Travels In The Trans-Caucasian Provinces Of Russia

Front matter

TRAVELS

IN THE

TRANS-CAUCASIAN PROVINCES OF RUSSIA,

Preface

recording more or less fully the impressions of the day. Many a page has been written amid hurry and confusion, or after a long and fatiguing march ; but I have preferred giving unaltered the remarks which the moment suggested.

The rapidity with which the advance of winter obliged me to traverse the interesting country which borders upon Koordistan, unfortunately, prevented my adding to the very scanty information which we possess regarding the geography of that portion of Asia ; but I venture to hope, that even the slight sketches contained in these pages may throw some additional light upon the more interesting subject of the social and moral condition of nations to which public attention has of late years been so eagerly directed.

Rode Hall, Cheshire^ April 6ih, 1839.

CHAPTER I. Page

Rupture of the Negotiations between Persia and Herat — British Camp at Goolahek — Palace of the Nigaristan — Description of Tehran . .... 1

CHAPTER n.

Persian Camp — Artillery — Regiments in Sanctuary — Audience of the Shah— Visit to the " Haji " . .13

CHAPTER m.

British Palace — Bazaars — Daroga, or Chief Magistrate — Palace of the Kasr-i-Kajar-^Persian Yillas « 28

CHAPTER IV.

Society in Persia — Literature — Persian Retainers — Freedom of the Women — ^Beauty of the Women — ^Persian Children — Etiquette — Public Character of the Persians— Revenue of the Country — Mode of Living — Smoking— Newspaper — Freedom of Speech . • 30

X

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

Page

Departure of the Court and Camp — Commencement of Journey — Palace of Sulimaniali — Casveen — Population of Persia — Want of Water — ^Travelling by Night — Sultaniah— The ** Grey Wind" . • . 48

CHAPTER VI.

Persian Troops— Disorderly March — Unsoldierlike Appearance— Power of Endurance — Exactions of the Colonel — Punishments — ^Arrival at Tabreez . - 51

CHAPTER VII.

Ruined Mosque — Citadel — ^Tabreez — British Palace — Mines of Karadagh — Return to Tabreez — Departure for the Frontier — Sofian — Morand — Quarantine Stations— ^Djulfa 67

CHAPTER VIII.

Release from Quarantine — Nakhshivan — ^Mount Ararat — Kevrah — Russian Cossack Station — Night Marches — Armenian Harvest — Offerings of First Fruits — Christian Chapel — Erivan , . . .18

CHAPTER IX.

Russian Post-waggon — Armenian Convent of Etchmiadzin — Monkish Legends — Festival of the Virgin — Blessing the First-Fruits of the Vineyards — St. Gregory Loosavorich — Synod — Armenian Archbishop- Return to Erivan . . . . . .91

CONTENTS.

xi

CHAPTER X.

Page

Rendamal — Prince Bebutoff — Zengui River — Russian Di'mier — Lake of Goukclia — Cliiboukioo — Pass of Dilijan — Colonel Espejo 100

CHAPTER XL

Bibis — Colonel Berens — Russian Magistrates — Kour or Cyrus — Soghanloo — Tifiis — Baron Rosen — ^Best Hotel — CouatCBS Simonich — Monsieur Rodofinikin . 112

CHAPTER XII.

Sunday Parade — German Church— Colony of New Tiflis — Governor-General's Levee — Georgian Women — Russian Carriages— Peter Ney — Warm Baths — ^French Consul — Origin of the German Colonies . .123

CHAPTER XIIL

Departure from Tiflis — Post-horses — Mtskheta — Aragvi — Douzethi — Unlucky Detention — Cossack Singing — Ananouri — Pasanaouri — Cashaour — Dangerous Passes — Kobi — Drunken Post-Master— Mount Kasbek — Pass of Dariel — ^Vladikawkas • . . . 133

CHAPTER XIV.

