could discover the high Lands of Trebisond on the one side and of the Abca's on the other and that very easily because the Black Sea beginning to wind toward the Abca's Coasts Anarghia stands far out in the circular circumference of those Coasts answering to Trebisond The Black-Sea is 200 Leagues in length wanting Twelve or Fifteen lying just East and West The broadest part North and South from the Bosphorus with Boristhenes is three degrees which part is the Western end of the Sea the Opposite part not being above half so broad The Water of this Sea seem'd to me less Clear less Green and less Salt then the Water of the Ocean Which proceeds as I am apt to believe from the great Rivers that empty themselves into it and for that it is shut up in its self as it were in the bottom of a Sack so that it ought to be more properly called a Lake then a Sea like the Caspian Sea With which it agrees in this that is common to both that in neither of the two Seas there are any Islands And therefore 't is in vain to seek for the reason of its Denomination from the colour of the Water The Greeks gave it its Name from the Dangerous Navigation dayly experienc'd by those that ventur'd into it by reason of the Tempests there more frequent and boistrous then in other Seas Axenos signifying inhospitable and that will not suffer any Person to come near it The Turks therefore for the same reason call it Cara Denguis or the Furious Sea Cara which in the Turkish Language properly signifies Black denoting also furious dangerous terrible and serving usually in that Idiom for an Epithite given to thick Forrests rapid Rivers and steep and rugged Mountains Now the reason why the Storms are more Violent and Dangerous in that then in other Seas is first because the Waters are contracted within a narrow Channel and have no Outlet the Bosphorus not being to be accompted an Outlet by reason it is so very streight And therefore the Waters being Violently agitated by a Storm and not knowing where to have Room and being strongly repell'd by the shoar they Mount and rowle aloft and beat against the Ship on every side with an Invincible swiftness and force Secondly because there are few or no Roads in that Sea which are shelter'd from the Wind but where there is more danger then in the open Sea All the Black-Sea is under the Dominion of the Grand Signior there is no Sailing there without his leave so that there is no great fear of Pyrates which in my Opinion are a greater danger then the Sea it self All that Day we sayl'd with a Contrary Wind which was the reason we did not make above Six Leagues however in the Evening we bore into a River call'd Kelmhel deeper and almost as broad as the Langur but not so rapid The 30th Two Hours before Day we set sail by the light of the Moon and by Noon we made the River Phasis and bore up into it about a Mile to certain Houses where the Master of the Feluke was desirous to unlade some of his Goods The River Phasis takes its rise out of Mount Caucasus call'd by the Turks Fachs though as I observ'd the People of the Country call it Rione I saw it first at Cotatis where it runs in a narrow Channel very swiftly yet sometimes so low that it is easily fordable But where it discharges it self into the Sea which is about Fourscore and Ten Miles from Cotatis there the Channel is about a Mile and Half Broad and Sixty Fadome deep being swell'd before that by several lesser streams that pour themselves into it The Water is very good to Drink though somewhat Muddy thick and of a Leaden colour of which Arrian asserts the cause to be the Earth that is intermix'd with it He farther adds and other Authors also affirm the same that all the Ships took in Water at Phasis out of an Opinion that the River was sacred or believing it to be the best Water in the World There are several small Islands at the Mouth of the River which appear very delightful as being shaded with thick Woods Upon the biggest of which to the West are to be seen the Ruins of a Fortress which Sultan Murat caus'd to be built in the Year 1578. For he had made an Attempt to Conquer all the Northern and Eastern Coasts of the Black-Sea But this Enterprize did not succeed according to his Design For to that purpose he sent his Galleys up the River Phasis but the King of Imiretta having laid considerable Embuscado's where the River was narrowest Murat's Galleys were defeated one sunk and the rest forc'd to fly The Fortress of Phasis was tak'n by the Army of the King of Imiretta reinforc'd by the Prince's of Mingrelia and Guriel The Castle was presently demolish'd wherein there were 25 Pieces of Cannon which the King caus'd to be carry'd to his Castle of Cotatis where they are now again in the Hands of the Turks by the late surrender of the Castle belonging to that place I fetch'd a Compass about the Island of Phasis to try whether I could discover any Remainders of the Temple of Rhea which Arrian says was to be seen in his time but I could not find the least Footstep of any such thing Yet Historians affirm that it was standing entire in the time of the Grecian Empire and that it was Consecrated to the Worship of Christ in the Reign of the Emperour Zeno. I sought likewise for the great City call'd Sebasta which Geographers have plac'd at the Mouth of Phasis but not a Brick to be seen no more then of the Ruines of Colchis All that I observ'd conformable to what the Ancients have wrote concerning that part of the Black-Sea is only this That it abounds in Pheasants Of which there are some Authors and among the rest Martial who say That the Argonauts first brought those Birds into Greece where they had never been seen before and that they gave 'em the Name of Pheasants or Phasiani as being taken upon the Banks of Phasis This River separates Mingrelia from the Principality of Guriel and the petty Kingdom of Imiretta Anarghia is distant from it 36 Miles All the Coast is a low Sandy Soyl cover'd with Woods so thick that a Man can hardly see six Paces among the Trees In the Evening I caus'd the Master to put to Sea with a fair Gale and at Midnight we Sail'd before a Haven call'd Copoletta belonging to the Prince of Guriel The 30th after Noon we arriv'd at Goniè distant from Phasis about 40 Miles the Sea-Coast being all exceeding High-land and Rocks some cover'd with Wood and others naked It belongs to the Prince of Guriel whose Territories extend to a River about half a Mile from Goniè Goniè is a large Castle four-square built of hard and rough Stones of an extraordinary bulk seated upon the Sea-side upon a
Grand Signior who was then gone a Hunting Twenty Leagues from Constantinople which was the Reason that the Answer was delay'd for three days during all which time Monsieur de la Haye lay under Confinement in an Apartment of the Signior's Palace In the mean while the Captain Basha brought a Message in the Vizier's Name That if the Ambassador would Kiss his Garment he would receive him as he had receiv'd Count Lesley Ambassador from his Imperial Majesty that he would also receive him standing and pay him all those Honours which he had paid to that Count. To which the Ambassador answer'd That he was not to be govern'd by Presidents of any Person when they were prejudicial to the Honour of the Emperor of France The Captain Basha demanded what he could object against the Example of Count Lesley whose Master was the Emperor of Seven Kings a Title which the Emperor assumes among the Turks as being Elected by Seven Electors At length after many Disputes on both sides and that the Grand Signior had given his Answer it was concluded between the Vizier and the Ambassador That he might return to his Lodging when he pleas'd that the two Audiences which he had receiv'd should stand for nothing and that he would grant him another with all the Customary Civilities and Ceremonies This Audience was giv'n him in the Month of January 1666. At what time the Grand Vizier because he would not be oblig'd to rise when the Ambassador was introduc'd order'd him to be brought into a particular Room of State whither he came to meet him At his first Entrance he demean'd himself with an extraordinary Civility approaching the Ambassador with a smiling Countenance and reaching forth his Hand On the other side Monsieur de la Haye who was glad to see such a Compliance answer'd his Civilities and Compliments with all suitable Decency as if he had never seen him before and the Audience ended with all the Courtesie and Decorum that could be expected on both sides The Ambassador and his Retinue being Treated with Perfumes Coffee Sorbet and Four and Twenty Turkish Vests The next Month he had Audience of his Highness where every thing was manag'd according to the usual Custom with all Civility it not being proper to discourse of Business to the Grand Signior Monsieur de la Haye had Orders to demand the renewing the former Articles of Peace and Liberty of Trading to the East-Indies through the Red-Sea But the Grand Vizier would not consent either to the one or the other upon the Conditions that were propounded and in March he left Constantinople and attended the Grand Signior