Narrative of the residence of the Persian Princes in London, in 1835 and 1836, with an account of their Journey from Persia, and subsequent adventures

Front matter

■ ; -. j > NARRATIVE OF THE RESIDENCE OF THE PERSIAN PRINCES IN LONDON IN 1835 AND 1836, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR JOURNEY FROM PERSIA, AND SUBSEQUENT ADVENTURES. By JAMES BAILLIE FRASER, Esq. AUTHOR OF "TRAVELS IN KHORASAN," "THE KUZZILBASH," " THE PERSIAN ADVENTURER," Sic. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LO N D O N : RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, Uuiiltstjer in ©rtunatg to &er istaj«B-i.. 1838. LONDON : PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. I TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, &c. &c. &c. 34, Devonshire-place, 25th Dec. 1837. My Lord, To your Lordship, whose benevolence and kind attention provided so liberally for the comfort of the " Persian Princes" during their stay in London, as well as on their return to the Asylum of their choice, and towards whom they never ceased to express their deep gratitude and respect, I beg permission to inscribe this slight account of their residence in England, and their journey to Constantinople. I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's very faithful Humble servant, James B. Fraser.

Preface

. Few words are necessary to explain the object of the following pages. The author con ceived that some account of the residence in England of the first Persian — in truth, the first Asiatic Princes, who ever visited this country — was due to the British public whose guests these Princes were ; and especially to that por tion of it who took so lively an interest in their history and their fate. And on whom could the task of giving it fall, but on him who was intrusted with the charge of providing for their comfort while here, and of escorting them hence, on their return to the asylum they had chosen ? In executing this task he has kept two objects in view ; the first, to give, in plain and simple language, the truth, and nothing but the truth ■ 1

PREFACE.

. — to exhibit his Royal charges in their real characters, and to explain, as well as he could, their feelings at all they saw, or heard, or experienced in this country ; the second, to avoid as much as possible fatiguing his readers by the never-ending repetition of question and answer, and sentiments and compliments, which the incidents and engagements of every day gave rise to, without slurring over facts or expressions calculated to promote his primary object This, he can assure his readers, was no easy matter ; for want of language on their part, in debarring them from free intercourse with others, prevented alike the utterance of many of those originalities of thought which give zest to the conversation of interesting strangers, and the occurrence of those whimsical mistakes and absurd coincidences, which sometimes may really happen, but are more often wittily ima gined for persons in their circumstances ; so that, in fact, their life and conversation were marked by more of monotony than excitement.

PREFACE.

. VU With this short explanation he commits the work to the decision of the public, the only true judges in such cases, who, where there is little pretension, are not apt to be severe, and who, on the present occasion, will not, it is hoped, think it necessary to " break a fly upon the wheel." London, Jan. 24. 1838. NARRATIVE OF THE PERSIAN PRINCES IN LONDON. DEAR , London, 1836. I do not wonder that you are amused at the new and singular duty which has lately fallen to my share ; and, as it is very natural that you should wish to hear all about it, and to know who my charges really are, it will give me much pleasure to introduce you to these royal personages, — for such, and no less, by birth and parentage they are. But in order that you may understand the nature of their present situation, and their motive for embarking in an undertaking so extraordinary in the eyes of a Persian and a Prince, as that of a journey to England, I must commence by giving you a slight sketch of the political condition of the country which they have been forced to abandon.

VOL. I. B B FAMILY OF FUTEH ALLEE SHAH. Futeh Allee Shah, the late king of Persia, had, as you are aware, the largest family of children perhaps that ever was born to man. What number of wives he had is a point on which curiosity cannot, I fear, be satisfied ; for not only were they subject to death like other women, in which case the vacancies were speedily replaced, but his majesty was in the habit of making frequent changes in the rosegarden of his harem, occasionally weeding out those flowers which withered or lost their loveliness, and not seldom bestowing such superannuated fair ones as marks of his especial regard upon certain of his favourite officers, who were forced to pay pretty handsomely for the faded sweets. Those ladies who brought him sons he seldom abandoned or lost sight of.