March across the Kabarda — Escort — Kabardans — Checheuses — Heavy Post — ^Ardonskoi — Ekaterinograd — Cossacks of the Line — Stanitzas— ^Georgievsk — Capital Posting — Petigorsky — Colony of Karras — Mr. Dittrich — German Pastors , . . . .144 xii

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV

Page

Kiskvodsky — Acid Spring — Fortunate Rencontre — Russian Family — Cold Bath— Drunken Cossack — Return to Petigorsky — Colony of Karras — Comfortable Quarters— Songs of the Don — Circassian Converts — Ferruginous Springs — Circassian Forays . , .158

CHAPTER XVL

Return to Ekaterinograd — Opportune Arrival of a Courier— Recross the Kabarda — Supper at Vladikawkas — Passage of the Caucasus — Express from Tiflis — Arrival at the German Colony . , . .169

CHAPTER XVn.

Old Schoolfellow — Soirt^e at the Baroness Rosen's — Change of Quarters — General Valkhovsky — Hospitality— Baron Dieskau — State of the German Colonies — Censorship — Books — Gymnasium — Formal Party— Church of New Tiflis . . , .177

CHAPTER XVIII

Departure for Kakheti — Markobi — Telav — Georgian Prince — Seclusion of the Women — Forest Scenery — Cossack Pickets — Vintage — Wine of Kakheti — Intemperance of the Georgians — Signak . . .188

CHAPTER XIX.

Rencontre with the Nijni-Novogorod Dragoons — Bivouac — Colonel Besobrasoff — ^Brass Band — Wet March — Circassian Prince — " Lesghian Dance" — German Colony of Marienfeld — Officers of the Dragoons — Polish Count— Arrival at Tiflis . . . .197

CONTIiNTS.

xiii

CHAPTER XX.

Pag'e

Prince Souvorofif — German Professor — Soiree at the Palace —Latin Conversation — Grand Parade — B aroness liahn — Russian Customs — Petersburg Guardsmen— Missionary Labours among the Armenians — Princess Madatoff . . . , . .210

CHAPTEE XXI.

Wet Sunday— 'Dinner at Baron Hahn's — Russian Equipages— Suspicion of the Russian Authorities — A Brother Englishman— War with the Circassians — Attack of Fever and Ague — xirrival of the Emperor — Heir- Appareut of Persia . . . . . ,219

CHAPTEE XXII.

Levee of the Emperor — Sudden Change of Profession — Body Guard of Georgian Princes — ^Dinner at Baron Hahn's — Emperor's Staff — ^Victor Hugo — Grand Review— Dinner at the Palace » — Illuminations — ^English Tea-table 229

CHAPTEE XXIII.

Parade — Act of Justice — Grand Ball — Georgian Women —Dancing— Princess Katinka * * * * * — Supper . 244

CHAPTEE XXIV.

The Emperor quits Tiflis— The Imperial Carriage Upset — Family Dinner — Parade of the Dragoons — Aga Meer Futteh— Princess Katinka ***** —Arab Mares— Preparations for Departure— A Literary Lady —Comfortable Quarters- Farewell Yisits— Dinner at Baron Hahn's 253 xiv

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXV.

Page

Departure from Tiflis — Cossack Journey — Arrival at Goomri — Russian Commandant — New Fortress — Cross the Frontier — Armenian Officer — Haji Velli . 268

CHAPTER XXVI.

Turkish Hospitality — Snow-storm — Ruins of Anni — Scene of Desolation — Christian Churches — Koordish Shepherd — Caves 282

CHAPTER XXVII.

Armenian Quarters — Signs of Winter — ^Town of Kars — Wretched Quarters — Russian Vice-Consul — Turkish Cavass — American Scene — Pass of Soghanloo Dagh — Pilgrims — Stable Scene . , . . . 292

CHAPTER XXVIIT

Araxes — Shepherd*s Bridge — Hassan Kaleh — Tatar Travelling — Reach Erzeroum — British Consul — ^Visit to the Seraskier Pasha — Disgrace of the Seraskier — News from Persia — A Little Friend — Trade of Erzeroum — Horses — Warnings to Depart .... 306

CHAPTER XXIX.

