSIAN FUNERALS. 45

this, says : ' The Magi for a long time retained the exclusive privilege of having their bodies left as a prey to carnivorous animals. In succeeding times, the Persians abandoned all corpses indiscriminately to birds and beasts of prey. This cus- tom still in part continues : the place of burial of the Guebres, at the distance of half a league from Ispahan, is a round tower made of freestone ; it is thirty-five feet in height, and ninety in diameter, w^ithout gate or any kind of entrance : they as- cend it by a ladder. In the midst of the tower is a kind of trench, into which the bones are thrown. The bodies are ranged along the wall, in their proper clothes, upon a small couch, with bottles of wine, &c. The ravens, which fill the cemetery, de- vour them. This is also the case with the Guebres at Surat, as well as at Bombay.*

46 FROM SHlllAZ

CHAPTER II.

FROM SHIRAZ, BY KOTEL DOKHTER, TO KAUZEROON.

Nov. 1st. — All our arrangements for quit- ting Shiraz having been completed, we were stirring soon after midnight, though, from kind attention to our comfort on the part of our hospitable friend, Jafiier Ali Khan, we were detained for some time afterwards, — --and it was not until the moon had set, that we mounted for our journey. Passing through the extensive village of Mesjed Berdy, which, in old Persian, signifies the stone mosque, we had gardens on either hand, to the number of at least a thousand, and all of them were said to be productive of a variety and abundance of the best fruits.

Our course from hence lay westerly across

CHAPTER II.

STEEP MOUNTAIN PASS OF KOTEL DOKHTER.

1

TO KAUZEROON. 47

the plain, the hills narrowing on each side, . and their points of union, which form the western pass out of the valley of Shiraz, immediately before us. As the paths were numerous, and equally beaten, we took one of the northernmost, which led us astray; and at daylight we found ourselves entangled in mountains, without a guide, or any clue to extricate ourselves. The mountains here were lofty and rugged, and composed of limestone of different qualities, — some form- ing a streaked marble of cloudy white, like the slabs on the sides and ends of Hafiz's tomb, which was probably hewn from hence, and not brought from Tabriz, — and others of a reddish cast. Every part, even to the summits, was covered with vegetation and brushwood, and the narrow valleys afforded pasture to numerous flocks.

We at length met with some shepherds, who directed us how to cross the mountains on our left by a path known to themselves only, and one of them took the pains, un- asked, to accompany us part of the way. The language spoken among these moun- taineers, though thus close to Shiraz, is said to be the old dialect of Fars, from which the

48 rilOM SHIRAZ

present language of Persia has been formed. They are all acquainted, however, with this last, and use it in their communication with strangers ; but what surprised me more, was to find that Turkish, of a corrupt kind, was so familiar to all, that it was the language of conversation between the Dervish and them- selves.*

When our shepherd guide left us, we went down over the southern side of the hills, toward the high road ; and as the sun had now risen, we halted on the banks of a clear stream, flowing from the westward through the valley, to wash and refresh. There was just above us, to the south-west, the wreck of a ruined village, called Kooshk Bostack, which gave its name to the stream also ; and the Dervish Ismael, who on some occasions dreaded the mischievous practices of demons, and at others was too much a phi- losopher to admit the belief of any thing as

* In the various migrations of the tribes of Tartary, several of them have at different periods come from the plains of Syria into Persia. The Shamloo, or sons of Syria, are perhaps at this moment one of the most numerous of all the Turkish tribes of Persia. The Karagoozaloo. the Baharloo, and several other tribes, are branches of the Shamloo, who were brought into Persia from Syria by Timour. — Hist, of Persia, vol. i. p. 391.'

TO KAUZEROON. 49

certain, excepting only the existence of God, insisted on it that it was through the malice of the devils residing in these ruins, that we were this morning entangled among the hills, and led astray from the king's highway. I should have suffered him to have entertained this opinion, without attempting to combat it, but that he drew from thence the most inauspicious omens, and became quite dis- heartened from proceeding. A few days' detention, he said, would probably procure us the protection of a caravan ; why then, he asked, in these times of turbulence and trouble, when famine rendered men despe- rate,— when all the evil spirits were abroad, and the world evidently approaching its dis- solution,— should we venture ourselves alone against such a host of foes ? He thought this was a warning for us to return, to which we should not be insensible ; and, for the first time since his being with me, he seemed almost angry at my apparent obstinacy. He told me that, on leaving Ispahan, he had pro- mised, by a secret vow, to give a rupee to the fund of the poor at some tomb here, if we arrived safe ; and he had actually per- formed his,vow at Shiraz ; but he now thought

VOL. II. E

50 FllOM SHIRAZ

that even this preparatory good deed would be insufficient to preserve us from the many dangers that threatened on every side.^

We remounted at the stream, ascended the hill, passed safely by this supposed haunt of devils, and got at length into the high road, along which we continued our way westerly, inclining often a point or two to the north. The ground over which we went was in general uneven, but the road good, and the country, though uncultivated, of a more agree- able aspect than the bare lands of Irak, as ver- dure and bushes were nov/ every where seen.

* As a striking instance how readily one class of popular traditions may be received, and another of nearly the same de- scription rejected, by the same individual, the following may be mentioned : In his History of Persia, Sir John Malcolm says, that during a famine in Khorassan, when ravaged also by the Usbeg Tartars, in the reign of Shah Tamasp, and a plague raged at the same time, men ate their own species ; but it was relieved by showers from Heaven : — there fell, according to Persian authors, a substance resembling a diminutive grain of wheat; and this substance, when mixed with a small portion of flour, became a most nourishing food. This is, at least, a very similar event to the supply of manna in the wilderness, which has been accounted for on natural grounds ; yet General Malcolm, while he says nothing of his incredulity as to the one, evidently thinks the other to be a mere fable, to judge by his notes of admiration affixed to the passage in question. — Vol. i. p. 511.

TO KAUZEROON. . 51

Soon after noon we arrived at a flat valley, with abundance of wood, and a transpa- rent stream winding through it, over a white pebbly bed, from the north-westward. There was here an abundance of cattle feeding on rich grass near the banks, and flocks of water- fowl along the river's edge. The herds were carefully watched by shepherds during the day, and were all driven into shelter before sunset, as lions were known to have their dens in the neighbourhood, and to prowl here at night, to the terror both of caravans and single passengers.

It was in this valley that we found the first caravansera, with a few huts attached to it, called Khoneh Zemoon, and esteemed to be seven fursucks from Shiraz. As our horses were fresh, we did not halt here, but pursued our way to the westward, over a country si- milar to that already described. In about two hours we came again to a winding stream, with trees of exactly the same description as those found at the place we had just passed ; and here we were cautioned to be particularly on our guard, more especially as night was advancing.

From hence we ascended a steep hill, call-

E 2

52 FROM SHIRAZ

ed Kotel Oosoon-e-Siffeed, or the white- bosomed hill, well wooded throughout, of lime rock in its composition, and presenting us with some interesting views in our ascent. On gaining the summit, we had before us, on the western side, the fine plain of Dusht- urgeon, so called from a particular tree of the latter name being common near it.

The large village of the same name ap- peared seated immediately beneath the cliff of the north-western hills ; and just before sunset we entered it. Although this was the second halt of the caravans from Shiraz to Bushire, there was now no shelter for pas- sengers ; the old caravansera being destroyed, and materials only preparing for the building of a new one. The Dervish, however, who had the talent of speedily ingratiating him- self in the favour of strangers in a higher de- gree than any one I ever knew, prevailed on a young wife, in an advanced state of preg- nancy with her first child, to give us a part of her chamber, without consulting her husband, who had not yet returned from his labours. This was not all; for our horses were shelter- ed in the stable below, and the man's own cattle turned out to make room for them ;

TO KAUZEROON. 53

and by the time that the husband appeared, we had a supper of such humble food as the family themselves fared on, of which he sat down and partook with us, exclaiming, ' In the name of God, the Holy and the Merci- ful !' without asking a single question as to the cause of our being of the party, and with as much cordiality as if we had been friends for many months. We smoked and talked freely together, throughout the evening, with the same good understanding, undisturbed by the most distant enquiry ; which was al- together so new to me in Persia, though not uncommon in Turkey, and almost universal in Arabia, that I was at a loss how to account for the change of manners ; and when the hour of repose came, we lay down, each tak- ing a separate corner of the room, with a blaz- ing wood fire in the middle of it, as the night was severely cold.

Nov. 2nd. — The plain of Dusht-urgeon is nearly of a circular form, and is about two fursucks, or eight miles, in its general dia- meter. It is hemmed in by mountains on each side, — those on the north-west and south-east being steep cliffs, while the passes of inlet and outlet are to the north-east and south-west,

54 FllOIvl SHIRAZ

with a more decisive separation or opening of the hills in the western quarter. Through the centre of the plain wind several streams, on whose banks are the trees which give name to it, and which, from the description of my companion, I conceived to be a sort of willow, though we did not see any sufficiently near for me to determine. A small portion of the plain only is applied to culture, but it was now entirely covered by flocks in every direction, and horned cattle were here more abundant than we had seen them before in any part of the country.

The town of Dusht-urgeon is seated im- mediately at the foot of the northern and north-western cliffs, and lies on a gently ascending ground. There are from five to six hundred houses in it, all built of stone, and thatched over a flat roof; containing courts and stalls attached, suited to the wants of the inhabitants, who may be reckoned at about two thousand. Agriculture, and the feeding of their herds and flocks, furnish their chief occupation ; besides which, they cultivate the vine with great success, and produce raisins and sweetmeats in sufficient abundance to admit of a large surplus for sale. The whole

TO KAUZEROON. - 55

surface of the mountain to the northward of the town, and almost hanging over it, presents a singular picture of industry and care, in being spread over with vineyards from the base to the very summit.

Dusht-urgeon is the reputed birth-place of Selman Pak, the barber and friend of Mo- hammed, who was thought by some to be a native of Modain, and who has his tomb on the ruins of Ctesiphon, where it is annually visited by the barbers from Bagdad. It is said that during his lifetime here, while he sat by one of the streams in the plain, a large lion appeared to mark him for his prey; but as he called on the name of the Almighty for help, exclaiming, ' There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the Apostle of God!' a visible hand arose from the stream, seized his enemy in his grasp, and destroyed it in an instant. In commemoration of this event, a small domed edifice is erected, about a fur- long to the south-west of the town, seated amid trees and water; and from the centre of its dome rises the figure of a human hand, which is said to allude to the event described.

As we had lost our way on the morning of yesterday, we delayed our departure until

56 FROM SHIRAN

it was perfect daylight, when we thanked our kind entertainers, and set out on our way. Our course across the plain lay to the south- west ; and in about two hours, having gone through its diameter in that direction, we came to the foot of an ascent, which appeared at first gentle, but afterwards proved suffi- ciently difficult. This was wooded with larger trees than we had yet seen, of an evergreen kind ; and we enjoyed some charm- ing views of the country, in our way up it. Here too, as on all the hills we had recently passed, were hundreds of the beautiful moun- tain partridges, which abound in these parts ; and, from their never being molested, they suffer passengers to approach them closely, without evincing the least fear.

We were about two hours before we gained the summit of this range, as our ascent was by stages divided by small portions of level road ; and when we came on the opposite brow of the mountain, we opened the view of a narrow valley covered with wood, and having the dry bed of a stream winding through it from the south-east. Immediately beneath us, and beyond the low ridge of hills which

TO KAUZEROON. 57

formed its farther boundary, was the plain of Kauzeroon, which was exceedingly deep, and at least four thousand feet below our present level, — the view closing in that di- rection by a steep and lofty bed of mountains, forming a barrier in the west.

We descended over the rugged brow of this mountain of Peerazunn, or the old woman, by a winding path, leading our horses, and moving at every step with great caution. The fatigue was of itself sufficiently painful to all ; but, in addition to this, the rocky masses in some places, and the pits in others, with sharp-edged stones that slipped from our tread, so pained our feet, that we halted several times, on our way down, to breathe and repose.

In about two hours we came to a caravan- sera, which forms a station for the passen- gers on this road ; and our fatigue would have induced us to halt here, but that there was at present neither water nor food for us or our horses, and it was therefore necessary to proceed. This station is called simply Ca- ravansera Kotel, and is estimated to be only four fursucks from Dusht-urgeon ; but if this

58 FROM SHIRAZ

be correct, the distance must be measured in a straight line, as in actual surface we thought it at least six.

From hence we descended a short distance further, and came into the wooded valley described : its direction is from south-east to north-west, and its descent towards the latter quarter is very perceptible. Its south-western boundary was a ridge of pointed hills, com- posed of many separate masses, all uniform in shape ; and at their feet wound through the valley the pebbly bed of a river now entirely dry. This valley was covered with a rich soil, many portions of which were cul- tivated, though the trees were left standing, and the whole resembled the scenery of a thickly-wooded park. The trees here were mostly of the kind called Belloot. It pro- duces a small fruit, in shape like a date ; the use of which is common in dysenteries, and is found by the inhabitants of the country to be a very effectual remedy.

On the side of the mountains to the right, was a small village called Khoneh Khalidj, to which the cultivated lands of this val- ley belonged, and whose population was from four to five hundred persons.

TO KAUZEROOK. 59

We left this valley by passing over a gentle hill on the north-west, and came to a small square tower, used as a station for guards of the road, and called Rah-dan. We found here two or three musketeers, the rest being scattered over the mountains looking out. These men detained us by long and close examinations ; as they took us to be robbers, from our wearing Arab dresses, being well armed, and daring to travel alone. They would fain have obstructed our passage fur- ther, and held us in custody until their com- rades appeared : but as we were well mounted and nearly equal to them in number, we de- fied their threats and proceeded on our way, — not wondering at the roads being unsafe when such inefficacious measures as these were thought sufficient on the part of the Government to render them secure.

