Chapter X: Part 10

It was built by Alexander a Prince of the Shúshads, from whose hands it passed into those of the Prince of Dághistán, and then into those of the Persians. Lala Kara Mustafa Páshá, the Vezír of Murad III. conquered it, and it was conferred on Erkelád Beg, the son of Levend Khán. In the beginning of the reign of Sultán Mustafa it returned into the possession of the Persians, and is now the seat of a Sultán, who commands one thousand men. It is a nice castle built on a rock, its circuit three thousand paces, a ditch is not required; its two gates are that of Genje and that of Shirván; though situated on the frontier of Dághistán it is reckoned to belong to Georgia, the more so as its builder was a Georgian; there are three thousand houses, and seven mihrabs; in the market is the mosque of Mirza Alí Beg, in the castle that of Lagúsh-oghlí Ahmed Beg; that of Murad III. is falling into decay. In the gardens great quantities of silk are produced. At a journey’s distance east of this castle passes the river Kanúk, flowing into the Zenghí. Advancing to the north, we crossed the river of Uzdemir-oghlí Osmán Páshá and arrived at the place Koyún-gechid, where we saw piles of human bones; our companion Yasser Alí Aghá told us, that it was on this spot that Mustafa Páshá, the general of Murad III., was attacked by the Kháns of Tabríz, Lor, Nakhshiván, and Karabágh, who with more than two hundred thousand men surrounded him. Koja Lala Mustafa Páshá ordered a general attack, which was instantly made on one side by Uzdemir-oghlí, on the second by Mohammed, the governor of Haleb, and on the third by Mustafa, the governor of Mera’ash, who cut to pieces more than a thousand men, and drove the rest like sheep to the ferry of Koyún-gechid, where a great many of them were drowned, some in the river Kanúk and some in the Kapúr. In short there remained altogether more than forty thousand men on the field of battle, whose bones are piled up as an everlasting monument; I said a Fátihah for their souls, and crossed the sheep’s ferry. Further on to the north we passed the white river (Aksú), which is called by the Persians the river of Gilán. It comes from the mountains of Aras, and flows into the Kúr. At the end of three hours we entered the district of Mahmúdabád consisting of two hundred highly cultivated kents, which produce a thousand Yúks of silk, each kent resembling a large town. The inhabitants are Turkománs, Kok, Dulák, Moghols, and Ettels.

_Account of the Tribe of Ettels._

Ettel signifies in the Mogolic language, tongue of dogs; they take this name from their war-cry, which is a kind of howling. Near Márdín, in the sanjak of the mountains, which I entered with Melek Ahmed Páshá, the Ettels are a tribe like that of the hairy Kurds, impure, impious, irreligious robbers, who pretend to be of Hamza’s sect, keep neither prayer-hours nor fasts, are ignorant of moral duties and of God. Seven or eight of them share a woman amongst them; if she gets with child, her seven or eight keepers after some time assemble, and the woman gives an apple into the child’s hand, the man to whom the child gives it is reckoned to be the father, and henceforth the woman belongs exclusively to him, without any man being allowed to raise pretensions to her. The famous sect of the candle-extinguishers (Múm sonduren), must be a branch of them, because I saw or heard nothing of them any where else. It is a certain fact that they drink out of the shoes of their Sháhs, to whom they are most obedient.

The Kaitáks are about twenty thousand men on the frontiers of Dághistán, who sometimes come to the towns of Aras and Shekí; a strange race of men like the beast of the day of judgement, with heads in the form of kettles, brows two fingers broad, shoulders so square that a man may easily stand upon them, thin limbs, round eyes, large heels, and red faces. They pretend to be Sháfítes; if they come to the market of Aras and Shekí, they come on waggons, or ride on buffaloes, because horses and asses could not carry their weight: as they pass with their turbans of the size of a cupola, saluting on both sides with great dignity, they seem to be of the race of Dejál (the Antichrist) true Oghúzians. These Kaitáks come originally from the province of Mahán, are Mogholian Turks, and therefore speak the Mogolic language, of which I could only collect a few words, as I remained but two days among them. I saw these people in the district of Mahmúdabád, and after having travelled further to the north, reached the kent Chailán on the frontier of Shirván on the banks of the river of Guílán, with six hundred houses of Turcomans and Oghúzians. Further on is the town Niázabád on the frontier of Shirván built by Yezdejerd-sháh, great ruins of its ancient magnificence are yet extant, it was ruined by the Moghols, who united with the Komúks and Kaitáks of Dághistán. In the reign of Murad III., Ferhád Páshá fixed his winter quarters here, and levelled the castle, when he left it in the spring. It is now the frontier between Dághistán and Persia, with forty quarters and as many mosques, a khán, bath and market-place, the seat of a Sultán who commands a thousand men. There are twelve magistrates; according to the statement of the Kelenter, there are more than six thousand houses surrounded by gardens. It is a pity that its strong castle lies in ruins; if God should again grant that it be restored to the Ottoman power, it might be easily repaired, and become a very strong castle. This town is surrounded by an endless plain on all four sides.

_Pilgrimage of Ashár-Baba._

Ashár-Baba was one of the disciples of our great ancestor the Turk of Turks, Khoja Ahmed Yessúí; as the rites of Yessúí are liked in Persia the convent at this place is inhabited by more than a hundred Dervishes. It is a general pilgrimage, the inhabitants profess to be of the sect of Hanefí. We here took some companions and advanced to the north to the kent Ferrakhzád on the frontier of Shamákhi, and on the bank of the white river (Aksú) with five hundred houses, a mosque, a khán, a bath and a small market. The mihmándár of this place paid me many attentions. We advanced to the north amongst shady groves, dined at a hunting place of Sháh Khoda-bende, and arrived at Nílchaí, the same as blue river (Goksú), which coming from Dághistán joins the Kúr at this place.

