Chapter I: Persia--Administration of the (5)

The other is a building of a form so extraordinary that the people of the country often call it the court of the _deevis_ or devil. It rests upon a square base of large blocks of marble, which rise in seven layers pyramidically. It is in form a parallelogram; the lowest range of the foundation is forty-three by thirty-seven feet; and the edifice itself, which crowns the summit, diminishes to twenty-one by sixteen feet five inches. It is covered by a shelving roof built of the same massy stone as its base and sides, which are all fixed together by clamps of iron, and which on a general view correspond all with the measure of one at the base, (fourteen feet eight inches in length, five feet in depth, and three feet six inches in breadth.) I was not suffered to enter; and through a fissure in the door I could perceive nothing within but a small chamber blackened as it appeared by smoke. Around it, besides a great profusion of broken marbles, are the shafts of fourteen columns, once perhaps a colonnade, but now arranged in the square wall of mud which surrounds the whole remains. To the present day all the space within the enclosure is a place of burial, and is covered indeed with modern tomb-stones. On every part of the monument itself are carved inscriptions, which attest the reverence of its visitors; but there is no vestige of any of the characters of ancient Persia or even of the older Arabic. The key is kept by women, and none but females are permitted to enter. The people generally regard it as the monument of the mother of SOLOMON, and still connect some efficacy with the name; for they point out near the spot a certain water to which those who may have received the bite of a mad dog resort, and by which, if drank within thirty days, the evil effects of the wound are obviated. In eastern story almost every thing wonderful is attached to the SOLOMON of Scripture: the King however, to whose mother this tomb is said to be raised, is less incredibly, (as the _Carmelites_ of _Shiraz_ suggested to MANDELSLOE,) SHAH SOLEIMAN, the fourteenth Caliph of the race of ALI. But though this supposition is more probable than that it is the monument of BATHSHEBA, it is not to my mind satisfactory, as it differs totally from all the tombs of Mahomedan saints which I have ever seen in Persia, Asia Minor, or Turkey. [Plate XXI.]

If the _position of the place_ had corresponded with the site of _Pasagardæ_ as well as the _form of this structure_ accords with the description of the tomb of CYRUS near that city, I should have been tempted to assign to the present building so illustrious an origin. That tomb was raised in a grove; it was a small edifice covered with an arched roof of stone, and its entrance was so narrow that the slenderest man could scarcely pass through: it rested on a quadrangular base of a single stone, and contained the celebrated inscription, “O mortals, I am CYRUS, son of CAMBYSES, founder of the Persian monarchy, and Sovereign of Asia, grudge me not therefore this monument.” That the plain around _Mesjed Madré Suleiman_ was the site of a great city, is proved by the ruins with which it is strewed; and that this city was of the same general antiquity as _Persepolis_ may be inferred from the existence of a similar character in the inscriptions on the remains of both, though this particular edifice does not happen to display that internal evidence of a contemporaneous date. A grove would naturally have disappeared in modern Persia; the structures correspond in size; the triangular roof of that which I visited might be called _arched_ in an age when the true semi-circular arch was probably unknown; the door was so narrow, that, if I had been allowed to make the attempt, I could scarcely have forced myself through it; and those who kept the key affirmed that the only object within was an immense stone, which might be “the base of a single piece” described by ARRIAN; but as he was repeating the account of another, the difference is of little consequence, if it exists. I suspect however, as many of the buildings at _Persepolis_ are so put together that they might once have seemed one vast block, that the present structure might also at one time have possessed a similar appearance. The eternity of his monument indeed, which CYRUS contemplated by fixing it on one enormous stone, would be equally attained by the construction of this fabric, which seems destined to survive the revolutions of ages. And in the lapse of two thousand four hundred years, the absence of an inscription on _Mesjed Madré Suleiman_ would not be a decisive evidence against its identity with the tomb of CYRUS.

I retraced my steps towards the column and pilasters, and passing to the left of them, proceeded to a ruin, probably of one of those buildings which we call fire-temples, and corresponding at least exactly in dimensions, structure, and ornament with that at _Nakshi Rustam_. Its door opened to the north. On an adjacent hill to the east, at the distance of about three hundred yards, are the remains of a fort erected with the same stupendous materials, as the works on the plain. The blocks are all of white marble, and bear the finest polish. From this height our encampment at _Moorgh-aub_ bore N. 55 E. Having descended again into the plain, crossed the beds of numerous _Kanauts_, and started several covies of partridges; I reached my tent highly contented with the unexpected gleanings of the day.

_Moorgh-aub_ is a large village, in which there is a fort and many enclosed gardens; and near it are springs of fine water which irrigate the whole plain.

20th. Continuing our road to the N. we passed over a country of ascents and descents, which can hardly be dignified by the denomination of mountains. The different bearings of the road were N. 30 W., then N., then E., then N. E., until we quitted the hills, when the road took a northerly direction, which we kept with some trifling variations for the remainder of our stage. At about nine miles from _Moorgh-aub_, we arrived at a _caravanserai_ now almost ruined, called from the village which once stood in its neighbourhood, _Khonéh Kergaun_. Near it a river runs to the west, and over it is a bridge of three arches. We arrived at _Deibeed_ at four o’clock, after having travelled a distance of twenty-five miles. We were seven hours and a half on the road, and we generally calculate our rate of going at little more than three miles in the hour. The country, through which we passed, was naked and arid; the plain only was cultivated, and that partially. It is quite destitute of wood, an article which, of all our necessaries, was collected with the greatest difficulty. On the summits of the mountains, particularly on their northern aspects, were thin patches of snow, and some were scattered even near our encampment. _Deibeed_ is only a _caravanserai_; close to it is an artificial mound of earth, covered with the foundations of a building, which, from the light brick of its construction, appeared to us a modern work.