The moment it was known that any of his wives had become the mother of a male infant, a superior establishment was immediately allotted to her, and she entered at once into the enjoyment of a weight and influence which was denied to those who had the ill luck to produce only children of their own sex. But the king's passion was variety, and, as he made a rule of PERSIAN MARRIAGES. 3 marrying after a fashion every female to whom he took a fancy, you may conceive that the number of his wives amounted to a pretty high figure. There are, as perhaps you may have heard, two sorts of Mahometan marriages. Of the wives espoused after the first of these fashions, and who are called Ahdee, men are limited to four, and with these the contract is for life, unless dissolved by a regular and formal divorce.

Those wedded after the second form are called Mootah, and with them the contract endures for any period agreed upon between the parties, — years, months, weeks, days, or even hours, — after the lapse of which they may separate, or renew the union, just as they think fit. Of these Mootahs the number is unrestricted, nor is the connexion considered at all disreputable ; all the parties have to do, in order to preserve respectability, is to adhere to their contract while it lasts. In the families of great men, who can maintain many wives, this description of marriage is resorted to as the means of increasing their harem, and their chance of legitimate progeny ; b NUMBER OF THE SHAH'S CHILDREN. and thus many of their favourite sons are born of their Mootah wives. The greater number of the children of Futeh Allee Shah were neces sarily born of mothers so circumstanced ; and it is affirmed that, of wives of both classes, he generally maintained in his harem from eight hundred to one thousand.

Even at the time of his death the number it contained is said to have been between seven and eight hundred. Of this goodly collection were born to him, first and last, from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty sons, and about a hundred and fifty daughters ; a fair progeny, which, inheriting all the procreative zeal and ambition of their august sire, and being early indulged with the means of gratifying them, the royal race increased with such prodigious rapidity, that at the time of his majesty's death, had his descendants been all gathered together, he would have seen, it is said, a tribe of full five thousand souls, men, women, and children, clustering around his throne. Such singular fœcundity, however desirable in patriarchal ages, when men were wanted to increase the strength of a wandering tribe, PROFLIGACY OF HIS SONS. 5 proved anything but a blessing either to the sire or to the country of this numerous off spring.

The latter years of the former were disturbed and embittered by the quarrels of his sons, by their profligacy, and their more than questionable loyalty; while the country was eaten up, and the people impoverished, by their rapa cious profusion. Each province, every consider able district and town, nay almost every village of more than ordinary size, had its " Shahzadeh," or Prince, with his court on a greater or less scale, oppressing his handful of miserable Ryots, till at length so completely did these royal leeches exhaust the resources of the kingdom, that very little, comparatively speaking, of its lawful revenues reached the Shahs treasury. But this was not all. The crown of Persia has at all times been the property of the sharpest sword and strongest arm ; and each of these petty kings, conceiving himself the fittest to succeed his father or grandfather, sought by all possible means, however flagitious, to strengthen himself for the struggle which all contemplated at the death of the reigning sovereign, so that HEIR TO THE THRONE. the seeds of innumerable and interminable civil wars were sown throughout the land.

To provide, so far as human foresight might avail, against a result so ruinous upon the king's demise, his majesty, who claims the privilege of naming his successor, however little that nomination may be respected after his death, was prevailed upon to declare his second, but noblest-born son, Abbas Meerza, as heir to his crown and kingdom ; and the principal powers in alliance with his majesty not only acknow ledged this choice, but declared that they would support the will of their august ally, so far as might be in their power. This disposition was unfortunately rendered void by the death of Abbas Meerza ; but his majesty was again prevailed upon to nominate Mahomed Meerza, eldest son of the deceased heir apparent, in the room of his father, as successor to the throne ; and this new choice was in like manner recognised and guaranteed by both Great Britain and Russia.