_Praise of Mount Caucasus._

The rivers which come from Mount Caucasus, on the south, flow into the Kúr, and those towards the north, straight into the Caspian Sea. Again there are rivers on the south side, which fall into the Black Sea, and on the north side into the Kúbán. Mount Caucasus is the greatest mountain in the world, its tracts are ruled by five different monarchs, and to the south the Abáza tribes are settled to the extent of eighty journies. On the east side on the border of the mountain are the Mingrelians, Georgians, Ajíkbásh, Shúshád, Kúrdíl, and Dadián to the extent of forty journies. Again there is the province of Tiflís on the Persian frontier, and the throne of the Alans (Serer-ul-allán) on the border of Mount Caucasus nineteen journies long; Dághistán, within Mount Caucasus, twenty journies long to the north. Inside of Mount Caucasus is also Circassia inhabited by the tribes Kabartaí, Bestí, Púltakaí, Khatúkaí, Memsúkh, Bozadúk, Takakú, Zana, Shefáke and other Circassian tribes, eighty-one journies. According to this reckoning the extent of all the tracts of Mount Caucasus is two hundred and forty journies. It is so high that it is seen at ten days distance. God has created on the surface of the earth one hundred and forty-eight mountains, twelve of the highest _par excellence_, are, Mount Caucasus, Mount Bingol, Mount Demavend, Mount Siján, Mount Kamar, the mountains in Germany at the source of the Danube; the mount Samúr, where the Zeiro and the Dniester take their origin. No man has ever reached half the height of Mount Caucasus: passing on our way through the districts of Dághistán we saw its top wrapped in clouds. But we shall now return to the description of our journey.

The kent of Kokchaí (the blue river) is a great place with a Kelenter and Mihmándár, seven hundred houses with gardens. The inhabitants are Sunnís, who pay tribute to Sháh Ismail for permission to wear beards. We continued our journey through fields to the north, for seven hours, and reached the kent Aksú, on the territory of Shamákhí, of one thousand houses, a mosque, khán and bath. The White River passes through the place and flows into the Kúr, it comes from the mountains of Shirván, waters the fields of Shamákhí and falls into the Kúr.

