A history of Persia from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the year 1858, with a review of the principal events that led to the establishment of the Kajar dynasty

Front matter

HISTORY OF PERSIA

FROM

THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE YEAR 1858,

Introduction

Population of Persia — Cultivated Portion of the Country very small — Supply of Water — Artificial Irrigation — The Elburz Mountains — Attachment of Persians to their Native Country — Persia inhabited by Men of various Races — The Wandering Tribes — The Turkish and the Persian Languages — Two Classes of People in Persia — The Persians a robust Race — The Persian Character— Estimate formed of it by Europeans — Persian Government — Checks on the Royal Authority — Court of the Shah — Education in Persia— National .Religion of the Persians — The Persian Army — Labourers and Villagers — Mendicants — Trade and Produce — Climate — Prospects of the Country 1

Chapter II

The Sefaveean Dynasty — Fall of Ispahan — Expulsion of Aflghans from Persia — Nadir Shah — Origin of the Affghan Kingdom — Adel Shah — Ibraheem — Shahrukh Meerza — Rival Candidates for the Persian Throne— The Chief of the Kajars— Herat and Seistan added to the AfFghan Kingdom — Kereem Khan — Azad Khan — Zends and Kajars — Zeki Khan — Aga Mahomed Khan — His Escape from Sheeraz— Ali Murad— Jafer, Chief of the Zend— His Son Lutf 'ali Khan .'. 37

Chapter III

Origin of the Kajar Tribe — Its three Branches — Its settlements — Astrabad Branch of Kajars — Upper and Lower Kajars — Astrabad — Unsettled Condition of that Province — Ak-kaleh — Rhages — Rhei — Tehran — Its early Condition — Aga Mahomed Khan — His Brothers — Cruel Treatment to which Aga Mahomed was subjected —Kindness shown to him by Kereem Khan— Lutf 'ali Khan — vi CONTENTS.

PAGE

Cruelty of Aga Mahomed— Haji Ibraheem— His Defection from the Chief of the Zend — Decisive Battle— Siege of Kerman— Death of Lutf 'ali Khan

Chapter IV

Relations between the Shahs of Persia and the Czars of Georgia — Interference of Russia in Affairs of the Caucasus — Campaign of Peter the Great in Daghestan— Taking of Bakoo and Derbend— Southern Coast of the Caspian Sea — Early Condition of Georgia — Mingrelia — Intolerance of the Georgians — Tiflis — Expedition of Aga Mahomed into Georgia — Fortress of Erivan — Annexation of Khorassan to Persia — Death of Shahrukh Meerza — Mission to Persia from the French Republic — Murder of Aga Mahomed — His Character 77

Chapter V

Sadek Khan endeavours to make himself King — Is defeated at Kasveen by the Shah — Kasveen — Province of Fars — Sheeraz — Sadek. Khan delivers the Crown Jewels to the Shah, and is pardoned — The Body of Aga Mahomed Khan conveyed to Nejjef in Arabia — His Assassins are put to Death — Fetteh Ali crowned at Tehran — Rebellion of Mahomed Khan — Ispahan — Rebellion of Sadek, Jafer Kuli and Mahomed Kuli Khans — Goorgeen of Georgia — Fresh Rebellion of Mahomed Khan — Rebellion of the Shah's Brother — Defection of Mahomed Veli Khan and Suleiman Khan — Clemency of the Shah — Revolt of Ishak Meerza — Herat — Rebellion of Nadir Meerza — Mission from India — Khorassan — Last Rebellion of Sadek Khan — His Fate — Mission of Captain Malcolm — Fall of Haji Ibraheem — Kashan — Fresh Rebellion of the Shah's Brother —Siege of Meshed— Fall of Nadir Meerza 107

Chapter VI

Abdication of Czar of Georgia in favour of Emperor of Russia, 1800 — Prince Alexander defeated by General Lazeroff— Capture of Genja — Battle of Etchmiadzeen — Seeseeanoff routs Persians, and lays Siege to Erivan — Nocturnal Attacks — Siege of Erivan raised — Events on Eastern and Southern Frontiers of Persia — Bokhara, Nermansheer, and Seistan — Chief of Karabagh submits to Russia — Campaign in that Province — Russian Descent on Gilan — Capture of Genja by Persians — Assassination of Seeseeanoff — Mission of M. Jaubert — Fall of Ibraheem Khaleel Khan — Turko-Persian Frontier — Establishment of Russian Authority from the Caucasus to Moghan — War between Persians and Affghans — Embassies from Napoleon and from the Talpoors of Sindh — Embassy from England — Treaty — Mission from India — Disaster to Persian Arms in Russian War — Capture of Lankoran — Peace of Gulistan, 1813 141