The evening set in gloomily; _Deibeed_ is considered the coldest spot in this region, and the snows in the winter have sometimes impeded the progress of travellers for forty days together. The _Mehmandar_ looked at the sky with apprehension; and the Governor of _Moorgh-aub_, (AGA KHAN, an Arab of an old and respected family, who had accompanied us to the bounds of his district to provide amply for our passage) shared his forebodings. He had himself often experienced the severities of this country, and he, better than any one, knew the distresses which the detention of two or three hundred men in a spot so destitute and insulated would occasion. He had provided sustenance for ourselves and our cattle for one night only, and this he had transported with great trouble from _Moorgh-aub_ and other villages. Indeed through the whole of our march great and early were the preparations made by the chiefs of the country for our reception. If these were the difficulties of our passage, the march of an army would not be easily conducted. The country in its present state could not complete magazines of provisions, even if it were required by its own government. It must however be always recollected, that this is the least fertile province of the kingdom.

21st. The snow did not fall, and we proceeded; we travelled nearly north during the whole of this day, and at the termination of our march (a distance of fourteen miles) entered a pass, which is more particularly dreaded as a stoppage in snows. We rested for the night at _Khona Khorréh_, a poor _caravanserai_ now, but once, by the appearance of its walls, a respectable building. We had here much cause to regret the pleasant and copious streams of _Moorgh-aub_; for the water which supplied our camp was taken from a pond twenty feet in circumference, so impregnated by the ordure of camels that it appeared quite black. After sun-set, a fresh breeze sprung up from the S. W. It increased in the night; and at about two in the morning blew a furious gale.

Sunday the 22d. The wind continued to rage during the whole of this day, and only fell at night. Heavy clouds from the S. W. overtopped the whole of the surrounding mountains and precipitated themselves down their sides, in the manner of the clouds at the Table Mountain at the Cape, when it blows from the S. E. Many of our tents were blown down and much damaged. Notwithstanding the fury of the tempest we did not omit to put up our prayers and thanksgivings for all the blessings bestowed upon us; and the storm around only added, I hope, to the solemnity of our devotion. The very fine weather with which we have been blessed was certainly a theme of gratitude. We had not had even a shower since our first departure from _Bushire_; and the oldest inhabitants of this part of the country utter constant ejaculations of astonishment at the extreme moderation of the season, which they are pleased to attribute to the good luck of the Envoy.

MIRZA ABOOL HASSAN, a Persian of much influence at court, arrived in the course of the day from _Teheran_, and was the bearer of a letter from the King to the Envoy. This letter was nearly to the same effect as the first, giving details of the victory over the Russians. We went forward to meet it as before, and adopted the former ceremony of giving it a solemn reading.

23d. Although the violence of the wind had fallen in the morning, very heavy clouds still covered the summits of the mountains, and threatened a renewal of bad weather. We proceeded, however, on a fine hard road (on the bearing of N. 40 W. during the whole march) and arrived in safety at _Surmek_ in five hours and forty minutes after our departure from _Khona Khorréh_. The people of the country reckon this day’s journey at six long _fursungs_, though to us it appeared a smaller distance. The Persian _fursung_ is indeed so indeterminate a measure, that no calculation can be safely formed from it, and no man can give a satisfactory account of its real length. On the whole, we found that the reputed distances in the line of our march are rather over-calculated than under-rated. The road leads on the right of a plain which widens at its northern termination. The mountains on both sides of it run N. and S. taking indeed a transverse E. and W. direction at both its extremities; and beyond the first range on the west of the route is another, and a parallel chain of much greater elevation, which binds an intermediate plain. The peasantry are ill clothed, and look miserably. They wear in general a little skull cap, slit on each side, called _Dogoosheh_. Their dress is a loose coat with hanging sleeves of a very rude cloth, tied about with a coarse sash. _Surmek_, where we encamped for the night, is situated on the E. side of the plain, near the foot of the mountains. It now consists of a square mud fort, which contains its whole population; around it are the ruins of its original extent. Between the town and the mountains the cultivation is very luxuriant, for the fields are irrigated by _kanauts_ from a neighbouring stream. To the northward of the fort, and two hundred yards from the road, stand the remains of a castle, which the Persians assign to the age of King BAHRAM, but which, in construction, resembles so nearly the later buildings of the country, that its antiquity becomes suspicious. It is nevertheless in itself a most curious work. A ditch surrounds it, and there is a wall within it, composed, like the outward parts of the fabric, of large stones cemented together by mud. The great variety of vaulted chambers and subterraneous inlets, proves that it was destined for other purposes than those of military defence only.