We came soon afterwards on the brow of another mountain, called Kotel Dokhter, or the ' Hill of the Daughter,' as secondary to that of the 'Old Woman,' which we had passed before. This presented us with a perpendicular cliff of about twelve hundred feet in height, at the foot of which com- menced the plain of Kauzeroon. The de-

60 FROM SHIRAN

scent down over this steep was by a zigzag road, once well paved, and walled on the outer side ; and from the steepness of the cliff, down which it wound its way, the several portions of the zigzag line were sometimes not more than ten paces in length, in any one direction, so that they were like a flight of steps placed at acute angles with each other. We were nearly an hour de- scending this, before we gained the plain; and were several times hailed in the course of our passage down by musketeers from the moun- tains, many of whom we could not, with all our endeavours, distinguish from the dark masses of rock, in the recesses of which they stood, though we conversed with them, re- plied to all their questions, and could point distinctly to the spot from whence the sound of their voices issued. These men, like their companions at the Rah-dan, insisted on our being wanderers in search of plunder ; and two of them fired at us, with a view to ter- rify us into submission. The Dervish, how- ever, put a worse construction on this exer- cise of their privilege, by insisting that they were as often robbers themselves, as they were the guardians of the road ; for though,

TO KAUZEROON. 61

when caravans and great men with a reti- nue passed them, they always made a show of activity at their posts, yet they were quite as ready to murder solitary travellers, if they resisted their insolent demands of tribute and presents, as they were to offer their protection when the numbers of the party were suffi- cient for self-defence. These musketeers are poor villagers, appointed by arbitrary con- scription to this duty ; and as their nominal pay is not enough to furnish them with bread and water, and even this is often with- held from them by the governor of the dis- trict, who has the charge of defraying it from his treasury, they may be often urged by ne- cessity to do that which by inclination they would not commit. ^

* The mountaineers who lived between the high and low lands of Persia were always marauders. The following is the account given of them as they existed in the time of Nadir Shah ; but though the historian says they were then extin- guished, they have since revived, and are as vigorous and troublesome as ever. — * The peace of the country had been much disturbed by the depredations of a numerous and barbarous tribe, called Bukhteearees, who inhabit the mountains that stretch from near the capital of Persia to the vicinity of Shuster. The subjugation of these plunderers had ever been deemed impossible. Their lofty and rugged mountains abound with rocks and caverns, which in times of danger serve them as

62 FROM SHIRAZ

After entering on the plain, we went about west-north-west across it, having trees of the kind already described on each side of our path, and no appearances of cultivation. We were now about three fursucks from our des- tined halt, the sun was nearly set, and a heavy storm was fast gathering in the west. It was no sooner dark than it began to pour down torrents of rain, which came sometimes in such whirlwinds, as to render it difficult to keep one's seat on the horse. The animals themselves were frightened beyond measure at the vivid lightning which blazed at in- tervals from the thick clouds, and if possible still more terrified at the deafening echoes of the thunder, which rolled through the sur- rounding cliffs and mountains. Sometimes they started off in a gallop, and at others were immovably fixed ; and it was not until after three full hours of this tempest that we came near Kauzeroon, the barking of its dogs

fastnesses and dens. But Nadir showed that this fancied secu- rity, which had protected them for ages, was a mere delusion. He led his veteran soldiers to the tops of their highest moun- tains; parties of light troops hunted them from the cliffs and glens in which they were concealed ; and in the space of one month the tribe was completely subdued. Their chief was taken prisoner, and put to death.' — Hist, of Persia, vol. ii. p. 67,

TO KAUZEROON. 63

giving us warning of approach before we saw the dwellings. A transient gleam of light from the moon, which was now for the first time visible through opening clouds, enabled us to perceive the town, and we soon after entered its ruined walls. Our way wound through deserted streets, with dilapidated dwellings, and isolated arches of doors and windows on each side of us, until we reached a poor caravansera, where we gladly took shelter. Our horses were so knocked up, that they lay down, saddled as they were, and without waiting for their food. We were ourselves equally fatigued, and wet to the skin, without a dry garment at hand. As firewood, however, was here abundant and cheap, we kindled a blazing heap, and warm- ed and dried ourselves in the smoke, while a cheering pipe and a cup of coffee made us soon forget the troubles of our way.

A day or two after my arrival at Shiraz, I had dispatched a messenger to the British Resident at Bushire, desiring information as to what vessels might be at that port destined for Bombay, and the probable time of their sailing. The messenger had engaged to meet us with an answer at Kauzeroon ; so that I

64 FROM SHIKA2:

should have been here able to regulate the remainder of my journey accordingly, and either hasten on to be in time for an imme- diate opportunity, or, by returning to Shiraz, go through Fasa, Darab, and Firouzabad to Bushire, and arrive in time for any later one. I was so confidently assured, before I quitted Shiraz, of there being no vessel either then at Bushire, or soon expected there, that I had resolved on accomplishing this latter journey, in which I felt much interested, and had therefore left my own horses and bag- gage with my friend Jaffier Ali Khan, at Shiraz, and accepted the offer of his animals for this journey as far as Shapoor, from which he was so certain that I should return.

Late as the hour of our arrival was, we sent immediately for a certain Nour Moham- med, to whom an Armenian of Shiraz had given us a letter ; and as this man was also in the service of the English Resident at Bushire, we made no scruple of explaining to him who we were. On enquiry, we learnt from him that though no vessel from Bom- bay was actually at the port, one was daily expected from Bussorah to touch there on her way down. To profit by this, it would

TO KAUZEROON. 65

be necessary to use all possible dispatch ; and nothing remained, therefore, but to procure a messenger for Shiraz, and send him off, as soon as our horses had reposed, to return those of Jaffier Ali Khan, and bring down mine, with the things left at Shiraz. The messenger was speedily procured for us by Nour Mohammed ; and, wet, tired, and sleepy as I was, I wrote a long letter to my friend, and gave it in charge to the horseman, who was to commence his journey at day-break in the morning, armed with our own weapons for his defence.

Nov. 3rd. — We were waited on by Nour Mohammed at an early hour, as we had slept in the caravansera ; and as soon as the mes- senger had been dispatched to Shiraz, we repaired to one of the baths of Kauzeroon. It was small and dark, but of exactly the same plan as all those we had seen in Persia, and more highly heated than any. The at- tendants, too, were more skilful in their duty than even those of the best baths at Shiraz and Ispahan ; and in their method of mould- ing the limbs and muscles, approached nearly to the Turks. This was a very striking dif- ference, for which I could learn no satisfac-

VOL. II. F

il

66

IROM SHIRAZ

tory reason, but it was one of great gratifica- tion to myself.

From the bath we went to a house which was said to be one appropriated to the use of such English travellers as might pass that way, and, as I understood, was set apart for that purpose by the same Nour Mohammed, who called himself the slave of our nation, and swore a hundred vows of devotion and fidelity to all our race. As he had not before seen one exactly of my description dressed as an Arab, and with a humble Dervish for his companion, he thought it best, however, to name me to all others as Hadjee Abdallah, the only appellation he had yet heard, and to follow it up by the assertion of my being an Egyptian Arab recommended to him by a friend. We found here an excellent break- fast in the manner of the country, and several of Nour Mohammed's acquaintances partook of it with us. This, and the length- ened enquiries and replies which naturally fol- lowed, detained us until past noon, before the company separated. An offer was then made to us of the use of this house during the time we halted here for the arrival of our horses from Shiraz, or, if we preferred a situ-

TO KAUZEROON. 67

ation more airy and detached from the town, the house and garden of the Governor, which he only occupied, or visited occasionally, dur- ing the heats of summer. We accepted this last with great readiness, and were repairing thither when we met the messenger dispatched from Shiraz to Bushire, just six days since. I asked him, with anxiety, for the answer to my letter, as the time for his return here had fully expired ; but was mortified to learn that he had not yet gone beyond this on his way. It appeared that the Armenians, after engag- ing this man at my expense, had detained him three days at Shiraz, to collect the letters of others at a stipulated price, of which the mes- senger himself showed me a large packet : he gave us to understand, at the same time, that he was not engaged by them to convey my letter only, but considered himself as their ser- vant, and thought the answer to be brought here to Kauzeroon was on their account also. This deceitful conduct of the Armenians was so like what I had seen of Eastern Christians generally, that my wonder was less than my disappointment. There was however only one remedy, namely, to omit paying them the sum stipulated, or insist on its being refund-

F 2

68 FROM SHIRAZ

ed if paid. It was now too late, however, to expect an answer from Bushire before we should be ready to set out from hence ; and I accordingly took from the first messenger the original letter, and sent a second to Shi- raz, expressing my hope of being there in a few days at farthest.

We proceeded to the garden, which is seated about a quarter of a mile to the west of the town, and found there a most agreeable retreat. The accommodation consisted of a small upper room facing the garden, and an open balcony looking towards the town, with galleries, and a terrace above. The garden itself was spacious and agreeable, and con- tained combinations not usually seen on the same soil; for we had long alleys of large orange trees, whose spreading branches com- pletely over-canopied the walks ; and the date and the cypress, both in full perfection, flou- xishing close by each other.

The state of the air, too, was at this season as agreeable as it was possible to desire. There was a softness in it equal to that of an Italian autumn or the summer evenings of Greece, and a freshness not inferior to that of our own early spring. The storm that had burst

TO KAUZEROON. 69

on us but the preceding evening, had purified the atmosphere; and every tree, and bush, and blade of verdure, breathed forth a per- fume, which at once delighted the senses and invigorated and expanded the mind. The heats of summer would seem, however, to be most oppressive here, judging from the in- scriptions of some Indian invalids, who had come by this road into Persia for the recovery of their health ; for, on the walls of the upper chamber, the state of the thermometer was marked in different months ; one of which made it 101° at 5 p.m. in July 1815, and ano- ther at 104° and 106° in August 1816.

The house and garden in which we were thus happily lodged, belonged to the reigning Governor of the town, called Kazim Khan ; and, like his permanent residence, it was of course transferable to his successors, as long as it might exist. A few servants were left in charge of it, merely to^ keep it in order ; and these were permitted to admit strangers, either as visitors or sojourners, for a few days, since the presents they received from such, formed their only pay.

This garden was first made by a certain Imam Kooli Khan, who was Governor of Kau-

70 FROM SHIRAZ

zeroon about fifteen years since; and from the then more flourishing state of the place, he lived in greater state and splendour than his successors have been able to do. His post was filled, after his death, by his son Moham- med Kooli Khan, who, said our informer, was then young and in the very blossom of life, when the passions are opening, and warmly susceptible of the seductive influence of plea- sure. As this young man had come suddenly into the possession of both wealth and power, he gave loose to his desires, and was sur- rounded by horses, servants, and slaves in public, and by numbers of the most beautiful women in the privacy of his harem.

A Dervish, whose name is not remembered here, happening to come this way from Bok- hara and Sam^arcand, paid his morning visit to the Khan, as these men are privileged to do, without ceremony. In the conversation which arose between them, the Dervish, who it is said was a native of Upper India, from the district between Delhi and Caubul, ex- plained to him, in the language of our nar- rator, some of the beauties of philosophy and the consolations of self-denial, and very powerfully contrasted them with the useless

I

TO KAUZEROON. 71

and unmeaning splendour of state, which ne- ver failed to bring with it a train of vexations and disappointments. The effect of his dis- course was said to be so instantaneously • convincing, that the young chief arose from his seat of state, resigned his government to another, and made a solemn vow of poverty and piety before God and the whole assem- bly, and became from thence the humble dis- ciple of this hitherto unknown philosopher. After following him to Bagdad on foot, they remained together some time in that city, when the master died. The disciple still continued, however, to divide his time be- tween the tombs of Imam Ali and Imam Hossein, at both of which places my Der- vish, Ismael, remembered to have seen and conversed with him, though he did not then know his history.

He at length returned into Persia, and was now at Shiraz, where he still led a life of seclusion and contemplation, and had never once been known to express a regret for the abandonment of his former honours, or a wish to return again to the pleasures of the world.

This history, which was related to us by

7^ fROM SHIRAN

a Persian of Kauzeroon, gave rise to a long and warm conversation between myself and my Dervish, on the merit of the young Imam ; and I must do my companion the justice to say, that though he set out with the warm- est admiration of this man's abandonment of wealth and power for poverty and insignifi- cance, yet he at length confessed his con- version to my opinion, that, as a rich man, he might have done better by retaining his place, and, under his new convictions, exer- cising his power in doing good.

The discourse which followed this, on the various doctrines and practices of the many sects of Soofees which exist in Persia and the countries east of it, detained us until we were summoned to the prayer of sunset by one of the clearest and most melodious voices that I had for a long time heard, issuing from the terrace of one of the mosques in Kauzeroon The evening air was calm, every other sound was still, and Nature herself seemed sunk into an early repose, which heightened the effect of the holy summons. It reminded me very powerfully of a similar combination on the banks of the Nile, when, in an evening of equal serenity, I was so much charmed

«

TO KAUZEROON. 7^

with the beautiful and impressive sounds of a Muezzin's voice echoing from the ma- jestic ruins of the deserted Thebes, and call- ing men to the worship of the true God from amid the wreck of the fallen temples of ido- latry.

Nov. 4th. — We passed a morning of great pleasure in the garden, and partook of a breakfast, brought us from the town, in a comfortable apartment of an unfurnished building at the bottom of it.

During the remainder of the day, we pro- fited by our detention here, to see somewhat more of the town than we could have done by a mere passage through it. This task, however, occupied more of our time than was agreeable to me ; and at last we returned from our ramble, without being much grati- fied with the pictures of ruin, desolation, poverty, and seeming discontent that met us at every step.

The town of Kauzeroon is thought by its present inhabitants to have been once so large as to have extended for several fur- sucks in length ; but of this they offer no satisfactory proofs. It may however have been once nearly double its present size,

74 FROM SHIRAZ

as vestiges of ruined buildings are seen on each side, beyond its present limits.

Its situation is in a valley of considerable length from north to south, but not more than five miles in general breadth from east to west. The town lies almost at the foot of the eastern boundary, which is a range of lime-stone mountains, broken into cliffs above, and smaller heaps below ; and thus differ- ing from its opposite one, the western range, which is more lofty, of an exceedingly steep slope, and mostly unbroken. The greatest length of the town, from north to south, is about a mile, and its breadth from east to west, somewhat less. Even this space, how- ever, contains more ruined and deserted dwellings than inhabited ones ; and these last are generally much inferior to what the destroyed ones once were. There are some vestiges of a wall with round towers in some places, but it is not easy to deter- mine whether they are portions of an enclo- sure to the whole, or parts only of some fort within the town.