CONTENTS. Vli

Chapter VII. Page

The Sons of Fetteh All Sliah— Tabreez— Rebellion of the Chiefs of Khorassan — Isaak Khan, Karai — Hassan Ali Meerza — Herat — Tribes of Hezareh and Feeroozkoh — Treaty between England and Persia — Yezd — Guebres — Their Temples and Customs — The Chief of the Assassins — Combination of Chiefs of Herat, Khorassan and Central Asia against Persia — Fetteh Khan, Barukzye — His Defeat by Hassan Ali Meerza — Dost Mahomed Khan — War between Persia and Turkey — Campaigns of Baghdad and of Turkish Armenia — Battle of Toprak-Killeh — Massacre of Christians at Salmas — Nestorians of Persia-^ American and French Missionaries — Peace between Turkey and Persia — Invasion of Khorassan by the Khan of Khiva 170

Chapter VIII

Vague Terms of Treaty of Gulistan — District of Gokcheh claimed by Russia — It is occupied by that Power — Excitement throughout Persia — War breaks out — Persians at first successful — They advance to the neighbourhood of Tiflis, and are defeated at the Zezam, and again near Genja — Avariciousness of the Shah — Division in his Council — Negotiations for Peace — The Russians checked on the Araxes — Erivan besieged — Siege raised — Abbassabad taken by General Paskiewitch — Defeat of General Karkoffski by Persian Commanders at Asterick — Final Siege and Capture of Erivan — Invasion of Azerbaeejan by Prince Aristoff — Tabreez falls into his Hands — Renewed Negotiations — Treaty of Turkomanchai 205

Chapter IX

Provisions of the Treaty of Turkomanchai — Alteration of the Treaty between England and Persia — General Confusion in Persia — Supineness of the Shah's Government — M. Grebaiodoff— Murder of the Members of his Mission — Terror of the Shah — Embassy to Petersburg of Prince Kosroo — Severe Earthquakes in Persia — Campaign of the Crown Prince in Khorassan — Fall of Arneerabad and of Kabushan— Assault on Serrekhs— Origin of the Affghan War— Death of Abbass Meerza— The Kaim-makam— Last Days of Fetteh Ali Shah— His Character— Burial-place of the Persian Kings 239

Chapter X

Three Aspirants to sovereign Power— Mahomed Meerza marches from Tabreez to Tehran — Submission of the Zil-es- Sultan — Mahomed Shah crowned at Tehran— Defeat of Hassan Ali Meerza by Sir Henry Bethune — Capture of the Firman - Firma — Ardabeel — General Revolt in Khorassan — Fall of the Kaim-makam — Haji

Vlll CONTENTS.

PAGE

Meerza Agliassi— Ambitious Designs of the Persian Government — Expedition against Herat — Seistan — Prince Kamran and Yar Mahomed Khan — Reasons of Dost Mahomed Khan for distrusting the Government of India— Cruelty of Mahomed Shah— His Failure before Herat — Rival Influences in his Camp — The Siege of Herat raised.... 279

Chapter XI

Demands of her Britannic Majesty's Government from the King of Persia — Evasive Answers of Haji Meerga Agliassi — Suspension of Diplomatic Relations between England and Persia — Advance of Russia in the East — British Expedition to the Persian Gulf — Hussein Khan — Firmness of Lord Palmerston — The Shah yields — Rising of the Chief of the Assassins — His Success and subsequent Failure — Bunpoor — The Belooches put their Families to Death— Affairs of Kurdistan— Unsettled State of Turko-Persian Frontier — Commission appointed for its Delimitation — Persians' Sufferings at the Hands of Turkomans — Massacre at Kerbela — Banishment of the Asef-ed-Dowleh — War in Khorassan — The Bab —Death of Mahomed Shah ... ...