Departure from Erzeroum — Ertepeh — Common Room — Curious Escort — Mountain Pass — Armenian Villages— ^Dangerous Country— Armenian Burying-grounds — Koordish Encampment — Mourad, or Euphrates — Wretched Accommodation — Moush — Message from the Pasha 319

CONTKNTS.

XV

CHAPTER XXX.

Page

Plain of Moosh — Arkavank — Flocks of Cranes — Xenophon's Description of the Armenians — Bitlis — Sheriff Beg — Koordish Stable — Lake of Van — ^Tedavan — Sipan Dagh— Water of the Lake .... 332

CHAPTER XXXI.

Convent and Island of Aghtamar — Khan Mahmoud — Castle of Pasvakh — ^Vastan — Artemid — Legends of the Sipan Dagh — Van — Armenians — Pasha of Van — Ibrahim Tatar ... .... 344

CHAPTER XXXII.

Fortress of Van — Professor Schultz — Arrow-headed Inscriptions— Pasha's Apartments — Nestorians — Ibrahim's Impudence — Servants of the Pasha — Alchek — Long March — ^Kotoor — Cross the Persian Frontier. 356

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Deep Snow — Plain of Salmas — Lake of Urumiah — Kolingi — City of Urumiah — American Missionaries — Nestorians — American Customs — Missionaries — Nestorius ........ 367

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Departure from Urumiah — Nestorian Wedding-Procession — ^A Row — Koordish Village — Disastrous Adventure — Shishawan — Malek Kossim Mirza — Ramazan — Mr.

Merrick — Mahomedans 371 xvi

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXV

Page

A Vicious Horse — Calcareous Springs— Deh-Khargan-— Arrival at Tabreez — ^News from Tehran — ^Progress of the Siege of Herat — Mahommed Khan Keraia . 391

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Departure from Tabreez — Unfavourable Reports — ^Whirlwinds of Snow — Stumbling Horses — Excessive Cold —The Haji's Carts— The Shah's Cab — Dark Night — ^A Runaway Horse — Arrival at Tehran — Merry Christmas .401

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Departure of the Ambassador for Herat — Wild-Boar Hunt — ^Ruins of Veronneen — " Mirza Aboul Hassan Khan's Villa" 410

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The Moharrem — ^Astalak — ^Demawend — ^Firuzkoh — Hyrcanian Tiger — Palace of the " White Genius"— Surkh-robat — ^Zirab 420

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Shah Abbas's Causeway — Mazanderan Roads — Vegetation on the Shores of the Caspian — ^Aliabad — Jackals — Sari — The Eelbeggee — Boar Hunt — Bay of AshrafF — Sefiabad 433

CONTENTS.

xvii

CHAPTER XL.

Page

Ashraff — Mazanderani Connoisseurs — View from Sefiabad— Sefaveean Palaces — The " Grey Wind " — Shah Abbas the Great — Kara Tuppeh — Shores of the Caspian— ^Ferah-Abad — Salmon-fishing • . . 447

CHAPTER XLI.

Russian Fishery — Sail on the Caspian — Packet from England — Babul River — Meshedi Ser — Balfurush — The Island Palace — Ardisheer Mirza — Persian Andarun 459

CHAPTER XLII.

Amul — Heraz River — Dangerous Pass— Caves of Aroo — Mount Demawend — Ah — Difference of Taste — Arrival at Tehran 410 h

LIST OF PLATES.

Mount Ararat to face the Title.

Plain of Tehran ♦ . ... Page 4

Sultaniah 55

Dariel 141

Summer Palace and Mosque near Tehran - . . 433 Map at the end.

ERRATA.

Page 27, line 9, /or Firuzgoh read Firuzkob. „ 349, „ Ij/or arising read rising. „ 438, „ 22, for local read level. „ 452, „ 16, /or Safaveean re<id Sefaveean. „ 476, „ 19, /or foot-pace read footspace.

TRAVELS

IN THE

TRANS-CAUCASIAN PROVINCES OP RUSSIA,

CHAPTER I.

