Narrative of a tour through Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia and Mesopotamia. With an introduction and occasional observations upon the condition of Mohammedanism and Christianity in those countries

Front matter

NARRATIVE OF A TOUR IN TURKEY AND PERSIA. The Missionary Enterprise built upon the Foundation op the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone. THE PROPHECY. Ask of Me, and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inhe ritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. David. NARRATIVE OF A TOUR through ARMENIA, KURDISTAN, PERSIA AND MESOPOTAMIA, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, AND OCCASIONAL OBSERVATIONS UPON THE CONDITION OF MOHAMMEDANISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN THOSE COUNTRIES. Br the Rev. HORATIO SOUTHGATE. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. irpio-icmv iris yHt. — Acts of the Apostles. NEW-YORK: D. APPLETON & CO. 200 BROADWAY. MDCCCXL. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, BY D. APPLETON AND CO. In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York. H. LUDWIG, PRIN TER, 72, Vesey-9treet. N.Y.

Preface

. The Mission, whose history is detailed in the following pages, was performed under the direction of the Foreign Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The circumstances which led to its origin are preserved in the records of the Committee, and have been laid before the world. 1 need not, therefore, dwell upon them here. With regard to the report of my labours which I now present to the Church, a few remarks only are necessary. The author has found it impossible to embrace, in a publication of ordinary size, all the information which he has gathered. He has, therefore, omitted the narrative of his journey through European Turkey, as well as of two excursions in the Western part of Asia Minor. He has withheld, moreover, an account of the recent and present reforms in Turkey, for which he had gathered ample materials, and has confined himself to a few incidental notices of them, which will be found scattered in different parts of the narrative.

The full account would have occupied a space equal to half of one of the volumes now offered to the public. He has, also, been compelled, for the same reason, to confine himself, in his survey of Mohammedanism, to the most 1* VI

PREFACE.

. essential points in its present character and condition, without indulging in speculative disquisitions upon the nu merous topics of interest which they suggest, or carrying out the information detailed, in all its bearings upon the advancement of Christianity in the regions over which his survey extended. Reflections of this kind would have been intended chiefly for the use of the Committee un der which he acted, and can be conveyed to them, as they have already, in part, been, by a more private mode of communication. While the author was pursuing his inquiries among the Mohammedans, he soon found his mind drawn, almost unconsciously, to the state of the Eastern Churches, and his interest became, at length, so deeply excited in their behalf, that he devoted to them all the attention which the more immediate duties of his work permitted.

The information which he collected and the views which he formed, are, so far as his limits allowed, embraced in the following narrative. With regard to the plan of the work, he has en deavoured to combine, as much as possible, incident with instruction, and to relieve the dullness of statistical in formation by the interest of personal experience and adventure. A map of the countries surveyed being in dispensable in a work of this nature, much time and labour have been expended upon it. In constructing it, a valuable French map, the most accurate of any which had come under the notice of the author, was selected as a basis, and its authority followed in most parts which the writer did not survey. Along his own route, however, every thing is original, excepting the latitude and longi.

PREFACE.

. tude of the principal places. These were taken, in part, from the French map, and, in part, from the best English authorities. In the explanation of foreign terms, I have followed the course which 1 have always desired to see pursued in works upon the East. 1 have explained them where they first occur, either by a brief definition in the text, or by a note in the margin, excepting a few instances, in which they are explained by the context. In the most important cases, or where the meaning would not readily be remembered, the definition is repeated, or referred to, on the recurrence of the term. In the first instance, the ori ginal word is uniformly printed in Italics, which the reader may regard as an intimation to fix the meaning firmly in his memory. Of the engravings, I am indebted to Rich's Residence in Kurdistan, for the views of the City of Arbela and the Ruins of Nineveh.

That of the Temple of Mecca was selected from an old work, but is presented as corrected, by the author, from the best authorities in his possession. The View of Constantinople, which is the most comprehen sive and accurate that I remember to have seen, 1 caused to be taken by a European Artist in Constantinople. The Per sian Heads are from original paintings by natives of that country. For the other sketches the author alone is re ponsible. Several items of information which could not conveniently be embraced in the narrative, are given in the appendix, to which 1 have added some other pieces, particularly rules for the pronunciation of foreign terms, and a table of the distances travelled each day during my principal tour.

PREFACE.