Chapter XII

Flight of Haji Meerza Aghassi— Rival Parties at Tehran— The Queen-mother President of the Council — Serious Risings in the Provinces — The Salar — The Ameer-i-Nizam — Measures of Reform adopted by him — Combination against him — Mutiny of the Garrison of Tehran — Seizure of Kotoor by the Turks — Ascendancy of the Belooches in Seistan — Persian Claims to that Province — Protracted Siege of Meshed — Bahman Meerza — Prince Sultan Murad presses the Siege of Meshed — Foreign interference offered for the Pacification of Khorassan — Ravages of the Turkomans — Surrender of Meshed— Death of the Salar , ...357

Chapter XIII

Rising of the Followers of the Bab — Mode of carrying out Capital Punishments in Persia— Seizure of Zinjan — The Bab put to Death— Tenets of his Followers— Hopeless Contest at Zinjan — Reckless Bravery of the Babis— Courage of the Women— Terrible Cruelties — Exhibition of Fanaticism at Tabreez — Results of Administration of the Ameer-i-Nizam — Occupation of Ashorada by Russia — The Caspian Provinces— Fall of the Ameer-i-Nizam— Interference on his Behalf— Meerza Agha Khan— Sedr-Azem — Influences brought to bear on the Shah against the Ameer-i-Nizam — Conduct of the Wife of the ex-Minister — The Ameer's Death — Remembrance of his Administration ... 885

CONTENTS.

Chapter XIV. Page

Conspiracy against Life of the Shah — His Escape — Persecution of Conspirators — Ministers of State act as Executioners — Firmness of Followers of the Bab — Jealousy of European Interference at Persian Court — Alliance of the Shah sought by Russia in 1853 — Tempting Offer made to Persian Government — Alternative placed before the Shah — His Alliance declined by the Western Powers — Neutrality distasteful to Persian Government — Angry Discussions between Sedr-Azem and the British Minister — Meerza Hashem — ' Arrest of his Wife — Conduct of the Sedr-Azem — Diplomatic Relations suspended between England and Persia — Mr. Murray quits Tehran — Persian Expedition against Herat — War against Persia declared at Calcutta 407

Chapter XV

Policy of the Sedr-Azem — Embassy of Ferrukh Khan to Europe — Fall of Herat — Rules to be observed in carrying on English War against Persia — Singular Instance of Persian Levity — War against Infidels proclaimed at Tehran — The Sirkisikchi-Bashi — Occupation of Karrack by British Troops — Capture of Reshire — Surrender of Bushire — Sir J. Outram — Expedition to Burazjan — Action at Khushab — Bombardment of Mohamra — Defeat of Persians — Expedition to Ahwaz — Restoration of Peace — Terms of Treaty of Paris — Sultan Ahmed Khan — Murder of Prince Mahomed Yoosuf — Fall of the Sedr-Azem — Conclusion.... ... 428

ERRATA.

Page 32, line 26, for " Abedein " read " Abedeen."

„ 35, „ 27, for " realms " read " realm."

„ 77, „ 17, for "consists" read "consisted."

„ 82, „ 1 8, for "realms" read "realm."

„ 118, „ 31, for "Taraghan" read " Faraghan."

„ 144, „ 19, for "son of the deposed Czar" read "brother," &c.

„ 200, „ 6, for " Kara-Keesia " read " Kara-Klesia."

„ 223, „ 12, for " some hundred of " read " some hundreds of."

„ 233, „ 1 1, for "of the September" read "of September."

Preface

IT was suggested to me to continue the history of Persia from the period at which Sir J. Malcolm's work ends to the present time ; but it appeared to me to be desirable to include in this volume a resume of the leading events which paved the way for the establishment of the Kajar dynasty. As, however, I can throw little or no new light upon the events of that period of Persian history, I have not devoted much space to it ; and refer the reader to the eloquent pages of Sir John Malcolm for fuller details.

From the death of Aga Mahomed Khan to the present time — an interval of about seventy years — the history of Persia has not, I believe, been written (excepting by Persian chroniclers) in any continuous form, although the events of certain periods have been described with sufficient accuracy and fulness.

With regard to some portions of the history of modern Persia, I have had to trust to such information as was to be derived from Persian sources. The English reader may be disposed to look with mistrust on information coming from such authorities ; but in all that refers to what has taken place in Persia in relation to xii PREFACE.

any European state, I have availed myself of every opportunity of testing the accuracy of Persian statements by comparing them with the accounts given by European authorities.

With regard to the incidents of the wars between Eussia and Persia, I have preferred to trust to the impartial statements of Europeans who took no part in the struggle, but who derived their information from Russian officers and Russian prisoners as well as from the Persians.