Rupture of the Negotiations between Persia and Herat — British Camp at Goolahek— Palace of the Nigaristan — Description of Tehran.

Towards the close of July, 1837, the longprotracted negotiations between Persia and Herat having been suddenly broken off, and the Affghan ambassador having quitted Tehran on his return to his own country, the Persian army, already assembled round the capital, received orders to commence its march to the eastward.

This expedition having been undertaken in direct opposition to the views and expressed wishes of the British Government, the officers attached to the service of the Shah were

B

GOOLAHEK.

of course precluded from accompanying the army. Seeing no prospect of employment for the remainder of the year, and being anxious to escape from the intolerable heat of Tehran, I availed myself of so favourable an opportunity of visiting the interesting countries lying between the Caspian and the Black Sea. Having procured the necessary passports from the British and Russian ambassadors, I sent forward by easy stages such of my horses as I required for the journey, intending to overtake them before their arrival at Tabreez*

So early as the middle of May the British officers residing at the capital had accompanied the ambassador to the little village of Goolahek, situated on a table land, sloping gradually towards the lofty range of the Shemeroon mountains, at a distance of six or seven miles from Tehran. Goolahek had been assigned to us by the Shah, as a summer residence for the embassy, and forms one of the thick cluster of villages known

GOOLAHEK, by the name of " Shemeroon," which during the summer months are the favourite resort of the wealthy of Tehran. During the daytime, indeed, the heat even here was excessive, for Goolahek contained no houses capable of accommodating so large a party, and our tents, pitched on the rising ground above the village, afforded us a poor shelter against the scorching rays of the sun, which beat through the folds of the canvass with oppressive force. For days together I have seen the glass stand at upwards of 100"^ in our tents, without a breath of wind to cool the air, and often did I wish myself in Tehran again beneath the protecting shade of my own substantial roof. But the delicious evenings amply compensated for the discomforts of the day, for, while a heavy vapour hung above the low and unhealthy plain causing the stifling feel of the sirocco, at Shemeroon a gentle breeze invariably sprang up as soon as the sun had sunk behind the overhanging mountains.

b2

NIGARISTAN,

Awaiting with impatience this welcome moment, we mounted our horses, or sauntered idly along the bank of the little stream, enjoying the deep and grateful shade of the mountain, while the plain below us still basked in the broad glare of sunshine. The rich warm tints which at this hour overspread both plain and mountain were often beautiful, varying at each moment, and chequered by the long purple shadows of evening. At length the whole landscape lay in shade ; the last rays of tlje setting sun lingered yet a moment on the snowy peak of Demawend, and the short twilight of a southern clime soon deepened into night.

The Shah was at this time residing in the Nigaristan, or picture-gallery, a summer palace embedded among groves of poplar and oriental plane, and lying within half a mile of the Shemeroon gates. Immediately around the precincts of the garden stood the pavilions of the Vizier and the principal officers of state, beyond which^ on either side, lay the

PERSIAN CAMP.

irregular encampments of the Nizam, or disciplined troops.

Along the banks of the small stream which supplied the royal garden were picketed in long lines the horses of the irregular cavalry, while their hardy riders found a sulBficient shelter beneath the stunted willows which grew upon the margin of the brook, or formed a rude tent of horse-cloths supported by their long rifles. On the outskirts of the camp numerous strings of mules and baggage-horses were ranged in squares around their loads, while hundreds of camels were allowed to roam at large, gathering a scanty nourishment from a low prickly shrub dotted here and there on the barren plain. Not a blade of grass nor a single tree tempered the force of the noonday sun, and if perchance a breeze arose, columns of dust would sweep across the plain, blinding and half suffocating all who stood in their line.

The plain of Tehran is ill-selected for the site of the capital ; and motives of policy could

TEHRAN.

alone have determined the removal of the Persian court from the once magnificent but now neglected city of Isfahan, the brilliant capital of the Sefaveean dynasty.