_Description of the Town of Shamákhí._

It was first built by Yezdejerd Sháh the Persian Monarch; it is the centre of seven Khánliks, some spell it Shám Akhí (the brother of Damascus), and some Shám Ahí (the sigh of Damascus), because its first inhabitants were a colony from Damascus; forty Sultáns and forty judges are attached to it, seventy castles and thirteen hundred kents like large towns: Ulama Páshá and Pírí Páshá, two Vezírs of Sultán Súleimán took possession of it in their Emperor’s name, and Ulama Páshá was named governor of Shirván; Sháh Tahmás then besieged the town during three months, conquered it, and gave the government to his younger brother, Elkáss Mirza, who remained three years at his post, but then, being afraid of his brother, took flight with all his valuable things, came through the steppes in forty days to Kafa, embarked himself and paid his homage to Sultán Súleimán at Constantinople. In the year 954 (1547), Elkáss Mirza undertook with Lala Mustafa an expedition to Persia, and then took up his abode in the palace of Pertev Páshá at Constantinople. Having witnessed the pomp of Sultán Súleimán’s solemn entrance, he said, “How it is possible that with such power your Emperor of the Ottomans should not be at the same time the monarch of Iran?” Súleimán carried Elkáss along with him on the expedition to Wán and Azerbeiján. Lala Mustafa Páshá was named governor of Shirván, and Elkáss Mirza, his predecessor in this government, ravaged the provinces of Nakhshiván, Eriván, Genje, and Shirván. Sháh Tahmas having died, the castle of Shamákhí was taken after a siege of seven days from his son; Lala Páshá was named governor of Shamákhí, and Elkáss Mirza Khán of Mahmúdabád. He ravaged Persia as far as Isfahán in order to quench his thirst for vengeance. Shamákhí was then contested for by both powers, till in the reign of Murad III. it was conquered, and then repaired by Uzdemír-oghlí Páshá. The Persians reconquered it and lost it again to Ferhád Páshá. It remained in the hands of the Ottománs till the time of Sultán Murad IV. when the Persians took Derbend and Shamákhí by usurpation, and sent the garrison prisoners to Constantinople. It has ever since remained in the power of the Persians, and is now the seat of a Khán. The castle is on a hill on the bank of the river, the interior one is very strong, but the exterior is in decay. The town consists of about seven thousand well built houses, stone walls, and terraces, each house provided with water; there is an infinite number of gardens, and twenty-six quarters; the quarters called Meidán and Shabúrán being in the inner castle are the most elegant; there are seventy mosques, the oldest is that of Div Alí, who was one of the Kháns of Shah Tahmáss, but a Sunní; in the suburb is the great mosque of Sháh Safí, which rivals the vault of the palace of Chosroes. In the court-yard is a basin, and round it cells for students; the gates of the mosque of Ferhád Páshá are closed, because it has no endowment; the mosque of Uzdemír Osmán Páshá is a college, where the Muftí holds lectures: there is a dining establishment of Sultán Khodabende’s foundation, forty schools for boys, seven pleasant baths, the best of which is that of Shabúr, with numerous private rooms and a basin, its waiters are fine youths. Besides the public baths, there are private ones in every garden. There are forty caravánseraïs, in each of which many thousand tománs of wares are deposited. The public security is so great, that every man leaves his shop open, without the least danger, when he goes away on business; there are altogether twelve hundred shops. There is no Bezestán of stone, but nevertheless a great number of valuable articles; the coffee-houses are meeting-places for wits and learned men; the air is mild and the land fertile; rice, cotton, seven sorts of grapes, pears, and water-melons are in great perfection. The greatest part of the inhabitants are Sunnís of the Hanefirites, who perform their prayers secretly. I remained during seven days a guest of the Khán of Shamákhí, Takí Khán, a generous, liberal man, who liked society and good company. He presented us with many pieces of silk stuffs, ten tománs of Abássí, and a horse (Karajubúk). Being himself invited to the entertainment of the Khán of Eriván, he set out from Shamákhí with one thousand men. Marching to the north we came to the pilgrimage of Pírderkúh (the old man of the mountain) a great saint, a fine walking-place the view from which embraces all the buildings of Shamákhí; the inhabitants of three hundred adjacent villages are for the most part Dervishes of the order of Begtásh, belonging to the Convent of this Saint. We advanced from hence six hours to the north through a cultivated country, and reached the station of Pír Merízát, where we were treated as guests by the Kelenter. The convent of this place is called Pír Mirza by some, and Pír Mirka by others, but the proper mode of spelling the word is Merizát, which signifies incurvated, because his body is seated in one of the corners of the convent in an incurvated position, his face turned towards the Kiblah, his head recumbent on a rock. His body is light and white like cotton, without corruption at all. The Dervishes who are busy all day long in cleaning and sweeping the convent, put every night a basin of clear water at the feet of the Saint, and find it empty in the morning; his dress is thus always washed white without the least dust upon it. The brains of those who visit this place are perfumed by the scent of ambergris. Sheikh Sefí who came from Erdebíl to visit this Saint spent treasures in building this convent of Dervishes Begtáshí, which has its equal perhaps only in the town of Meshhed Mússa Riza. Its entrance fills all who visit it with a sacred awe, like culprits appearing before a great monarch as their judge. I visited it, read the Súra Yass in honour of the Saint, and made spiritual acquaintance with him. I am unable to quote the date of his death, as there is no chronostick on the gate; but one of the Dervishes told me that he was the Múëzzin of Sheikh Ibrahím Shirvání, who had arrived at such a degree of sanctity, that when he proclaimed prayers at the five hours, the skies all moved in uproar. Sheikh Ibrahím touched his back bone, which is the cause of his incurvated position and good preservation. Whoever says at his tomb the seven verses of a Fátihah may be sure to have for seven days the object of his wishes. Passing about a mile to the north of the convent, through gardens, we came to the Kent of Kharjdeh, another place of pilgrimage, which was covered with a cupola by Khodabende Sháh; in seven hours more, to the caravánseraï of Kúzlí, a great Khán, the foundation of Sháh Ismaíl; further on, to the station of six trees, a great caravánseraï with a ruined Kent, on the frontier of Derbend; and then to the pilgrimage of Khizrzende, who lies beneath a cupola in good preservation. Uzdemir-oghlí Pásha who came here hunting, built this cupola because he had great faith in the Saint. Still further northward in the district of Musekker, on the frontier of Shaburán, is the place Regál.

There is a Regál, a small Kent, near Shamákhí, but this has a mosque, a khán, a bath with gardens, and three thousand houses with terraces; it belonged formerly to Derbend and is now a dependence of Bakú, the inhabitants are for the most parts Turcomans, Kaitáks and natives of the towns of Dághistán, Enderí, Tarkhú, Koúk, and Thálibserán; they are not duellists, though many exist in these parts. We halted on the border of the river Regál, and afterwards continued our journey through the fields; all at once we saw a great troop coming from the Black Sea, which as we approached proved to be the troops of seven great Persian Kháns, viz. Eriván, Genje, Lor, Bakú, Kílán, Moghán, and many Sultáns, all in state dresses, with more than ten thousand men of Turcomans, Moghols, Kalmúks, Kodeks, Valács, and Cossacks, with a variety of dresses and arms, sounding trumpets of Efrasiáb, beating drums and kettle drums, and playing Persian tunes in a style beyond all description. The Khán of Eriván leaving the troops and advancing to meet us, the Khán of Shamákhí acquainted me with it. He saluted me first, and then the Kháns of Kílán and Bakú, and we continued improving our acquaintance till we arrived at the town of Bakú. So many salutes were fired from the walls and towers of Bakú that it seemed like a salamander in the fire of Nimrod’s pile. We met with Envoys who had arrived from the Russian towns of Astrakan, Heshdek and Terek, to compliment the Khán with presents on his feast; thus we entered the Castle of Bakú on Friday the first Moharrem of the year 1057 (1647).

_Description of the fortress of Bakú._

After a grand repast we delivered the letter of Defterdár-zádeh Mohammed Páshá the governor of Erzerúm, our gracious Lord, with the presents consisting of beads of pearls, Irák stuffs, and a fine sword. I also delivered the letters of the Kháns of Tabríz and Nakhshiván, complimenting him on the feast of his wedding; the Khán entertained me as a guest in his sister’s palace, the festival lasted ten days and nights, during which he praised the presents he had received through me, in the presence of all the Kháns and Sultáns; he then presented me with a Persian dress, ten tománs of Abbássí, and ten tománs of Bisití; after which, with my companions, I went to view the town.