to Adrianople from whence he departed for Candy At the same time also Monsieur de la Haye follow'd the Court to Adrianople where he had several Conferences with the Caimacan in reference to his Negotiation but in regard that Minister durst not conclude any thing without consulting the Vizier Monsieur de la Haye return'd to Constantinople having made no farther progress in his Business Soon after happen'd the Treaty of Genoa already spok'n of which put the whole Affair into an absolute Confusion and exasperated both Parties For on the one side the Genoeses were entertain'd notwithstanding the Protestations and Threats of the Ambassador and on the other side the Ambassador in his Complaints and Protests made use of Expressions that offended the Turkish Ministers They had written to him as I have already related That it was not for the King his Master to oppose the Reception of any whoever they were whom the Grand Signior was pleas'd to favour with his Friendship and that it was sufficient for his Master to be acknowledg'd at the Ottoman Court for the first Prince in Christendom To which Monsieur de la Haye made Answer That as for what concern'd his High Titles the Emperor of France was only beholding to God and his Victorious Arms. Which was tak'n very ill as being the same Titles which the Grand Signior assumes to himself and which the Turks believe to be only due to his Highness And therefore the Ministers signifi'd to Monsieur de la Haye That never any Ambassador had made use of those Titles before neither was it a Thing which had been ever allow'd by the Divan to any other Person whatsoever In the mean time the French sent very considerable Succours to Candy which much retarded the Conquest of the Island while the Turks on the other side oppress'd the French Merchants with new Impositions and Extortions In so much that their Complaints which grew louder and louder every day oblig'd the King to send express Order to Monsieur de la Haye to return to France and lay aside all thoughts of renewing the League at least if it were not a Thing first sought and desir'd by the Ministers of the Port. Which Orders were deliver'd to him toward the end of the Year 1668. not a little to his dissatisfaction However he did not forbear to Visit the Caimacan at Constantinople telling him that he had receiv'd Orders from the King his Master to return home to which purpose he expected the Arrival of the Vessels which his Majesty had sent and his leave of the Port in order to his Departure requesting him withal to write to the Court that he might be sent for withal Expedition The Court was then at Larissa in Thessaly whither his Highness was gone to the end that being somewhat the nearer to Candy he might be a means to hasten the Conquest And therefore before the Caimacan who is as it were the Vizier's Lieutenant would write he demanded of Monsieur de la Haye Whether any other Ambassador came in his Room To which he answer'd Not any but that the Emperor his Master had commanded him to leave a Secretary or a French Merchant for his Resident like the Representatives of the Hollanders and Genoeses The Caimacan ask'd him Wherefore no Ambassador was sent To which the other reply'd That it was not a Thing which he could declare in publick By which Answer the Caimacan apprehending that he had something of secresie to impart to him gave him a private Audience And then it was that the Ambassador discover'd to him the reasons which oblig'd the Emperor of France to recal him with a Resolution never to send any more Ambassadors to the Ottoman Port. First for that the Dignity of the Ambassador of France had not been regarded nor respected as it ought to be That no heed had been given neither to the Complaints nor Requests which his Majesty had made for three Years together That they refus'd to renew the Capitulations of Peace which was an unsufferable Damage to the French Merchants who were constrain'd to pay Five i' the Hundred Customs whereas the English Hollanders and Genoeses paid not above Three per Cent. That they had entertain'd the latter in Turkie contrary to all his Remonstrances and Protests and had forc'd the French to pay within less then
the same Place and all other Appurtenances belonging to the French within the Ottoman Empire should be under the Protection of the King That the Ambassador should be acknowledg'd Protector of the Hospital of the European Christians in Galata and that they should have Liberty to say Mass in the said Hospital That all the French Captives that were in Turkey or should happen to be taken for the future should be set at Liberty provided they were not taken in any Fleets or Armies or before any Places in Hostility with the Port. And this was all that was to be chang'd or added in the New Capitulations for the Article concerning Foreign Nations was to continue as it was before in the former Treaty When all things were accepted and mutually agreed the Ambassador of France's eldest Interpreter spoke to Monsieur de Nointel that he should not stir till the Chancellor had made out a Draught of the New Capitulations Which advice was well giv'n but the Ambassador gave more Credit to Panaioti the Vizier's Interpreter who told him it would be an Affront to the Chancellor to distrust what he deliver'd by word of Mouth by asking him for a Draught in Writing and that he would engage his Word and be Security for the performance of what the Chancellor had declar'd Upon which the Ambassador suffer'd himself to be over-rul'd and return'd to his Lodging extreamly joyful and well satisfi'd and with all the Chearfulness and Gaiety in his Countenance which generally displays it self upon the good success of Business Insomuch that sitting down at Table Come Gentlemen said he the Capitulations are renew'd let us now be merry and drink to this Renovation of the League Now the Chancellor had promis'd to send a Copy of the Draught in the Evening to the end it might be examin'd and afterward writt'n out fair but he fail'd in his promise nor was the Ambassador troubl'd in the least The next Morning however he sent for it but he was strangely surpriz'd to find that the Article about Foreign Nations did not oblige as it should have done all those that were under no settlement already at the Port to put themselves under the Banners and Colours of France Then Monsieur de Nointel began to mistrust that he had been deluded At last he fell into a Passion and presently call'd for his second Interpreter to go and tell the Chancellor That if that Article were not put down as he understood it he would not accept the New Capitulations Which his chief Interpreter observing stepp'd in and adviz'd him to be wary how he enhanc'd the price as he was going to do that it was not safe to put the Market into the Turks Hands as he did and therefore desir'd him to take care how he engag'd himself in a heat to break with the Port for a single Article of little Importance But such was M de Nointels Impatience that he bid the Messenger go forthwith and carry his Message to the Chancellor who answer'd That he would report it to the Vizier The 29th the Ambassador went to the Chancellor's House who told him That it became not France to demand of the Port a thing which was not in their Power to grant For that the Grand Signior had engag'd to the English the Venetians the Hollanders and Genoeses That all Strangers that should come into Turkey under their Colours should be welcom whoever they were should enjoy the same Priviledges and in a word be entertain'd as their Friends were That having also granted the same Priviledges to the Emperor particularly for the Imperial Hans-Towns for the Subjects of the House of Austria and the Italians his Highness could not without violating his Faith grant to the French what they demanded that is to say That he should admit no Foreigners but what came under the French Colours unless they were such as had their Establishments already confirm'd at the Port. To which the Chancellor added That what he had represented to his Excellency was notoriously publick and a most convincing Argument and therefore besought him not to insist any further upon that Article To which M. de Nointel reply'd with a Protest not to renew unless that Article were granted in the same form as he demanded The Chancellor return'd That he would report his Protest to the Vizier and then he should know his Answer The Ambassador told him He should think himself highly oblig'd so that his Conveniency would permit him if he would be pleas'd but to go immediately and speak to the Vizier while he staid for his coming back The Chancellor consented went spoke to the Vizier and return'd with this Answer The Grand Vizier has order'd me to tell your Excellency That you made him promise ye about a Month since That provided the Port should grant the Emperor of France an Abatement of the Customs and a Free Trade through the Red-Sea he would be contented as to what remain'd with what was reasonable and just That upon that word he had granted in the Signior's Name those two Articles and other Favours which you know but now seeing