Unfortunately for themselves, however, neither the uncles nor cousins of the intended heir, that is, the sons and grandsons of the Shah, would nor did acqui- COMPETITORS. 7 esce in the decision of their sovereign and father. On the contrary, they openly declared that they never would bow the head to a boy; and each, avowing his intentions to strike for the throne, collected his resources and prepared his strength for the impending conflict. Accordingly, when Futeh Allee Shah resigned his crown and life in October 1835, a variety of competitors started for the former. Among them however, besides Mahomed Meerza, the legitimate heir, three alone were at all formidable. These were, first, the Zil-e-Sultaun, full brother to the late Abbas Meerza, and consequently full uncle to the heir apparent : secondly, Hoossein Allee Meerza, the Firmaun Firmaee, or Governor General of the important province of Fars : and thirdly, Hassan Allee Meerza, full brother of the last, who had once been governor of Khora san, and afterwards of Kerman, from which he had been expelled for misconduct by the late Abbas Meerza, with the Shah's permission.

The Zil-e-Sultaun was a man deficient in every requisite for command, and formidable only from being governor of the ark or citadel of Tehran, in which were deposited the treasures HASSAN ALLEE MEERZA. of the sovereign. Hoossein Allee Meerza was powerful from being in possession ofthe resources of Fars, which province commands the whole south of Persia; but he was a man of weak intellect and irresolute mind, and his family had moreover rendered themselves obnoxiousto many of the nobles of the province by acts of oppres sion and tyranny. The three princes now in England, and whom I shall presently describe to you, are the sons of this same Hoossein Allee Meerza. His brother, Hassan Allee Meerza, was a man of more ability and strength of mind ; and the popularity which he had acquired throughout a large part of the kingdom by a reputation for liberality and courage, would have rendered him the most dangerous rival of all to the legitimate heir, had not these advantages been neutralized by an imprudence and rashness which losl him the confidence of his father, and reduced him to a sort of dependence upon his brother the Fir maun Firmaee.

His superior boldness and deci sion of character, however, enabled him to exer cise a powerful influence over his brother ; and, in opposing the claims of Mahomed Meerza, they acted in perfect co-operation. ZIL-E-S'JLTAUN CROWNS HIMSELF. When the last-named prince, who ought now to be called Mahomed Shah, supported by the solid aid of England, and the countenance of Russia, marched from Tabreez towards Tehran, the weak pretenders, who had for a moment affected a show of royalty in their own little domains, began to discover their error, and, as Khans and nobles came rallying round the sovereign, whom they saw it was in vain to oppose, these also, one by one, sought to secure indul gence by a timely submission. The Zil-e- Sultaun, however, who had crowned himself in the capital by the title of Allee Shah, still held out, and lavished money from the treasury to raise troops and secure the fidelity of his followers.

On the advance of his nephew, he sent him a letter, conceived in sufficiently arrogant terms, setting forth, that it had been the will of God to place the crown of Persia upon his head ; and, as the kingdom could only endure one monarch, he summoned Mahomed Meerza, as his nephew and subject, to come to the presence, and tender his homage, and, in return, to accept from the royal favour the government of his deceased B SURRENDER OF ZIL-E-SULTAUN. father, namely, the province of Azerbijan. This letter was followed up by an army led by Imaum Verdee Meerza, another son of the late king. But the result was very different from the ex pectations of its master, for the troops, dismayed at the imposing appearance of the Azerbijan force, led on by its English officers, and enjoy ing the countenance of the English and Russian missions, and probably at heart not over warm in the cause of their employer, deserted to join the royal standard, in such numbers that their leader Imaum Verdee Meerza himself was fain to follow their example, and, repairing to the presence of the young king, to sue for pardon.

In fact, the march of the royal army from Casveen to the capital was a triumphal pro gress. Opposition had disappeared; and the unfortunate Zil e-Sultaun, unable either to fight or flee, was forced to surrender at discretion. But the discomfiture of other aspirants did not by any means so intimidate the ruler of Fars and his ambitious brother as to induce them to withdraw their opposition. On the contrary, the Firmaun Firmaee, who had been in attendance upon his father at Ispahan until CONDUCT OF THE AMEEN-U-DOWLUT. 11 a few days before the old man's decease, on his return to Sherauz, had himself crowned by the title of Hoossein Shah, assumed the ensigns of royalty, and began to levy troops with all his might to support his pretensions. He was supported in this rebellious course by the Ameen-u-Dowlut, chief minister of the late king, who on this occasion certainly betrayed his trust, and acted an unprincipled as well as a dishonest and imprudent part, knowing, as he did, the will of his deceased master, and how that will would surely be supported.