. VIII My acknowledgments for aid received in my work are, for the most part, made in the course of my narrative. I cannot, however, forbear to add in this place, the expres sion of my deep gratitude to the Committee, under which 1 went forth, for their hearty co-operation in all the plans and labours of my Mission, and also to the two Secretaries, the Rev. Dr. Milnor and the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, under the superintendence of the first of whom the work was com menced, and during the official term of the second, is now brought to a close. Nor may I forget to record the extraordinary liberality of a single congregation, the Church of St. Andrew, Philadelphia, by which a thousand dollars, annually, were contributed, for the space of three years, to the support of the Mission. My work, with all its toil and suffering, and the deep interest which it has so long sustained in my breast, is now about to end.

With these concluding words, my labours terminate. There have already grown out of it, two Mis sions, one at Constantinople, and another among the Jacobite Christians of Mesopotamia, both which, I humbly believe, will be productive of rich and glorious results, if faithfully prosecuted and sustained. Other Missions may yet be established in the wide-spread field which I have been per mitted to survey, and, perhaps, a new interest will be awakened in some hearts by the humble record which 1 now offer to the Church. I leave my work, therefore, with no other feelings than those of gratitude, joy and encouragement, and with these feelings, upon this the fourth anni. versary of my embarkation from the city where I write, I turn to other labours in the same good cause. TT O New-York, April 24, 1840.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST. Preface Page v Introduction. Mohammed — The Koran — The Sunneh, or Oral Law — Mohammedan Theology — The Mussulman Catechism — The Mohammedan Sects, Sunnites and Shiahs — History of their Origin — Difference in their Creeds — Doctrines of the Persians respecting Ali, the Founder of their Sect — Believers in his Divinity — Minor differences between the two Sects — Mutual Enmity — Tdkks and Persians contrasted — Other Schisms in Mohammedanism — Present State, . 3

Chapter I. From New-york To Constantinople

Farewell Meeting — Instructions — Embarkation — Journey' through France — Voyage through the Mediterranean — The Archipelago — Syra — English and American Missions — Islands— The Troad — Turkish Peasant — Alexandria Troas — St. Paul — Steamers — First Impressions — The Hellespont — Mussulman Devotions — Arrival at Constantinople 57

Chapter II. Constantinople

Study of the Turkish — Its Use — Right Judgment ofthe Eastern Character — Lodgings — Hassuna d' Ghiz — Teachers of Turkish — Turkish Honesty — Pilgrimage to Mecca — Sultan's Portraits — Mohammedan Aversion to Pictures — The Royal Schools — Ignorance of Foreign t Languages among the Turks — Comparison of English and French Labours in Oriental Literature — The Plague — Its Character — Fatality — Precautions against it — Effects of its appearance in a Family — Feelings of the Turks respecting it — Ignorance a cause of neglecting Precautions — Its Influence on Missionary operations 71

Chapter III

CONSTANTINO? LE. Drought — Public Prayer for Relief — Superstition, a feature of Mohammedanism — Ramazan, or Month of Fasting — Its institution — Its Observance — Parallel with Christian Fasts — Commencement of the Fast, how determined— Penalty for violating it — Opening of the Fast in 1836 — Mode of spending the day during Ramazan — Scenes at Sunset Illuminations — Anniversary of the Sultan's Birth — Night of Power— Giose of the Fast— Minor Fasts ) CONTENTS. X CH \PTER IV. CONSTANTINOPLE. Mohammedan Feasts— Turkish Passover— The Feast ofSacrifice— Procession and Public Services— Festivities— Effect of the Fast and Feast on Mohammmedans — Christianity insulled— Mosques— Those of Turkey and Persia described and compared — Different Classes of Mosques — Many of them originally Chm chess — St. Sophia, the Model The Minarets — The Exlerior — The Interior— Structure of the Ancient Churches — Candles — Ornaments — The Pulpit — Preaching — Impressive Feature of Islamism 112

Chapter V. Constantinople

Retrospect — Dissappointment in Colleagues — Decision — Excursion in Asia Minor — Disappointment relieved — Preparation for the Tour — My Attendant — His Character and Travels — Incident in the Bazars — Turkish Court of Justice — The Kadi— Oaths — Bond — False Witnesses — The Issue — Opinions of Mohammedans respecting the Sacred Scriptures — Doctrine ofthe Koran — Resemblances and Discrepancies between the Koran and the Bible — The latter, how regarded by Turks — How far circulated — The Bible in Persia — Martyn's Labours. 131