you have not kept your word with him he declares expresly That he recalls his own and will grant you nothing at all This Answer was like a Thunderclap M. de Nointel and those that were with him stood like Men in a Trance They begg'd to resume and ratifie the Treaty but it was impossible though they proffer'd upon the place to quit and renounce the Article contested To which the Chancellor answer'd That he had no other Orders from the Vizier then to deliver his Message and that he had no Power to Treat any farther The Ambassador reply'd That he had a Letter from the Prime Minister of France which he desir'd only to deliver into his Hands and so to take his leave The Chancellor made Answer That for his Audience it might be easily obtain'd but as for the Letter from the Prime Minister of France the Grand Vizier car'd not a Straw to look upon it Monsieur de Nointel returning to his Lodging with that vexation and perplexity of Mind which may be conceiv'd without any great difficulty propounded to his Council which were the Abbot his Brother the Director of the Levant Company and his two chief Interpreters That since the English and Hollanders had lately given Ten Thousand Pounds Sterling apiece for renewing their last Capitulations it would be convenient for the French to give the same Money for the renewing of Theirs Upon which the two Interpreters had order to propose the Sum to the Chief Ministers but it nothing avail'd For there are some Favours obtain'd at the Port by the Force of Money others which no Money will procure And such for Example was the Business sollicited by the two Commissaries of the Holy Land who offer'd an Hunderd Thousand Crowns to the Grand Vizier to put 'em in possession of the Sacred Places and to expend as much in Presents to the Grand Signior
a Beast like a Fox but much bigger Zerdava's which is a Furr that resembles a Martin with the Furrs of other Beasts that breed in the Mountains of Circassia Which is all to be had among these People They Exchange their Commodities after this manner The Ship-Boat Rows close to the Shoar and they that are in it are well arm'd Nor will they suffer a greater Number of Cherks to come nearer the place where the Boat lies then they themselves are For if they see a greater Number approach they presently put out to Sea When they are come so near as to talk one to another they shew their Commodities agree upon the Barter to be made and presently make the Exchange however it behoves 'em to stand upon their Guard all the while For the Cherks are Infidelity and Perfidy it self and it is an Impossibility for 'em to find an Opportunity to steal but they take their Advantage They are a People altogether Savage formerly Christians but now of no Religion not having so much as the Light of Nature among ' em For I look upon their Superstitious Customs as nothing which seem to be a Mixture borrow'd from the Christians and Mahumetans their Neighbors They live in Woodden Huts and go almost Naked Every Person is a sworn Enemy to those that live in the Provinces round about ' em The Inhabitants make Slaves one of another and sell one another to the Turks and Tartars And for their Ground the VVomen Till and Manure it The Cherks and their Neighbors live upon a kind of Paste made of a very small Grain like to Millet and they who have Traffick along these Coasts will tell ye a Thousand Stories of the Barbarous Customs of these People However there is no safety in believing the Reports which are spread abroad either of those that live upon the Sea-Coasts or of those that inhabit farther up in the Country in regard that no body travels thither and all that we know is by means of the Slaves that are brought from thence who are all meer Savages from whom there is nothing to be learnt of Certainty This is the reason why I have made no more Descriptions of Places in my Map of the Black-Sea which is at the beginning of this Book chusing rather to leave a space for the Circassians and Abca's void then to fill it up upon the Credit of People so illiterate who for the most part can hardly tell the North from the South The Abca's border upon the Cherks possessing about a Hunderd Miles of the Sea-Coast between Mingrelia and Circassia However they are not altogether so much Savages as the Cherks but they are equally inclin'd with Them to Thieving and Robbery The Seamen also Trade with 'em with the same Precautions as with their Neighbors already mention'd They stand in need of the same Commodities as their Neighbors and make their Exchanges in Slaves Furrs Does and Tigres Skins Linnen Thread Box Wax and Honey The 10th of September we arriv'd at Isgaour Which is a Road belonging to Mingrelia pretty safe in the Summer and there the Vessels that Trade into Colchis lie so that we saw seven great Ships there when we arriv'd in the Road. Presently our Captain fasten'd his own Vessel to four Anchors two at the Prow and two at the Poop and carry'd his Masts and his Yards ashoar As for Isgaour it is a desert place without any Habitations only according to the Number of Traders that come thither they build up Huts and Booths of Boughs as they find themselves secure from the Abca's which does not often happen But besides those Huts there is not one House to be seen Now before I enter into the Relation of the Hardships which I suffer'd and the Dangers I underwent in Mingrelia I shall give ye a Description of the Country and Parts that border about it without intermixing any thing Dubious or what I have not learnt by exact Information Colchis is situated at the end of the Black-Sea To the East it is enclos'd with a little Kingdom which makes a part of Georgia which by the People of the Country is call'd Imiretta by the Turks Pacha tchcouk or Pacha Koutchouk as much as to say the Little Prince to the South by the Black-Sea to the West by the Abca's and to the North by Mount Caucasus In length it lies between the Sea and the Mountains in breadth it extends from the Abca's to the Kingdom of Imiretta The Corax and Phasis famous Rivers in Ancient History at present call'd Coclours and Rione serve for its Bounds while the first parts it from the Abca's the second from Imiretta The length of Colchis is a Hunderd and Ten Miles at most the breadth Sixty Which I know to be true not only by the concurring Report of the People of the Country but also as having cross'd it my self from one end to the other It was formerly Fortifi'd against the Abca's by a Wall Sixty Miles in length which has been laid in Ruines these many Years So that now the Thick Forests are its chiefest Defence and its greatest Security The Inhabitants of Caucasus that border upon Colchis are the Alane's whose Country was formerly the Northern Frontier of Armenia the Suane's the Gigue's the Caracioles or Cara-cherks a sort of People more Barbarous then their Names These Cara-cherks as they are call'd by the Turks that is to say the Black Circassiens are the Northern Circassians The Turks so call 'em though they are the fairest People in the World by reason of the Foggs and Clouds that continually dark'n their Skie Formerly they were Christians and some Relicks of their Customs they retain and some certain Ceremonies also they observe yet at present they profess no Religion but live by Robbery and Rapine utterly ignorant of all Arts and Sciences and having nothing that may entitle 'em to Humanity but their Speech They are much taller and more portly then other People fo furious in their Looks and speaking with such a terrible Tone that you may easily thence discern their Dispositions and their Courage to be no less savage Their very Countenances are frightful to look upon more especially when you come to experience their Civility and understand 'em to be the most resolute Assassins and most daring Robbers in the World The Ancient Kingdom of Colchis was not so small a Kingdom as now for it extended on the one side to the Palus Maeotis and the other way as far as Iberia The Capital City was also call'd Colchis seated at the Mouth of Phasis upon the Western side of the River and that was the Reason that Mingrelia was formerly call'd Colchis for that Mingrelia is bounded by this River to the East Our Modern Geographers have seated another City which they call Fasso in the place where Colchis stood but this I know my self to be a grand Mistake All the Oriental People call Colchis Odische and the Colchians Mingrelians though I could never