When Aga Mahommed Khan, the uncle and predecessor of the late King Fatteh Ali Shah, after a long and murderous contest, had succeeded in raising himself to the throne of Persia, he fixed his residence at Tehran on account of its vicinity to the shores of the Caspian, the seat of his own tribe ; and neither of his successors has thought fit to restore the seat of government to the more central and healthy, as well as more beautiful site w^here it had formerly been established. I have heard it asserted, indeed, that the country round Isfahan, now that the once numerous aqueducts have fallen into ruins, would with difficulty furnish the supplies necessary to so great an increase of its population ; but I imagine a more powerful reason to exist in the turbulent and disaffected temper of the Isfahanis, who, in common with all native Per-

TEHRAN.

sians, cannot conceal their dislike to the Turkish origin and customs of the royal tribe.*

Tehran stands in the centre of a barren and extensive plain, bounded on three sides by arid mountains, while, to the southward, a succession of low ranges, over which leads the road to Isfahan, separates the plain from the great salt desert of Yezd* To the north-west, the high chain of the Shemeroon hills, rarely, if ever, entirely free from snow, divides the province of Irak from the dense woods of Mazanderan (the ancient Hyrcania), and abounds in clear streams, which, after fertilizing the numerous villages scattered along its base, flow through the plain and supply the city. High above this chain, at a distance of about forty miles from Tehran, stands the lofty mountain of Demawend, whose conical

* The population of the present capital amounts, probably, to about 10,000 souls when the Shah is residing there. The absence of the court makes a dijfference of, I should think, at least one-fifth of the whole number of inhabitants.

DEMAWEND.

peak, clad with eternal snow, bears evidence of extinct volcanic fires, Demawend has been considered a connecting link between the Caucasus and the gigantic chain of the Himalaya, and, in common with the former, sometimes bears the name of Elburz. Its height is nearly 15,000 feet above the sea, far beyond the limit of perpetual snow, but in summer the ascent is neither perilous nor difficult. Near the summit are caves of sulphur. To the south-east of the city, at a distance of about three miles, stand the massive, but shapeless ruins of the ancient city of Rh6, not, as has often been supposed, the Rhages of Scripture, some vestiges of which may be seen farther to the eastward, but celebrated as the burying-place of Haroun Alraschid. These ruins cover a vast extent of ground, and on the rocky range, at the foot of which they lie, may be traced the interrupted lines of extensive fortifications.

Tehran is surrounded by a mud wall and dry ditch, between four and five miles in circumference, flanked at intervals by circular towers, little higher than the wall itself. Five gates of brickwork, ornamented with coloured tiles, open upon the principal roads, and are carefully closed soon after sunset. Nothing can well be imagined less imposing than the external appearance of the capital of Persia. The mass of low houses, all of clay or sun-dried brick, is scarcely visible above the wall ; here and there a low cupola, or a broken pillar, rising above the terrace roofs, peers from among formal rows of poplar and chunar, but the eye misses the splendid mosques and the numerous taper minarets with which every town of Turkey and Asia Minor is adorned. Within the scene is still less attractive : narrow lanes, for they are not worthy of the name of streets, choked with heaps of rubbish, and full of open drains, which threaten to break your horse's legs, wind between dead walls, which jealously exclude the gaze of the passer by from the courts which they enclose, and upon which every window opens. Under the shadow of these walls lie the most loathsome

TEHRAJSr.

figures — men, women, and children, imploring the charity of the passer by. Nor do the Bazaars present that gay and varied picture which meets the eye in those of Turkey^ where the native of each country retains his national costume.