Chapter VI. From Constantinople To Trebizond

Firman — Its Character — Departure from Constantinople — Passengers — Black Sea — Sinope — Trebizond — Its Early History — Description — Population — Oaman Pasha — Changes — Friends 148

Chapter VII. Trebizond To Gumush Khaneh

Caravans and Post-horses — Leave Trebizond — Lazes— Valley Chiefs- Visit from one — The Peasant — Hills at Sunrise — Oppression — Defect of Reform — Summits — Snow-storm — Stavros — Turkish Travellers— Gumush Khaneh — Mines and Poverty — Turkish Polity — Population- Schools — Hospitality J5g CHAPTER Vin. FROM GUMUSH KHANEH TO ERZROUM. Leave Gumush Khaneh — Xenophon — Ancient Fortress — Balahor Baibout — Singular Edict of the Sultan — Cause of it — How far obeyed Mussulmans of Baibout — Prospecfs of Reform — Medical Labours Religious Charity — Its Objects — Its decline — Scene among the Moun. tains — Ashkaleh — Warm Springs— Plain of Erzroum — General Remarks — Agriculture — People igg

Chapter IX. Erzroum

JOURNEY TOWARDS MOUSH. Antiquities of Eizroum— The Modern Town— Trade— Houses— Climate— Population— New Mosque— Past and present compared— Change of Plan— Determine to enter Kurdistan— Preparations and Precautions — Change of Dress— Utility and Necessity of it— Muleteer^-First Day's Journey— Kurdish girl— The Araxes— Kui dish CONTENTS. Tents— Reception— Manneis of the People — Repast — The Egyp tian — Presents — Mountains — Plain of Kheunneus — Arous — Lodg ings — Illustration of Scripture — Villagers — Armenian Priests . . . 178

Chapter X. Journey To

MOU<H DESCRIPTION OF MOUSH. Mountains and Rivers — Young Kurd — The Euphrates — Fish — Plain of Moush — Bridge s — Moush — Position — Interior —Population — Medresseh— Curiosity Excited — Armenians — Miraculous Book — Monastery — Armenian Catholics — Kurds — Appearance — Manners — Dress — Trade — Productions — The Pasha — Visit of the Russians . 195

Chapter XI. Journey From Mou-- II To Bitlis

Departure — Plain of Mous'i — .Ylarnik — Armenian Peasantry — Villages — Houses — People — Churches — Robbers — Ride to Bitlis — Khans — Approach to the Town 209

Chapter XII. Bitlh

Arrival — Interview with the Governor — My Host — The Banker — Situation of the Town — Buildings and Streets — Trade — Fruits — Evening Scene — Visit to the Armenian Bishop — Mosq'ie — Adventure — .Medrosseh — Population — Manners — Armenians — Kurds — Character of the Mountain Kurds — Devil-worshipper — Government — Antiquities — Regrets — Armenian Hospitality 218

Chapter XIII

[FROM BITLIS TO VASTAN Departure — Musicians — Muleteer — Pilgrims — Friends — Peak of Nimrod— Foreigners in Bitlis — Robbers — First view ofthe Lake of Van — Villages— Water— Illness— Elmaleu — Night of the 4th of July — Difficult Path — PiMigah — Kurdish Villages — Pilfering — Wandering Kurds — A Dance — Difficult Passage of a Mountain — Country along the Southern S'aore of the Lake — Adventure — Agriculture — Cascade—Virtue of Cold Water— Akhlamar 232

Chapter XIV. From Vastan To Van

Vastan— Kurdish Bey — Mohammedan Piety— Rivers— Shanikoum— Illustration of Scripture— View ofthe Lake — Erdremid — Introduction to the Pasha of Van— Chairs— Homage— Lodgings 249

Chapter XV. Van

History of Van— Situation — Ancient Remains — Partial destruction by Tamerlane—Gardens — Ancient Inscription — My Host — Repast— Elite of the Table — Eastern and Western Habits compared— Sunday— The Church— Government of Van— Military—Schuliz— The City- Trade— Inhabitants— Character of the Armenians— The State of Mohammedanism in these regions . . - CONTENTS.