this part of my Story since the bare Relation which I shall make in reprepresenting 'em such will justifie me perhaps in the Judgment of my Readers The most Famous Prince that ever Mingrelia had since it revolted from the King of Imiretta was Levan Dadian Uncle to him that Reigns at this present He was Valiant Generous a Person of great Wit indifferently just and more happy in his Undertakings He made War upon his Neighbours and vanquish'd 'em all and no question but he would have made an excellent Prince had he been born in a better Country But the Custom in his Country of Marrying several Wives and those near Relations was that which transported him to such Excesses as render'd him unworthy of all Encomiums He remain'd an Orphan almost as soon as he had out-liv'd his Infant Years at what time his Father dying left him to the Tuition of his Brother who was Uncle by the Fathers side to the Young Pupil and call'd by the Name of George the Soveraign Prince of Libardian a Country that extends it self a great way into Mount Caucasus This George faithfully discharg'd his Trust in the Tuition of his Nephew He bred him well and prudently Govern'd Mingrelia during his Minority Levan being Twenty Four Years of Age Espous'd the Daughter of the Prince of the Abca's by whom he had two Sons she being a Lovely Princess and a Woman of a great Wit 'T is true she was tax'd of being none of the most Faithful Wives which perhaps might be in revenge of the Foul-play which her Husband openly play'd her every Day Now among the rest of the Women with whom he fell in Love one was the VVife of George his Uncle who had been his Tutor and to whom he had been so highly oblig'd This Lady went by the Name of Darejan of a Considerable Family which was call'd Chilakè And as she was extreamly beautiful but wicked and ambitious beyond Imagination she was not only content to violate her Conjugal Fidelity and for two Years together to live in an Incestuous League with the Prince her Nephew but over-perswaded him at the end of that season to take her away by Force repudiate his own VVife and Marry her Levan was over-rul'd by her He took the Adulteress by Force from her Husbands House He Marry'd her and eight days after sent home his first Wife ignominiously without any Train back to her Father King of the Abca's after he had caus'd her Nose her Ears and her Hands to be cut off And the pretence which he took to excuse so horrid a piece of Cruelty was That she had committed Adultery with the Vizier whose Name was Papona And the better to make People believe the truth of it he caus'd this Vizier to be stopp'd into the Mouth of a Cannon at the same time that he maim'd his own VVife However all Men agreed that there was nothing of Incontinence that had been committed between her and the Vizier only that he sacrific'd his VVife and his Prime Minister to the Hatred and Jealousie of the Chilakite The Love of this wicked VVoman caus'd him to Sacrifice these Important Victims but her Ambition forc'd him to offer up two more pretious Oblations For Levan himself poyson'd his two Sons which he had had by the Princess his VVife The Chilakite perswading him to this incredible Inhumanity to the end the Children which she should have by him might Reign more securely Prince George had a great kindness for his Wife as much an Adulteress and as wicked as she was So that her being tak'n from him by force threw him into a most furious despair He perform'd the Ceremony of Mourning for her Forty Days according to the Custom of the Country as if she had been Dead after which he betook himself to Arms and fell into the Territories of the Prince his Nephew But Levan was Valiant and had good Souldiers about him so that George was constrain'd to retire into his Mountains where he died soon after for Grief and Vexation The Prince of the Abca's also went about to revenge the Affront and Injury done him in the Person of the Princess his Daughter but with as ill success He rais'd Forces began a War against the Prince of Mingrelia and tho the consequences of the War did not at all fall out to his Advantage yet would he never make Peace or Truce with him nor would he put an end to the War till he understood the Death of his Barbarous Son-in-Law There was also a Third Enemy more formidable but as unsuccessful that would not suffer Levan to be at rest This was his own Brother call'd Joseph who engag'd himself so far in the just Resentments of his Uncle George and the Prince of the Abca's that he resolv'd to revenge their Quarrel by causing the Criminal to be Murder'd To that purpose he corrupted one of his Guards an Abca by Birth to Assassinate him the Prince's Cup-Bearer being also Privy to the Conspiracy The Plot was so lay'd that Joseph should go and Dine at the Palace that the Abca Guard should stand behind him with a Lance in his Hand and that when the Prince lifted to his Mouth one of those great Beakers of Wine which the Mingrelians Drink at the end of the Meal the Cup-Bearer should make a sign to the Abca who was then to strike him through the Body with his Lance. This Plot was within a little of being put in Execution but fail'd when the stroak was ready to have been given Divine Justice resolving that Levan's Crimes should be his own Murderers and Executioners which spar'd him a long time before they accomplish'd it For the Prince perceiv'd the sign which the Cup-Bearer gave the Guard and as it were inspir'd threw himself down from the place where he stood so that the Lance never touch'd him at all However the Abca escap'd but the Cup-Bearer was seiz'd put to the Rack and dismember'd after he had confess'd what he knew of the Plot. Prince Joseph had his Eyes pull'd out and dy'd soon after leaving a Son who is now Prince of Mingrelia Levan had by his Incestuous Conjunction two Sons and one Daughter who suffer'd every one for the Iniquity of their Father being all Three Paralytick No means were unsought for their Cure but all in vain their Distemper Non-pluss'd all the Physitians in the Country the Theatins and an Eminent Greek Physitian who was sent for from Constantinople The Youngest Son and the Daughter dy'd by that time they arriv'd at the Age of Twenty Years or there-about but Alexander the Eldest Son liv'd longer was Marry'd and had a Child his Wife being the Daughter of the Prince of Guriel Which one Son he had a Year after he was Marry'd and then dy'd while his Father was yet living Levan dy'd in the Year 1657. after whose Death the Shilakite was in such high Credit as to set up in his place a Son which she had by her first Husband
that we were sent to the Theatins of Mingrelia As for my Lacquey I had dismiss'd him before I went to Tefflis This Rascal had plaid me a Thousand Roguish Tricks and had once endeavour'd to have ruin'd me and I have already related how he serv'd me at Gonia The Capuchins advis'd me to have him sent to Prison till my return and then to prosecute him But the deep sense I had of GOD's Favour towards me enclin'd me to pardon him altogether I fear'd to provoke the Wrath of Heaven should I at a time that Heaven was so merciful to me have presum'd to seek the Extremities of Justice and Rigour And therefore I paid the wicked Rascal for all the time that he had serv'd me and let him go after I had fully discover'd all the Rogueries and Mischievous Qualities that I knew of him and had given him good Advice to mend his Manners But my Kindness wrought nothing upon him the Fellow was mad that I had dismiss'd him and gave me those Testimonies of his Discontent that were enough to forewarn me of some fatal Consequence of his Revenge So that I could have found i' my Heart to have laid him in Irons and had I said the least word the Capuchins would have done it in the Twinkling of an Eye as being in great Credit at Tefflis But I forbore prevented by that Fate which Governs all Things I was wholly inclin'd to pity for I expected and desir'd it too much my self not to shew it to another and it was no more then what seem'd acceptable to GOD. And we shall see hereafter how he shew'd himself pleas'd with what I had done by delivering me from a Dangerous Snare which the Traytor had laid for me I return'd to Gory the 21st The 22d we parted thence and lay six Leagues from Gory at a Village upon the Road to Akalzikè which I had Rid in my first Travels in those parts The 23d we departed by break of Day and presently left the Road of Akalzikè upon the Left-hand At Noon we arriv'd at a small Village call'd Aly lying nine Leagues from Gory and seated among the Mountains Two Leagues beyond that we pass'd a Streight which is fenc'd with a great Gate of Carpenters Work and separates Georgia from the Kingdom of Imiretta from whence we rode one League farther and stopp'd at a little Village The 24th we travell'd seven Leagues in the Mountains which were full of Snow that fell in great Flakes the Mountains themselves which are a part of Mount Caucasus being cover'd with very high Trees There we thought we should have lost our selves for the Snow being very deep cover'd all the Paths and Tracks that we could not see our way but at length we came to a Village call'd Colbaure where we lay This Village consists of about Two Hunderd Houses all in a direct line and so far distant one from another that it is above three Miles from the first to the last The 25th we travell'd not above nine Miles the bad Weather the Snow Cold and Obscurity of the Air in those high Mountains hindring us from going any farther however at last we lodg'd at a Village containing about thirty Houses The 26th the Air clear'd up it had done Snowing nor was it so bitter Cold so that we travell'd Eighteen Miles among the Mountains cover'd with thick Woods Yet the Road was indifferent in regard the Ascents and Descents were not very steep