On the 24th we resumed our march, on a road as hard and fine as that of the preceding day, and on the same bearing; and having travelled in four hours a distance probably of twelve miles, reached our encampment at _Abadéh_. We noticed many square forts, which are now generally not only the protection of the district, but the residence of the cultivators. The ruins indeed, which overspread the country, contrast its former prosperity too forcibly with the present depopulation. In this region, however, the more immediate causes of its devastation have ceased; for it owed its principal sufferings to the long wars, of which it was the scene, between the _Zund_ and _Cadjar_ families, and which are now terminated by the fortune of the latter. On our arrival at _Abadéh_, we were saluted as usual by the _istakball_, who went through all their noise and firing. The first appearance of _Abadéh_ announces a large place; but on a nearer inspection the town exhibits only a great extent of ruined walls without inhabitants. The present population is all enclosed within a square fort, the walls, indeed, of which were crowded by women, whose white veils made them conspicuous objects even at a distance. The fort itself is defended by a turret at each angle, and three in each of the intervening sides. I walked into it to look at a bath, the most respectable building in the place; for the rest consists only of miserable walls of mud or brick. Yet in the rudest wall we found a well-formed arch, which the want of timber has taught the people to construct, and the same necessity has forced the same lesson on other parts of the country.

The property and jurisdiction of _Abadéh_, _Surmek_, and _Shoolgistoon_, with their intervening territories, belong by purchase to one man. Yet the scarcity of water in the district must render it an unprofitable estate. _Abadéh_, however, is surrounded by gardens, from which some very good fruit is sent to _Shiraz_; but the irrigation is all carried by artificial _kanauts_.

25th. The clouds which, on the preceding day, had sprinkled a few flakes of snow on our tract, and had threatened a heavy fall, rolled off before day-break, and opened to us one of the most brilliant mornings in nature. The mountains were no longer concealed from our view; the snow, indeed, covered their summits, and impregnated every blast of wind with a piercing but invigorating freshness. We proceeded along the same plain, on a bearing which averaged N. 29 W. The high lands on each side, now advancing, now receding from us, continued their N. and S. direction; and, where the snow had not covered their surfaces, presented that hard and forbidding aspect which indicated the minerals below.[35] The soil on the plain still was gravel lightly mixed with earth, producing nothing but thistles and soap-wort. Indeed, if it were a finer mould, the want of water would render it of little value even to the most skilful possessor. At the distance of three miles from a village called _Baghwardar_ we halted; and I took a meridional observation of the sun, which gave us a latitude of thirty-one degrees twenty-five minutes. We reckoned eight miles from _Abadéh_ to this spot, and nine more to _Shoolgistoon_, the termination of the day’s march. Whilst we were waiting until the sun should pass the meridian, one of our party picked up the stump of a thistle, and on examining its inside, we found two torpid wasps, which had formed their recess there, waiting the approach of spring once again to issue into life.

The little fort, mosque, and caravanserai at _Shoolgistoon_ are seen at least six miles before they are reached. The plain to the northward of our route was bounded by a flat horizon, from which every successive mountain or building rose, as we advanced, like objects when first seen at sea.

26th. The night was boisterous, the wind blew strong from the southward and westward, and distant thunder rolled over the hills. The morning presented a dark and dismal array of clouds and snow-clad mountains all around us; and when the trumpet sounded for the Envoy’s departure, every thing announced a cold and cheerless ride. The sun made several efforts to break through the heavy atmosphere, and succeeded once or twice, only to cast faint shadows of our troops across the road as we paced along; and, when we were about four miles from our destined encampment at _Yezdikhaust_, the rain begun to fall. We travelled a distance of fifteen miles in five hours. The road was still carried over a gravel soil, till about two miles from _Yezdikhaust_, when we entered a softer ground. The mountains gradually dwindled into hills, and seemed to form a termination to this long plain by throwing themselves in lessening forms across it. They continued, like those of our latter route, barren, brown and inhospitable, without a shrub to enliven their rugged masses. On the left of the plain, all were covered with snow, while all to the right were as yet untouched.

We could perceive the town of _Yezdikhaust_ a long time before we reached it, and supposed, therefore, that it was situated at the foot of the eastern hills, on the same plain as that on which we were travelling. Our surprise then was, of course, excited to find ourselves on a sudden stopt by a precipice in our route. From its brow we overlooked a small plain beautifully watered by a variety of streams, and parcelled out in every direction into cultivated fields and gardens. The country which we had crossed was unbroken by the labour of the ploughman; here his industry was displayed and richly rewarded: we had seen scarcely one scanty rill; here water meandered in profusion; and though this little spot was now stripped of its verdure and chilled by the gloom of winter, the contrast between cultivation and a desert was still striking and cheering. This valley is like a large trench excavated in the plain. It is five miles long in an E. and W. direction, and about three hundred yards broad in the line where we crossed; but the breadth is unequal. At the eastern extremity on the brink of the precipice, hangs the town of _Yezdikhaust_. Its situation is most fantastical, and its mean and ill-defined houses appear at first sight to belong to the rocks on which they rise, and which, in varied and extravagant masses, surround the valley. The substance of the rock is soft. Beneath it is a _caravanserai_, an elegant building erected near two hundred years ago by a pious Queen of the _Seffi_ race. It is still in good repair, less by the care of the present generation than by the original solidity of its structure. On the verge of the precipice is a small mosque, built by the same Queen; and around it a burial place. _Yezdikhaust_ is the frontier town of the provinces of _Fars_ and _Irak_. Before the conquest of the _Affghans_ it was a place of some consequence, but since their devastations it has never resumed its prosperity. It was taken by assault, and the inhabitants put to the sword. To the East, over a rude drawbridge, is the entrance to the town, which, without the use of cannon, seems almost impregnable. It is there an isolated rock, connected with the others around only by this bridge.