Those portions of this narrative which rest solely on Persian statements, refer to the internal affairs of the country, and to the dealings of its government with the Affghans, the Oozbegs, and the Turkomans.

Having indicated in foot-notes the authorities upon which I have chiefly drawn, I need not enumerate them here ; but in acknowledging my obligations to those writers, and to others whose names I may have omitted to mention, I also beg to express my thanks to Mr. Glen, British Vice-Consul at Tehran, and to Meerza Ibrahim, for the assistance they have kindly afforded me in preparing this work.

B. G. WATSON.

ST. JAMES'S CLUB, LONDON, October 20th, 1865.

Chapter I. Introduction

Population of Persia — Cultivated Portion of the Country very small — Supply of Water — Artificial Irrigation — The Elburz Mountains — Attachment of Persians to their Native Country — Persia inhabited by Men of various Races — The wandeiing Tribes — The Turkish and the Persian Languages — Two classes of People in Persia — The Persians a robust Race — The Persian Character — Estimate formed of it by Europeans — Persian Government — Checks on the Royal Authority — Court of the Shah — Education in Persia — National Religion of the Persians — The Persian Army — Labourers and Villagers — Mendicants — Trade and Produce — Climate — Prospects of the Country.

A HISTORY of Persia under the Kajar Princes may be appropriately prefaced by an account of the general condition of that country and of its inhabitants during the reigns of the kings of that dynasty. Such an account, however, may be the more suitably condensed in this work, inasmuch as a full description of the manners and the religion of the people of Persia at the beginning of this century has been already written by an English author,* and as it may be said of the customs of the

* Sir J. Malcolm.

Shah's subjects, as it was of the laws of the Medes and Persians of old, that they alter not.*

The dominions of the Shah are inhabited by a population variously estimated at from five to ten millions of souls. As no census is ever taken in Persia it is impossible to obtain correct information on this point. .Seeing that the superficies of the country is three times as great as that of France, even the larger of the above figures would give a very small number of inhabitants in proportion to the extent of the land. That such should be the state of things cannot be considered surprising when one reflects that the cultivable, and even the cultivated, portion of the kingdom is but a small portion of the total area. The salt desert is a waste which supports only the wild ass and the gazelle, and in many of the provinces of Persia the extent of cultivated ground is limited by the supply of water, no land being capable of producing crops except such as receives artificial irrigation. A very much greater extent of ground might be cultivated if water were forthcoming for the purpose, and much of the vegetation of the table-land of Iran owes its existence to the water that has already been brought to the gardens and fields by artificial means. All that has, up to the present time, been done in this respect has been done by the Persians themselves, and it is, therefore, needless to remark that much more might be done to secure an abundant supply of water by bringing European skill

* The admirable work of the Chevalier Chardin contains such a correct, detailed description of the customs, religion, and productions of Persia, that it is unnecessary to enter into a minute examination of these. I shall in this chapter confine myself to the endeavour to give the English reader a general idea of the state of society amongst the modern Persians, and of the conditions of life in that country.

SUPPLY OF WATER.

and energy to bear on the solution of the problem. Water is procured in the district of Tehran by digging a series of deep pits, and establishing an underground communication from the higher to the lower. After a certain distance the water appears on the surface of the ground, and it runs in an open channel to its destination. These water-courses are called " kanats," and the whole plain of Tehran is covered with them. The earth taken up where the shafts are sunk forms little mounds at the mouths of the pits, and rows of these can be traced in all directions. Besides these artificial streams there are many small natural rivulets which continually flow down from the slopes of the Elburz mountains, but which of themselves would be far from sufficient for supplying the wants of a large city. At the distance of twenty-four miles to the west of Tehran the river of Kerij bursts through a mountain gorge into the plain, and a portion of its waters has been turned from its natural course and brought eastwards to the city by means of a canal. "Where this canal joins the river a large body of water flows into it from the latter, but ere the water has traversed its course of four- and -twenty miles its bulk has diminished to one -seventh part of the original volume. The porous soil it runs over absorbs the remaining six parts, with the exception of what escapes by evaporation. A more energetic race to whom water was as precious as it is to the inhabitants of Tehran would long ere this have constructed a covered water-tight aqueduct to replace the open canal, which would increase the supply of water sevenfold. There are other means which might be adapted for supplying the element that is wanted to turn so many square miles of desert into fertile fields

1—* and gardens where, instead of the thorn, should come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar the myrtle-tree. The most obvious of these is to construct strong barriers at the foot of some of the lower ravines of the Elburz mountains, the chain of which lies ten miles to the north of Tehran. The whole chain is covered with snow each year from top to bottom, and from October till April the whole of the upper part for a height of thousands of feet remains white. In April and May this precious snow melts and flows down through the ravines, and inundates the plain, which at that season is in no want of an extra supply of water. But were a series of reservoirs constructed, as they very easily might be, at the foot of the rocky ravines, the precious fluid would be saved and would be available for use in the succeeding months.