The consequence of this conduct on the part of the Ameen-u-Dowlut, together with that of a celebrated religious character Hadjee Sey ed Mahomed Baukher, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, and head of the priesthood in Ispahan, was as disas trous as possible to that city. Deserted by the authorities that ought to have maintained good order, the Looties, that is, the " swell mob," the great concourse of vagabonds and thieves who are to be found in abundance in every large Persian city, as well as in those of other coun tries, commenced a systematic course of plun der, in which they were aided and abetted by DISTURBED STATE OF ISPAHAN. the above-mentioned Sheikh-ul-Islam, who, though enjoying a reputation for sanctity which rendered him all-powerful at Ispahan, and a most dangerous opponent to any reigning monarch, was at heart not only a most ambi tious, but a thoroughly unprincipled person.

He was the receiver of the lion's share of the stolen goods ; and the thieves under his protec tion made their chief depot for plunder in the principal mosque, where they enjoyed a perfect security. So complete was the rule of anarchy and outrage in this once great capital of Persia, that all safety of person and of property was at an end ; houses were forcibly entered, and women and goods carried off openly by these wretches, much as in a town given up to plun der, so that all honest men that could do so fled from the scene of confusion and crime. To rescue the city from this deplorable condition was a matter not less important than to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Firmaun Firmaee, who, according to information received from Fars, had despatched an army headed by his brother Hassan Allee Meerza, and five or six of his sons and other princes, to FORCED MARCH. 13 seize upon the place.

This service was confided by the young Shah to the care of Sir Henry Bethune Lindsay, who, as you are aware, had been sent out about a twelvemonth before, to assist in re-organizing the army, particularly the artillery of the Shah, and who had borne a very conspicuous part in the military transac tions which had secured the throne to Ma homed Shah. Sir Henry marched from Tehran in February, at the head of not more than four thousand men, of whom some five hundred were cavalry, and with fourteen guns. On reaching a village on the low road between seventy and eighty miles distant from Ispahan, it was confidently reported that the army of the Firmaun Firmaee. had advanced within a few days' journey of that city ; upon which, with characteristic promptitude, he made a forced march, which in about thirty hours brought him to the outskirts of the place ; a performance with infantry almost, if not wholly, unprecedented, and which reflects equal credit on the troops for their willingness and powers of endurance, as on the zeal and decision of their commander.

At his approach the Loo- MOVEMENT AGAINST ties and plunderers disappeared, order was in stantly restored, and Ispahan was saved. Scarcely, however, had Sir Henry and his little army reposed for a few days in the rescued city, when authentic information was received of the near approach of the army of Fars. Fully aware of the importance of promptitude, he determined on an immediate movement, without waiting for the succours which were promised him ; and disregarding the entreaties of those who would have fain persuaded him to wait, if but for a single day, until even one more regi ment should arrive, he beat his drums at once, and in an hour after was in full march towards Komaishah, in the neighbourhood of which place it was supposed the enemy would be found. It appeared, however, that the troops of Fars, which consisted chiefly of cavalry, desirous to avoid a collision with the royal army, and in hopes of being able to surprise the city, had taken a road leading further among the moun tains than that which Sir Henry had chosen, which was the usual high-road.

On learning this, by a rapid and clever manœuvre, he led THE TROOPS OF FARS. his troops across the dry bed of a river, and, cutting off their route, met them face to face not far from the village of Isferaeen. Hassan Allee Meerza, who, it appears, com manded in person, thus forced to fight or flee, took the former part, and divided his cavalry into five dustehs, or bodies, so placed as to support one another. His serbdz, or regular infantry, amounting only to about eight hundred men, he posted behind an old garden wall, in order to check by their fire the advance of the king's troops as they should move forwards to the attack. But Sir Henry was a better tacti cian than they dreamt of, and, instead of march ing up so as to be shot at coolly from behind a wall, he halted his artillery, reinforced by six guns from Ispahan, at a convenient distance, and, opening its fire upon the said wall, knocked it down in a trice, together with a good many of the poor serbauz behind it.