27th. It rained at intervals during the night with much fury. It cleared up, however, during the morning, and the sun shone bright; but it was then freezing so hard, that we were obliged to leave the tents behind us until they should have lost their stiffness in the warmth of the day. The feast of the _Corban Bairam_ now commenced among the Mussulmans. The Persians performed the ceremonies of the day, and we again proceeded on our journey. The direction of our march averaged N. 10 W. After travelling nearly seven hours we reached its termination at _Maxhood-Beggy_, a distance of eighteen miles. The line of our route led us to the W. side of the plain, over a road still finer even than that on which we had journied on the preceding day. The mountains lost their regular bearing and outline, and were more varied in their projections and recesses. At about nine miles from _Yezdikhaust_ we arrived at a _caravanserai_ and a fort, the approaches to which were thickly spread with the vestiges of a town. The place was called _Ameenabad_. On the plain also, which succeeded, were scattered ruins. A North-east wind sprung up, and, passing down the snowy summits of the mountains, brought a sharpness so piercing, that, for the first time, we were incommoded by the cold, and were anxious to get to our encampment for the night.

Before our arrival, we were met by a person deputed by the Governor of _Ispahan_, to welcome us into his territory. _Maxhood-Beggy_ is seen at a distance, and then looks a large place. But the appearances of its grandeur vanish on a nearer approach in ruins; some indeed are substantial walls, and the remains of _bazars_. Yet, instead of the dilapidated chamber of some miserable _caravanserai_, which alone we could have expected, we were lodged in a house of singular convenience and even elegance. It was built in fact, for her own accommodation, by the Queen at _Shiraz_, (the mother of the Prince Governor of _Farsistan_) who was accustomed every two years to take a journey to the King at _Teheran_, and who accordingly provided on both the winter and the summer route a similar resting place. She enjoys a great reputation, and the affections of the people; for she is charitable to the poor, and ready to do justice to the oppressed.

28th. When we departed from _Maxhood-Beggy_, our weather was clear and serene. There was not a breath in the heavens, and the clouds had dispersed. As we approached _Komeshah_, the plain appeared more cultivated and better inhabited. Among the small forts and enclosed gardens of men, were interspersed small towers built for the convenience of the wild pigeons. These birds are greatly encouraged round the country, for their manure is considered essential to the fertility of the fields; the immense number of pigeon houses (in ruins, or still entire) on the plain about _Komeshah_, attest at least the prevalence of the belief, if not the truth of the fact. The distance to _Komeshah_ is twelve miles on a bearing of N. 10 W. This place also was once large, and in the time of the _Seffis_ well peopled. It still occupies a large tract of ground, and is walled all around. But since it was taken by the _Affghans_, and a great part of its inhabitants put to the sword; it has fallen hopelessly. After having crossed the bed of the stream, and the channels of an immense number of _kanauts_, we entered the town through a gate to the westward. We passed through streets and _bazars_, of which nothing but the bare walls were standing, and at length reached the best house in the place; but the only approach even to this was amid the stones and mud fragments of surrounding ruins. Travelling in our present mode, and carrying about a population of our own, we do not so much feel the misery with which a country so wretched, and towns so devastated, would inspire any one of us going through the same tract a solitary individual. The ruins themselves become animated on being peopled by our numerous party, who spread themselves all about in busy groups, and awake the solitude and silence of these wastes so long unbroken by the vivacity of their disputes, the confusion of their different works, and the vociferations of their rude songs. As soon as we entered _Komeshah_, all the place was in motion; the scanty population which it afforded, and which had been accumulated by that of every neighbouring village, came out to greet us, betraying indeed their own wretchedness by the poverty of their clothing, and every comfortless circumstance of their appearance. They have a manufacture of cloth in _Komeshah_ called _kaduck_, a better sort of that coarse linen called _kerbas_, which is made in every village.

The Envoy, according to the common custom of the country, sent a present to the Governor of the place, with this difference, indeed, that it was much larger than the rank of the party entitled him to expect. It consisted of cloth, fine chintz, &c. The Governor however, when it was brought to him, indignantly snatched one piece of chintz, and told the bearer to take the rest as unworthy of his own acceptance, in the hope that the Envoy would hasten to atone for his disrespect by doubling the gift. Sir HARFORD, with great indifference, desired the servant to keep what he had received, and congratulated him on his good luck. In vain did the Governor entreat to have the original gift restored, in vain did the _Mehmandar_ mediate, the Envoy was inflexible, and the Governor, to the laugh of every one, remained with his single piece.

29th. At a mile and a half from _Komeshah_, on the left, is the tomb of SHAH REZA, and near it an extensive burying ground; over one of the tombs is the remains of a lion in stone: whatever it may mean, it is certain that it dates from the remotest antiquity, being evidently prior to the Arabian conquests, and to the establishment of the Mahomedan religion in Persia. The ruined forts, the towers for pigeons, and other signs of habitation and cultivation which are seen on the plain to the Northward of the town, prove that _Komeshah_ has shared the prosperity of the better days of Persia. Our weather continued most delightful, nor did I indeed recollect to have ever seen an atmosphere so lucid and so soft. The mountains to the Northward, which shewed their distant summits over the ridges of the nearer hills, although crowned with snow did not seem to have been so overwhelmed, as those which we had passed to the Southward.