Chapter XVI. Journey From Van Into Persia

Plan os Route— Miseries of Travelling— Village of Shah Baghi— Lake Altchek— Villaoe— Guard— Face of the Country— Equestrian Exploits — Ararat — Ablutions — Mode— Baths— Lustration before Burial— Ablution with Earth— Duty of Conformity— Villages— Oppressed Christianity—Division of Forces— The Boundary— Persian Muleteers- Ceremonial Uncleanness 275

Chapter XVII. Farewell To Kurdistan

Reception in a Kurdish Village— The Nestorian— Depredations— Village Mosques — The Imam — Manner of his Appointment— His Official Character and Duties — Missionary Labour among the Kurds — Departure from the Apostolic Model — Character of the Kurds — Journey lo Salmas— First Reception in Persia— Fiist Impressions — The Mollah — Message from a Turkish Lady— Salmas 267

Chapter XVIII. Journey From Salmas To Ourmiah

A Mohammedan Catholic — Mohammedan Sectarians— Dilman— Assassinations — A day^s Journey — Sleeping on the House-tops — Persian School— Plain of Ourmiah— Mission-House — Missionaries— Policy of the Mission— Approaching Crisis— Our Duly— Work of the English and American Churches 298

Chapter XIX. Ourmiah

Plan of the Mission— Clerical Pupils— The Nestorians— Mountain Tribe — Confidence in the Missionaries— Cause— Religious Seivices Climate — Mounds— Plain of Ourmiah — The Governor — Persian Habits—The lost Imam— Visit to a Village— Popularity of the Missionary Physician— Reception at the Village 308

Chapter XX

.TOURNEY FROM OURMIAH TO KHOY. Determine to travel by Night— Plan of Journey— Departure— Robbery- Clouds— The Bishop's Father— Lake of Ourmiah— Garden at Dilman— Night Travelling— Roads in the East— Plain of Khoy . . . 321

Chapter XXI. Khoy

JOURNEY TO TEBRIZ. Garbs— A Pilgrim— Caravanserais-Mohammedan Idea ofChristianity— Dangerous Medicine— Persian Prejudice against Men of other Religions— Climate— Bazars- Population— Mountains— Persian Harem- Arrival at Tebriz • „„ LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. Constantinople, Frontispiece. Pasiage of the Euphrates through the Plain of Moush 199 Persian Mirza , ** A VIEW OF THE GROUND-WORK OF MOHAMMEDANISM, INTRODUCTORY TO THE NARRATIVE. THE COMMAND. Go YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GoSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. Jesus Christ.

Introduction

. Mohammed — The Koran — The Sunneh, or Oral Law — Mohammedan Theology — The Mussulman Catechism — The Mohammedan Sects, Sunnites and Shiahs — History of their Origin — Difference in their Creeds — Doctrines of the Persians respecting Ali, the Founder of their Sect — Believers in his Divinity — Minor Differences between the two Sects — Mutual Enmity — Turks and Persians contrasted — Other Schisms in Mohammedanism — Present State. Mohammed,* the founder of the religion which it is in part the design of these pages to delineate, was born at Mecca, an ancient city of Arabia, about A.D. 571. He was of the tribe of Koreisb, the noblest in Arabia, and, if credit may be given to Oriental writers, he was a lineal descendant of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Mohammedan historians record that mighty prodigies accompanied his birth.

The sacred fire of the Magi went out, the river Tigris overflowed its banks, and the prophet himself appeared surrounded with a light which illumined the country round about. His first act on en tering the world was to fall upon his knees, raise his hands and face towards heaven and repeat the Mussul man creed. The histories of his life abound in such legends as these. * The orthography which I have adopted for the name of the false prophet is that which accords with the Ea&tern pronunciation and with the usage of European scholars.

INTRODUCTION.

. His youthful years were spent in the humble occupa tion of a travelling merchant. At the age of 38, when his marriage with an opulent widow had raised him to an equality with the principal men of his city, he begun to affect solitude and spent much of his time in a retired cave. At the end of two years, according to the testimony of his biographers, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and invested him with the high commission of an ' Apostle of God to the black and the red,' or, in other words, to all mankind. After this followed frequent pretended revelations, which appeared as circumstances called for them, and were always of such a character as the emer gency demanded. This often rendered those of a late date contradictory to those which had gone before. Thus, while the weakness of his party confined him to pacific measures, his pretended revelations breathed only the spirit of peace and good-will.

But when his followers had become numerous and able to cope with his enemies, there immediately appeared a command to spread his religion by the sword. There is good evidence, however, that his motives at the first were not altogether unworthy of a religious re former. His original design, doubtless, was to destroy the idolatry of the Pagan Arabs, and to reduce the corrupted faith of the Judaists and Christians of Arabia to the worship of one only God. The unity of the Deity must therefore be regarded as the grand point of his religion, as it was also the prime article of his creed. With success his ambition increased while his motives degene rated, and the successive circumstances of his mission led him to add to his spurious revelations much which had never before entered his imagination. As the design of these volumes embraces only the present state of Mohammedanism, we need not dwell

INTRODUCTION.