The residence of the governor, Kazim Khan, is the best and only conspicuous edi-

TO KAUZEROON. 75

fice among the whole ; and this has little remarkable except the two square towers, called baudgheers, like those at Shiraz, which serve as wind-sails to convey air to the lower part of the house.

There are, besides, five mosques, five cara- vanseras, seven tombs of different holy men, mostly with small domes over them, and two small baths. The houses are built of unhewn stone, rudely placed in mortar, and the exterior plastered over with lime, which is abundant here. Some of the older build- ings were, however, of unburnt bricks ; and there are among the ruins a number of sheds, simply matted over, and used as halts for passengers to smoke their nargeels, and re- fresh themselves on the way.

The cultivated land about the town ap- pears insufficient to support even the few inhabitants here : horses, camels, sheep, and goats, find, however, a scanty pasture on the plain ; and a few date-trees are the only productions of food for man. Water is said to be, in general, scarce here, though there are three or four separate springs which supply the town. That of which we drank

76^ FROM SHIRAZ

was pure and wholesome, and more agreeable to the taste than the water of Shiraz.

The population of Kauzeroon is estimated at about six hundred Moslem families, all Sheeahs, and forty Jewish ones, who are still more poor and wretched than the rest. It is difficult indeed to describe how this race is despised, oppressed, and insulted, through- out all Persia ; their touch being thought so unclean, as to render complete purifica- tion necessary on the part of the defiled. The few Jews here live as pedlars, and go in little parties on foot, carrying their loads of Indian spices on their backs, between Bu- shire and Shiraz. The principal occupation of the more wealthy Moslems is the pur- chase and sale of horses for the Indian mar- ket, and raising a cross-breed between the Turcoman and Arab race, which are called, from the name of the place, Kauzerooni, and are celebrated for their excellence as jour- neying, or road horses, but are inferior to the Arab in beauty, and to the Turcoman in strength. The lower orders of the people live by their humble labours ; but among them there is no manufacture, except a par-

TO KAUZEROON. 77

ticular kind of shoes made of plaited cotton, almost in the same way as ladies' straw-bon- nets are made in Europe, and admirably adapted for strength and comfort to the wearer. These are made also in other parts of Persia, but are nowhere so good as here.

CHAPTER III.

VISIT TO THE RUINS OF SHAPOOR, AND JOURNEY FROM THENCE TO BUSHIRE.

Nov. 6th. — We quitted Kauzeroon about an hour before daylight, and going nearly north-west across a plain, with thorny bushes on it, came soon after sun-rise to the village of Dereez ; which, like the town we had quitted, presented more ruined dwellings than inhabited ones.

After a short stay here to procure a guide, we set out for Shapoor, going in a northern direction into a lower plain, covered with fertile soil, and abundantly watered, but being now mostly spread over with thorny trees and wild verdure. We saw here some groups of shepherd families living in the bushes, for their dwellings scarcely deserved

CHAPTER III.

TOWN OF KAUZEROON AT THE FOOT OF A RANGE OF HILLS.

Piih14sho/l I.. Ho.,.'v r,.ii...>.. 0 xr>.. n...i

HUINS OF SHArOOU. 79

the names of tents, and they were altogether among the poorest and most destitute of all the pastoral tribes that I had ever seen.

In about an hour we came close under the foot of the eastern hills which bound the plain, and passed on our left two branches of the river Sasoon, which were called respec- tively Reza-abad, and Khoda-abad, lying close to each other, and afterwards winding in dif- ferent directions through the plain. Above us, on the eastern hill, were the ruins of a castle, called Khallah Dokhter, very poorly built, of unhewn stone and mortar, and from its form apparently a recent Mohammedan work ; but such portions of arches as re- mained in the lower part, though built, like the rest of the edifice, of these rude stones, were rather of the semicircular than pointed kind, though not strictly either. Below this castle was an extensive space, stretching westward from the foot of the hills, spread over with heaps of ruins, among which no one perfect edifice remained. These were all built of unhewn stones, and were humble private dwellings, to which no fixed date could be assigned.

After going over these heaps, we came to a

80

VISIT TO THE

bend of the river Sasoon, which flowed full and rapidly from the eastward in a deep bed, so thickly bordered with wild shrubs, trees, and tall rushes, of twenty feet high, that though we heard the loud noise of the cur- rent, we could not through these obstacles distinguish its stream:

A few paces afterwards, we made a short turn round to the eastward, and came into a pass of about a furlong wide, called Teng- e-Chikoon. The highest part of the perpen- dicular cliffs on each side was nearly three hundred feet, and the southern one was di- rectly at the back of the castle we had seen, which was no doubt constructed expressly to guard this pass. This led into a small round valley to the eastward of it, through which the river Sasoon flowed down, between banks covered with rushes.

On going through this pass, on the south- ern side of the stream, we came first to a large tablet in the cliff, the sculpture of which was inuch injured by the decomposition of the rock. As far as we could trace it, it re- presented two chiefs on horseback, meeting each other, the right-hand one having his horse's feet placed on a dead body extended

EUINS OF SHAPOOR. 81

horizontally beneath, and before him a figure on foot, apparently in an attitude of suppli- cation. These figures were about the size of life, in tolerably full relief, and appeared to have been finely executed, but were consider- ably injured.

A few paces beyona this, still on the same side of the stream, and in the southern clifF, but much higher up from the common level of the pass, we came to a larger tablet, filled with a greater number of figures, and divided into separate compartments.

In the central compartment a chief was seen on horseback, having bushy hair and flying ribands from behind, and an egg -like globe, standing with its smaller end on a Norman crown, as seen on the Sassanian medals. His own dress was flowing in multiplied folds ; but the caparison of his horse was simple, the bridle of the kind used in the present day, and a breast-piece formed of plates of metal. By his right side was a quiver for arrows, though no other weapon was visible. Beneath the feet of his horse, a figure was seen ex- tended horizontally, as if dead : another was in the act of supplication by kneeling, and ex- tending his clasped hands before him ; and a

VOL. II. G

82 VISIT TO THE

third he held in his right hand, as if to pre- sent him to the supplicator. These were all three in the dresses of Roman soldiers, — a short tunic or shirt, extending only to the knees, a mantle clasped over the right shoul- der, and a straight sword hanging in a belt on the left side. Neither beards nor mus- tachios were worn by either, and only a small portion of short curly hair was seen beneath a smooth cap, that fitted close to the skull, and was filleted round by a thick ring, as the Bedouin Arabs fasten their kefFeahs in the Desert. This was a deviation from Roman costume, as well as the plain rings or anklets which were seen on their feet. Behind the supplicating figure, were two soldiers stand- ing ; the first presenting the supplicator, and the second extending his clasped hands to im- plore for him also. The dresses of these were somewhat different; for, though they had each the short tunic, the straight sword, and a man- tle clasped before, instead of on, the shoulder, they had high helmets bending forward at the top, of the oldest Grecian form ; the style of countenance was also different from the three others described, and they had musta- chios, but no beards. Above the head of the

RUINS OF SHAPOOTJ. 83

chief's horse, and hovering at the same time over the supplicator, was seen a winged ge- nius, presenting something, with two broad flying ribands extending from each end ; and, between the head of the horse and the sup- plicator, was an inscription, written sideways, in Sassanian characters.

In the upper left compartment are six men on horseback, having close, straight, and high caps, not unlike that of the Delhi horsemen of Turkey, but somewhat lower, and round- ed instead of flat at the top. These have short straight hair, short close beards, neatly trimmed, smooth at their edge on the cheek, in the manner of the Turks, and all hold up their right arms, and extend their fore-finger upwards.

In the compartment below this, are six other horsemen, in exactly the same dress and the same attitude ; but these have the bushy hair of their chief, and were, perhaps, more distinguished guards, as there is only this difference between them and the others.

In the first upper compartment on the right are three men on foot, each holding a standard. Their dresses are simply a short shirt, girded round the waist, and they have

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84 VISIT TO THE

no arms whatever. The first has bushy hair, a long sharp beard, and a high pointed bon- net ; the second has short curly hair, with a very small bush behind, and no beard, nor any covering on his head ; the third, who holds his standard with both hands, and is standing at ease, has long curly hair, and a high bon- net, which falls behind at the point, like the cap of liberty. These two have anklets also.

In the next compartment to this, are three men on foot, with short dresses, and long straight sw ords : these have mustachios only ; their heads are high and narrow at the top, and their hair is cut, trimmed, and plaited in the form of a Welsh wig. What they hold in their right hands is not distinctly seen ; and two of them seem to have scrolls of paper in their left. These wear loose trow- sers beneath their shirts, and no neckcloths. They follow each other closely, standing in a firm attitude, and the style of their heads and countenances is quite peculiar. The next compartment appears never to have been sculptured at all.

The first lower compartment on the right contains three men on foot, with short shirts, trowsers, and sandals, without beards or mus-

IIUINS OF SHAPOOR. 85

tachios, and helmets fitting close to the brow and skull, and falling broad over the neck and shoulders. The first of these holds some- thing in his right hand, in the act of present- ing it, but it is not distinct : the other two have short spears in theirs, and each has a long straight sword, with a most dispropor- tionately long handle.

The next compartment, following still to the right, contains three men on foot, with short shirts, girded around the waist by cords, neatly knotted before, in a peculiar way, and loose flowing trowsers. These have musta- chios only, short hair, with a small bush of curls behind, and are without any covering for the head. The first holds in his right hand a ring, with his arm extended in a right angle with his body ; the second rests his left hand on his waist ; and the third seems to hold a scroll in his extended right hand.

The last compartment contains a repetition of the last three figures, whose short shirts are girded with cords in the same way as the former, but are curved upward at the bot- tom, while the others are straight, and hem- med or bordered. Their trowsers. are the same ; and, like the former figures, these are

86

VISIT TO THE

unarmed. The first holds up, between both his hands, something in the shape of a brick or hewn stone ; the second bears what is more like a hand-saw, of the shape still used in Persia, than any thing with which I could compare it ; and the last has a circular ves- sel, like a very large globular bottle, with a straight neck. These two last compartijients may possibly be meant to represent unarmed artificers, and relate to the founding and building of the city, as there are here stones or bricks, water, and tools.

The figures in these sculptures are all as large as life, and in little less than half-relief. The horses are very fine ; all the figures are well drawn, in good proportions, and the dif- ference of feature, style of countenance and costume, is very striking.

From hence we went across the stream, which was narrow, rapid, and deep enough to take us up beyond the middle, with no path for our horses ; the water was sweet, and beautifully transparent. After long exertion we made a path through the thick rushes, and came up to a large tablet, in which were sculptured two colossal figures on horseback, facing each other: the one on the left had

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. 87

simply a high bush of curled hair, coming up through the centre of a plain crown, and held in his right hand a ring, which he seemed to offer to the other. The one on the right, which appeared in other respects to be the principal figure, was distinguished by the ele- vated globe rising from the centre of a radi- ated diadem, and in his right hand he held a flying riband, with something in the middle like the emblem of the winged genius, on the other side ; and this he appeared also to pre- sent to the other horseman. The dresses and general style of the whole were like that of the chief on the other side ; but the figures here are nearly double the size of life, and in proportionately full relief. Behind the principal hero is an inscription rudely cut.

Beneath this rock ran a channel for water, probably of more recent date ; as the stream has there worn away the bottom of the sculp- ture. Some Mohammedan visitor had taken the pains to inscribe his name on the hard rock between the heads of the horses, in a way that must have cost him nearly a day to perform ; but there was no date to it. The tradition of the people here is that both the town and castle were destroyed in the first

88 VISIT TO THE

ages of Mohammedism, when the zeal against infidels was at its highest.

A few yards east of this, and higher up in the cliff, is a large tablet, divided into five compartments. In the central one above, and fronting the spectator, sits the principal personage, whose most remarkable distinction is the enormous bushes of hair on each side of his head, and on the top. The style of it is exactly in the fashion used to this day by the Samauli negroes, on the coast of Adel, near the entrance of the Red Sea. With his right hand he leans on a thick staff or spear, and his left is placed on the hilt of a straight sword, on which he also rests, holding it per- pendicularly before him. The seat of this chief is not visible ; but he uses the Euro- pean posture, like the old sitting figures at Thebes and Persepolis.

In the left upper compartment are ten or twelve figures in different costumes, mostly like those on the other side, and, as far as I could distinguish, some of them seemed to be presenting other persons to the chief.

In the upper right compartment were about the same number of figures, in the ^ame variety of dresses ; but the design was

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. SQ

more distinct, as here guards are evidently bringing in prisoners, some of whom are bound, others have their arms folded in an attitude of defiance, and others again are preparing to resist the force used to push them on, though they are unarmed.

In the left-hand lower compartment are an equal number of persons, mostly in the same dresses, with bushy hair and long swords, on which they are leaning with fold- ed arms. At the head of them, a groom with a close head-dress of a different kind from any of the others, leads a small horse, which has a mattara, or leathern water-bottle, hang- ing by its side, as now used in Persia, and ready for the journey.

In the right-hand lower compartment is, first, an executioner presenting in each hand a dissevered head to the chief above. Be- hind him stands a little boy holding fast by his short garment. Next follow prisoners bound, executioners with large axes of a peculiar shape, others bringing vases, and a little boy riding on an elephant, of excellent shape, but disproportionately small size.

About a hundred yards north-west of this, in the same cliff, and to be got at by going

90 VISIT TO THE

along the channel for water at the foot of the rock, is a large tablet, excavated in a concave form, and divided into seven com- partments.

In the first division, beginning on the upper corner on the left, are about fifteen horsemen, with dresses and helmets as in. the first compartment on the other side, each extending their right arms, and holding out their fore-fingers.