30th. Our road to _Mayar_ was distant fourteen miles; the village is situated at the foot of the mountains bearing N. from _Komeshah_, a point which we ascertained by setting the high hill over that place. At _Mayar_ is a fine _caravanserai_ built by the mother of SHAH ABBAS. It is a very extensive building, consisting of one front court, on the right and left of which, under lofty arches, are rooms and stables for the convenience of travellers. The front of the principal gate is inlaid with green lacquered tiles and neat cut bricks. It opens into the large square, in the centre of which is a platform of the same shape. On the right of the exterior front, is the cistern, over the orifice of which is thrown a platform with a pillar at each corner. The general structure is of brick, except some of the better rooms, in which a fine blue stone is used. The whole is falling rapidly into decay as a _caravanserai_, and has now indeed been converted into one of the common forts of the country by raising mud walls around and turrets at proper intervals: a miserable contrast to the elegant and substantial workmanship of former times.

Our camp was usually quiet, but in our later progress it was disturbed by the quarrels of our own servants (who were mostly from _Farsistan_) and those of the _Mehmandar_ (who were natives of _Irak_). The rivality and hatred, which exist between the people of the two neighbouring provinces, can be conceived by those only who have witnessed their effects. They are much greater than between Christian and Mahomedan, or _Sheyah_ and _Sunni_. The two parties frequently come to blows, which would have closed the dispute to which I allude, if we had not interfered; and if the _Mehmandar_ had not exerted his best influence and authority by administering the stick plentifully to all the offending parties.

31st. We called it twenty miles from _Mayar_ to _Ispahanek_. We reached the extremity of the plains of _Mayar_, and then wound through the mountains for about two hours, till we came into the plains of _Ispahan_. Our road bore, on an average, North. The Envoy was unwell, and rode in the _takht-e-ravan_, a species of litter which is suspended by shafts on the backs of mules, one before and one behind. This conveyance, when the mules keep an even pace, is not unpleasant, but when the animals break into a trot, becomes very disagreeable. On entering the plain, we started a flock of antelopes.

CHAP. IX.

ISPAHAN.

RUINS ON THE PLAIN OF ISPAHAN--THE ZAIANDE-ROOD--RECEPTION OF THE ENVOY BY THE PEOPLE; THE MERCHANTS; THE ARMENIAN CLERGY; THE GOVERNOR--ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY--BRIDGE--CHAHAR BAGH--PAVILIONS--COLLEGE--PALACES OF THE KING; CHEHEL SITOON; PAINTINGS--HAREM--GATE--GENERAL VIEW OF ISPAHAN--MAIDAN--PAVILION OF THE CLOCK--POPULATION--ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN TO THE ENVOY BY THE GOVERNOR.

The great number of buildings, which stud every part of the plain of _Ispahan_, might lead the traveller to suppose that he was entering a district of immense population. Yet almost the whole view consists of the ruins of towns, and here and there only are spots which are enlivened by the communities of men. But whatever may be the condition of modern Persia, its former state, if the remains scattered over the whole country are sufficient evidences, must have been flourishing and highly peopled.

The village of _Ispahanek_ is situated just at the foot of a range of hills which screen the extent of the great city from our view. It is now reduced to a small fort, in which its population is immured. The plain is well irrigated by dikes cut from the _Zaiande-rood_, a river which, in its course from the West, waters the whole country. It rises from the _Baktyar_ mountains, passes through _Ispahan_, and finally expends itself in the deserts of sand to the S.E. The Persians indeed have an idle belief founded on a more idle tradition, that it resumes its waters from the sand, constitutes the river which we crossed at _Daulakee_, and discharges itself at last into the sea at _Rohilla_: a connection as they still assert, ascertained by one of their Kings, who threw a marked board into the place of the disappearance, and found it again in the stream at _Daulakee_. Two etymologies are assigned to the name; one from _Zaiandé_, spurting, breaking from the ground, (_jaillir_;) the other, from _Zendé_, lost, alluding to its failure in the sand; the termination _rood_ in either case is, river. Like every other part of the kingdom, the country round _Ispahan_ is almost destitute of timber; and the surface is a most arid field for the researches of a botanist. The vivid rock of the mountains is lost at the point where their roots intersect the plain below.

We estimated the distance from _Ispahanek_ to _Ispahan_ at two _fursungs_, or six miles. We proceeded over the hills in regular procession; the Envoy having taken every precaution that the Mission, with which he was charged from the Throne, should be received with the the fullest attention and respect. With this view it became his express object, that the Governor of the city, ABDULLAH KHAN, (son of MAHOMED HUSSEIN KHAN, the King’s Second Minister) should come out himself to meet him. As he had been led to understand that this was a point already settled, he was surprised to hear by a message which he received when he was on the road, that the Governor refused to accede to his wishes, unless he first received a letter to that effect from the Envoy himself. In consequence we made a temporary halt; and the Envoy wrote a note, stating, that although he thought himself entitled to such a mark of attention from the _Khan_ as an office of friendship only, yet, as the bearer of a letter from his master the King of England, to his Persian Majesty, he could not for a moment doubt, that the Governor would yield to that letter, the distinction he would pay to his own Sovereign.