Here, with the occasional exception of a group of Arabs, or of turbaned Koords, all^ whether Persians, Georgians, or Armenians, have adopted the graceful, but sombre dress of the country; the women, wrapped from head to foot in their dark cloaks, which quite conceal all charms of face and figure, do not contribute to enliven the scene, Tehran boasts of no spacious squares or princely palaces like those of the great Abbas at Isfahan ; the Maidan, or open space in front of the palace, is choked with rubbish, and surrounded by paltry buildings. A few old guns of every form and calibre, mounted on broken carriages, line either side of the principal gateway, while, in the centre of the square, on a high pedestal of brickwork, stands a curious piece of brass ordnance, round which I have

TEHRAN.

often seen the discontented troops assert the privileges of sanctuary. The pedestal is usually the stage of some wandering Dervish. In the corner of the Maidan stands the state carriage of the Shah, an ancient chariot, the gift of some European ambassador ; on which has accumulated the venerable dust of years. Four ragged horses with gun-harness, and ridden by artillerymen, draw this crazy ve-^ hide, which never moves beyond a foot's pace.

The palace itself consists of a vast number of distinct buildings^ each with its courts and gardens, but without pretensions to architectural beauty. The lofty audience-chamber, which stands in the centre of an extensive garden laid out in formal avenues, is not unsuited to the somewhat gaudy brilliancy of an Oriental court; and on occasions of ceremony , when the Shah sits in state, surrounded by princes of the blood, and by all the nobles of the land, in their gorgeous dresses, while the spacious avenues are lined with troops, and

TEHRAN.

the bright eastern sun lights up the varied pageant, it requires no great stretch of the imagination to realise the enchanting descriptions of the Arabian Nights. But examine the scene in detail, and you will search in vain for objects worthy of your notions of Oriental splendour. The walls of unbaked brick, the roughly-hewn window-frames, and the illexecuted mosaic of mirrors and coloured porcelain look paltry and incongruous, while the perishable material of the whole, already falling into decay, forcibly contrasts with the durable and massive architecture of the palaces of Europe.*

* Soon after my arrival in Persia I was present at the festival of the " No-Roz,'' or new-year's-day, which is always celebrated with great pomp at the capital. We had been presented to the Shah before the opening of the public salaam," or levee, and seats were assigned to ns in a room adjoining the grand audience- chamber which overlooked the whole pageant. It was an imposing spectacle, but an unmannerly elephant contrived to turn it into ridicule, by filling his trunk from the tank near which he stood, and showering its contents upon a luckless poet who was in the act of reciting an ode in honour of the " centre of the universe."

Chapter II

Persian Camp — ^Artillery — ^Regiments in Sanctuary — ^Audience of the Shah— Visit to the « HajL"

A FEW days before the departure of the Shah I rode down to the Nigaristan, to attend his Majesty's levee : the troops had already commenced their march towards Khorassan, and a long line of guns, with horses ready harnessed, was drawn up in formidable array before the palace gates. Large stores of ammunition, carried on the backs of camels, and long strings of heavily-laden baggage cattle, were moving off the ground from every point.* On approaching the garden, I saw an unusual

* The Persian artillery is by far the most effective branch of their army, though, if we are to credit the account of their wonderful performances in the time of the late Prince Royal Abbas Mirza, they must have fallen off greatly in the last few years. Until within six months the words of command were invariably given in English, but English so mutilated as to be scarcely recognizable to the ears of an Englishman,

14 REVOLTED REGTS. TAKING SANCTUARY.

crowd and stir around the spot where the royal stud was picketed. Long rows of piled muskets surrounding the Persian standard announced that some regiment had taken refuge at the horses' heads, a sanctuary no less inviolable than that of the mosque. On inquiry, I found that two regiments of Affshars, the tribe of the celebrated Nadir Shah, had refused to march unless their colonel, with whom they were dissatisfied, were removed from his command. They had already been there for several days, and as their comrades supplied them with all they needed, it seemed probable that the Shah would be forced to acquiesce in their demands.