Opposite to this, on the right, comes, first, one who holds a ring, and is followed by chiefs and men of distinction, with short loose shirts and trowsers, short hair, musta- chios, and bare heads. The first of this train holds a sceptre or mace, and has a wide scarf flowing from behind him ; the second holds a cup ; the next, a sword; the two next are indistinct ; the one following has the egg- like emblem of the king, without his crown, held horizontally or lengthwise on his hand ; the last has also a cup; — and all these are on foot. In the second compartment, on the left, the same design is almost exactly re- peated,— the parties, however, are here all on horseback.

Opposite to this, on the right, are figures

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. 91

with the same dresses as those above, except that they have close caps on their heads, while the curly heads of the others are bare. The first of these figures is indistinct ; the three next, by crossing their spears on each other's shoulders, carry on them a bale packed with two broad bands ; the next car- ries on his back a bag full of something; the next holds a basket in his hand ; and the last bears a long package on his head, while a lion walks beside him. This must evi- dently relate to the bringing in of spoils from some conquest.

In the centime of a long compartment below these, spreading the whole breadth of the tablet, is the chief, in the same dress as be- fore, his horse treading on an extended body, a suppliant kneeling before him, and he holding another with the same dress, in his right-hand. It is, in short, a perfect minia- ture of the large design described on the other side, except that here, instead of the attitudes of the two soldiers standing before, one of them, in a Sassanian dress, is present-^ ing the chief with a ring in the usual way. Above is the winged genius, but I could per- ceive no inscription. Behind them are men

92 VISIT TO THE

leading a mule, to judge by the form of its tail ; one bearing a large burthen on his head, and followed by another riding on an ele- phant ; while above them, in the same com- partment, are six bareheaded figures, shroud- ed in loose drapery, like veils or mantles hung before them. Behind the sovereign, in the left of the same compartment, are fifteen or sixteen horsemen, the first five of which only have the bushy hair of the chief; and as these were probably officers, it confirms the idea of this being a mark of distinction.

In the left-hand compartment below, the same design of horsemen is repeated, — the dresses being also the same, and the hair of all the figures short and uncurled.

In the right-hand lower compartment, the first figure seems, by his bare head and long robes, to be a priest : with one hand he leans on a staff, with the other he holds the egg-like emblem horizontally, as if to present it to his sovereign. Next follows one in the same dress and the same attitude, bearing a large vase. After this, one in a Roman dress, with the short shirt, and mantle clasped on the right shoulder, bears a standard in his right- hand, and with his left holds the reins of

I

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. 93

two horses, or, judging by their long ears, perhaps very handsome mules, who draw a chariot of three stages, with small but broad round wheels. Over the heads of the mules, another figure, also bareheaded, and in the same Roman dress, holds the egg horizon- tally in both hands, extended aloft to their full stretch. The two succeeding figures are much broken, but seem to be men bearing small heavy sacks, as if of treasure, on their backs.

The figures in the compartments to the right of, or fronting the sovereign, who looks that way, are all on foot, except the driver of the elephant ; and on the other side, or be- hind him, they are all on horseback.^

A Mohammedan visitor had here also sculptured some Arabic inscriptions. The figures of this tablet are small, but in full relief, and of more finished execution than any of the other side.

About a quarter of a mile west-south-west of this, and among heaps of ruined dwellings,

* Sapor, or Shahpoor, the Sassanian monarch from whom this city was named, was conducted to Antioch by a Pageant Emperor of his election, who wore the purple of the Ceesars. — History of Persia, vol. i. p. 98.

94 VISIT TO THE

are the remains of a small square edifice, which was probably a temple of worship, as it consisted of only one apartment. It is not more than fifty feet square, and faced north- north-west and south-south-east. It is deep in the inside beyond the common level, and is filled with green bushes. The north-north- west wall is standing, and would seem to be the front ; but there is a great peculiarity in it, as there is no door of entrance in this, nor the mark of one in any other of the sides. It has an arched window cut in a single stone, and this not placed in the centre of the building. On the top are the muti- lated bodies of four sphynxes, which face inward to the edifice ; so that it would seem from this, not to have been roofed originally. The stones are large, well hewn, extremely regular in shape, which is an oblong square, and joined with much greater skill than those in the platform of Persepolis, though, from being a soft lime-stone, the edges are more worn and rounded. The walls are about fifteen feet thick : the space between the inner and outer facing being filled up with unhewn stones, imbedded in lime ; and this, as a piece of masonry, is quite equal to Ro-

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. 95

man works in general. This place is called Ser-a-goh, or the cow's head, from the sup- posed resemblance of the sphynxes to cows.

About a quarter of a mile to the south- west of this, going through heaps of ruined dwellings, all of a common kind, we found a large square enclosure, called the Mesjid, or Mosque. The interior of the open space presented two portions of wall belonging to some small edifice of ancient date, the plan of which could not be traced. It had since been built on by more modern and inferior works. Close to this were the fragments of two pil- lars ; the shafts of which were plain, formed of many small divisions, and about three feet in diameter, but no capitals were near. The exterior wall of this enclosure was of very inferior masonry ; and from loop-holes in the top, and the appearance of a parapet there, it seemed to have been once used as a fort. Its dimensions were about a hundred feet square. There was near this the domed sepulchre of an Imam Zade, whose name we did not learn ; and among the tombs of those around it were some of five, and others of three hundred years old, the inscriptions of which were in Arabic. The dead were called by our com-

96 ' VISIT TO THE

panions 'Shapoori,' or natives of Shapoor. This, however, throws no light on the latest date to which the city itself existed, as the people inhabiting the plain are still called Shapoori, and are still interred near the tomb of this revered saint.*

We went from hence to gain the main road by striking across the cultivated land in a south-easterly direction, and our way was full of difficulties from the canals and bushes which impeded it. We were in some degree rewarded by being thrown on two small fire altars, which lay detached from every other portion of ruin, and bore exactly south-east, distant about a quarter of a mile from the supposed fort that we had left.

These were of the same semi-pyramidal shape as the ones hewn in the rock near Per-

* In the reign of Baharam, the son of Hoormuz, and grand- son of Shahpoor, the city of this name appears to have been the capital of the empire. It was then that the celebrated Mani, the founder of the sect of the Manicheans, flourished ; and in a book called Ertang, he endeavoured to reconcile the doctrines of the Metempsychosis, as taught by the Hindoos, and the two principles of Good and Evil of Zoroaster, with the tenets of the Christian religion. He returned to a cavern, after the fashion of impostors, and brought out from thence paintings and writ- ings, which he pretended to have received from Heaven, and called himself the Paraclete, or Comforter, promised by Jesus to

RUINS OF SHAPOOR. 97

sepolis, and about the same size, of three feet in height, and eighteen inches square. They were however fed with fire by a square pas- sage, which went right through them, about midway up the height, and had a large square opening going from the centre of this to the top, for the ascent of the flame and smoke. They were both perfect, extremely portable ; and as both together would form only a load for a strong mule, they might be brought away from the spot, and taken to Bushire with ease.'^

Our remaining way to Derees was over the same fertile and well-watered soil, now choked with thorns and wild grass, on which cattle were feeding ; and it was past sun-set when we reached the place, where we had

follow him ; but he and all his disciples were at length put to death by Baharam, and the skin of the impostor was stripped off, and hung up at the gate of the city of Shapoor. — History of Persia, vol. i. p. 101.

* Near Baka, in Mazanduan, are some ancient places of fire worship of a singular kind. They are arched vaults built of stone, over a part of the soil from whence flame issues, as at Karkook ; and a cane or pipe being fixed into the ground near the altar, a light burns up through it like the blue flame of spirits, but more pure ; and to one of these temples even Hindoo pilgrims are said to resort from the distant banks of the Ganges* — History of Persia, vol. i. p. 261 . VOL. II. H

98 DEPARTURE FOR BUSHIRE.

the satisfaction of finding the messenger re- turned with our horses and baggage from Shi- raz, and a comfortable shelter and meal pro- vided for us.

Nov. 7th. — We left Derees two hours be- fore daylight, on our way to Bushire. In an hour from hence we reached the Rah Dan? where an alarm was given at our approach. Soon after, we came to a long and narrow ascending pass, called Terz-e-Turkoon, and, crossing this, came out into a fine plain. In an hour afterwards we reached its boundary, having on the right a long village called Kanaredj, and by the road-side a small cara- vansera. This led us to the brow of a lofty hill, which we descended by the Kotel Kana- redj. A Rah Dan was placed here also in a narrow passage, through mountains of lime- stone, slate, and veins of quartz. Some of the cliffs were very rugged, with almost per- pendicular strata; and the roads were ex- tremely bad. This Kotel, or Pass, took us an hour to clear. In half an hour from its foot we reached a small village of huts, called Khish, with some ruined houses : and in half an hour afterwards we alighted at the cara- vansera of Koneh Takhta, where we refresh-

JOURNEY TO BUSHIRE. 99

ed. This village contains only a few houses and huts, seated in the centre of a fine and extensive plain, to the north of which were large groves of trees and gardens.

From hence in two hours we came to an- other Rah Dan, which stood on the brow of the last range of hills we had to descend, by the steep pass called Kotel Dahlikee. When we reached the valley below this de- scent, we found a fine clear stream of water, running rapidly through a deep bed to the westward, but nearly as salt as the sea, so that our horses, thirsty as they were, would not touch it. This Kotel was extremely long, consisting of two or three stages, and was most fatiguing to our animals and ourselves. We came at length to a point, from which we could see nothing before us but one con- tinued plain, and the blue line of the sea in the western horizon, — an object I had not witnessed for many months, and one which gave me as much delight to behold again, as was experienced by the Greeks under Xe- nophon, when they first saw the Euxine in their retreat from Asia to Greece. It was sun-set before we reached the bottom of this pass, when we turned around to the south to

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100 JOURNEY TO BUSHIRE.

enter the large village of Dahlikee, where we found shelter in a new and good caravansera. ^ Nov. 8th. — We remained here only just to feed and repose our horses, and set out again before midnight. We went southerly along the foot of the hills, as on our right was swampy ground ; and in our way we passed some foetid pools, and were plagued with flies and musquitoes : the night was calm and warm.

The road gradually turning off to the south-west, we came in about five hours to the large scattered village of Barazgoon, seated among palm-trees, and four fursucks from Dahlikee. From hence we were two hours going across the plain to a smaller village, called Seeroond ; and in two hours more we reached the station of Ahmedee, which is accounted by the people to be ten fursucks from D^-hlikee, but which we thought to be only eight.

The water here was exceedingly good ; but the people were poor, and nothing was to be had except some small dried fish like smelts, with a few dates, and bad bread. The in- habitants all now began to look more like Arabs than Persians. Having reposed here

ARRIVAL AT BUSHIRE. 101

under a tree, we fed our horses, and soon after sun-set mounted again. We followed the great road across the plain, in a south- south-west direction, and after about two fur- sucks, passed a cluster of date-trees on our left, where a caravan was halting. This place had no houses, but was called Chartak.

In four hours from thence we reached the walls of Bushire ; but as it was night, we could gain no admission within the gates, so that we had to wait outside until sun-rise. The sound and the smell of the sea were most gratifying to me : but we slept but little, from the going out of the women and asses in the morning, long before daylight, to fetch water for the day from the wells in the plain.

Nov. 9th. — We entered the gate of Bushire at sun-rise, rode to the British factory, and, leaving our horses, went straight to the bath ; after which, we walked through the dirty and sandy town, to the Resident's house. There we found a cordial reception from a large party of my countrymen, who were staying with the Resident, and were furnished with a room, in which I passed a day of complete repose.

CHAPTER IV.

STAY AT BUSHIRE ITS TOWN, PORT, COM-

My stay at Bushire was in many respects agreeable, as, among the English gentlemen there, were some few whose society was such as would lessen the tedium of any place of exile, which this might really be consi- dered. My Dervish, Ismael, insisted on re- maining with me till I embarked for India, and repeated his assurance that if the re- mainder of my way to that country were not by sea, an element of which he had an inde- scribable horror, he would accompany me to the last stage of my journey : and when we parted, which we did with mutual regret, he spurned the idea of receiving a single piastre for his journey. He had accompanied me,

CHAPTER IV.

TOWN OF BUSHIRE, FROM THE APPROACH BY LAND.

Published by Henrj Colburn, 3 New Burlington Street. Jan. 1, 18^9.

BUSHIRE. 103

he said, from pure esteem and affection, though the journey was so long and perilous ; and he should return as he came, without asking of me any thing beyond some token or memento: though even that he should never require to remind him of the frank and open-hearted Hadjee of Egypt. I in- dulged him in his wishes ; parted from him on the day of our sailing, with no other gift or exchange than mutual pledges of friend- ship and esteem ; and subsequently heard, by an Arabic letter from himself, received by me while in India, of his safe return and happy meeting with his friends at Bagdad, about the period of my reaching Calcutta.

The information I collected, from per- sonal observations made during my stay at Bushire, will oe found embodied in the fol- lowing description : — .

The town of Bushire, or, as the inhabi- tants call it, Abu Shahr,* is seated in a low peninsula of sand, extending out from the general line of the coast, so as to form a bay on each side. Its geographical position has been pretty accurately determined to be in lat. 29"" 0' north, and in long. 50« 48' east,

* From the Arabic t^ul literally, the Father of Cities.

104 BUSHIRE.

as the result of many repeated observations. The appearance of the town, on approaching it either from the land or the sea, is rather agreeable than otherwise, and promises more than it is afterwards found to contain. From the edge of the coast, on which it stands, a level plain extends behind it for a distance of more than forty miles in a straight line, where it terminates at the foot of the first range of hills between Bushire and Shiraz, and where the mountainous part of Persia may be said to commence. These hills, being abrupt and lofty, form a fine back- ground to the view in clear weather, and their distance giving them the blue haze which often leaves only their outlines dis- tinct, they afford a picturesque relief to the monotony of the scenery near the coast. The town itself is seated so nearly on a level with the water's edge, that the tops of the houses are first perceived as if rising out of the sea. The general aspect presents a num- ber of tall square towers, called baudgeers, or wind-catchers, and constructed with passages for air, during the excessive heat of summer, to ventilate the houses over which they are erected. The dwellings are all flat-roofed

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN. 105

and terraced, and mostly built of a light- coloured and friable madrapore, or coralline ; and as there are no domes or minarets seen among them, and a total absence of trees, gardens, or verdure, the whole picture is of a dull, grey, sandy hue, particularly unin- viting, and even fatiguing to the view under a sultry sky: indeed, except when the wea- ther is sufficiently clear to unveil the moun- tains of the background, it possesses no re- lief; but the only contrast it offers is a change from the blue surface of a level sea to the yellow plains of a parched and sandy desert as level as itself.