It will be well indeed to remark, that from the commencement of our march, Sir HARFORD JONES took similar precautions to ensure every honour to his Majesty’s letter. It was always placed in a _takht-e-ravan_ or litter, which was escorted by ten Indian troopers and an officer, and was never taken out or replaced without the trumpet of the guard sounding a blast. Whenever we stopped, it was deposited in the tent of ceremony under a cloth of gold; a sentry with a drawn sword was placed over it, and no one was permitted to sit with his back to it. The correspondence of Princes is a general object of reverence in the East; and the dignity which by these observances we attached to the letter of our Sovereign, raised among the people a corresponding respect towards his representative.

At about four miles from _Ispahan_, we were met by an advanced part of the inhabitants. As we approached the city, the crowd increased to numbers which baffled our calculation or guess. Although the stick was administered with an unsparing hand, it was impossible to keep the road free for our passage. People of all descriptions were collected on mules, on horses, on asses; besides an immense number on foot. First came the merchants of the city, in number about three hundred, all in their separate classes. Then followed a deputation from the Armenian clergy, composed of the Bishop and chief dignitaries in their sacerdotal robes. They carried silken banners, on which was painted the Passion of our Saviour. The Bishop, a reverend old man with a white beard, presented the Evangelists bound in crimson velvet to the Envoy, and then proceeded on, with his attendant priests, chaunting their church service.

When we came into the plain, the city of _Ispahan_ rose upon the view, and its extent was so great East and West, that my sight could not reach its bounds. The crowd now was intensely great, and at intervals quite impeded our progress. Slowly however we were approaching near towards the city, and yet the Governor had not appeared. The Envoy intimated, that he would receive no _istakball_, unless the Governor headed it. Two of the chief men of the place met us, as we arrived at the entrance of a fine spacious road, between two lofty walls. This was the beginning of the _Ispahan_ gardens, yet the walls of the city itself were still a mile from us. We turned to the left through a narrow porch, which led us into a piece of ground, planted on one side by lofty _chenar_ trees, and bounded on the other by the beautiful river _Zaiande-rood_. At the extremity of this spot was a tent. We were told, that it had been prepared by the Governor for the Envoy, and that he himself was there in waiting. The Envoy stopped his horse, and declared, that unless he was met by the Governor on horseback, he would take no notice of him, but proceed to his own tents, and march straight forward to _Teheran_. This produced the desired effect. The Governor came forth, and met us a few paces from his tent, and we then proceeded towards it and alighted. The place, where the tent was pitched, was called _Sa-atabad_; a pavilion had been built there by SHAH THAMAS. The tent itself rested on three poles; its sides were of open worked chintz, and its floor was strewed with carpets; on which were laid out fruits and sweetmeats in great profusion. Chairs of an old-fashion, like those in the sculptures at _Persepolis_, were prepared for us, and we were not put to the inconvenience of pulling off our boots. We were then served with _kaleoons_, and afterwards with sweetmeats.

When this ceremony was over, we proceeded along the banks of the _Zaiande-rood_, on the opposite side of which were rows of firs, and ancient pinasters. We saw three bridges of singular yet beautiful construction. That, over which we crossed, was composed of thirty-three lower arches, above each of which were ranged three smaller ones. There is a covered causeway for foot passengers; the surface of the bridge is paved, and is of one level throughout the whole extent. After we had crossed it, we proceeded through a gate into the _Chahar Bagh_, which is a very spacious piece of ground, having two rows of _chenar_ trees in the middle, and two other rows on each side. The garden is divided into parterres, and copiously watered by the canals of water, which run from one side of it to the other; and which at regular intervals are collected into basons square or octagonal. This fine alley is raised at separate distances into terraces, from which the water falls in cascades. Of the _chenar_ trees, which line the walks, most can be traced to the time of SHAH ABBAS, and when any have fallen, others have immediately been planted. On either side of the _Chahar Bagh_, are the eight gardens which the Persians call _Hasht-behesht_, or eight paradises. They are laid out into regular walks of the _chenar_ tree, are richly watered, and have each a pleasure-house, of which we were conducted to occupy the best, that at least, which was certainly in more perfect repair than the others. The rest indeed are in a state of decay, and corroborate only by the remains of the beautifully painted walls and gilded pannels, those lively and luxuriant descriptions of their former splendor which travellers have given.