The castle of Bakú is built on a hill and is of a square form; the gate looking to the west is of iron from Nakhshiván, the circumference is seven hundred paces, it has seventy towers, and six hundred battlements, the height of the wall is forty royal cubits; being situated on a rock, there is no necessity for a ditch. Within the castle are seventy houses with terraces, a mosque of Hyder Sháh, but without a minareh. In the castle is no khán, bath or market, but on the shore of the Caspian Sea the suburb (Robát) consists of a thousand houses with gardens, mosques and kháns, surrounded with walls on three sides; there are three gates, the gate of Guílán to the north; the gate of Derbend to the south; and westward towards the sea-shore is the harbour-gate. Seven minarehs of as many mosques are to be seen, the names of which I am ignorant of, and three baths, the most brilliant of which is that of Mirza Khán. This place being a frontier fortress opposed to Russia is garrisoned with excellent troops called Sháhseven and Dizchoken (who love the Sháh and bend their knees before him.) It is the seat of a Khán in the province of Shirván, ruled by twelve magistrates. The Russian Cossacks have several times pillaged the town of Bakú, and the province of Guílán; they besieged it at the instigation of the Persians soon after its conquest by Uzdemír-oghlí Osmán Páshá, when Kobád Páshá was governor, but were all cut down, and their bones are yet piled up on the shore. The climate is mild and favourable to the cultivation of rice and cotton; the water all smells of Naphtha which is found in seven mines near the town, of different colours, yellow, red and black. The inhabitants of the districts of Musekker, Sedán, and Ríneb do not use oil or grease, but all burn black Naphtha. The people are sound and stout, and some of them fine figures; they are for the most part Sunnís. The distance between this town and Derbend is four days journey, peopled by wandering Turcomans. Three journies east of Bakú is the town of Shabúrán, and Shamákhí is five journies to the east; the port of Shamákhí is much frequented by Chinese, and Tartars, Kalmúks and Russians, who bring different wares, in exchange for which they take salt, naphtha, safian, and silk. Round the town are many places, where if a portion of earth is dug up fire bursts forth, which is used by the Caraváns in cooking their victuals. Near the town to the north flows the Kúr, which is sometimes navigated by Cossack and Russian pirates, who ravage the Persian provinces, and sell their prisoners privately in the markets of Guílán. It is a great river like the Danube, broad but not deep. I remained some days at Bakú to witness the festival at the wedding of the sister of the Khán of Eriván, who was married to the Khán of Bakú. If I were to describe minutely all that took place at this festival it would more than fill a large book. During a fortnight’s stay I received many valuable presents, from the Khán and others, viz. rich cloth, seven horses, three Georgian slaves, a Persian sable pelisse, two camels, ambergris, &c. ten tománs of Abbássí for the expenses of the journey, and as much to be distributed amongst my servants. We took leave of our friends, and the Khán himself, out of friendship, accompanied us when we left the town.

_Description of our journey from Bakú through Georgia._

We passed to the south over a dreary tract along the sea, where we saw mines of Naphtha in seven places; it boils up from the earth on the seashore, and in the district of Musekker in hot springs, on the surface of which it collects. It is a Royal lease, let for seven thousand tománs of aspers per year. The men belonging to the inspector of the Naphtha collect it from the surface of the springs and small lakes, fill jacks of goatskin with it and sell it to the merchants; the yellow is the most esteemed; the black Naphtha is carried as a Royal revenue to the fortresses, and used to light the walls on dark nights, and to be thrown on the besiegers. It is also used by the Mihmándárs for torches; all the torches at the Court of the Sháh and at their great houses are made of Naphtha of Bakú; if it catches fire it burns to the last drop; to prevent, therefore, the destruction of the mines, heaps of earth are piled up near them, and if one of them should be ignited by a spark, all the people flock together and throw earth upon it to quench the fire. There are also mines of Naphtha in other places, which, however, I did not see. We advanced to the south, and halted in the district of Musker, beneath tents of felt belonging to Turcomans, who with Moghols and Kúmúks pass the winter here; it is a fertile tract of country.

_Description of a Whale with ears like an Elephant._

A whale had been driven on shore, one hundred yards long, with two heads, one at the tail end, the other of the size of a cupola. In the upper jaw it had one hundred and fifty teeth, each a yard long, ears like an elephant, and eyes of the size of a round table, and covered with beaver’s hair. The inhabitants of Bakú, Derbend and Shamákhí flocked together to see it. Khoja Sarúkhán, a voyager in the Caspian Sea, told me that this kind of whale was common in that sea; there are certainly many strange creatures and animals in that sea which are not to be found elsewhere; the shore is covered with bones and carcasses of strange kinds with square and pentagon heads, and an immense number of extraordinary fish. According to the reports of sailors, the circumference of the Caspian Sea is twenty-four thousand miles; it has no islands like the Black Sea and White Sea, wherein two thousand and forty islands are reckoned, forty of which are great ones, like Cyprus, Creta, Rodos, &c. with large towns and rivers. The conflict of the waves of the Caspian Sea is stronger than those of the Black Sea; it is bounded on the west by the Russian provinces; and on the east by the country of the Uzbegs, Kalmúks, and Cossacks. In winter-time the Kalmúk Tátárs pass over the ice of lakes and rivers which are frozen for the space of seven months, committing depredations in the Russian provinces, and carrying a great number of prisoners away. On the western side its extremity is at Derbend, and south to it, in the district of the Avárs, which is comprehended by a gulf on the frontier of Dághistán, is the castle of Terek on the river of the same name. Its length from north to south is four thousand miles, and its depth three hundred cubits; thousands of boats and vessels carry on trade, but they are all afraid of Russian Chaiks, with whom they fight; the vessels are not large ships like those of the White, Black and Red Sea, but small boats of reeds with small guns; there are no men of war or great Caravellas like those of the White Sea, which are necessary to meet the vessels of the Franks in the Archipelago and Mediterranean; such great means of defence are not required on the Caspian, as there are only Cossack boats to be met with.