Means might be had recourse to for supplying the district of Tehran with water even on a larger scale than would be yielded by the adoption of the plan indicated above. The country to the north of the Elburz mountains happens to be as abundantly supplied with streams of water as the plain to the south of that chain is destitute of them. If the course of one of these rivers could be diverted towards the south a great boon would be conferred on one district and no loss inflicted on the other, and it is the opinion of engineers that, by cutting out a new channel for one of these streams from a point sufficiently high, a river might be turned, by the aid of some tunnelling, into the plain of Tehran. Every drop of water that is brought supplies the means of extending the cultivation, and thus of attracting a greater fall of rain. It is observed that the yearly fall of rain in the

THE ELBURZ MOUNTAINS. 5

plain of Tehran greatly exceeds that of former times, when the amount of cultivation was much less. In the district to the north of the Elburz chain, where the whole face of the earth is covered with forests and jungle and crops, the amount of rain which falls is excessive. If, therefore, the Persian Government were to plant trees along the edges of all the watercourses in the plain of Tehran, and were to sow fir-cones along the southern slopes of the Elburz, which are moistened all the summer through by melting snow, it might be reasonably anticipated that in a few years' time their labour would be rewarded by a greatly increased fall of rain each year. In the meantime the general aspect of the country in which the modern Persians Kve may be best described as a vast desert, in which many fertile oases are scattered here and there ; but from this description must be excepted the district between the Elburz mountains and the Caspian Sea, as well as the fertile province of Azerbaeejan. The country, such as it is, and uninviting as it seems to the eye of a stranger, is the object of the admiration and the love of every true Persian. I do not mean to assert that love of country, as Europeans understand the term, is pre-eminently a Persian's quality. A Persian is perhaps prepared to do as little for his country as any man on earth, but while he holds his country's interests as of no moment whatsoever in comparison with his own, he yet thinks in his heart that there is no land in the world at all comparable to the land of Iran, I believe most Persians who should be sentenced to perpetual exile, and warned that they would be liable to be condemned to death if again found upon their native soil, would, like Shimei, be unable to resist the temptation of viewing once more what is as dear to them as Jerusalem was to the descendant of Judah.

By the way in which Persians in other lands talk of their own country one would imagine that Persia was the most charming region of the whole world. Its climate, its water, its fruits, its houses, its gardens, its horses, the shooting it affords, its scenery, its women, are all the subjects of the most unqualified praise on the part of the Persian in Europe or in India. In the midst of the evidences of European splendour and luxury he boasts how superior in every respect is his native land, and while partaking in European society and dissipation, he longs to drink once more at the fountainhead of the wine of Sheeraz, and to listen once more to the recitation of the odes of Hafiz.

Persia is peopled by men of various races. A very great proportion of the population of Persia is composed of wandering tribes, that is of a large number of families who pass a portion of the year in the hills. It is in this sense only that they can be considered wanderers. They invariably occupy the same pasture-grounds one year after another. Their chiefs are possessed of great authority over the tribesmen, and all dealings between the government and the tribes are carried on through the heads of these divisions. Through the chief the taxes, whether in money or in kind, are paid, and through him the regiments which his tribe may furnish are recruited. The office of chief is hereditary. The tents in which the tribesmen dwell are for the most part composed of a light framework of the shape of a beehive. This is covered with a coating of reeds, and above it is placed a thick black-felt. It has but one

THE WANDERING TRIBES. 7

door, and no window or chimney. This is the Turkoman tent, which is used by the Shahsevend and other tribes, but the Eelyats in central Persia make use of tents of another construction, with flat or slightlysloping roofs.