On the right of the _Maidan_, and nearly in the centre of the _Chahar Bagh_, is a college called _Medressé Shah Sultan Hossein_. Its entrance is handsome; a lofty portico enriched with fantastic-twisted pillars, and intermixed with the beautiful marble of _Tabriz_, leads through a pair of brazen gates, of which the extremities are silver, and the whole surface highly carved and embossed with flowers and verses from the Koran. The gates pass into an elevated semi-dome, which at once opens into the square of the college. The right side of this court is occupied by the mosque, which is still a beautiful building, covered by a cupola and faced by two minarets. But the cupola is falling into decay, the lacquered tiles, on its exterior surface, are all peeling off, and the minarets can no longer be ascended, for the stairs are all destroyed. The interior of the dome is richly spread with variegated tiles, on which are invocations to the prophet, and verses of the Koran in the fullest profusion. I ascended the dome, from which I had but a partial view of the surrounding country; and that which I did see was scarcely any thing more than a series of ruined houses and palaces. The other sides of the square are occupied, one, by a lofty and beautiful portico, and the remaining two by rooms for the students, twelve in each front, arranged in two stories. These apartments are little square cells, spread with carpets, and appeared to me admirably calculated for study. Indeed, the quiet and retirement of this college, the beauty and serenity of the climate, and the shrubbery and water in the courts, would have combined to constitute it in my eyes a sanctuary for learning, and a nursery for the learned, if it had been in any other country. We had some conversation with the Director of the college _Medressé Jedéh_, MIRZA MAHOMED COSSIM. He is an old man, and possesses a very high literary reputation in Persia, and appeared indeed to know much more than the greater part of those whom we had seen, and to be a perfect master of the history of Persia. He was extremely inquisitive, and his questions were acute and pertinent; he was much delighted with our drawings, and with the map of our route, which we had laid down.

The palaces of the King are enclosed in a fort of lofty walls, which may have a circumference of three miles. The palace of the _Chehel Sitoon_, or “forty pillars,” is situated in the middle of an immense square, which is intersected by various canals, and planted in different directions by the beautiful _chenar_ tree. In front is an extensive square basin of water, from the farthest extremity of which the palace is beautiful beyond either the power of language or the correctness of pencil to delineate. The first saloon is open towards the garden, and is supported by eighteen pillars, all inlaid with mirrors, and (as the glass is in much greater proportion than the wood) appearing indeed at a distance to be formed of glass only. Each pillar has a marble base, which is carved into the figures of four lions placed in such attitudes, that the shaft seems to rest on their four united backs. The walls, which form its termination behind, are also covered with mirrors placed in such a variety of symmetrical positions, that the mass of the structure appears to be of glass, and when new must have glittered with most magnificent splendour. The ceiling is painted in gold flowers, which are still fresh and brilliant. Large curtains are suspended on the outside, which are occasionally lowered to lessen the heat of the sun.

From this saloon an arched recess (in the same manner studded with glass, and embellished here and there with portraits of favourites) leads into an extensive and princely hall. Here the ceiling is arranged in a variety of domes and figures, and is painted and gilded with a taste and elegance worthy of the first and most civilized of nations. Its finely proportioned walls are embellished by six large paintings: three on one side and three on the other. In the centre of that opposite to the entrance is painted SHAH ISMAEL, in an exploit much renowned in Persian story; when in the great battle with SOLIMAN, Emperor of the Turks, he cuts the _Janisary Aga_ in two before the _Sultan_. On the right of this, surrounded by his dancing women, musicians, and grandees, is SHAH ABBAS the Great, seated at a banquet, and offering a cup of wine to another King, whom he is entertaining at his side. The wine, indeed, seems to have flowed in plenty, for one of the party is stretched on the floor in the last stage of drunkenness. The painting to the left is SHAH THAMAS, in another banquet scene. Opposite to the battle between SHAH ISMAEL and SULTAN SOLIMAN, is that of NADIR SHAH and SULTAN MAHMOUD of India. On the left of this is SHAH ABBAS the Younger, who also is occupied with the pleasures of the table; and on the right is SHAH ISMAEL again, in an engagement with the _Usbeck_ Tartars. These paintings, though designed without the smallest knowledge of perspective, though the figures are in general ill-proportioned, and in attitudes awkward and unnatural, are yet enlivened by a spirit and character so truly illustrative of the manners and habits of the nations which are represented, that I should have thought them an invaluable addition to my collection, if I could have had time to have made copies of them. When it is remembered, that the artist neither could have had the advantages of academical studies, nor the opportunities of improving his taste and knowledge by the galleries of the great in Europe, or conversed with masters in the art, his works would be allowed to possess a very considerable share of merit, and to be strong instances of the genius of the people. The colours with which they are executed retain their original freshness; at least if they have faded they must have been such in their first state, as we have not seen in Europe. The gilding, which is every where intermixed, either to explain the richness of the dress, or the quality of the utensils, is of a brilliancy perhaps never surpassed.

They possess less questionably an excellence, to which the merit of colouring is at any rate very subordinate. They mark strongly and faithfully the manners of their subject, and combine in a series of pleasing and accurate records a variety of details, of feature, attitude, dress, dancing, musical instruments, table furniture, arms, and horse accoutrements of the country. SHAH ABBAS, in the painting to the right, has no beard. The fashions have altered with the times, and the present King cherishes a beard which descends lower than his girdle, and touches the ground when he sits. The notoriety of SHAH ABBAS in the revels of the table, and particularly his love of wine, are here displayed in characters so strong, that they cannot be mistaken: and so little did he endeavour to conceal his propensities, that he is here painted in the very act of drinking. The faces of the women are very pleasing, but their wanton looks and lascivious attitudes easily explain their professions.

The furniture of the _Chehel Sitoon_, which consists indeed of carpets only, is still kept there. The carpets of the time of ABBAS are of a large pattern, more regular and infinitely superior in texture to those of the present day. Although the outer part of the fabric is suffered to fall to ruin, the interior is still preserved in repair, as it forms the _Dewan Khonéh_, or Hall of Audience to the Palace; and is, therefore, kept in readiness for the King’s reception.

