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
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
of my Journal of the Year 1675. and the two succeeding Years concludes with a Piece wholly new and unknown to Vs in Europe which is an Abridgement of the History of Persia Extracted from their own Writings And thus having informed the Reader of the Subject of my Memorials I shall mention something of the time and means which I imployed to collect them I Travel'd by Land to the East-Indies in the Year 1665 and arrived in Persia at the beginning of the Year 1666. where I stayed all that Year and a good part of the next I came back to Persia from India in the Year 1669. where I remain'd Six Months before my return to Europe This was my first Voyage And though I then provided my self of Observations and all sorts of Materials for a Relation of it in as great a Degree or perhaps greater than those that have visited those Countries before me having Learn'd many things from the Turkish and Persian Languages which have not been observ'd by any that have hitherto Writ of Persia yet I did not then think my self sufficiently instructed for the Publication of so compleat a Work as I intended But in the mean time I entertain'd the World with a little Treatise of the Coronation of Soliman which consisted of some few Curious matters of Fact whereof I was an Eye-Witness And the earnest desire I had to improve my knowledge in that vast Empire of Persia to be enabled to produce to the World useful and Ample Relations of it induced me to undertake a Second Voyage thither which I did in the Year 1671. as the same will appear in this Journal I stay'd there until the Year 1677 chiefly following the Court in its Removals but likewise I made some particular Journeys as well of Curiosity as Business to prosecute my intentions studying the Language and assiduously frequenting the most eminent and most knowing Men of the Nation the better to inform my self in all things that were Curious and New to us in Europe concerning a Country that may well be called Another World both in respect of the Distance of place it has from us and the different Manners and Maximes of it In a Word I was so solicitous to know Persia that I knew Ispahan better than Paris though I was Bred and Born there The Persian Language was as easie to me as French and I could currently Read and Write it I had often Travell'd through the whole Country in the Length and Breadth thereof and seen its Seas both the Caspian and the Ocean from one end to the other I have visited its Frontiers in Armenia Iberia and Media and Arabia also as far as the River Indus and have been so exactly inform'd of those few Places where I have not been that I am confident I could know them if I may so say upon any sudden Transportation thither which I say only to let the Reader see what Ground he may have to rely upon the Truth of the following Relations As for this Translation I shall not say much of the Expressions and Phrase used in it being no competent Judge thereof but I can aver that it was done under my Inspection and I have review'd it with Attention and Knowledge enough to affirm that it is exactly my Sense but I must not omit to mention that in my Revision of it there was scarce a Leaf where I did not discover some considerable Fault as a Parenthesis Line or Word omitted and sometimes my Thoughts imperfectly rendered though the substituted Sense was neither Incongruous nor Perplexed In brief I have Corrected many Mistakes of this sort which could not be Perceptible to any but an Author who carries the Sense of his Work Word by Word in his Head As for Example in describing the Cultivation of the Vineyards of Colchide I said That they cut their Vines there once in every four Years and my Translator had expressed it That they cut their Vines four times every Year One cannot say that this proceeded from a defect of Sense or want of Vnderstanding the French Tongue for he knows it well and is otherways a Man of Letters and has quickness of Thought and is very able for such Works but Mistakes are inevitable in long Translations And as I believe that this of my Book is nearer the Original than any Version that I have seen of other Voyages so I am convinc'd that there are no Translations wherein many Errours may not be found against the Sense of the Authors The Copper Plates are done by different Gravers which will not happen in the others of my Volumes where all of them will be Engraven by that Hand which has done the Draught of Tauris and Nine or Ten other Figures I have Written nothing of the Indies because I lived but five Years there and understood only the Vulgar Languages which are the Indian and Persian without the Knowledge of that of the Brachmans which is the proper and necessary Organ to arrive at the Knowledge of the Wisdom and Antiquity of the Indians but nevertheless I did not altogether waste my Time there in Idleness On the contrary as the Winters in that Country will not permit One to Travel I imploy'd that time in a Work which I had long in my Thoughts and which I may call My Favourite Design by the Pleasure wherewith I laboured in it and the Profit which I hope the Publique will receive thereby which is certain Notes upon very many Passages of the Holy Scriptures whereof the Explication depends on the Knowledge of the Customs of the Eastern Countries for the East is the Scene of all the Historical Facts mentioned in the Bible The Language of that Divine Book especially of the Old Testament being Oriental and very often Figurative and Hyperbolical those Parts of the Scripture which are Written in Verse and in the Prophecies are full of Figures and Hyperboles which as it is manifest cannot be well understood without a Knowledge of the Things from whence such Figures are taken which are Natural Proprieties and Particular Manners of the Countries to which they refer I discern'd this in my first Voyage to the Indies For I gradually found a greater Sense and Beauty in divers Passages of the Scriptures than I had before by having in my view the Things either Natural or Moral which explain'd them to me and in perusing the different Translations which the greatest part of the Translators of the Bible had made I observ'd that every one of them to render their Expositions as they thought more intelligible used such Expressions as would accommodate the Phrase to the Places where they Writ which did not only many times pervert the Text but often render'd the Sense obscure and sometimes absurd also In fine consulting the Commentators upon such kind of Passages I found very strange Mistakes in them and that they all along guess'd at the Sense and did but grope as in the Dark in the search of it