The public salaam had just broken up as I reached the principal entrance of the garden, and the courtiers, with their scarlet cloaks and lamb-skin caps, wound round with Kashmeer shawls, were sitting in groups under the shady elms, enjoying the luxury of the kalioun. Passing through an avenue of tall plane trees, I found the Shah seated in a small octagonal

AUDIENCE OF THE SHAH.

sutnmer-housej situated in the centre of the garden, and cooled by a clear stream, which, flowing through the building, formed beneath the dome a capacious basin. Four deep recesses, ornamented by fanciful representations of the feats of Rustam, and other heroes of Persia, fronted the cardinal points, and, according to the hour of the day, the carpets were spread in one or other of them. His Majesty was seated near the window supported by a pile of cushions, while a single attendant knelt behind him, waving a broad fan of feathers above his head. His dress was, as usual, perfectly simple, the richly-jewelled handle of his dagger alone betokened his rank. His age does not exceed one or two and thirty, but his thick beard and heavy figure make him appear an older man : his countenance is rather handsome, and, except when his anger is excited, of a prepossessing and good-humoured expression : his manner, especially towards Europeans, is extremely affable : he generally speaks Turkish, the language of

AUDIENCE OF THE SHAH.

his tribe, but, both in that and in Persian, his enunciation is so rapid that it requires some practice to undei'stand him. Compared with the generality of Asiatics, the Shah is a man of considerable energy, and by no means deficient in information : he is well versed in the history of his own country, and has a tolerably correct idea of the geography and political state of Europe. His army is his hobby, and to his thirst for military fame he sacrifices both his own ease and comfort, and the welfare and prosperity of his country.* His court is far inferior in style and splendour to that of his grandfather and predecessor, the principal offices of state being occupied by men of low origin, deficient in that magnificence and courtliness of manner which formerly distinguished the Persian noble. The late king was always attended by a numerous and gal-

* I have Heard this expedition against Herat often attributed hy Persians to the circumstance of the Shah's having read a translation of Bourrienne*s Memoirs of Napoleon, and thus become inoculated with the thirst for conquest.

AUDIENCE OF THE SHAH.

lant retinue of princes of the blood, and oflficers of state, besides a crowd of inferior retainers; the present monarch often rides out with a few ill-mounted and worse appointed followers.

The Shah is a strict and conscientious Mussulman : he never indulges in the forbidden juice of the grape, an abstinence rare in the royal family, nor does he follow the universal practice of smoking. His harem, unlike that of his grandfather, the number of which exceeds all credibility, is within the limits prescribed by the Mahommedan law. Well would it have been for Persia had Fatteh Ali Shah been as moderate, for every government, however insignificant, was conferred upon one of his countless sons*, who drained the very heart's blood of the country. Since the accession of the present monarch the greater part of these have been removed, and

* Luti Ali Khan, the head buffoon of the late Shah, is said to be the only man in Persia who can repeat the names of them all.

C

18 FAMILY OF MAHOMMED SHAH.

many of them are now reducqd to the utmost distress, living from hand to mouth by the sale of shawls and jewels, the relics of better days. Some of the late king's wives have passed into the harems of private individuals : others, who had amassed some property, live in their respective villages,

Mahommed Shah has two sons ; the eldest, his destined successor, is now at Tabreez, under the care of Suleiman Khan, his maternal uncle. The mother of the boy was of the royal tribe. The second, who resides at Tehran, is a chubby little fellow, about three years old, the son of a Koordish woman.

Having answered some questions put to me by the King on military subjects, and recommended to his Majesty's notice several of the officers who had been under my command, I quitted the royal presence and repaired to the tent of *'Haji Mirza Aghassi," the Grand Vizier, which communicates by a private door with the Nigaristan* The Haji, or pilgrim, as this important personage is always called.

VISIT TO THE GRAND VIZIER. 19

from his having performed his devotions at the shrine of Mecca, is the most remarkable man that I have ever met with. He is by no means destitute of talent, but his words and actions are strongly tinctured with real or affected insanity. He is said to be deeply versed in the mysteries of Soofeeism, the wild theories of which, though incompatible with the religion of the Prophet, are daily extending the number of their votaries. The extraordinary degree in which he has possessed himself of the confidence of his sovereign, both as political and spiritual adviser, has rendered him almost omnipotent, and emboldens him to treat the ancient nobles, and even the princes of the royal family, with the utmost hauteur and coarseness, doubly galling to them from the lowness of his origin. The whole business of the state is transacted by him, and the other ministers of the Shah are mere instruments in his hands.