Adjoining to the _Chehel Sitoon_ is the _harem_; the term in Persia is applied to the establishments of the great, _zenana_ is confined to those of the inferior people. This building was lately erected by MAHOMED HOSSEIN KHAN, the second Minister, and presented by him to his Majesty, and therefore is a very good specimen of the style and workmanship of the present day; and in this view it merits description. It is indeed considered so perfect in its establishment, that if the King were to arrive at _Ispahan_ without a moment’s notice, not one, the smallest domestic article, would be wanting for the convenience of his suite, and the whole palace would present all the comforts which could be found after a residence of many years. From the garden of the _Chehel Sitoon_ an intricate passage leads under an octagonal tower into this new palace, and opens into an oblong square laid out into flower beds, straight walks and basins of water, and surrounded on all its sides by chambers for women of an inferior rank. Proceeding on the left side of this court, a door opens into a species of green-house called the _Narangistoon_, in which there are only young orange trees. From this there is but one step into the principal court of the building, one whole side of which is occupied by the King’s apartments or drawing-rooms. The front room is adorned by two portraits of his Majesty, on one side seated on his throne, and on the other in the act of killing a deer in a chase on horseback. There are also other pictures, of which the most remarkable are those representing TIMOOR or TAMERLANE, JENGHIZ KHAN, and JEMSHEED. The walls are very richly painted with bouquets of flowers, birds and other animals. The arch, which occupies the side facing the great window, is a beautiful composition of glass and painting, and was the neatest specimen of decorative art which I had then seen in Persia. The ceiling is highly ornamented; gilded flowers and bright looking glasses glisten on every side, and give great liveliness and gaiety to the whole. Behind this is another room equally well painted; the upper windows are here most artfully constructed of plaster, which is pierced into small holes in a great variety of figures and flowers resembling the open work of lace, and admitting a pleasing light. In this room also there are portraits, one of which, that of a European, is called the _Shah Zadé Freng_, or European Prince. He is represented in our dress of the sixteenth century, in which indeed all the portraits of the Europeans appear, and which is sufficiently explained by the recollection that SHAH ABBAS had Dutch painters in his pay. The other rooms in this department are similarly decorated and gilded; and in some hang portraits of the King, to which the natives, as they approach, all make an inclination of the head. Under the great room are summer apartments excavated in the ground, which in their season must be delightful retreats. They are all wainscoted and paved with marble slabs, and water is introduced by cascades, which fall from the ground floor, and refresh the whole range. A passage leads to the bath, which, though small, is elegant. The domes are supported by columns, taken from the Armenian churches at _Julfa_.

From this court, a passage leads into several others for inferior women; and then into two rooms built by ASHREFF, one of the _Affghan_ Kings. The latter are indeed much inferior to those which I have already described. They have heavy massive glasses and gildings, and coarse paintings of fruits and flowers, without any representation of the human figure. On the whole, however, we found throughout the palace much sameness, both in the arrangement of the rooms, and in the distribution of the grounds. In the love of water and running streams, a Persian taste is fully gratified at _Ispahan_, through which the _Zaiande-rood_ affords for all their ornamental purposes an unceasing supply.

_Drawn by James Morier Esq^r._
_Published by Mess^{rs}. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown,
Paternoster Row, May 1, 1811._]

From the interior of the palaces we ascended the _Ali Capi_ gate, which forms the entrance. This gate, once the scene of the magnificence of the _Seffi_ family, the threshold of which was ever revered as sacred, is now deserted, and only now and then a solitary individual is seen to pass negligently through. The remains of that splendour, so minutely and exactly described by CHARDIN, are still to be traced; the fine marbles remain, and the grandeur and elevation of the dome are still undemolished. A ragged porter opened a small door to the right, by which we ascended to the pavilion where SHAH ABBAS was wont to see the games of the _Maidan_ and the exercises of his troops. This also is sinking rapidly into decay, and retains nothing to attest the beauties which travellers describe, except the shafts of the wooden columns, some pieces of glass, and some decayed paintings. From this we ascended by a winding staircase, still further to the very summit. Here, as this is the highest building in the city, we enjoyed a most extensive view, and from this place we could form a tolerably just idea of its real extent. Houses, or ruins of houses, are spread all over the plain, and reach to the very roots of the surrounding mountains. From this point I took a panoramic view of the whole, which I completed undisturbed, as I had secured the door, and the porter at the bottom before I commenced.[36] There is no difference in the colours of the buildings; they are universally of a light yellow, and, if it were not for an abundant intermixture of trees, which in spring and summer cheer and enliven the scene, the view would be monotonous. The trees are mostly the _chenars_; but, besides these, there are the Lombardy poplar, the willow, and an elm with very thick and rich foliage and a formal shape. The domes of the mosques are a field of green or sometimes blue-lacquered tiles, with ornaments in yellow, blue, and red: the inscriptions are in the same colours. They are crowned by golden balls and a crescent, with the horns bending outwardly.

The mountains, which bound the plain to the Eastward, are the most distant; and those to the West are most strongly marked; all are dark without any verdure. The general appearance of the soil in the town is light, and nearly of the same colour as the houses.