The provinces near the Persian Gulf contain many Arabs and men of Arab extraction. Such are for the most part the inhabitants of Laristan, and of the country lying to the left of the Shat-el-Arab and of the lower part of the Tigris. The Bakhtiari mountains, between the valley of the lower Tigris and the plain of Ispahan. are the dwelling-place of tribes of another race, and ot whom and their country very little is known. The mountains of Kurdistan give birth to a warlike people, who are attached to their own tribe-chiefs and who never go far from the borders of Turkey and of Persia, sometimes proclaiming themselves subjects to the Porte and sometimes owning allegiance to the Shah. At the foot of one part of these mountains, on the borders of the lake of Uroomiah, there is a plain on which dwell twenty-five thousand Christian families, who hold the tenets of Nestorius. At Ispahan, at Tehran, at Tabreez, and in other parts of Persia, there is a more or less considerable population of Armenians. At Hamadan, at Ispahan, at Tehran, at Meshed, at the town of Demavend, and elsewhere in Persia, Jews are found in considerable numbers. The province of Gilan is inhabited by a race of men peculiar to itself, the descendants of the ancient Gelae. The people of Mazenderan speak, as do the Gileks, a dialect of their own. The province of Astrabad is partly inhabited by Turkomans ; and in the districts claimed by Persia, which border on Affghanistan and

Beloochistan, the Affghan and Belooch elements are prominent in the population. At Kerman a few Hindoos reside, and at Yezd there are about two thousand families of the original fire- worshippers of Iran. But the two principal races to be met with in Persia are the Turks and the Persians or Mongols. The former are, as a general rule, spread over the northern provinces ; the latter over the southern. The Persians of Mongol extraction for the most part speak only the Persian language, while those of Turkish race speak the Turkish language in preference to the Persian.

The inhabitants of Persia may be divided into two classes— those who inhabit the towns and villages, and those who dwell exclusively in tents. The former class remain stationary during the greater part of the year, the richer orders only leaving the towns for two months during the summer heats, when it is possible to obtain cool air in the hills or upper grounds close by. The tribes who dwell in tents move from place to place with the varying seasons of the year. In the spring time they drive their flocks and herds to their accustomed pasture-grounds, and if they have a right to the pasture of mountains which are inaccessible in spring they move up to their summer quarters as soon as the snow disappears. Winter finds them on the plains prepared, in their black tents, to brave its utmost rigour. These Eelyat tribes serve each a separate chief. For the Eelyats of Fars there is a hereditary chief called the Eelkhani, to whom they all owe allegiance ; from whom they receive the laws that rule their conduct ; and to whom they pay the revenue imposed upon them. They contribute a certain number of soldiers to the

THE PERSIANS A ROBUST RACE. 9

Shah's army. Very little is known as to the numbers and the peculiarities of these nomads. The Eelyat tribes of Turkish descent have an Eelkhani appointed by the Shah. Besides these tribes there are wanderers who are less numerous and who occupy a less prominent position — the gipsies common to so many countries.

The Persians of almost all the denominations I have mentioned form a healthy and robust population. Probably the comparatively small amount of chronic or hereditary diseases amongst the adult inhabitants may be principally owing to the fact that all children in Persia are, when very young, exposed to a mode of treatment which must tend to put an end to the weak and unhealthy amongst them, as effectually as if the Spartan law were in existence by which all deformed children were not permitted to be brought up. The climate of the north em part of Persia is in winter exceedingly severe, but with all its rigour little children are dressed in an attire which leaves the stomach entirely unprotected. The mortality amongst children is, I suppose in consequence thereof, very great; and the infants who survive this rough treatment grow up for the most part to be healthy and vigorous. After they have passed the tender years of infancy and early childhood, their education and training are not such as to impede the free development of their youthful bodies. Most of the Persians go through some sort of education, but that their learning is not pushed to any great length may be gathered from the fact that reading the Persian language fluently is still a rare accomplishment in Persia. The Persians grow up both ignorant and superstitious, believing for the most part in Mahomed and Ali and Hussein; believing in the predictions of their soothsayers and astrologers, in lucky hours and the evil eye, and in the occult science which derives its name from the Magi. Persians are, as a general rule, not devoid of intelligence ; but their cleverness is too often allied to want of honesty and moral rectitude. The children amongst the ancient Persians, we are told, were taught to ride, to speak the truth, and to draw the bow. The chief thing impressed on the sons of their representatives would seem to be that which was taught to the children of the Spartans — namely, never to allow themselves to be found out in telling a falsehood. This lesson they certainly take to heart. Nothing is more difficult than to convict a Persian of telling an untruth, and nothing at the same time less common than to hear the plain facts of a case from the lips of an inhabitant of that country.