And we lay at a small Village by the side of a great River The 27th we Ferry'd over the River and travell'd Three Leagues in a Country like that which we had pass'd the Days before And descending the Mountain we came into a large and fair plain extending as far as we could see and lodg'd at a Village call'd Sesano This Valley is almost a League broad from one end to the other and it is very fertile and very pleasant as being water'd with several Streams extending it self as far as Mingrelia and being the most pleasant part of all Imiretta The Mountains with which it is surrounded are cover'd with Wood and Villages for the greatest part of the Mountains are till'd and full of Vineyards In this Valley we found the Air to be as warm as if it had been Spring and very little Snow Sesano lay near to a Castle belonging to an Ancient Lady who was Aunt to the King of Imiretta who lay sick at the time that we arriv'd there Who hearing that there was a Capuchin come to the Village sent for him to discourse with him For in that Country they look upon all the Missionaries to be Physicians Nor was the Fryer unwilling to visit her hoping to procure some assistance from her in our design But two Hours after he had left me I was surpriz'd to be overtaken by another Capuchin with a Horse and a Guide The cause of whose following me so close was to give me Intelligence that the Lacquey which I had dismiss'd was come from Tefflis to Gory where he had discover'd all that he knew of my business swearing to ruin me and that he was gone no body knew which way Which surpriz'd me very much For I mistrusted some such thing I desir'd the Capuchin therefore to tarry with me gave him a Thousand Thanks and highly applauded the great Zeal and Affection of the Society toward me which they had testifi'd by such an evident and Generous Demonstration and indeed they could not have given me more apparent tok'ns of their kindness The 20th we travell'd Five Leagues in the Plain already mention'd which is very full of Villages and Woods and the soyl so extreamly fat that our Horses had much a do to poach along After we had travell'd Six Miles we left the Fortress of Scander upon the right Hand The People of the Country call it Scanda and affirm that Alexander the Great built it For the Eastern People call that Victorious Prince by the Name of Scander They tell ye farther that he built Seventeen Places more which he call'd by the same Name And perhaps this might be one of the Seventeen and the same which is mention'd by Q. Curtius in his Seventh Book Which I am inclin'd to believe by its Situation for it is seated at the foot of a Mountain It is now of no force consisting only of two square Towers without any Wall with some Lodgings round about nor does it's Antiquity seem to exceed about 300 Years About a League from Scander we pass'd through Chicaris a Village consisting of about Fifty Houses It goes for a City in Imiretta though it have neither Walls nor any thing more remarkable then any other Villages we put in and lay at a place a League from thence The 29th and 30th we stay'd there For our Guides would go no farther The news of the Wars of which all the Travellers upon the Road gave us Intelligence melted their Hearts i' their Bellies They cry'd out we should carry 'em to certain Death
other part of which Nacchivan is the Metropolis The 12. we arriv'd at Nacchivan after we had travell'd five Leagues over Plaines very level and Fertile Nacchivan is a great City or rather a vast heap of Ruins which are repair'd and repeopl'd by degrees The heart of the City is at present rebuilt and inhahited having very large Bazars which are a sort of long Galleries or Streets that are cover'd full of Shops on both sides where they sell all Sorts of Merchandizes and Provisions There are in it five Inns or Caravanserays Baths Market Places large Publick Houses where they sell Tobacco and Coffee and two Thousand Houses or thereabouts The Persian Histories assure us that formerly it contain'd above Forty Thousand They also tell us that before the Arabians conquer'd this Country there were in it five Cities which had been built by Behron-Tchoubin King of Persia Without the City are to be seen the Ruins of a great Castle and several Forts which Abas caus'd to be destroy'd toward the end of the last Age not finding himself strong enough to keep 'em All which he caus'd to be ruin'd after he had taken Nacchiavan from the Turks and after he had ruin'd and dispeopl'd the City Which he did to prevent the Turks from Fortifying themselves in that Place and furnishing themselves with Provisions Most certainly the City is an Object of Pity considering in what a Condition it now lies The Histories of Persia would have us believe that it was one of the Greatest and Fairest Cities of all Armenia as has been already said But that History now kept in the Monastery of the Three Churches and which is chiefly spok'n of doclares that this City was the ancient Ardashhad call'd Artaxate or Artaxasate by the Greek Historians Other Armenian Authors make Nacchivan to be much more Ancient and assert that Noah began to build it and made it his Abode after the Deluge And they make the Etymology of the Name to agree with the Antiquity of the Original Affirming that in the old Armenian Language Nacchivan signifies the first Habitation Ptolomy makes mention of a City in these Parts which he calls Naxuane which might have been the same with Nacchivan I believe that Artaxate or Artaxasate was seated very near it For Tacitus observes that Araxes ran very near that City and we find it not to be above seven Leagues from Nacchivan The height of the Pole over it's Horizon is mark'd upon the Persian Astrolobes to be 38. deg 40. min. and the Longitude 81. deg 34. min. It is govern'd by a Kan and is the Capital of one part of Armenia Five Leagues from Nacchivan to the North lies a great village call'd Abrener which signifies the Fertil Field The inhabitants of that Village and of seven others near it are all Roman Catholicks Their Bishops and Curates are Dominicans and they perform their Church and Service in the Armenian language He was an Italian Dominican of Bologna that brought all this Country under Subjection to the Pope about 350. years ago And about twenty villages more that lay round acknowledg'd the same Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction But at length they return'd to their obedience under the Armenian Patriarch and to their first Religion and as for those that persist in the Romish Ceremonies their Number daily decreases by reason of the Persecution of the Patriarch and the Governors of Nacchivan Those poor people having drawn upon their own heads the Indignation and violent Usage of those Governors for having endeavour'd to withdraw themselves from their Jurisdiction Dependence To which purpose there arriv'd in Persia in the year 1664. an Italian Dominican in the Quality of an Embassador from the Pope From whom and from several other Potentates of Europe he brought Letters to the King He made great Presents to his Majesty and obtain'd effectually That those Roman Catholick Villages should every year send their Tribute to the Royal Treasure and whatever they were oblig'd to pay yearly according to the Rates set down in Writing in the Registers of the Superintendant and Receiver-General of Media Which being done that Orders should be sent to the Super-intendant and Governor of Nacchivan and all other the Kings Officers to acknowledge the Roman Catholicks to be absolutely independant from their Jurisdiction and that they should not presume to make any Levies within their Territories Which Regulation that did very little good to those villages was the occasion of many Mischiefs that afterwards befell em and will one day be the cause of their Ruin For the Governors of Nacchivan provok'd at these proceedings and the complaints that were made of 'em to Abas have lay'd a thousand heavy Impositions upon those poor People since the death of that good King and have made 'em pay three or four times the money which they sent to the Treasure Royal For which the oppressed people can have no remedy whether through the Remissness of the Government or for that their own Party is low and out of Credit The Treasurer of Media has done worse for he has sent to Court false extracts of the Registers of that Province by which it appears that those villages were to pay fourteen hundred pounds yearly which is just as much again as what they pretend to have always paid Every time they carry their Imposition of Seven Hundred Pounds into the Treasury the Officers give 'em a Receipt wherein they put that it is upon Account of what they ought to pay by which they keep a Door open for Arbitrary Impositions and Branglings to ruin 'em when they please themselves The Governor of Nacchivan was not in Town when I arriv'd there But this Son that was Deputy had soon notice of my arrival So that he invited me to Dinner and desir'd me to shew him some Watches and some Jewels But I was no way satisfi'd with his manner of dealing with me For after he had been civil to me and had giv'n me a dinner he left me with his officers who forc'd me in a manner to let him have that for fourty pounds for which I refus'd fifty at Erivan And without question they had us'd me more uncivilly but for the King's Pattent and Pass port which I had about me And indeed those Thorow-fairs are a sort of Places for the skinning of strangers who are reputed to be rich They must alway there pay Passage-money The 13. We departed from Nacchivan and travell'd seven Leagues At the end of the first League passing a River over a very broad Bridge to which the People of the Country give no other name then that of the River of Nacchivan The Country which we pass'd is dry and Stony where was nothing to be seen but little Hills of Stones We lay upon the Banks of the River Araxes which the Orientals call Aras and Ares We pass it at Esqui-julfa or Julfa the old a ruin'd City which some Authors beleive to be that City which the Ancients call'd Ariammene They call'd