On landing, the scene is not at all im- proved : the town is now found to stand partly on a slight eminence, which is greatest in its centre, and is not more than one hun- dred feet at its highest elevation from the sea. From thence it shelves gently down to the beach on either side, where the houses are literally built upon the sands. The whole number of dwellings does not amount to more than fifteen hundred, of which one-third, at least, are reed enclosures, scarcely deserving even the name of huts, as most of them are unroofed, and are inhabited by none but

106 ' BUSHIRE.

slaves and the very lowest order of the people. The houses are built chiefly of a friable stone composed of sand and shells imbedded in clay ; and the best of them are construct- ed of burnt bricks brought from Bussorah. The style of architecture is that which pre- vails in Arabia generally, with slight addi- tions of the Persian kind. The buildings are large, square, flat-roofed, laid out in cen- tral courts and small apartments, badly light- ed, and often as badly aired. Excepting the East India Company's factory, the residence of the Governor, and a few good dwellings of the merchants, particularly the Armenians, there is scarcely one comfortable, and cer- tainly not one handsome edifice in the place. The streets are so many narrow alleys, with- out sufficient height of wall on either side to shelter the passenger from the sun, the only advantage that narrow streets possess ; and they are totally without order or regularity in their windings and direction. The mosques are all open buildings, without domes or mi- narets, and are inferior both in general ap- pearance without, and in their neatness with- in, to those seen in the smallest villages of Arabia. Coifee-houses there are none that

ITS FORTIFICATION. 107

I remember to have seen, as this beverage is not much in use among the inhabitants. The only bath that exists here, is small, mean, filthy, and badly attended ; and the bazaars are simply benches covered by a roof of matted rafters, of the most wretched appearance. There are one or two good caravanseras near the landing-place for boats, occupied by and belonging to Armenian merchants ; but those belonging to the Mohammedans hardly de- serve the name.

The town is open to the north-east, which fronts the inner harbour ; to the south-west^ which fronts the outer roads ; and is enclosed only across the peninsula by a poor wall ex- tending from sea to sea, and in which is the gate of exit and entrance to and from Persia. There is nothing in all this that can deserve the name of a fortification : and the only defence which it presents towards an enemy is a few dismounted guns, without this gate, on the land side ; a battery of six or eight nearly abreast of the factory, in the south- west quarter of the town ; and half a dozen others, placed before the Custom-house, in the north-east quarter, and facing the inner harbour, — all of them of different calibre, and

108 BUSHIRE. :

mounted on carriages of such a crazy kind, as would certainly fall to pieces on a second or third discharge. On the south-west side, which faces the outer roads, it is all a level sandy beach, which, from its being shoal water near it, is beat on by an almost constant surf, though not of such violence as to prevent the landing of boats in moderate weather. The north-east, which faces the inner harbour, has a wharf or two for landing goods on, and is altogether better sheltered ; though, from the number of the sand banks, and the diver- sity of channels between this place and the shipping, it is not easily accessible even in boats, except to those in some degree ac- quainted with the shoals ; but it is always pre- ferred as the safest and best landing-place.

The population of Bushire has been vari- ously estimated, and has no doubt been at a very different standard at different periods. At present, the most favourable accounts do not make it more than ten thousand, and the true number is perhaps still less. The Ahl- el-Bushire, or the race of Bushire, as they are emphatically called, present a disagreeable mixture of the Arab and the Persian; in which, whatever is amiable in either character seems

ITS POPULATION. 109

totally rejected, and whatever is vicious in both is retained and even cherished. These form the great body of the people ; and their dress, their language, their manners, and their general appearance, — all bespeak their mon- grel breed. The chief occupations of these are trade and commerce on a confined scale, fishing, pilotage, and the navigation of their own vessels of the port. In person, they are neither so meagre nor so swarthy as the real Arabs of the opposite coast; but they are equally ill-featured and dirty, and destitute of the high spirit, the feeling of honour, and the warm hospitality which distinguish these : they retain, however, all their meanness in bargains, and their disposition for robbery and plunder of property not attainable by better means. Their dress is equally a combination of the Arab and Persian garments, without being purely the costume of either. The shirt, trowsers, and zuboon, or outer garment, are Persian ; but the turban and the abba, or cloak, are Arabic, — the one is formed of the blue checked cloth of Muscat, or the brown cloth of Shooster ; and the other of the manu- facture of Lahsa, Kateef, and Coete, on the opposite shore. The black sheepskin cap, the

110 BUSHIRE.

most peculiar feature of the Persian dress, is worn only by such as come down from the higher country and remain as sojourners here, and is in no instance used by a native of Bushire. The common language is Persian, but of so harsh and corrupt a kind, that the natives of Shiraz, who pride themselves on the purity of their tongue, affect to treat it as almost unintelligible ; and short as is the dis- tance, and constant as is the communication between these places, I scarcely ever remarked a greater difference than there is between their different pronunciations of the same words : the one is a model of the most har- monious utterance ; the other is nearly as harsh as the most ill-spoken Arabic. This last language is understood by most of the natives of Bushire ; but they have as little elegance in their way of pronouncing this, as they have in speaking their own tongue ; and one must hear the Arabic of Bushire, to comprehend how harsh and disagreeable its sounds are capable of being made. This double corruption is the more striking, as they live close to, and in constant communi- cation with Shiraz, where Persian is spoken in its greatest purity ; and they both trade

SHEIK MOHAMMED AND HIS NEPHEW. Ill

with and receive frequent visitors from Coete, or Graen, on the opposite coast, where the Arabic is spoken with all the softness and har- mony of which it is susceptible, and in a way superior to that of any other part of Arabia in which I had heard it.

The merchants of Bushire are composed about equally of Persians and Armenians. The latter, however, are men of more exten- sive connexions with India ; and as they pos- sess more activity, intelligence, and integrity of dealing, so they are more wealthy ; and this, with the countenance which they receive from the Company's Resident here, is suffi- cient to give them considerable influence in the place. There are no Jews of any note, as at Bussorah; nor Banians, as at Muscat; — the Armenians supplying the place of both, as brokers and agents for others, as well as traders on their own account ; and as these both write and speak English and Hindos- tanee, they are more generally useful to mari- time men, and mercantile visitors from India.

The Governor of the town. Sheik Abd-el- Russool, is of a family long resident here, and he exercises all the responsible functions of the government, though he has an uncle, Sheik

112 BUSHIRE.

Mohammed, in whose presence he himself stands, and to whom he always yields the greatest honours. Both of these, when they walk out, are attended by a guard of about twenty armed men, as well as servants ; yet these add nothing even to the apparent dig- nity of the persons whom they attend. It is the daily practice of both these chiefs to come down before noon, and after El-Assr, to the sea- side, fronting the harbour, where they sit on the bench of a miserable matted hut, erect- ed for that purpose, and derive great satis- faction from the salutes of passengers, and from observing what may be doing among the shipping. When Sheik Mohammed, who is the eldest, but not the actual Governor, happens to be there, his nephew first stands at a respectful distance, with his hands folded beneath his cloak. He is then desired to seat himself, which he does frequently on the ground, and in the humblest and most ob- scure place that he can find behind his uncle. After some time he is desired to advance forward, and he ventures to change his first seat for a better one ; and this farce conti- nues, until, after repeated invitations, he be- comes seated in front of his superior, while

BUSHIRE. 113

all the rest stand ; but he never shares the same bench with his relative.

The forces of this government vary in num- ber and description at every different period of the year, as they are mostly composed of persons whose services are demanded at the exigency of the moment ; so that there are sometimes not an hundred, and at others more than a thousand in pay at once. These, like the soldiers of all the Turkish, Persian, and Arabian countries, are mostly horsemen, paid by the chiefs whom they serve, without discipline or uniformity of dress, and furnish- ing even their own arms and accoutrements at their own caprice. The Governor is nomi- nally subject to the Prince of Shiraz, and through him to the King of Persia, to whom he pays a yearly tribute ; but this is often withheld on slight pretexts, and nothing but the power to be able to maintain an indepen- dence is wanted, since the disposition mani- fests itself on almost every occasion.

Notwithstanding the meanness of Bushire as a town, it is the best, excepting Bussorah only, that now exists in the whole of the Persian Gulf. It possesses considerable im- portance, when considered as the only port

VOL. II. 1

114 BUSHIRE.

of such an extensive empire as Persia; for it is through this channel alone that all her supplies from India by sea are received. The former splendour of Ormuz and Gombroon, or Bunder Abassi, at the entrance of the Gulf, is known to have been derived from their commerce only, when they stood in the same relation to Persia generally, as depots for ma- ritime commerce, that Bushire does at pre- sent. The history and the fate of these set- tlements are known to every one. They were once splendid cities : they are now no more. Whether this be a fate that awaits Bushire, or not, would be difficult to prophesy ; but as it has never attained for its merchants the wealth which the liberality and munificence of Abbas the Great allowed his subjects to acquire ; and as its trade, though sufficiently extensive, is crippled by the overwhelming pressure of a long train of exactions conti- nued from the sea to the inland capital ; it is likely that it will never arrive at the pitch of opulence to which Ormuz and Gombroon attained, nor, for a long period at least, sink to the utter desolation of these proud marts, since no change can be so much for the worse as to effect such a total abandonment.

TRADE BETWEEN PERSIA AND INDIA. 115

The trade at present existing between Per- sia and India admits of the average arrival of twelve or fifteen merchant-ships yearly from Bengal and Bombay. Not more than half their cargo is however landed here ; and often not more than a third, as a portion of it is usually taken out at Muscat, and a still larger portion goes on to Bussorah, From Bengal are brought rice, sugar, indigo, pep- per, and spices, with a small assortment of muslin and piece-goods. From Bombay are imported the annual supplies of iron, steel, tin, lead, and woollen cloths, sent by the East India Company, and continued to be sold yearly at a loss, in consequence of their being obliged by their charter to export a cer- tain quantity of these articles annually from Great Britain, and to force a market for them where they can. The productions of China, in sugar, sugar-candy, preserved ginger, cam- phor, and porcelain, are also brought from Bombay, as well as cassia, cloves, nutmegs, and other productions of the Eastern Isles. These are all taken up into Persia by cara- vans of mules, which pass regularly between this place and Shiraz. The rice and sugar of Bengal often find their way to Bahrein,

I 2

116 TRADE BETWEEN PERSIA AND INDIA.

and other islands of the Persian Gulf, as well as the coffee of Mokha, which is shipped at Muscat, in order to fill up the vacant room left by goods being discharged there. The rice of Persia is preferable to that of India, and coffee is not a very general beverage in this country, though it is all over Arabia, which sufficiently accounts for the diversion of these two articles into other channels.

The returns for these imports are made in Persian horses, supplied by contract for the East India Company's cavalry; in old copper, collected in the interior, in domestic utensils, &c. and sent to Bengal ; in assafoe • tida, an article much used in the cookery of India ; in dried fruits, particularly almonds, small raisins, quinces, and apricots; in car- pets for Mohammedan prayers for mosques, and for private apartments, the manufacture of the country ; in otto of roses and rose- water, in small quantities ; and in Shiraz wine. All these articles do not amount, however, to one-third the value of the im- ports ; so that the residue is made up in money. This consists of Spanish and Ger- man dollars, a few Venetian sequins, and other gold coins, but mostly of Persian ru-

DUTIES ON MERCHANDIZE. 117

pees. The freight of all articles from India to Bushire is nearly the same as from India to Bussorah, and the bulky articles of re- turn are also taken back at the same rate. In treasure, however, there is this difference, that while from Bussorah it pays three per cent, to Bombay, and four per cent, to Ben- gal, the last risk being nearly double that of the first ; from Bushire they are both paid alike, at only three per cent, equally for Bombay and Calcutta ; and the only expla- nation that one can get for this inconsis- tency of making no advance of freight, when the distance, the time, and the risk, are all doubled, is, that it is an old custom, and can- not be broken through.

The duties on merchandize exported and imported are regulated by the package and quality of the goods, and not fixed by a per centage on their value. Rice and sugar pay each half a rupee per bag; sugar-candy, a rupee per tub ; indigo, fifteen rupees per chest ; pepper, cassia, cloves, cardamoms, and other spices, six rupees per bag ; camphor, two rupees per box ; China ware, four ru- pees per chest ; Mokha coffee, two rupees per bale ; and sweetmeats, three rupees per

118 DUTIES ON MERCHANDIZE.

package. The duties on Indian piece-goods vary considerably, according to their quality, but average at about ten per cent. ; and those on the European articles, of cloth, iron, steel, lead, and tin, at not more than five per cent, on their invoice price. The duties on the exports or returns are still less : horses and money, which form the greatest portion of these returns, are both exempt from duties of any kind, as well as old copper, and Persian carpets ; dried fruits pay only one rupee per package ; assafoetida, a rupee per jar ; rose-water, two rupees per case of several bottles ; and Shiraz wine is free.

It is a common practice for the Governor to appropriate to himself such of the mer- chandize passing through his port as may be convenient to himself, either for his own immediate use,, or to speculate in as an ar- ticle of commerce ; but, instead of paying for such goods when thus taken, he suffers the amount to stand over as a balance in favour of the owners of them, to be liqui- dated by remitting them the duties on fur- ther imports, till the amount is made up. This is naturally an obnoxious mode of

DUTIES ON MERCHANDIZE. 119

dealing, in the estimation of the merchants ; but they have no remedy. During our stay here, the Governor was engaged in a war with some villages on the plain behind the town, and was much in want of lead for mus- ket-balls. This want, instead of increasing the demand for, and consequently the price of the article, as it would naturally have done under any well-regulated government, had actually the effect of stopping the sup- plies of this metal, which were laid in ex- pressly for the place. A vessel lying in the roads had on board several hundred slabs of lead, shipped at Bombay for Bushire ; but the owner of them, fearing that if they were landed, the Governor's agents would seize them for their master's use, on the usual condition of the long payments described, requested the captain not to land them here, and paid additional freight for carrying them on to Bussorah, where even an uncertain market was better than the ruinous one to which they would come here, by falling into the Governor's hands. Under such a system, light as the duties on merchandize may be, commerce can hardly be expected to flourish ; and the fact is, that there is a disinclination

120 PORT OB^ BUSHIliE.

to speculate beyond the actual consumption, and a fear and restraint in all commercial undertakings, which is destructive of the ac- tivity that commerce requires to make it ad- vance, or even to keep it alive.