. upon its early history, nor upon the endless questions to which it has given rise, but may pass at once to such a view of its doctrines and practices as will suffice to form a basis for our future observations.* The revelations which Mohammed pretended to receive from heaven were at first communicated, as has been remarked, by parcels, as occasion served. These were committed to writing by amanuenses on scattered palm-leaves and skins, or were laid up in the memory of Mohammed's followers. Thus they remained at the time of his death. Abubekr, his successor, undertook to gather them together and to digest them into a single volume, which he committed to the custody of Hafsa, one of Mohammed's wives. The book was revised by Othman, the third Caliph, and the various copies reduced to one standard.

It has since remained unchanged, and is generally known by the name which it bears on its own pages, Al Koran, or The Koran. The additions which have been made to it by Mussulman com mentators and which are now incorporated in the religion itself, will presently come under notice. Before proceed ing to these, however, the reader may be pleased to know something more particularly of the book itself. The appellation, Koran, is derived from an Arabic verb signifying to read, and may itself be interpreted the reading, or that which should be read. The import is the same with that of the Greek Biblia and the He- * The only biography of Mohammed which has appeared in thiB country is the excellent work of Prof. Bush, (Harper's Family Li brary, No. X.) Many have been published in Europe at different periods.

The most authentic are those by Prideaux and Gagnier. Of the various histories of the Saracenic conquests, one of the most approved is Ockley's History of the Saracens published in England, A.D. 1708. V

INTRODUCTION.

. I brew Mikra, from the first of which the general title of our Holy Scriptures is taken, while the second, derived from the same root with Koran, is the Jewish appellation of the Old Testament. The book is generally de signated among the Mussulmans by some honourable title instead of its original name. Those most com monly in use are Kelami Scherif, Noble Discourse, and Kitabi Aziz, Holy Book. When its scattered parts were collected by Abubekr they were divided into chapters which, in some copies, now rarely to be found, were subdi vided into verses after the manner of our own Scriptures. Another division sometimes seen in them, corresponds with that of the Psalms in the English and American Church Service, the whole being divided into thirty sections for the convenience of readers. Copies of this de scription are used in the imperial turbehs, or chapels of Constantinople, where the remains of the sultans are de posited.

In some of these chapels a reader may be seen at any hour of the day, sitting upon the carpet with a large copy of the Koran before him, reading in the low, cantillating tone, and with the see-saw motion of the body always observed. In this way the Koran is read through daily by thirty readers, for the regular performance of which devotional and meritorious act the chapels are endowed. The style of the Koran cannot be fairly judged by the insipid and incoherent form which it assumes even in the best translation. The purity, elegance and peculiar music of the original, at which Mohammed aimed with the skill of one who knew well how to make his revela tions enter the ears for which they were intended, are all lost when clothed in a foreign dress. To the Arab, how ever, these factitious excellencies are its highest charm. He speaks of its divine language in enraptured terms,

INTRODUCTION.

. and the melody of its rhythm is like an intoxicating draught to him. He appeals to it, after the example of its author, as the grand miracle of his religion, and like him declares it to be inimitable.* I was inclined to re gard this admiration as, in part at least, the product of re ligious enthusiasm, until it was confirmed to me by more disinterested witnesses. I have heard Christians of Mesopotamia, with whom the Arabic is vernacular, speak as fervently in praise of the literary beauties of the Ko ran as a Mussulman could do. A Chaldean of Mossoul described the flow of its words as a perfect melody.t The attractiveness of their holy book, in respect to its excellencies of style, is better appreciated by the Arabs than by the Turks or Persians, to the mass of whom its language is an unknown tongue.

Yet the reverence with which it is regarded by the latter as a repository of divine oracles, is not diminished by their ignorance of its meaning. They hold it to be, according to its own de clarations, " composed by God," " sent down from the Lord of all creatures," "a book of infinite value," "a revelation from a wise God." It is a copy from '• the original, written in the preserved book," or the volume of divine decrees, kept in the seventh heaven. t The requisition of its author, "None shall touch it except those who are clean," is generally, but not universally, observed. In repeated instances, I have witnessed its * Koran, Chap. XVI. tThis same individual had been a prisoner of one of the desert tribes, the Nasari, I believe. He informed me that their language was purely classical Arabic, of which the Koran is the standard.