are of a Peculiar sort of Workmanship and shew the curiosity of the Artist For they are built one over the other and the uppermost is much higher and larger in the Diameter then that below which serves for a Basis to the other There are also three Hospitals in the City very neat and well in repair however there is no body lodg'd within 'em only they give Victuals to those that come twice a day These Hospitals at Tauris are call'd Ach-tucon that is Places where they spend a great deal of Victuals At the end of the City to the West upon a little mountain stands a Hermitage a very neat piece of Workmanship which they call Ayn Hali or the Eyes of Haly. This Califf whom their Prophet made his Son-in-Law was as the Persians report the most lovely man that was ever seen so that when they would signifie any thing that is extreamly handsom they say t is Haly's Eyes This Hermitage serves the Taurisians for a place of Devotion and the way to it for a walk of Pleasure Without the City of Tauris to the East appears a great Castle almost gon to decay which they call Cala-Rashidé It was built above 400 years ago by Cojé Reshid Grand Visier to King Kazan The Story reports that their King had five Grand Visirs because he did not believe that one could suffice to dispatch all the affairs of so great a Kingdom Abas the Great seeing that Castle ruin'd and judging it advantageously seated as well to defend the City as to command it caus'd it to be repair'd about fifty years since but his Successors not being of his opinion let it go to Ruin There are also to be seen the Ruins of the Principal Edifices and Fortifications which the Turks built there during the several times that they were Masters of it So that there are very few Rocks or Poynts of Mountains joyning to the City where nothing but the Ruins of Forts and Heaps of Rubbish are to be seen Of which I carefully survey'd a great Part but I could not discover any thing of Antiquity There is nothing to be digg'd up but Bricks and Flint Stones The onely Edifice that remains most entire among the Turkish Buildings is a large Mosquee the inside of which is inlay'd or rather pargetted with transparent Marble and all the Outside variegated in Mosaic work But the Persians account the Place defil'd because it was built by the Turks whose Faith they abominate Among the heaps of Rubbish of which I have spoken without the City to the South appear the Ruines of the Palace of the late Kings of Persia And to the East those of the Castle where they say Cosroes lodg'd and where he laid up the Holy Cros for Security and all those other sacred Spoyles which he brought away from Jerusalem The Piazza of Tauris is the most spacious Piazza that ever I saw in any City of the World and far surpasses that of Ispahan The Turks have several times drawn up within it Thirty Thousand Men in Battel Toward the Evening this Piazza is fill'd with all the meaner sort of People that repair thither for Sport and Pastime Where some are for Gaming some for Tricks of Activity some for seeing Jack-Puddings and Mountebanks act their Drolleries some for Wrestling others for Bull and Ram-fighting others for repeating Verses some reciting Stories in Prose and some to see Wolves dance The People of Tauris take great delight to see that sort of Sport insomuch that they bring those Dancing Wolves a hundred Leagues an end after they are well taught And such as are best instructed are sold for five hunder'd Crowns a piece many times also great Quarrels arise about these Wolves which are not easily appeas'd Nor is this Piazza empty in the day time as being a Market for all sorts of Provisions and things of small Price There is also another Piazza at Tauris which appears in the Plate before the demolish'd Castle call'd the Castle of Jafer-Pacha This was a Place for the Rendezvous and exercise of the Souldiers belonging to the Garrison now it serves for the Shambles where they kill and dress all sorts of large Meat which is sold in all parts of the City I have with great diligence endeavour'd to understand the number of the Inhabitants in Tauris but could never have a just account but I think I may truly reck'n it to amount to 550 Thousand Persons yet several Persons in the City would make me believe there could not be less than Eleven hundred Thousand The number of Strangers also which are there at all times is very great for that they resort thither from all parts of Asia Nor do I know of any sort of Merchandize of which there is not there a Magazine to be found The City is full of Artists in Cotton in Silk and in Gold The fairest Turbans in Persia are there made And I have heard several of the Principal Merchants of the City affirm that there are above six thousand Bayles of Silk wrought out in Manufacture every year The Trade of the City extends all over Persia and Turky into Muscovy Tartary to the Indies and over the Black-Sea The Air of Tauris is cold and dry very good and healthy nor can any man complain that it contributes to any bad disposition of Humors The Cold continues there a long time in regard the City is expos'd to the North for the Snow lies nine months in the year upon the tops of the Mountains that surround it The Wind blows almost every day Morning and Evening It also rains very often unless it be in the Summer nor is the Sky but seldom without Clouds any season of the Year It is seated in 38. deg of Latitude and 82 of Longit. It abounds with all things necessary for human Support so that a Man may fare there deliciously and very cheap The Caspian Sea which is not above forty Leagues distant affords 'em Fish And some they also take in the River of Agi before mention'd but that is only when the water is low The usual price of Bread is three pound for a penny and of a pound of Flesh Three half pence In the Summer there is great plenty of Venison and water Fowl But they kill very little Venison or other wild Beasts There are also Eagles in the Mountains one which I have seen sold by the Country people for a groat Persons of Quality let fly the Sparrow-Hawk at the Eagle which is a Flight full of Curiosity and much to be admir'd For the Sparrow-Hawk soaring above the Eagle stoops of a sudden with that swiftness strikes her Pounces into his sides and with her wings continually beating upon his head sends him in a short time to the ground Yet sometimes it happens that both the Eagle and the Sparrow-Hawk come both to the Earth together In the same manner the Sparrow-Hawks will many times stop the flight of hunted Stags and render the Chace much
was King of Armenia as is well known to every ordinary Reader However I cannot tell how it is possible for us to take Sultanié for Tigranocerta since Tacitus tells us that Tigranocerta was but thirty seven Miles from Nisibis a City which every one knows to be seated in Mesopotamia upon the River Tigris 25 Leagues from Nineve And therefore I must say as I said before the Geography of the Ancients is the most confused thing in the world the Writers were misinform'd and it is impossible to bring 'em to agree together I should not assert this so confidently did I not see that other Modern Relators commit also very great Errors in what they publish either upon the observations or report of others so that there is not not any one from whom I might not produce examples sufficient to confirm this Truth This City has been several times laid in heaps First Cotza Reshid King of Persia whom other Historians call Giausan for that it had rebell'd and tak'n up Arms against him After that by Tamerlan and after him by several other both Turkish and Tartarian Princes The Predecessors of Ishmael Sophi kept their Court there for some time and it is said that some Ages before the last Kings of Armenia resided there at which time it contain'd above four hundred Churches And it is very true that there are a great number in it which are ruin'd but not one that is entire nor doe there inhabit in it any Christians The 7th we travell'd six Leagues in a Country more lovely then that already describ'd where we came to a Village at the end of every thousand paces and we could see at a distance an infinite