The cavalry, startled by the fate of the regular infantry, made but a faint show of resistance ; and, on receiving a few rounds from the well-served guns, they fled, and scattered all over the country; and so complete was the rout, that it is said their PURSUIT TOWARDS SHEERAUZ. commander, Hassan Allee Meerza, together with his brother and nephew, princes, could scarcely muster fifty horsemen to attend them in their flight. The serbauz were all made prisoners, and the camp equipage with the whole of the baggage taken ; and had Sir H. Bethune possessed more cavalry, the slaughter, if not the rout, would have been much greater, for there was no want of will to slay ; as it was, the killed on the part of the enemy did not, I believe, exceed a hundred men, while of the Shah's troops there were only a few wounded.

Sir Henry, intent to profit by his victory, pursued his way at once towards Sheerauz, followed by the Moat imud-u- Dowlut, Manooche her Khan, a Georgian eunuch in great favour with the late king, who had been appointed to take the command in Fars, and who had entered Ispahan on his way thither, with a considerable army, after Sir Henry had left it. It appears that the efforts of the Firmaun Firmaee had been very much paralyzed by the defeat of his troops near Komaishah, and that not only were his own resources inadequate to meet the strug- TREATMENT OF THE EEL-KHANEE. 17 gle he had rushed into, but that his influence with the powerful chiefs of his country, who might have aided him effectually, was at too low an ebb to admit of much reliance being placed on their assistance. It was only a short time before, that he had caused Mahomed Allee Khan, a nobleman who from his influence among" the wandering tribes had been created Eel-Khdnee, or Lord of the Eeleauts, to be seized and impri soned ; and, although life and limb were spared, the Khan was not released until he had disbursed large sums of money ; after which, " a la mode de Perse," they gave him a dress of honour, and sent him back to his country and his tribes again.

But though those who have been out raged by a king or prince may, while he continues powerfuland prosperous, conceal thewounds inflicted on their pride, it is not to be imagined that these wounds do not rankle in secret ; nor that, should opportunity occur, the injured par ties will be slow to wreak their vengeance on the oppressor. The Eel-Khanee, summoned to Sheerauz on this occasion, with his contingent of troops, came indeed, and entered the city ; DIFFICULTIES OF THE FIRMAUN FIRMAEE. but it was not to aid its distressed prince; it was to watch his time, and to betray the man who had injured him so deeply. Another misfortune for the Firmaun Firmaee was, that even the serbauz, or regular infantry, which he possessed, were deprived at this critical period of their only efficient leader. They had been drilled and commanded by a British officer, who had once been similarly employed by the celebrated Daood Pashah of Baghdad.

This person, who had for some time been suffering from illness, died just before the march of the Fars troops against Ispahan. It was whis pered that he had been put out of the way by order of the Firmaun Firmaee, in consequence of a refusal to march in command of troops that were intended to act against the cause sup ported by his own country and government : but this I do not believe ; for whether he did or did not refuse to march against Mahomed Shah, the state of disease under which he had long been labouring, and which had been exa cerbated, if not entirely induced, by his own unfortunate habits, was sufficient to account for HIS SONS. the fact of his death, without imputing to his employers the needless guilt of murder. While the Firmaun Firmaee was thus preparing for so important a struggle, he summoned round him as a matter of course all his sons, and those relatives on whom he thought he could most confidently rely.