We continued our journey eastwards through plain fields, and arrived at the great town of Shabúrán, an elegant yet ancient town, which was first built by Isfendiár, and ruined by Húlagú. Uzdemír-oghli Osmán Páshá, the Vezír of Murad III., took possession of this town after the conquest of Derbend, and it became the seat of a sanjak Beg. In the beginning of the reign of Sultán Murad IV. the Persians became masters of it again, and it is now the seat of a Sultán which is the same as a sanjak Beg in Turkey, it is a well inhabited town, with seventy mosques, the largest of which are the mosques of Uzún Hassan, of Tokmák Khán and of Ashár Khán. The fountains and china work, with which the mosque of Uzún Hassan is inlaid, are no where found in such profusion. Uzdemir-oghlí used to come every Friday with a great train from Derbend, in order to perform his prayers here; it is adorned with so many arabesques and carvings in marble, that the greatest architects are astonished on beholding it. The town is situated in a valley rich in bowers, roses, flowers and fruits. Its districts are seven, named after the seven planets. We continued our journey to the south in the district of Musker, and reached the station of Kent Charkhí on a wide plain at a great distance from the Sea. It is the khass of Shah Mikhál, the Prince of Dághistán, with five hundred houses, a mosque, a bath, a caravánseraï, and a market-place. The inhabitants are for the most part Kúmúks of Dághistán. We travelled further on to the south, leaving Regál on our left, and arrived at last in the district of Musker at the capital of it, the pass of Alexander, the strong fortress of Derbend.

_Description of Derbend the Gate of Gates._

It is generally known that Alexander having designed to build the dike of Gog and Magog, when he arrived at this place, thought of executing a project for uniting the Caspian with the Black Sea, by means of a canal which was to join the Caspian Sea with the Phasus; but being advised by his Vezírs of the danger of this union, as the Black Sea was a great deal lower than the Caspian, he left it unexecuted, and built three immense walls with three ditches as a stronghold between the Black and Caspian Seas, and as a line of defence against the Bení Assfar Sala’at, Rús, and the people of Crimea and Kipchák. These triple walls, on Mount Caucasus in the mountains of Irák Dadián, with triple ditches, I, poor Evliyá, saw, and which all those who travel from Crimea into the country of the Kúmúks also see; by the lapse of time some of the towers are in ruins and the ditches choked up with earth. The author of the History of Tophet pretends that the Caspian Sea issues by subterraneous canals cut by Alexander into the Phasus, but this is an evident blunder, as I can most positively assert, because when I saw the Phasus on my journey to the siege of Assov, I found its water clear and fresh, while that of the Caspian Sea is so salt and bitter, that it burns a man’s skin if used for purification. This is a case for applying the Persian proverb; “Where is hearing, and where is seeing?”

We have already mentioned in our journey to Trebisonde, that Alexander built a strong castle on the shores of the Black Sea at the mouth of the Phasus, and on the shores of the Caspian he built this gate of gates or iron gate.

_Size and figure of the Castle._

Yezíb Ben Abd-ul-Melek, the son of Atika, the daughter of Moavia, took this place from the Khavarej, and the whole district of Dághistán was then ennobled with the glory of Islám. In the year 986 (1578) Uzdemir-oghlí the Vezír of Sultán Murad III. appearing with a great army before its walls, the Sunnís who were inside bound Jírágh Khalífeh, the Sháh’s commander, cut off his head, and surrendered the fortress to the Ottoman general, who was appointed by the Porte, Governor General of Shirván. He repaired the castle and made subject to it seventy surrounding villages. One thousand janissaries, four regiments of Sipahís, ten of armourers, ten of gunners, sixty cannons, five hundred boxes of ammunition and fifteen hundred militia of Eriván completed its means of defence. Communications were opened with the Tátárs of Crimea and Kipchák, with the garrisons of Akhichka, Genje, Tiflís, and Shamákhí, and the town was in a highly flourishing state, till in the beginning of the reign of Sultán Murad IV. the troops rebelled and surrendered the fortress to the Sháh of Persia, in whose hands at the present time it is in a most prosperous condition. It is the seat of a khán and judge and twelve public officers, garrisoned by nineteen hundred good troops. I occupied a place here on the bulwark of Kainák khán, and was extremely well treated by the khán who gave me five tománs for the expenses of my journey.