number of others surrounded with Groves of Willows and Poplers and environ'd which delightful Meadows We lay at Hibié a very fair and fair and large Village and seated near to a Town that is wall'd and well peopl'd which is call'd San-cala which word being abbreviated signifies the Castle of Hasan The 8th Our Horses were so tir'd that we could get no farther then Ebher which is no more then two leagues from Hibié though we travell'd all the way over most of those delightful and pleasant Plains already mention'd directing our Course still to the South Now that which makes those places so delightful is the great Number of Rivulets with which they are water'd and the good Husbandry of the Inhabitants For as I have already said the soyl of the Parthians is dry and barren of it self nevertheless wherever it can be water'd it produces whatever the Manurer pleases to have it fair and good in its Kind Ebher is but a small City counting only the buildings for it contains not above two thousand five hundred Houses but to those Houses belong so many Gardens and those so large that it is good riding for a Horse-man to cross it in half an hour A small River that bears the name of the City runs through the middle of it from one end to the other It is said to be the same City which the Ancients call'd Barontha The situation of it is jolly and delightful the Air very wholsom and the Soyl produces plenty of Fruit and other Provisions The buildings are tolerably handsom and the Inns the Taverns and other publick Structures very well considering the Place It contains three spacious Mosquees and in the middle of the City are to be seen the Ruins of a Castle built of Earth It lies distant from the Equator 36 deg 45. min. and from the fortunate Islands 48. deg 30. min. Which Longitude and all others that I observe are tak'n from the new Persian Tables It is govern'd by a Darogué or Mayor and the Mirtshecar-bashi or Chief Huntsman has his Assignations of Money charg'd upon the Revenue of this City Which assignation is call'd Tahvil Of the signification of which word we shall speak more at large in another Place The Persian Geographers assert that Ebher was built by Kei-Cosrou the Son of Sia-bouch that Darab-Keihoni or Darius began to build the Castle that Skender-roumy that is Alexander the Great finish'd it and that the City has been ruin'd and sack'd as often as the rest which are near it However she has so well recover'd her self that at present there is but little appearance of those former havocks The same Geographers observe that it is one of the most Ancient Cities of that Province and perhaps it may be either Vologoo-certa or Messabetha or Artacana of which there is so frequent mention made in the Ancient Stories of Persia At Ebher they begin to speak Persian both in the Cities and Country whereas all the way before the Vulgar Language is Turkish not altogether as they speak it in Turkey but with some little difference From Ebher to the Indies they speak Persian more or less neat as the people are more or less at a distance from Shiras where the purity of the Persian Language is spoken So that at Ebher and in the parts thereabouts 't is but a rude and clownish sort of Dialect which the people make use of The 9th we travell'd nine Leagues over Plains delightful ev'n unto Admiration and indeed more lovely Vales are no where to be seen After we had rode three Leagues we pass'd through a large Town almost as big as Ebher call'd Parsac and a little farther we left Casbin upon the left hand five Leagues distant from us of which I made the following description in the year 1674. during a residence of four Months that I stay'd at Court Casbin is a great City seated in a delightful Plain three Leagues from Mount Alou-vent which is one of the highest and most famous Mountains in all Persia and a Branch of Mount Taurus that crosses the Northern Parts of Parthia as has bin already said and separates it from Hyrcania The length of this City is from North to South In former times it was surrounded with Walls of which the Ruins are still to be seen but at present it lies open on every side It is 6 miles in circumference containing twelve thousand Houses and a hundred thousand Inhabitants among which there are forty families of Christians and a hunder'd of Jews all very poor One of the fairest places that is to be seen in this City is the Hippodrome which they call Maydan-sha or the Royal Piazza 700 paces in length and 250 in breadth and made after the Model of Ispahan To the Royal Palace belong seven Gates of which the chief is call'd Ali-capi or the High-Gate on which there is an Inscription in Letters of Gold to this effect May this Gate always be open to good Fortune by that confession which we make that there is no God but God The Gardens belonging to the Palace are very beautiful kept in good order and planted Checquer-wise King Tahmas built this Palace at first a small thing according to a draught given him by a Turkish Architect Abas the Great quite alter'd and enlarg'd
Revenue is employ'd to keep the Places clean and neat to repair the Decays of time in the Building and Moveables for the buying of Lights and maintaining several Churchmen and a great number of Regents and Governors of Students and poor People They distribute Victuals every day to all that come and to people that are hir'd And of all these Legacies and Revenues three Great Lords of Persia have the Superintendency every one being appointed his Chappel He that at present takes Care of the she-Saints Chappel is an illustrious Ancient Person who has been Courtshi Bashi or Collonel of the Courtches which is a great Body of the Militia consisting of thirty Thousand Men. And the same Person is also Governor of Com. This City contains also several other Edifices very beautiful and sumptuous It is a very pleasant Place but for the Heat which is very excessive In the Summer the River that passes by it is no bigger then a small Rivulet but the Winter Thaws swell it to that degree with the Water that falls from the Mountains that it not only fills its own Channel which is as broad as the Seine at Paris but overflows a great part of the City They call it generally the River of Com but the true Name of it is Joubad-gan This City lies in 85. deg 48. min. of Longitude and 34. deg 30. min. of Latitude The Air is wholsom but extremely hot as I said before for it scalds in the Summer there being no place in all Persia where the Sun scorches more violently It abounds in all manner of Victuals and Fruits particularly in Pistachios The people also are very courteous and civil The most part of Topographers will have Com to be the same place which Ptolomy calls Gauna or Guriana And his Translator asserts it to be the same with Choama tho others will have it to be Arbacte or Hecatompyle Several Histories of Persia likewise relate this City to be very Ancient and that it was built by Tahmas when the Sun entred into Gemini that it was twelve thousand Cubits in compass and as big as Babylon I must confess there is no doubt but it was very large for there are many Ruins and Footsteps of Habitations to be seen round about it but it is much to be question'd whether it were so Ancient as the Reign of Tahmas Other Persian Histories deduce its Original from the first Age of Mahumetism and affirm that in the time of Mahomet there were in that place seven large Villages and that in the 83 Year of the Hegyra Abdalla Saydon Califfe coming into that Country with an Army joyn'd those seven Villages together with new Buildings enclos'd 'em with a Wall and made 'em one City and that afterwards this City encreas'd to that degree that it became twice as large as Constantinople For Mousa the Son of that Abdalla came from Basra to Com and brought with him the Opinions of Haly which they call the Religion of Shia or Imamism which was always profess'd in that place even to Martyrdom nor would the People suffer any other and therefore Temur-leng being of a contrary Belief utterly destroy'd the City Nevertheless by degrees they repair'd one part of it again but it did not begin to reflourish until this last Age and since that Sephy was there interr'd Abas the Second his Son and Successor banish'd thither such Persons as were fallen from his Favour to the end they might pray to God for his person and give thanks to heaven for their Lives which he had spar'd ' em Soliman at present reigning had made use of it to the same purpose sending thither all those whom he thought convenient to punish with Exile and the great number of exil'd persons of Quality it was that has restor'd the City to that Splendor wherein now it stands In the Year 1634. an Inundation of Waters ruin'd a thousand Houses and it is but three Years since that an Accident of the same nature had like to have ruin'd it all together For two thousand Houses and all the Ancient Houses were laid level with the Earth The Name is pronounc'd with a double m as if we should write the word Komm It is also call'd Darel mouveheldin that is to say The Habitation of pious People The Governor bears the Title of Darogué or Mayor