Among these were the three princes now in England, Reza Koolee Meerza, Nejeff Koolee Meerza, and Timour Meerza. Of these, Reza Koolee Meerza, his eld est son, born of his first and most esteemed wife, is the principal in dignity, as in years. Far excelling his weak father in ability and discre tion, the executive administration of the province was chiefly vested in him. In the words he has more than once made use of to me himself in speaking of this subject, " The title was with my father — the rule with me." He is now about thirty-two years of age, tall, and of a very pleasing countenance; a man of very amiable dispositions, gentlemanly feelings and manners; a great deal of innate dignity of character, which evinces itself in his general deportment and conduct, and a shrinking and almost morbid NEJEFF KOOLEE MEERZA. sensitiveness to all that, in his opinion, may tend to affect his good name, or lessen him in public estimation ; in fact, a repugnance to public exposure of any sort.

The title bestowed by the late Shah upon this prince, for almost all of them have such titles, was that of Naib ool-Moolk, Lieutenant or Vice-Governor of the country. Nejeff Koolee Meerza, the second in years of the three, being born of a Georgian lady, who was of course a slave, is in that respect inferior in rank to his elder brother, but takes precedence of the younger, though more nobly born, Timour Meerza, probably by courtesy and tacit consent. He had been made governor too, at an early age, of the distant and important dis trict of Bebahan, or Koh-e-Geeloo, an office of trust, which increased his personal consequence, and for which, according to the fashion of Per sian governors, his natural abilities appear to qualify him well. He is of a small and slender person : his light hair, blue eyes, and peculiar features announce his Georgian blood; while the disadvantage of extreme short-sightedness, and the long beard which, unlike his brothers, he NEJEFF KOOLEE MEERZA. 21 cherishes with care, unite with a natural shyness of disposition to render his appearance and ad dress less agreeable than those of his brothers, and tinge them with an awkward uncouthness.

In truth, his manners are less gentle than those of his elder brother, and want the open frankness of those ofthe younger; and a rough deep voice increases the unfavourable impression which a first introduction may sometimes pro duce. Yet this ungainly exterior covers more talent and learning than is possessed by either of the others; the Wali, for such is this prince's title, which signifies Prince, or Chief, is shrewd and intelligent, well versed in the learning and accomplishments of his own country, a keen observer, an acute reasoner, with a decidedly intriguing and diplomatic turn, and a general force of character which has given great weight to his opinion with his brothers. The Wali is always set forward as the negotiator, where such is required ; and, though the greatest defer ence is paid to the orders and wishes of the elder prince, I have observed that he never comes to any decision on matters of consequence without consulting the Wali.

Yet this force of TIMOUR MEERZA. mind is mingled in a very curious manner with a simplicity which appears wholly at variance with the rest of his character ; and I frequently remarked a timidity and irresolution in some things, generally trifles, amounting even to childishness, which was wholly irreconcileable with the natural vigour, I had almost said relentlessness, which often marked his character. For the rest, he is one of those strict religionists who affect a little of the dervish, or ascetic; although, judging from his unrestrained enjoyment of the good things of this world at times, his philo sophy does not appear to have produced a very regulating effect on his conduct. Taciturn and morose as he might appear to strangers, he enjoyed himself much in private society, and there was none who loved their joke or their bon-mot to season a good glass of wine more than the Wali.

I have seen him uproarious in his mirth, and, what might appear still less in keeping with his character, melted occasionally into very sincere fits of sensibility. The third, Timour Meerza, is very different from both his brothers. He is by the same mother as the eldest, but five or six years TIJIOUB ME!- US yn tinge: : liint is,frojntnc-i" f-tix M l«'iii ;,-■ i-^Jit y«nrs of age. Tall ami slender, yet muscular and perfectly Iwefl made, his carriage auddepurt • declare at once his character, which is that oi :i fead&SS, reckless, joyous young sutuicr, raring Sit t If - I'.ir anything that has not reference ti> hunting or to arms, or sociai and n .■ yen temperate tnjoyniept. Hmses, dogs, hawks, g»ins, swcnl-, and pist,dk are his paSswn, to s!d'-!i niay i»- nddtd, — no uncoiiuuun tt.ing in — a Harm tidniiration of female be::i;ty,and delight in parties of ple.isurt; and rhuse feasts «h<."v (he wine-cup circulates, fretl).