As a sea-port, Bushire has no one good quality to recommend it. The anchorage of the outer roads in four fathoms water, is at least six miles from the shore, and is so ex- posed to the full fury of the north-west and south-east gales, which prevail here, that whenever it blows a single-reef breeze, no boats can communicate between the town and the vessel, and no supplies or informa- tion be received ; while the ship herself rides as heavily as in the open ocean, without the least shelter ; and as the holding-ground is good, it is not an uncommon event for vessels to part their cables and be driven to sea. The inner harbour is only accessible to ships drawing less than eighteen feet water ; and as the entrance is over a bar across a channel of less than half a mile wide, such vessels can only go in with a favourable wind, and at the top of high water in spring tides. The depth within increases to three and a quarter and three and a half fathoms, and the holding-

THE PIRATE RAHMAH-BEN-JABER. 121

ground is good : but here, though the sea is broken off by the projection of the Rohilla Sands, a ship is exposed to all the force of a north-west wind, and the distance is still three or four miles from the shore, which renders communication by boats difficult, and often impossible, when it blows strong. It appears by some of the older descriptions of Bushire, that the Company's cruisers, and other small vessels, were formerly able to an- chor close up to the north-east side of the town, within the inner harbour ; but the channel leading up to this will now scarcely admit of small dows, except they are light- ened. There are anchorage-births for native boats behind some small islands, to the north- east extremity of the inner harbour, or in the deepest part of the bight which it forms. This was at present occupied by the fleet of a certain Arab, named Rahmah-ben-Jaber, who has been for more than twenty years the terror of the Gulf, and who is the most successful and the most generally tolerated pirate, perhaps, that ever infested any sea. This man is by birth a native of Graine, on the opposite coast, and nephew of the present governor, or Sheikh, of that place. His fel-

122 THE PIRATE RAHMAH-BEN-JABER.

low-citizens have all the honesty, however, to declare him an outlaw, from abhorrence of his profession ; and he has found that shelter and protection at Bush ire, which his own townsmen very properly denied to him. With five or six vessels, most of which are very large, and manned by crews of from two to three hundred each, he sallies forth, and captures whatever he may think himself strong enough to carry off as his prize ; — the vessels of Graine, of Bussorah, of Bah- rein, of Muscat, and even of Bushire, where he resides, falling equally a prey to him. His followers, to the number perhaps of two thou- sand, are maintained by the plunder of his prizes ; and as these are most of them his own bought African slaves, and the remainder equally subject to his authority, he is some- times as prodigal of their lives in a fit of anger, as he is of those of his enemies, whom he is not content to slay in battle only, but basely murders in cold blood, after they have submitted. An instance is related of his having recently put a great number of his own crew, who used mutinous expressions, into a tank on board, in which they usually kept their water, and this being shut close

THE PIRATE RAHMAH-BEN-JABER. 123

at the top, the poor wretches were all suf- focated, and afterwards thrown overboard. This butcher chief, like the celebrated Djez- zar of Acre, affects great simplicity of dress, manners, and living ; and whenever he goes out, he is not to be distinguished by a stranger from the crowd of his attendants. He carries this simplicity to a degree of filthiness which is disgusting, as his usual dress is a shirt, which is never taken off to be washed from the time it is first put on till it is worn out, no drawers or coverings for the legs of any kind, and a large black goat's- hair cloak, wrapped over all, with a greasy and dirty handkerchief, called the keffeea, thrown loosely over his head.

Infamous as was this man's life and cha- racter, he was not only cherished and courted by the people of Bushire, who dread him, but was courteously received and respectfully en- tertained whenever he visited the British fac- tory ! On one occasion, at which I was pre- sent, he was sent for to give some medical gentlemen of the navy and the Company's cruisers an opportunity of inspecting his arm, which had been severely wounded. The wound was at first made by grape-shot and

12S4 THE PIRATE RAHMAH-BEN-JABER.

splinters, and the arm was one mass of blood about the part for several days, while the man himself was with difficulty known to be alive. He gradually recovered, however, with- out surgical aid, and the bone of the arm between the elbow and the shoulder being completely shivered to pieces, the fragments progressively worked out, and the singular appearance was left of the fore arm and elbow connected to the shoulder by flesh, skin, and tendons, without the least vestige of bone. This man, when invited to the factory for the purpose of making this exhibition of his arm, was himself admitted to sit at the table and take some tea, as it was breakfast-time, and some of his followers took chairs around him. They were all as disgustingly filthy in ap- pearance as could well be imagined; and some of them did not scruple to hunt for vermin on their skin, of which there was an abundance, and throw them beside them on the floor. Rahmah-ben-Jaber's figure pre- sented a meagre trunk, with four lank mem- bers, all of them cut and hacked, and pierced with wounds of sabres, spears, and bullets, in every part, to the number perhaps of more than twenty different wounds. He had, be-

THE PIRATE RAHMAH-BEN-JABEE. 125

sides, a face naturally ferocious and ugly, and now rendered still more so by several scars there, and by the loss of one eye. When asked by one of the English gentlemen pre- sent, with a tone of encouragement and fami- liarity, whether he could not still dispatch an enemy with his boneless arm, he drew a crooked dagger, or yambeah, from the girdle round his shirt, and placing his left hand, which was sound, to support the elbow of the right, which was the one that was wounded, he grasped the dagger firmly with his clenched fist, and drew it backward and forward, twirl- ing it at the same time, and saying, that he desired nothing better than to have the cut- ting of as many throats as he could effectually open with this lame hand ! Instead of being shocked at the utterance of such a brutal wish, and such a savage triumph at still pos- sessing the power to murder unoffending vic- tims, I know not how to describe my feeling of shame and sorrow, when a loud burst of laughter, instead of execration, escaped from nearly the whole assembly, when I ventured to express my dissent from the general feel- ing of admiration for such a man.

CHAPTER V.

BUSSORAH THE CHIEF PORT OF THE PER- SIAN GULF. ITS POPULATION, COMMERCE,

AND RESOURCES.

Being desirous of rendering this volume as complete as possible, from materials collected by my own personal observation, I am in- duced to follow up this account of Bushire, by a still more enlarged and comprehensive description of Bussorah, the chief port in the Persian Gulf, drawn up, as stated below, after a considerable stay at the place itself, and that too, within a very few months after the termination of the journey and voyage described in this work. Shortly after my arrival at Bombay, I was appointed to the command of a large Indian ship, the Hu- mayoon Shah ; in which I returned to the

I

CIIAPTKH V

BOAT-ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOUR OF BOMBAY.

BUSSORAH. 127

Persian Gulf, and made a long stay at each of the great marts of trade included within its boundaries. The opportunities which this afforded of acquiring much new information, as well as of correcting such as had been pre- viously obtained, were not neglected : and I think I may safely say, that no existing ac- count of the Gulf of Persia generally, and of its chief ports more especially, will be found to contain more copious or more accu- rate information than that which it is my good fortune to be able to lay before the reader of these pages. The hydrographical observations made in the second voyage, though important to the correct navigation of the Gulf, have been embodied in another work,^ as being less interesting to the gene- ral reader, and such parts of the journal only retained in this, as possess the great literary interest of elucidating the early voyage of Nearchus, in the time of Alexander the Great, when this sea was for the first time visited by the navigators of antiquity. With this explanation, I proceed to the account of Bus-

* See Voyage from Muscat to Bushire, and from Bushire to Bussorah, in the PersianGulf, published in * The Oriental Herald' for October and November IS^S.

128 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

sorah, with its introductory paragraph, as explanatory of the circumstances under which it was composed.

After a residence at Bussorah of more than three months, during which time I made re- peated excursions through the town, and had very frequent intercourse with all classes of the native inhabitants of the place, the fol- lowing particulars were collected, and with the impressions to which these gave rise, were faithfully committed to writing on the spot.

The town of Bussorah ^ is seated near the western bank of the combined streams of the Euphrates and Tigris, about fifty miles below the point of their union at Kourna, f and seventy above the point of their discharge into the sea. These two rivers preserve their respective names of the Fraat and the Dijela, from their sources to their point of union ; and the stream there formed, is called the Shat-el-Arab, or river of the Arabs, from this point to the sea. The position of the British factory, which is nearly in the centre of the

* )iya> Bussra is the true orthography.

t Kourna, at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, is <^ne of the three Apameas built by Seleucus, in honour of his first wife, Apamea.

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSOBAH. 129

town, lias been fixed by astronomical obser- vations, to be in latitude 80°.29'.30'' north, and in longitude 47°.34M5''. east.

The form of the town, as enclosed by its walls, is an irregular oblong square, its great- est length being in a direction of east-north- east and west-south-west, and its greatest breadth being from west-north-west to east- south-east, lying thus nearly at right angles with the stream of the Shat-el-Arab, which runs by the town from north-north-west to south-south-east. The portion of the wall which faces to the east-north-east, passes along the western bank of the river, within a few hundred yards of its edge, and may extend about a mile in length from south- south-east to north-north-west. The por- tion of the wall facing the south-south-east goes nearly in a straight line from the river into the Desert, or from east-north-east to west-south-west for nearly three miles. The wall facing the north-north-west, and that facing the west-south-west, are almost con- founded in one, by the irregularities in the line of the first, and by the last being joined to it by a rounding or circuit on the north- west, which leaves the angle of their union

VOL. 11. K

ISO DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

ill-defined. The compass of the whole, how- ever, may be estimated at from eight to nine miles.

The walls themselves are built of sun-dried bricks, and are of considerable thickness at the foundations, with loop-holes for musketry in a parapet wall at the top, continued all round, and occasional ports for cannon ; but of these there are very few mounted. Some portions of the wall are bastioned by circu- lar towers, and most of it is crowned with battlements ; but the work, though forming an effectual defence against the Arabs of the Desert, is, to the eye of an European, desti- tute of the symmetry and strength required in a fortified barrier ; and the wretched state of the whole at present, from the neglect of timely repair, makes it look rather like the ruined walls of some deserted city, than the enclosure of one still inhabited.

The walls of Bussorah have five gates, three of which face the south-south-east, and, be- ginning from that nearest to the river, are called Bab-ei-Meejmooah, Bab-el-Seradjey, and Bab-el-Zobeir ; the other two face the north-north-west, and are called Bab-el-Ro- bat, which is near the Mekam, and Bab-el-

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSOUAH. 131

Bagdad, which leads directly into the central and most peopled part of the city. These gates mostly take their names from that of places to and from which they lead, and are all of them of mean appearance in their ori- ginal structure, and in a state of great ruin from neglect of repairs.^

For the irrigation of the grounds, for the supply of the city with water, and for the facility of transporting goods, there are three large canals that lead from the river by and through the town. The northern and south- ernmost ones enter just at these respective angles of the city walls, and go along in the direction of them, on the outside, and within a few yards of their foundations, extending all the way to the opposite angles of the town, and there uniting without or beyond the western wall, so as to form a complete ditch to the fortifications. From these ca- nals, smaller channels carry oiF the water in different directions, to irrigate the soil through which they pass.

The central canal enters from the river

* There is a neat one now building, facing the south-west, between the Bagdad and Zobeir gates, and to be called Bab Bakna, from the name of the present Mutesellim.

K 2

132 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

about midway between these two, but rather nearer to the northernmost one. This goes up westerly, through the whole length of the town, and sej-ves at once to supply the inha- bitants with water for domestic purposes, to irrigate the whole of the fields and gardens within the walls, by channels leading off from it in various directions, and to admit of the transportation of goods in the large boats which pass from the river to the centre of the town, laden with all the various commo- dities that enter into the consumption of the people, or into the foreign trade of the mer- chants here. All these canals are filled by the flood, and left dry by the ebb tide twice in every twenty-four hours ; the only excep- tions being when strong north-west winds prevail about the neaps, so as to check the flow of the water, and make a continued ebb in the river for two tides following. As, how- ever, even on ordinary occasions, there is sel- dom more than one flood that can fall at a convenient hour of the day, from the ebb lasting mostly eight hours, and the flood only four, there is often a considerable bustle and noise on the canal among the boats passing up and down, so much so as to give an im-

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH. 133

pression to a stranger of a much more active commerce than really exists. The canal it- self is much too narrow for the convenient passage of the vessels employed on it; and as none but the very smallest of these can move, except at the top of high v^^ater, they are often all in motion at once. Boats grounding in their passage lie until the next flood floats them, and laden vessels losing the springs, sometimes lie in the very centre of the channel until the ensuing spring, blocking up the passage entirely for smaller vessels, which might otherwise have water enough, but for which room is not left to pass. For the conveyance of passengers on this canal, small caAoes, called here bellem, are employed ; and these having a clean mat in the bottom for the seat, and a light awning over head to shade it, are pushed along by the two boatmen who stand in the head and stern, and with long poles fitted for the pur- pose, give the canoe sufficient velocity to keep up with a well-manned four-oared boat. These are the smallest vessels seen, and these, from having only a draught of a few inches, can be used at any time of the tide, except at dead low water. From these, there are boats

134 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

of all sizes, up to vessels of fifty tons, which are the largest that I remember to have seen on the canal. The canoes are often very long and narrow, and from the peculiar finish of their prows have a light and elegant form. The most usual way of impelling them along the stream is by the use of the bamboo poles ; but they are sometimes rowed by short pad- dles, which are used by the rowers alternately from side to side, and then present the ap- pearance so graphically described in Arrian's report of the* Voyage of Nearchus, when the fishermen whom they saw at Kophos, in boats similar to these described, were said to have their oars not fastened to their rowlocks, as in Greek vessels, but to hold them in the hand, so that they seemed to dig the water, rather than to row, and to toss it up as a labourer throws up earth with his spade.*

There are also circular boats made of bas- ket-work, and covered with bitumen, which are from six to eight feet in diameter, of shallow draught, and capable of carrying six or eight persons. These are used both on the canal and on the river, and are paddled

* Voyage of Nearchus, (§. 28.) Dr. Vincent's translation, vol. i. pp. 41, 42. 4to.