_Description of the Iron Gate._

Alexander closed this passage with an iron gate, which remained up to the time of Núshirván by whom it was renewed. Jezdejerd Sháh, Ismail Sháh and Uzdemír Páshá repaired the castle situated at the foot of mount Arghan and Deneb. The foundations of the western walls are washed by the Caspian Sea. The walls were built by Herzsháh, as is recorded by the Persian chronostick on the gate of the harbour. The remains of the wall of Alexander also, which was a broad thick wall, are still to be seen projecting from the Sea. If the government would undertake it, it would be easy to extend the harbour from these walls up to the fortress. The length of the wall from the sea to the high mountain is an arrow’s shot, and the breadth of the castle itself is the same. It is built in a pentagon form on a high hill, the strongest I ever saw during my travels; the intelligent architect distributed it into three parts, one of which looks eastward to mount Safah; the second gate is the entrance to the town. In the wall which looks to Mount Arghan are also two gates, and two others leading to the lower town; the first is called Meskúr because it opens towards the district of that name, persons leaving this gate in waggons, may arrive at Shamákhí in three days. Another gate leads towards Kipchák, Crimea and Circassia. In Dághistán, waggons with horses cannot travel, but the roads to Terek, Kazán and Desht Kipchák are all practicable for those vehicles. The third division of the fortress looks towards the sea; it is not so well inhabited as the other two, as the barracks for the garrison are the only buildings. The waggons of the merchants who come from Kílán and Bakú with goods are all put in array in this castle; the circuit of the whole fortress is eleven thousand paces, it has seventy towers, at each of which is a college and a mosque. The students are allowed Naphtha instead of candles, and are fed twice a day. In this way they have contrived to interest the Ulemás in watching the castle; there are besides these seventy towers, seven thousand and sixty battlements round the fortress; on dark nights the whole fortress is illuminated with Naphtha, which is a most necessary precaution, as the castle is continually threatened by no less than thirteen mortal enemies, the worst of whom are the Cossacks, who come in boats and ravage all these districts; they cannot, however, come near the border of the castle on account of seventy large cannons, which defend the avenue, and whose brilliancy dazzles the eyes of all the beholders. The other powerful enemies are the Tátárs, Kalmúks and the Ottománs on the west side; the Circassians on the south side; and the worst of all enemies, the Kúmúks of Dághistán on the south-east or Kiblah side; to the east is the inimical district of Georgia belonging to Tamaras khán: for this reason the men of the garrison pass the whole night on the walls crying Khoda Khob (all’s well!) There is also a post of fifty watchmen (Túlúngí) stationed on mount Deneb at a great distance from the town; if an enemy appears anywhere his arrival is made known to the town by fires lighted on the top of this mountain.

_Buildings within the Castle._

The stones of the wall are each of the size of an elephant, but cut square, and are so large that fifty men at the present day, could not lift one of them. In the castle are two hundred well terraced houses; close to the southern wall is a large palace, the architectural ornaments of which are not to be found in any other palace in Persia; near to it is a great mosque with a ruined minareh, and a bath built in the Ottoman style, and a fountain. Near the gate of boats opening to the east, is the mosque of Uzdemir-zadeh Osmán Páshá, with some kháns and shops. The suburb outside the castle consists of about a thousand houses, with no imáret, but kháns, mosques and baths. The people get their living by cultivating silk, they are Sunnís and Shafiís, rich men, and fine youths. On the opposite side of the Caspian Sea are the Russian provinces of Heshdek and Kazán; and further on Kipchák and Heihát, where twenty years ago Taissi Sháh, Moyunják Khán, and Kúba Kalmákh Khán with fifty or sixty thousand men wandering about in the steppes, pushed their inroads up to the bank of the Kemúklí river and there killed Gúrgí Mustafa Páshá; these Kalmúks are all Infidels, who have no idea of religion and faith, but are a careless slavish set of people, some of whom now begin to come with Russian merchants to the harbour of Derbend, which is frequented by Chinese, Tátárs, and Russians in great numbers.

When it was governed by the Ottomans its annual revenue was two hundred and forty-seven thousand aspers, besides the revenues of the seven Sultáns or sanjak Begs, and the annual sums given to the Prince of Dághistán for the preservation of peace. This is according to the description of Zál Mohammed, made after the conquest of Uzdemir-oghlí Osmán Páshá. The province of Shirván at present consists of seventy jurisdictions, seven khánliks, and twelve Sultánliks. May God bring it back to the possession of the Ottomans!

_Pilgrimages._

Yezíd Ben Abd-ul-Melek, son of Atika the daughter of Moavia, came from Damascus with a great army to make war against the heretic rebels (Khavarej); seven hundred moslim martyrs, who were killed on that occasion, are buried outside the western wall at a mile’s distance. Another army came in the time of Heshám Ben Abd-ul-Melek, which conquered the provinces of Dághistán, Kúmúk, Thábserán, Kaiták, and Derbend. The martyrs who fell on this occasion were also buried in this cemetery; their names are written on the tombs in Cufic characters and in Thúlúth writing; the inhabitants of Derbend boast that amongst this crowd of martyrs seventy-five doctors of true tradition are buried. Amongst these tombs some are to be seen with inscriptions in Jellí (great Neskhí) of Ottomans, giving an account of their lives and deaths.

_The Pilgrimage of the Forty._

There are forty tombs much frequented by visitors. The tomb of Derekhorkhot, a great Saint, in whom the people of Shirván had great faith. Several thousand great Saints are buried here, but I visited and made myself acquainted with those only that I have mentioned. God’s mercy upon them all! After having seen all the curiosities of this town I received from the Khán a horse of the race (Kádhibeg,) and a trotting horse (Chapár), ten pieces of cotton stuff of Guzerát, and two hundred guards to accompany me on the journey; I took leave of all my friends the Kháns and Sultáns, and set out on my journey to Gúrjistán, or Georgia.

JOURNEY TO GEORGIA.

After a march of sixteen hours to the south-east through woods, we arrived at the place called Kúr, of a thousand fine houses and a mosque, on the frontier of Dághistán, not far distant from Táyeserán, the residence of Mikhál Sháh, Prince of Dághistán. Every Friday people flock here together to buy and sell, not for money, but by exchange. There are ten thousand inhabitants, all Sunnís and Sháfiítes. I saw no women at all here; the women of Dághistán are not allowed to leave the house, excepting on a journey to Mecca, or to be carried to the cemetery after death. The men are hospitable. We left this place, passed a ruined castle in the midst of woods, and then entered the great district of the Avárs: it is a district belonging to the khass of the Prince of Dághistán, and during three days journey we saw seventy great kents with mosques and kháns.