Kachan Kachan The 17. we travell'd five Leagues cross the Plain We found it all the way cover'd with a moving Sand dry without either Villages or Water We lodg'd in a place call'd Abshirin or Sweet Water because there is in that place a Fountain of fair Water and Cisterns in the midst of six Carevanserais The 18. our Journey reach'd to Cashan where we arriv'd after we had travell'd seven Leagues steering toward the South over the Plain already mention'd and at the end of two Leagues we found the Soyl delightful and fertile stor'd with large Villages We pass'd through several and about half the way left upon the left hand at a near distance a little City call'd Sarou seated at the foot of a Mountain The City of Cashan is seated in a large Plain near a high Mountain It is a League in length and a quarter of a League in breadth extending it self in length from East to West When you see it afar off it resembles a half Moon the Corners of which look toward both those Parts of the Heavens The Draught is no true Representation either of the Bigness or the Figure as having been taken without a true Prospect And the reason was the Indisposition of my Painter who being extremely tir'd with the former days Travel was not able to stir out of the Inn where we lay All that he could do was to get upon the Terrass and take the Draught from thence There is no River that runs by the City only several Canals convey'd under Ground with many deep Springs and Cisterns as there are at Com. It is encompass'd with a double Wall flank'd with round Towers after the Ancient Fashion to which there belong five Gates One to the East call'd the Royal Gate as being near the Royal Palace that stands without the Walls Another call'd the Gate of Fieu because it leads directly to a great Village which bears that name Another between the West and North call'd the Gate of the House of Melic as being near to a Garden of Pleasure which was planted by a Lord of that Name The two other Gates are opposite to the South-East and North-East The one call'd Com Gate and the other Ispahan Gate be cause they lead to those Cities The City and the Suburbs which are more beautiful then the City contain six thousand five hundred Houses as the People assure us forty Mosques three Colleges and about two hundred Sepulchres of the Descendants of Aly. The Principal Mosque stands right against the great Market Place having one Tower that serves for a Steeple built of Free Stone Both the Mosque and the Tower are the
Their Graves are confus'd among those that lie buried round bout the Monuments that were erected over 'em having bin beaten down by the Turks and Tartars that invaded those places and sacrific'd those structures to the honour of their Saints the grand Enemies and Persecutors of the Descendants of Aly. They made search for these Graves after the Califf became Master of the City again but how easily they may be deceiv'd in this search is no difficult thing to conjecture For in the Year 1667. they found out one that put the whole City into confusion For they affirm'd the Grave upon which a large Monument had been built a hundred years before out of an assurance that one of Aly's descendants was buried there to be the Sepulcher of one Yuzbec a Preacher The People enrag'd that they had worshipped for a whole Age together a Place in their Opinion more worthy of Execration ran in a heat to pull down the Monument dug down the Earth that was at the top and round about it and made a common road over it But what happen'd afterwards is much more Remarkable And that is this that one of the great Persian Doctors undertook to write a Treatise on purpose that there was never any such person as Yuzbec buried there Upon which the People again offended to see themselves made the sport of their Doctors fancies have left the place as indifferent and will neither pollute nor give it Reverence The Governor of Cashan carries the Title of a Darogué as do all the other Governors of the City 's of Parthia A Lord that was one of my good Friends call'd Rustan-bec Brother to several Governors Provinces had the Government of that City the first time that I pass'd through it The two years of his Government being ended the City was so well satisfi'd in his conduct that they sent some of their Members to petition that he might be continu'd two years longer but their Petition was rejected as being contrary to custom to continue such Officers longer then the usual time The 19. our Horses were so tir'd that we were forc'd to stay at Cashan We departed the 29. and travell'd seven Leagues the two first cross the Plain where the City was built the rest over a Mountain which was of a good height but not difficult to ascend At the top we met with a very large and fair Caravanseray and a little further with a wide Lake which serves for a Receptacle to receive the melted Snow and Rain that falls from the Parts thereabouts from whence they let go the water into the Plain of Cashan as they have need Abas the Great rais'd up two strong Dams about it to the end it might hold more Water and to prevent the Water from wasting He also caus'd several Causeys to be made in the same place for the Convenience of Travellers Being descended from the Mountain you enter into a deep Valley very narrow and about a League in length all which space of Ground is stor'd with Houses Vineyards and Gardens so close one to another that it seems to be but one Village of a League in length Several delightful and clean Streams derive their Springs from that Plain which preserve the Air wonderfully cool all the Summer so that it is a place the most charming and delightful that a man shall meet with in that scorching Climate For the Sun has so little Power there that the Roses were not then blown the Corn and Fruit were also then green and but half ripe and yet they had reap'd their Harvest and had eaten ripe Fruit a Cashan at month before We lodg'd at the end of that lovely Plain in a Caravanseray there built which they call'd Carou Some of our own modern Authors assert That this Valley was the Place where Darius was murder'd which is not improbable for that the History observes that Bessus and Nabarzanes after they had committed that Treacherous Murder upon the Prince took several Roads the one for Hyrcania and the other for Bactriana and Cashan is exactly the Place that leads directly to those two Provinces The 21 we travell'd eight Leagues two along the foot of the Mountains between which that Valley lies and six in a pleasant Vale stor'd with a great number of Villages where we met with several Caravanseray's upon the Road we alighted at one that was larger and fairer then the rest call'd Aga-Kemal from the name of a rich Merchant that built it and several other publick Structures about Ispahan The 22. our Journeys was not above five Leagues in the same Plain where Aga-Kemal stands We travell'd so hard that by nine a Clock at night we arriv'd at Moutshacour which is a large Village consisting of about five hundred Houses where there are several Inns and Gardens and great plenty of Water The 23. we set forward late to the end we might not come to Ispahan before day We travell'd the nine Leagues which we had to ride over lovely Plains still directing our Course to the South as in our former Journeys and pass'd by so many Caravanserays and Villages drawing near that great City that we thought our selves in the Suburbs two hours before we got thither We enter'd the City by five a Clock in the Morning all in good health Thanks be to God The end of the First Book THE INDEX A. ABas the Great ruins the Frontiers of Persia 348 Abca's a thieving people 77 Abrener peopl'd with Roman Catholics 346 Adoption the manner of it Mengrelia c by the women 146 Akalzikè the Description of it 168 Alexander K. of Imiretta 136 Alexander Son of Levan Prince of Mingrelia 136 Amazons 187 c. Anarguia a Town in Mingrelia 111 116 Arakilvank a famous Armenian Monastery Araxes the River 347 348 Archylus Son of Shanavas Can 139 crown'd K. of Imiretta by his Father 140 Armenia divided and bounded 242 c. Armenian Traditions fabulous 252 Aron 413 Author Author's departure from Paris p. 1. His Motives for the second Voyage to Persia 2. Made the King of Persia's Merchant ib. He designs for the Black-Sea and Colchos 16 c. His distress at Isgaour 108. He sends an Express to the Theatin Superior 109. His Answer ibid. The Author's Surprise 110. The Market-place fir'd 111. The Superior comes to him and carries him off 112. Amingreham Slave draws Compassion from the Author 115. The French Embassadors Letter in behalf of the Author 116. He arrives at the mouth of the River Astolphus 116. He takes a Lodging in Anarghia 117. Visited by a lay Theatin ibid. A Lady furnishes him with Provisions 118. He is advis'd to pretend himself a Capuchin ibid. He departs from Anargy 119. The Occasions of his Misfortunes ibid. Visited by the Princess of Mingrelia 121. She invites him to Dinner 122. The Consequences ibid. 123 c. He buyes his Goods 125. He is robb'd the by Mingrelians 126 c. He flies upon a Rumour of the Turks being entred into Mingrelia