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH. 135

or spun along, for they make chiefly a cir- cular motion, with sufficient ease. They are called here kufa, and seem to be of the same kind as those circular boats made of reeds, and in the form of a shield, which are noticed by Herodotus as in use on the river of Baby- lon upwards of £000 years ago.^

There is still another species of boat used principally for heavy burthens ; this is called a donak, but, from the singularity of its form, it is not easy to be described. It rises at each end with so much sheer as to be nearly like a crescent, but falls out above, where the sheer is deepest, or near the centre of the boat's length, as if the timbers had been all twisted from their original place. The bot- tom is quite flat, and the stem and stern rise to a considerable height from the water, fall- ing at the same time inward, like the horns of the moon ; and the whole is covered with a thick coat of bitumen.

The rest of the vessels employed on the canal are of the common form used through- out the Persian and Arabian Gulfs ; and, notwithstanding their inelegant forms above

* Herodotus, Clio, cxciv.

136 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

water, have often beautiful bottoms, and are strongly built.

The whole of these canals, with all their dependent channels, are merely dug out of the soil, without being lined with artificial em- bankments or masonry in any part through- out their entire length ; and the few brick- built bridges that are thrown across them in different parts of the town, are of the mean- est kind.

On coming from the river, and going up to Bussorah by the central canal, the entrance is made through a narrow mouth, with a cir- cular fort on the left, and a mosque with a small minaret on the right. Several houses follow on each side, those on the left being chiefly timber-yards, and storehouses of arti- cles most in demand for the use of boats and shipping ; and that on the right, called El Mekam, having a coasting custom-house, with a coffee-house, mosque, and the dwellings of those whose occupations have drawn them to reside around this spot.

The portion of buildings on the right of the canal at its entrance is called ' El Mekam,' literally the place of residence for the go-

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORaH. 137

vernor's lieutenant,^ and was formerly the station of such an officer from the Pasha of Bussorah, who had his own palace further up in the city. The portion of buildings on the left side of the canal, and opposite to El Mekam at the entrance, is called ' Minawi.'

In the time of Hossein Pasha, the son of Ali Pasha, both of them mentioned in the Travels of Pietro della Valle and Tavernier, the city of Bussorah was distant nearly two miles from the banks of the river, and Minawi was then a distinct village, serving as the port or landing-place. It was this Hossein who extended the walls of the former town down to the river, and enclosed the village of Min- awi within it, by which means all the inter- mediate fields and gardens which had never before, nor have even since been built upon, became incorporated with the rest. The newly enclosed village was then fortified by

* ^liU 1st. A place of residence, a dwelling, a mansion. 2d. State, dignity, condition. Thus, .ti^ ^(j» from ^ti' stand- ing in, fixed in, &c. and .|^ a place, forms the Arabic, Turk- ish, and Persian title of Kaim. Mekam, meaning a lieutenant, vicegerent ; and as such is applied to the deputy governor of Constantinople, or to any other locum tenens. — Richardson's Arabic Diet ionar J/, p. 1809.

138 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

a strong wall continued all around it, and formed nearly an eighth of the whole space enclosed within the walls of Bussorah, even when thus extended.

Dr. Vincent, in endeavouring to prove the etymology of Talmena, one of the stations of Nearchus, as given by Arrian, to be from a ruined fort, takes the Tal from the Hebrew for a ruined heap, and Mina from the Arabic for a fort, which he supports by saying that Mina, Minau, at the Anamis, and Minavi at Basra, are all expressive of a fort. ^ But this is not true, as Mina in Arabic signifies a port, or anchoring-place for ships,-)- as well as a landing-place for boats, and answers exactly to the Italian term Scala, which is used throughout the Mediterranean for similar places. On the coast of Syria, the town of TripoH is about a mile or two from the sea, and the landing and anchoring place before it it is called El Mina. This is the case also at Latikea, just above it ; and even in Egypt, where towns are at a little distance from the

* Commerce of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean, vol. i. p. 263. 4to.

t Uuu a port, haven, harbour, an anchoring-ground for ships. — Richardson, p. 1922.

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH. 139

river, as Cairo, Manfalout, and Assiout, the places at which the boats land are called El Mina, or the port of the town, to which it serves as such. In no one instance do I re- member the application of this, or even a term like it in sound, to a fort, in any of the nu- merous dialects of Arabia which I have heard spoken.

After passing the Mekam on the right, and Minawi on the left, the rest of the way up to the city by the canal is bordered by a public road on the southern side, and date-trees and gardens on the northern, for about half a mile or more ; and though the canal, from being narrow and low, is exceedingly hot in the day- time, the sun beating on it with full power, and the high banks keeping off all wind, yet, at the cool time of morning or evening, when the water is high flood, the passage up and down is agreeable.

At the distance of about a mile from the entrance of the canal, the houses of Bussorah are first met with, and these are most thickly placed on the southern side. Somewhat less than a mile further up is the British Fac- tory, which, presenting a circular brick wall toward the river with arched windows or

140 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

ports, and having a large gate towards the creek, with sentries, flag-staff, &c. has all the appearance of a fortress, and is indeed by far the best building to be seen in the whole city.

Within the next quarter of a mile above this is the Seraia, or palace of the Mutesellim^ and the Custom-house, both of them build- ings of the meanest kind, and in the worst state of repair ; and just above this last, the bridge that crosses the canal in a line from the Bagdad gate, renders it unnavigable fur- ther up, though the stream itself continues till it reaches the other extremity of the town.

The rise of water in this canal is about eight feet perpendicular with the flood of spring tides, and six feet with the flood of the neaps, and at low water it is nearly dry. The time of high water at the full and change is five p. m., or about an hour earlier than it is in the middle of the river opposite to the point of this canal's discharge.

The space actually occupied by buildings does not comprise more than one-fourth of that which is enclosed within the walls of Bussorah, the rest being laid out in corn- fields, rice-grounds, date-groves, and gardens ;

DESCRIPTION OP^ BUSSORAH. 141

in this respect it has been very aptly com- pared to ancient Babylon, a great portion of which seems, by the account of all the his- torians who have described it, to have been laid out in the same way. The buildings themselves are badly planned and construct- ed, and are mostly as deficient even in what are held by their occupiers to be conveni- ences and comforts, as they are to the eyes of a stranger destitute of beauty.

From the want of stones, which are here scarcely to be found or met with in a journey of many miles, the walls of the city, as well as by far the greater number of dwellings within it, are built of sun-dried bricks. The few houses that have kiln-dried bricks in their walls, are too inconsiderable in num- ber to form an exception, and are confined to the British factory, the Seraia of the Mute- sellim, one or two of the principal mosques, and perhaps half a dozen mansions of rich men in different parts of the town. The scarcity and consequent high price of wood, occasions the trunk of the date-tree to be almost the only sort employed in building ; and this, from its fibrous nature, cannot be wrought into a regular shape by all the art

142 DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH.

of carpentry. Stone and wood are therefore rarely seen, and the buildings, from the neces- sary confinement to such materials as are used in them, are all of the meanest appearance.

In assigning an etymology to Bussorah, Dr. Vincent says, ' Basra, Bozra, and Bosara, is a name applicable to any town in the Desert, as it signifies rough or stony ground ; and thus we have a Bosara in Ptolemy near Muskat, and a Bozra, familiar in Scripture, denoting an Arabian town in the neighbour- hood of Judea, taken by the Maccabees.'* The Hebrew signification, as applied to the Bozra of the Scriptures, is consistent and appropriate, since that town is really seated on rough and stony ground, and so probably was the Bosara of Ptolemy near Muskat, judging from the general character of the country there. The Arabic Bussra, (for that is the nearest pronunciation of the name ya^) though allied perhaps to the Hebrew Bozra or Botzra, has yet some distinguishing fea-

* Golius ad Alfrag. p. 120. Terra crassa et lapidosa. But see myu under *iyn. Botsrath desertvm a Batzar dausit, quia clauduntur aquse. From hence, adds the Dean, Bazar for an emporium, and urbs munita, quia circumclauditur, to which the Bursa of Carthage is allied »—Fmce;if '5 Commerce of the Ancient s^ <^ c. vol. i. p. 436, note.

DESCRIPTION OF BUSSORAH. 143

tures of difference, 'i^ is interpreted, 1st. Whitish stones. 2d. A kind of earth, out of which they dig such stones. 3d. The city of Basra or Bassora, as seated on such ground. The whitish stones cannot be the meaning of the name either of Bozra in Syria, or of Bus- sorah on the Euphrates, as the former is on a bed of black basaltic rock ; and in the latter there are no stones of any description at all. Although this name is applied equally to the earth, out of which such stones are dug, I could not learn, during my stay here, that the earth of Bussorah at all produced any such stones ; and the only difference between the soil of the present town, and that of the old city, which is supposed to have been near Zo- beir, is that the one is more sandy than the other; but both are equally destitute of stones. There is another meaning given to^^ as sig- nifying ' the side, border, or margin,' a sense that would apply to the Hebrew Bozra, as it was the easternmost town of note in all the Hauran, and ' bordered' upon the country of the Nabateans, but still more suitably to Bus- sorah, which was upon the ' side and margin' of Arabia itself, and near the banks of the Eu- phrates, which in all ages has been considered

144 INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

as its eastern boundary by land. The He- brew and the Arabic names, though differ- ently spelt by us, who know and preserve the distinction between them, are written and pronounced exactly alike by the respective inhabitants of each, who, it is true, are all Arabs. The word Bazar ^yj is of a different origin in its root, and of different orthogra- phy, and means equally a place where goods are publicly sold, or the act of bargaining for purchase and sale in private, and does not seem allied to either of the others.

The population of Bussorah has varied at different periods of its history from 500,000 to about 50,000 inhabitants. The former is supposed to have been the maooimum of its most flourishing state ; the latter the mini- mum, after the dreadful ravages of the plague in 1773 — when upwards of 300,000 souls are said to have fallen victims to this destructive scourge. It is true that at the time of Mr. Niebuhr's passage through this place, which was in 1764, he supposed the population scarcely to have exceeded 40,000 ; and by a calculation of one hundred houses to each of the seventy mehalles or parishes of the city, and seven dwellers to each house, which

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH. 145

he thought was the utmost that could be allowed, the number made only 49,000. But in an interval of nine years, which passed until the plague of 1773, great changes might have been effected in the state of the sur- rounding country, and a surplus population of a still greater number have been drawn to the city, by causes which offered brighter prospects to the inhabitants of it. Such sud- den changes are not uncommon in the great cities of the Eastern world, and more par- ticularly in those which, like Bussorah, are frequently exposed to become subject to dif- ferent masters, and be contended for as a frontier post between two warring powers, and whose prosperity, even in times of poli- tical tranquillity, depends on so precarious a foundation as foreign trade.

At the present moment, while it enjoys sufficient security from all dangers without, and is subject to its old masters the Turks, who preserve good order within, the popula- tion is on the increase, and may amount alto- gether to nearly 100,000 souls. About one- half of these are Arabs, one-fourth Persians, and the remaining fourth a mixture of Turks, Armenians, Indians, Jews, and Catholic Chris-

VOL. II. I.

146 INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

tians, with a few Koords from the mountains of Koordistan, and a small portion of the Arab Christians, called Subbees, or disciples and followers of John the Baptist.

The Arabs are mostly persons born in the town, or in its immediate neighbourhood, with occasional settlers from Bagdad, Kourna, and the villages along the banks of the Ti- gris and Euphrates, as well as some few Desert Arabs from the country of Nedjed, and trading people from Coete, or Graine, the great sea-port of that part of Arabia. The occupations of the Arab population are chiefly commercial among the higher order, and labour and cultivation among the lower. The religion of both is of the Soonnee sect of Mohammedism, and they are in general suffi- ciently tolerant to those of a different faith. The dress of the merchants, who are origi- nally of Bussorah, as well as those who come from Moosul and Bagdad, differs but little from that of the same class of people in Sy- ria, except that it is here gayer and more costly in the same rank of life. Indian muslins and Angora shalloons are worn in the summer ; but fine broad cloths, of the brightest colours, Indian stuffs, and Cash-

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH. 147

meer shawls, form the winter apparel ; and these are displayed in such variety, as to make the wardrobe of a well-dressed man exceedingly expensive. The Arabs from Ned- jed, and those from Coete or Graine, wear invariably the Bedouin handkerchief, called Maharama and Keffeea; the poorer people bind them round their heads, with bands of camel's hair thread, made into a sort of rope ; but the wealthier class, although they are clad in the most costly robes, still retain this mark of their Desert origin, and sometimes even wear a rich Indian shawl as a turban over it, while the long ends of the coarse Bedouin keffeea hang over their shoulders, forming a singular mixture of the costumes of the Desert and the town. The light Bag- dad cloak, in alternate stripes of reddish brown and white, are worn by all in the summer; and thicker abbas, of a similar form and pat- tern, by the poor in the winter ; but the rich at this season wear fine thick cloaks of a black colour, with a broad and deep three- forked stripe of gold, woven into the cloth, and descending from the top of the right shoulder down the back.