_Description of the Castle Serír-ul-allán._

This ancient town was built by Hormúz the son of Núshirván; it was wrested from the hands of the Princes of Dághistán by the Persian Sháh Kor Khodabende, and fell into those of the Ottomans, who destroyed the castle that it might not be used as a defence against them; it is now a large ancient town situated on the border of Mount Caucasus, belonging to the government of Aresh. According to fabulous history it was in this town that Solomon set up his throne, which had been carried through the air by Genii, when he came with Balkis and an immense army to view Mount Caucasus; this is why it was called the throne of Lán, a Persian word signifying both a nest, and one who walks or travels. It is situated between the towns of the gate of gates, Shamákhí, and Niázabád, but is not much cultivated as it is on the extremity of the frontier, its gardens are few on account of the coldness of the climate; there are three thousand houses with terraces, and some mosques not much frequented, seven baths, eleven caravánseraïs, and seventy shops: as we remained here but one night, it was impossible to see much of it. It is the seat of a Khán, Judge, Kelenter, Darogha, and Munshí, and has a garrison of a thousand men; there are a great number of Sunnís, who get their living by cleaning cotton. The waters which give life to the plantations of cotton, all issue from the west side of Mount Caucasus, and fall into the Kúr. We marched for some hours towards the Kiblah, to the district of Khata a dependence of the Princes of Dághistán, a woody tract comprising three hundred kents, with mosques, kháns, and gardens. We remained here for three days as guests, and continued our journey on the fourth to the district of Zákhor, consisting of a hundred and fifty villages and large kents, governed by Yússúf one of the Princes of Dághistán, who commands seven thousand brave warlike men; the Beg, with whom we spent a night, presented me with fifty skins of wild cats, and I gave him three handkerchiefs embroidered by Sultána Kia.

_Tomb of Emír Sultán._

He was a great Saint. The Divines of this country, all learned Doctors, have no enmity amongst themselves, but they shun all communication with the Reváfes (heretic Persians). Here ends Dághistán, and the province of Georgia begins.

The frontier castle Ur belongs to the Persians; we passed it on our left, and skirted the boundaries of the castle of Shekí, which I formerly saw on my way to Shamákhí, and arrived at the kent of Zakhorie on the frontier of Tamarass-khán, belonging to the Khán of Tiflís; the inhabitants are all Georgians, Armenians, and Gokdúlák.

_Description of the Old Town of Kákht._

This town is situated on the frontier of Georgia and now governed by the Persians. It was built by Núshirván to keep the tribes of the Caucasus in order. It is a pentagon castle, fourteen thousand large paces in circumference, with one hundred and seventy bulwarks, three gates, two thousand houses within the castle, a mosque, a bath, and a khán. Its waters, so many springs of life, issue from the west side of Mount Caucasus, and after irrigating the gardens fall into the Kúr to the eastward. The climate being rather cold, its silk is not much praised. The inhabitants are Georgians, Armenians and Gokdúlák; the Sultán commands a thousand soldiers, all Shiís, and there are twelve civil commanders and a judge. Sháh Ismail liked its climate so much that he remained here three years before the battle of Cháldirán, and built a suburb outside of it, so that it bears much likeness to the town of Kaschau in the middle of Hungary. After the loss of the battle of Cháldirán, the Ottoman flying troops arriving at this town destroyed it, and since that time many thousand loads of stones have been carried away by Ferhád Páshá for the repairs of the Castle of Aras. The Sultán of this place accompanied me, out of kindness, to the next station, and we passed the night in Khodraí, a kent of a thousand houses, with a mosque, khán and bath, on the frontier of Tiflís.

_Description of Georgia or Shúshádistán, viz. Betlís._

According to the author of the Sheref-námeh, this town was first built by Betlís the Treasurer of Alexander, who also built the castle of the same name in the province of Ván; its name is now Tiflís, which for a long time was a great Persian government, till in the time of Sultán Murad III. Lala Kara Ferhád Páshá with an immense army undertook the conquest of Georgia, and conquered Chaldír and seventy castles. Daúd Khán, who was then governor of Tiflís, garrisoned it with forty thousand men, and fortified it in all possible ways. On the other side the Ottoman commander summoned the town to surrender to his Emperor; at an assembly held on this occasion it was advised to send back the bearer of the summons, and to put themselves into a state of defence, but the more prudent foreseeing that they would not be able to make resistance, they all fled away one night, and left the Castle without defence. The Ottoman commander pursued them with the greatest speed, and came up with the Khán of Tiflís at the Castle of Zekúm, where he had entrenched himself with all the treasures carried away from his capital. A great battle ensued, in which no quarter was given by the Ottoman victors, and forty thousand Persians were cut to pieces. The booty taken by the Ottoman army was immense; the Aghá of the janissaries with seven regiments of his corps was sent to garrison Tiflís, and the castle of Zekúm was taken in the year 956 (1578). A few days after, the Castle of Kerím also fell. I have not seen the Castle of Zekúm, but I saw that of Kerím without entering it, when passing through the plain of Kákht. Lala Ferhád pursued his victory as though he had been on a hunting party; he took twenty-six great and small castles, some of which he destroyed, and some he repaired, placing a Dizdár in each, and made his entry into Tiflís amidst the greatest demonstrations of public joy. He fortified this castle to such an extent, that no fortress of Georgia or Azerbeiján is equal to it, except that of Bakú and Megú. The province was given with the rank of a Begler Beg to Mohammed Páshá the son of Ferhád Páshá, then in possession of the sanjak of Kastemúní; its works were repaired, and its stores completed. He sent the keys of no less than seventy large and small castles to the Ottoman Court and then returned himself to Constantinople. After his departure the Persians besieged the town of Tiflís for the space of seven months. The garrison being in the greatest distress for food, eat their dogs first, and then the dead; the famine was so great that the dog belonging to the Súbashí Alí sold for seven thousand aspers. At last the governor of Erzerúm, Mustafa Páshá, arrived with a flying troop, put the Persian General to flight and relieved the garrison. Hassan Páshá the son of the Grand Vezír arrived with a caraván, bringing three thousand camel loads of provisions, which were placed in the Magazines of the small castle. In short, this fortress remained in the hands of the Ottomans from the time of Sultán Murad III. till that of Sultán Mustafa, when the Persians united with the Georgians took the castle by surprise, and gave it up to the Sháh; and it has remained ever since in the hands of the Persians. It is the capital of Georgia, to which belongs sixteen Sultáns, seventy judges, forty districts and seven tracts called Oimák. Three-tenths of Georgia are occupied by the province of Tiflís; the khán commands two thousand soldiers, it has also a judge and twelve public officers in honour of the twelve Imáms.