Their superiority in this respect was the theme of their constant boast, and they spoke with deep contempt of the barbarous jargon of the cities. t Koran. Chaps. X.

INTRODUCTION.

. violation. Nor is it true, as has often been affirmed, that it is never permitted to be touched by an unbeliever, since I have freely opened and examined nu merous copies in mosques and medressehs, (colleges,) as well as others in the possession of private individuals. It is more difficult to procure one by purchase. In Con stantinople this can hardly be accomplished, except by the aid of a Mussulman,* but in Persia, many were offered to me without disguise. Here, however, as in Turkey, the public knowledge of such a transaction might subject one to danger. The reason of this scru ple I believe to be rather a fear, lest the book should be desecrated in the hands of an unbeliever, or sold for profit, like an article of merchandise, than, as might at first appear, the groundless jealousy of religious bigotry.

The Turks, much more than the Persians, carry their regard for the Koran, to the verge of superstition. They use it for divination, by drawing a decision from the first passage or word to which they may open. They inscribe its sentences upon the inner walls of their mosques, sometimes upon the exterior of their houses, and the ceilings of their rooms, on fountains, vestments, swords, banners, seals, -fee. The copies of the Koran which I have seen, have been of various dimensions, from the size of the largest foliot to a volume two inches square. They are uni formly in manuscript, and the penmanship is often as regular and beautiful as the finest copper-plate engraving. Multitudes gain their livelihood by the labour of tran scribing them. Some ofthe students in the medressehs • The same is true, in general, of commentaries and other works on religion. tSee Appendix, J.

INTRODUCTION.

. defray in this manner a considerable part ofthe expenses of their education. I knew an old man in Tebriz, celebrated for his chirographical skill, who wrote a single copy, annually, and maintained himself with the pro ceeds. There exists, among the Turks, a strong scruple both against printing and translating the Koran. This feeling is still more rife among the Arabs, who look upon its very words with superstitious reverence. In Persia, however, I have seen copies of translations in the language of the country. But even here the original was retained, and the translation was interlineary. Nor have I ever read or heard of a Mussulman translation made in any other manner.* The Koran is to the Mussulmans what the Bible is to the Christian — a rule of faith and practice. Terms equivalent to these are in use among them, to signify the two great complements of religion.

Iman is faith, and Din, though in familiar conversation used as a generic term for religion, in its theological sense signifies that part of religion contra-distinguished from its theory, that is, its duties or practice. The proper and most commonly used term for the Mussulman religion is, Al Islam, or Devotedness to GodA Lest it should not occur to me to remark upon it hereafter, I will here say, that this comprehensive idea of religion seems to me to explain much, which, at first sight, surprised me in Mussulman character. I have often, for instance, been * See Appendix, II. t Prideaux translates it, The Saving Religion ; Pocock, Obedi. ence to God; and Sale, Resigning, or devoting one's self entirely to God and his Service. From the same root with this word are de rived, the Muslim and Musliman, which Western usage has con verted into Moslem and Mussulman.

INTRODUCTION.

. struck with the peculiar reverence manifested by Mussul mans for the tombs and memories of devout men among the Christians. My surprise at this ceased when I be came better acquainted with the genius of the religion, for, although it is essentially bigoted, a Mussulman's idea of it, as embodied in its name, leads him to venerate true devotion, wherever it exists. It is well known that Islamism is now based upon many other authorities than the Koran. The latter is, as it has ever been, the only source of doctrine and religious observance ; but the foundations which support the moral, civil, and political superstructure that has grown out of the religion, cover a far wider area. It is important at this point of our progress, to look to their origin. The seemingly complicated frame-work of the Mohammedan system, when viewed as embracing civil and political, as well as religious and moral institutions, is, I believe, purely an accident.

The original religion was most simple and easily understood. It is the same religion which now forms the faith and practice of the mass of uninstructed Mussulmans, and is that to whkh we shall have to look in estimating their present moral condition. Its elements, both of belief and precept, are extremely few and simple, and these it is which constitute the religion as it stands in the mind of a common Mussulman. It is by their fewness and simplicity, in co-operation with other causes, that they so easily retain their hold on the mind, and are so little exposed to corruption. The religion might never have presented any other aspect, even to a learned Mussulman, if its founder had not departed from the pacific mode of propagating it with which he commenced. The unsheathing of a carnal