The Persian part of the population of Bus- I. 2

148 INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

sorah are all of the Sheeah sect of Moslems ; but as their party is the weakest, they con- ceal the hatred with which this religious dis- tinction inspires them towards the Turks and Arabs as Soonnees ; and even their peculiar fasts and festivals are, for the same reason, observed with some degree of privacy. The rich among them are mostly merchants, who have commercial relations with their coun- trymen settled at the chief ports in India, and with others in Shooster and the higher parts of Persia, but seldom further north than Bagdad, as the Aleppo and Damascus trades are in the hands of Arabs. The lower classes of the Persian population are occu- pied mostly as writers, servants, shopkeepers, and mechanics ; in all which professions or stations, their superior activity, industry, in- sinuating manners, ingenuity, and address, are conspicuous ; and while among the Arabs a man is either a merchant in easy circum-- stances, or a mere labourer, Persians are found filling most of the intermediate sta- tions, and rising by their own exertions from the lowest to the highest ranks. The dress of the Persians differs but little from that which is common to all the parts of Persia

INHABITANTS OF BUSSOllAH. 149

which I have seen, excepting only that the black sheep's-skin cap is exchanged for the shawl or muslin turban, and the scarlet em- broidered coat for the Arab cloak. These, however, are sufficient to alter the appear- ance of the dress so much, that a stranger would not easily distinguish a Persian from an Arab inhabitant of Bussorah. Some, in- deed, both among the rich and the poor, adopt the Arab costume entirely ; and then it is only by the characteristic features of their race, and by their peculiar manner of pronouncing the Arabic language, that they can be known.

The Turks are very few in number, and are almost all in offices of trust under the Government, or otherwise personally attach- ed to the Governor himself. This man, who is called here the Mutesellim, or literally the Lieutenant of the Pasha of the province, is himself a native of Bussorah, but of Turk- ish descent ; and having been many years at Constantinople, and served several campaigns against the Russians, he is much more a Turk than an Arab. The officers attached to him are principally Turks by family, but born in towns remote from the metropolis, as Moosul,

150 INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

Bagdad, and Bussorah. All these, however, preserve the Turkish kaook of Constantinople as a distinguishing mark of dress ; their other garments differing in nothing from those of the well-dressed merchants of the place. Few as are these Turks in number, and never at any time perhaps exceeding five hundred, they maintain firm possession of the city, with the aid of a small number of Georgians, Koords, Arabs, and Persians, who are paid by the Government as soldiers, but who fur- nish their own arms and clothing, and are the most undisciplined rabble that can be imagined. The horse are estimated at 1500, but that number is seldom complete, and the foot are composed of five companies or Bei- raks, of nominally one hundred muskets each. There are about fifty of the best of these who are selected as a body guard for the Mutesel- lim, and who accompany him to the mosques on Fridays, and attend him on state occa- sions. These are foot soldiers and muske- teers, and they are distinguished by a uniform dress of red jackets, seamed with black cord, the full blue Turkish trowsers, white turbans, and English muskets, with black cartouch- box and belts. This is the only instance of

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH. 151

uniform that I remember among the soldiers of either the Arabs, the Turks, or the Persians, and has, I think, been occasioned by the con- stant station of the British Resident's guard here, and the frequent arrival of East India Company's cruisers and merchant vessels, with disciplined sepoys on board. The Tefenkchee Bashee, or chief of these musketeers, wears the large fur cap of the Bagdad soldiers ; but all his inferiors, with the exception of the body guard already mentioned, dress in their own way, and just as their means allow, ex- cept that each Beirak or company has some trifling mark by which it is distinguished from others.

In personal appearance, the Turks of Bus- sorah are far below those of Asia Minor and the large towns of Syria, and still more in- ferior to those of Smyrna and Constantinople, both in strength of frame, fairness of com- plexion, and general beauty of person. The degeneration has been effected probably by several united causes ; such as a mixture with Arab blood, the use of negro slaves, and long residence in a hot and unhealthy climate. In character they have a good deal of the gravity, resignation, and attachment to old customs,

152 INHABITANTS OF BUSSOHAH.

which distinguish the Turks of the north ; but they do not appear to inherit their love of ostentatious display, their haughty car- riage towards those of a different faith, their polite and courtly manners towards their friends, nor their proud and unbending cou- rage against their enemies. They possess a power equally despotic with that of other Turks ruling over Arab towns ; but they use it, certainly, with almost unexampled mode- ration : the consequence of this is, that their government is popular with all classes, and there is scarcely an Arab inhabitant of the city, who would not prefer the reign of the Osmanli or Turkish authority to that of any Ara,b Sheikh, and who would not take up arms to defend it.

The Armenians of Bussorah do not at pre- sent exceed fifty families, though formerly they were much more numerous. They are here, as throughout all the rest of the Turk- ish Empire, a sober, industrious, and intelli- gent race of people, engaged in occupations of trust as brokers, and doing business also for themselves as merchants. Their dress dif- fers in nothing from that of the rich natives of the place, except that they confine them-

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

153

selves to dark-coloured cloths for their gar- ments, and wear blue, black, and brown Cash- meer shawls for turbans, never assuming the gay tints reserved for the adorning of the faithful ; though at this place there seems more laxity in the execution of the law en- forcing distinctions of dress and colours to be worn by people of different faiths, than in most other Turkish towns that I have seen. The Armenians communicate with each other in their own language ; but in general they speak Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, equally well ; and some few add to these, English, Portuguese, and Hindostanee, which gives them great advantages in their mercantile transactions. They have a small church, and two or three priests attached to it, and their community is respectable and happy. An in- stance was related to me of their strict atten- tion to the reputation of their body, which deserves to be recorded : — A young widow, who had been left without a protector, and was sufficiently handsome to have snares laid for her virtue, yielded to temptation, and lived for a short time as the mistress of a rich person, but without further prostitution. The circumstance becoming known, it was

154 INHABITANTS OF BUSSOKAH.

decided by the Armenians that their nation was scandalized by such an occurrence ; and their influence was sufficient to get this fair sinner banished from the town, and sent to Bagdad, where they furnished her with a maintenance from their body, to prevent a recurrence of the necessity which she pleaded as an excuse for her past transgressions.

The Jews of Bussorah are also less nu- merous than they formerly were, though at present they are thought to amount to more than one hundred families. The heads of these are all merchants and traders ; and as they add to the sobriety, industry, and per- severance of the Armenians, a meanness, a cunning, and a disregard of principle, which are peculiar to them, they insinuate them- selves into all affairs of business that are transacted even between strangers, and are not only jn general the greatest gainers in every affair, but often derive a profit as bro- kers and agents, when the principals for whom they treat may lose. They form here as separate a body as in all other parts of the globe, living only among themselves, and preserving, by intermarriages among their own immediate offspring, that peculiarity of

INHABITANTS OF BUSSOllAH. 155

feature as well as of character, which dis- tinguishes them from the one end of the world to the other. Their dress differs very little from that of the wealthy natives of the place, except in their confining themselves, like the Armenians, to dark-coloured gar- ments. Their turban is, however, peculiar ; and instead of the overhanging tarboosh and full shawl of the Armenians, it is formed of a flower-striped silk and cotton cloth, bound tightly round a red cap in flat folds, with sometimes a border of fringe at the edge. The rich, of whom there are many, are always well-dressed ; the poor go from mediocrity down to filth and rags ; and all classes wear their beards and the hanging side-locks which distinguish their sect from all others. Their common language is Arabic ; though among themselves, and in correspondence with other Jews, they write this in the Hebrew charac- ter ; but of Turkish, Persian, or any other tongue, there are few who know enough to transact the most common business, which forms a great feature of difference between them and the Armenians.

The Catholic Christians are much fewer in number than either of the last mentioned.

156 INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH.

and do not at present exceed twenty families. Some of these are natives of Bussorah, and others are recent settlers from Bagdad and Aleppo. They are all merchants and traders, and are distinguished from the mass only by their wearing dark turbans ; since in man- ners and language they resemble the other inhabitants of the place. These have a church attached to the hospital of the Car- melite Friars, which has long existed here. There were formerly several friars of that order attached to the Convent as mission- aries ; and until within these few years, al- ways two of them. At present, however, there is but one, who is an old Neapolitan of about sixty, and has been here altogether nearly thirty years, having visited Europe once only in that interval. He is one of the most uninformed members of his order that I remember to have met with, and after so long a residence in the country can scarcely speak the language of it intelligibly. His solitude was so insupportable when he lost his last companion, that he became a most abandoned drunkard in endeavouring to cheer it by the bottle. So scandalous was his behaviour during the period of constant

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH. 157

inebriation, that his flock bound him by the most solemn oaths made at the altar, never to taste the alluring poison again. To this he rigidly conforms ; but it costs him, accord- ing to his own confession, the sacrifice of the only consolation which he enjoyed on this side the grave !

The Subbees are a sect of Christians, who call themselves disciples and followers of John the Baptist, and their community consists of about thirty families. They dress so exactly like the Arabs of the place, that there is no means of discovering them by their exterior, and their language and general manners are also the same with those of the Mohammedan inhabitants of the town. The chief seat of these Subbees is Kourna, at the conflux of the Tigris and Euphrates ; and at that place their Bishop, and upwards of a hundred fa- milies, reside. There are also some few at Shookashoaah, a large Arab town higher up, and they are scattered over the plain country of Khusistan, at Shooster, Dezhpool, and other places there ; but their limits are very narrow, and their whole body collectively is thought to be less than a thousand families. They possess a Gospel of their own, which is

158 INHABITANTS OP BUSSORAH.

written in a dialect of the Chaldaic, but with characters peculiar to themselves, of which Mr. Niebuhr has given an alphabet, though he seems to have collected no other informa- tion regarding them. This gospel enters at large into the genealogy, birth, and educa- tion of John the Baptist, with his separate history until the time of his baptizing Jesus, when the histories and acts of both are treated of in continuation ; but in what par- ticulars their version accords with, or differs from any of those received among us, I could not learn ; as, in the first place, the book itself is not easily to be procured from their priests, and in the next it would require either a knowledge of their language, or a translation of it by them into Arabic, to un- derstand it, neither of which was it in my power to obtain. This gospel is attributed by them to John the Baptist himself, and it is their sole authority in all matters of faith and doctrine. They have besides, however, a book of prayers and precepts, with direc- tions for ceremonials, which they ascribe to the learned men of their sect, who imme- diately succeeded their great leader. They admit the divinity of Jesus, as Christ, the

i

INHABITANTS OF BUSSORAH. 159

Son of God, and conceive that John the Baptist is to be honoured as his fore-run- ner, and as the person selected by God to perform the most holy sacrament of baptism on his child ; but what are their notions regarding the Trinity I could not learn. They are distinguished from all other Chris- tians by their frequent repetition of this sa- crament on the same person, who, in other churches, would receive it but once. It is said, even, that every individual of their body is baptized annually on some particular occasion ; but whether this is a fixed day for all, or peculiar festivals chosen by the indi- viduals themselves, does not appear. This, however, is certain, that on all important changes, or undertakings, or events of their life, baptism is re-administered. The child at its birth is baptized ; when named it is baptized again ; on completing the age of puberty it is also baptized ; and whether contracting marriage, becoming the parent of children, undertaking a journey, recover- ing from sickness, or any other important event, as well as after death, and before interment, baptism is re-administered with all the solemnity of the first occasion. The

160 RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE SUBBEES."

prayers used at their marriages and funerals are said to be long : the first is a ceremony performed among themselves in some degree of privacy ; but the latter is conducted open- ly, without their being interrupted in it by any one. They have no standing church, since their places of worship must be newly erected for every new occasion. It is there- fore usual with them, when these occasions occur, to make an enclosure of reeds, when, after a most tedious process of purification, the ground becomes consecrated, and they perform their worship therein, secluded from the eyes of strangers, after which the build- ing is pulled down and destroyed. Their attention to the purity of their food is car- ried to an extraordinary degree, and equals that of the highest caste of Bramins in In- dia. No water that is not drawn from the river by themselves in their own vessels, and even after that suffered to subside, and be otherwise purified by their own hands, can be drunk by them. If honey, or similar ar- ticles, are purchased by them in the bazaar, it must have purified water poured on it, and remain a certain time covered to be cleansed before it can be eaten ; and even

RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE SUBBEES. l6l

fruit, though fresh from the tree, must be similarly washed, to be purged of its defile- ment. It is, however, singular enough, that while they carry this attention to religious purity of food to a degree unknown to all other sects of Christians, abstinence and fasts should be held in abomination by them ; and that, contrary to the general Christian no- tion of this being always acceptable to God, and tending to purge the soul, as well as the body, of impure passions and desires, the Subbees regard it as a heinousi sin, and as a profanation of the gifts which the Creator has so bountifully provided for his creatures. In their moral character, they are neither esteemed more upright nor more corrupt than their neighbours. One of their most distinguished virtues is mutual confidence in each other ; and a breach of trust in any way is said to be regarded by them as a more damning offence than murder, forni- cation, and adultery, combined. It is, no doubt, this peculiar tenet, added to their notions of defilement from strangers, and the constant intermarriage of their sons and daughters with each other, which keeps them together, like the Jews, and all other unso-

VOL. II. M

162 INDIANS RESIDENT AT BUSSORAH.

cial castes of religion, who seek not to aug- ment their numbers by converts, yet, by the selfishness of their institutions, preserve them from being lessened by mingling with others. — The heads of the few families of Subbees here are mostly mechanics and handicrafts, more particularly as smiths and workers in metals ; and even in the towns enumerated, where their community is more extensive, they generally confine themselves to the ex- ercise of these and similar trades, without attaching themselves to agriculture or the profession of arms ; in which particular they resemble the Jews of Europe, where the pro- fession of the stock-broker, or loan-raiser, the art of the goldsmith or jeweller, and the oc- cupation of a pedlar, are those mostly fol- lowed, rather than the Jews of Asia, who confine themselves to dealing in general mer- chandize, and are seldom seen as mechanics or handicrafts in any way.

The Indians resident in Bussorah are chiefly Banians, and are all employed as merchants on their own account, and as brokers and agents for others. They enjoy, as well as the Armenians, the countenance and protec- tion of the British Resident; the heads of

INDIANS RESIDENT AT BUSSORAH. l6S

both, indeed, are actually attached to the ser- vice of the East India Company at their fac- tory. Some of them have direct communi- cation with merchants of their own caste at Bombay ; but more of them trade through the medium of the Banians settled at Mus- cat, and few or none have any immediate transactions of trade directly with Bengal. To conform in some degree to the manners of the place, the turban peculiar to the Ba- nians of India is laid aside, and generally a red one, half in the Arab and half in the Indian form, is substituted in its place. The rest of the dress is a mixture of the Persian and the Arab, without being exactly either ; though no part