_Size and Figure of the Fortress._

It consists of two castles opposite to each other on the banks of the Kúr which separates the rocks on which they stand, and which are connected above by a bridge leading from one castle to the other. The great castle is on the south side of the Kúr and the small one on the north of it. This river rises in the mountains of Chaldir, passes Erdehán, Akhiska, and Azgúra and flows into the Caspian Sea; the Persian historiographers say, that its waters are supplied from a thousand and sixty sources; it is the largest river in these countries next to the Euphrates. The circumference of the largest castle is six thousand paces, the wall sixty cubits high, with seventy bulwarks, and three thousand battlements, but no ditch; the water-tower which supplies water to the garrison in time of siege is situated on the Kúr. In the castle are six hundred houses, terraced, some with and some without gardens, the palace of the Khán, a mosque and a bath. The small castle was built by Yezdejerd Sháh, it is of stone, in a square form with only one gate at the head of the bridge, and has no Bezestán or Imáret.

Three thousand watchmen light fires every night, and continually cry Khoda Khob (all’s well.) Though it is a Persian town, yet its inhabitants are for the most part Sunnís and Hanefis from the time of the Ottomans.

_Products._

The white bread of Tiflís, and the peaches are renowned; the vegetables exquisite; there is no silk, but most excellent grapes: all these productions prosper through the quantity of rain water which falls, and do not require water from the Kúr, this is the case with an hundred and fifty towns and villages, which it passes on its way.

_The Hotbath of Tiflís._

On the east side of the large castle a hot-spring boils out of the ground without the assistance of fire; sheep’s heads and feet are cooked therein. There are also several pilgrimages at Tiflís, as those of Imám Hossein Efendí, Rizwán Agha, Jem Alí Efendí, &c. Tiflís is five hours distance from Kiákht, from the Castle of Aras, four journies, and the same from that of Genje. We took from the khán two hundred men to accompany us, and received three tománs for the expenses of the journey.

_Description of the Castle Kúsekht._

It stands on a chalk cliff, is of a square form, and belongs to the district of Tiflís. The castle Lorí near Tiflís was seen on our right side in the mountains, but we passed it at a great distance.

_Description of Súrán._

Though a small castle on a hill, yet it is extremely strong and high: it is one of the oldest castles of Georgia built by Núshirván. Its inhabitants are Georgians, Gokdúlák and Armenians. We proceeded four hours to the west, and reached the old town Azgúr: according to the author of the Sheref-námeh, it is the oldest town in Georgia, and was built by Alexander. In the Georgian language Azgúr signifies the King of Kings. The immense blocks of stone used in the formation of the walls, show that it must have been built by Alexander, because five hundred men of the present age would not be able to move one of them; it stands on a high hill, and is of a square form; it has one gate opening to the south, a mosque, a bath, a khán, and forty small streets; the gardens are beautiful owing to the mildness of the climate; the river which passes below it, issues from the mountains of Akhiska through which it passes, and waters the gardens of the town, falling into the Araxes. This town being on the frontier of Gurgistán Shúshád, the inhabitants all speak Georgian.

_Specimen of the Georgian Shúshád Language._

One, _árí_; two, _úrí_; three, _sám_; four, _otkhí_; five, _khotí_; six, _egsí_; seven, _shudi_; eight, _revaí_; nine, _khújraí_; ten, _atí_; bread, _púrí_; water, _chígál_; meat, _kharj_; wine, _ghita_; cherries, _bák_; pears, _bishál_; figs, _lefi_; grapes, _kúrzení_; hazel-nuts, _inikhlí_; melon, _nesú_; &c.

_Genealogy of the Georgian Kings._

Their first kings were Jews, then Dadiáns and Shúshád, from whom originated the people of Gúriel, Achikbásh, and Mingrelia, who are all Christians. They speak twelve different languages, and only understand each other by the aid of interpreters. The purest language, according to their opinion, is that of the Shúshád and Dadián. If the dynasty of the Moscovites should be extinguished, the Princes of Georgia would succeed. The Aiza and Cherkessians who are an Arabic colony, have no books at all; according to the histories of their priests they descended from Keikavús, and then from David.