built upon the Sepulchre of Christ as in those that were rear'd in the Places where he was Born and Crucifi'd The Popes likewise who make it their Business to bring over to their Communion all the Greeks commanded the Franciscans that they should have all manner of Liberty in the Holy Places and withal to permit 'em to build Chappels to keep Lamps and Tapers burning and to erect Images and Altars This Allurement of so much Freedom which the Greeks enjoy'd in their Churches say the Franciscans was that which entic'd 'em into a design to make themselves the sole Masters of those Places though the Greeks most stiffly deny any such thing However it were in the Year 1634. the Greeks repair'd to the Port and there produc'd several Ancient Records setting forth their Title to the possession of Mount Calvary the Grotto of Bethlehem and other Places Thereupon the Franciscans were cited to the Divan who appear'd with the Ambassadors of the Christian Princes that were then resident at the Port and the Cause was several times argu'd before the Prime Vizier All the Christians also who were in Alliance with the Port as well Protestants as Roman Catholicks interested themselves in the Suit and both sides were at extraordinary Expences But at length the Greeks gain'd the Cause and were put into possession of the Holy Places according to their own desires The Grand Vizier who gave Judgment in favour of the Greeks being dead at the end of two Years the Europeans demanded a Rehearing of the Cause Which was granted and it went clearly for the Franciscans who were thereupon restor'd to the possession of what the Greeks got from 'em but they did not keep it above two Years more For after that another Grand Vizier more favourable to the Greeks resetl'd 'em again in all the Places which had been recover'd by the Franciscans four Years before After that the Latins us'd great Endeavours to regain the Possession but all to no purpose the Divan being still deaf to all their Sollicitations Promises and Offers and constantly alledging That it was not just that the Greeks who were the Signior's Subjects and who paid him the yearly Tribute of Eight Hunderd Thousand Crowns should be depriv'd their share of the Custody of the Sacred Places in Palestine which was part of the Demeasns of the Ottoman Empire Yet for all that the Franciscans have not forborn to renew their Importunities their Petitions and their Offers of Money as often as they found any seasonable Opportunities to do it In the Year 1665. Count Lesley in the Name of the Emperor took all the care and pains imaginable for the Restoration of the Franciscans to their Rights pray'd pay'd and promis'd Mountains but all was labour lost Four Years after the Procurator Molino in the Name of the Republic of Venice undertook their Cause with the same Vigour so that the Franciscans had now no other hopes but in the King of France To which purpose they deputed two of their Order to his Majesty who presented him with Letters of Recommendation from Rome Spain and the most part of the Roman Catholick Princes to make use of his Credit and Reputation in the Ottoman Court for the Restoration of the Latins into the Sacred Places from whence they had been expell'd by the Greeks But there was no need of a Recommendation to excite the King in the prosecution of such a Pious Act to which his own Zeal was a sufficient Incentive Immediately therefore he wrote to M. de la Haye to insert the Demands of those Religious Persons among the Conditions for the renewing the Alliance And after that both M. de la Haye and M. de Nointel protested to 'em several times That they had express Orders not to Treat with the Port nor to renew the Articles of Alliance unless they would restore the Franciscans to the Places they had lost Nevertheless it appear'd at the end of April that an Affair of that Nature might be dispenc'd withal rather then to put a stop to such an Important Treaty for the Custody of three or four silly Chappels These two Fryers told me how that upon their Arrival at Constantinople M. de la Haye bid 'em rest satisfi'd for that he understood so well the Resolutions of the Prime Ministers of the Port that they would never renew the Treaty upon the Conditions which the King demanded in regard the Restoration of the Sacred Places upon which the King so firmly insisted was an Article the Port would never grant To which as they inform'd me they return'd this Answer which included good Advice indeed for the success of their own Interest If your Excellency said they have positive Instructions in Reference to the Restoration and that you know the Port will never consent to it make no other Demand to the Grand Vizier till that be concerted and declare withal to the Prime Minister That you will not Treat till he has promis'd to restore us what the Greeks have tak'n from us If your Excellency observe this Method either the Vizier will grant or deny If he grant the greatest Impediment to the renewing of the Treaty will be remov'd If he refuse the Rupture will redound to the King of France 's Honour He will appear not to have sought his own Interest All Europe will admire his Majesties Piety and Zeal and there is no Person but must be forc'd to acknowledge that his High Respect to Religion was the only cause that incited him to break with the Turks The well-meaning Fathers told me this Story with an extraordinary Vehemence which is usual among Spanish Monks For they believ'd it to be one of the most Noble Actions in the World to enter into a War with the Ottoman Empire to force the Great Turk to take from the Christians of Jerusalem his own proper Subjects the Custody of five or six petty Churches and bestow it upon Foreign Monks who not content to make use of 'em when they pleas'd would have the Keys hung at their Girdles About Mid-May M. de Nointel finding that the Grand Signior and Vizier were ready to depart for Poland and that there was but little Progress made in his Negotiation went to visit the Reisquitab or Lord Chancellor With whom he had three Conferences before they could conclude the Treaty But at the third Conference which was upon the 26th of May all things were agreed and setl'd and the Alliance was renew'd upon the following Conditions That the French for the future should pay no more then Three per Cent. Customs That they should have the Red-Sea open for a Trade into the Indies paying Five per Cent. Customs which should be paid at their Entrance into the Grand Signior 's Dominions without any farther Payments either for their Passage or at their Departure That the French Capuchins should rebuild their Church of St. George at Galata burnt down by Fire And that the same Church together with the Jesuits in
Discourses at Rovers he told me He was very much troubl'd for me that I was come in Persia at such an unlucky Season when there was so little Trade for Jewels for that the King had little or no esteem for 'em and therefore bought very few That I was not now to look upon my Condition as if King Abas were alive for those days were gone and that I should find it a hard matter at Court to put off the worth of Three Thousand Pound Then going on he told me farther That he did not speak this to discourage me but that I might betimes consider what I had to do and lose no opportunity of selling what I had brought That he had a design to lay out to the value of Two Thousand Five Hundred Pounds if I would let him have good Bargains Presently I found what the Governor aim'd at by his Discourse and that his Advice tho very good and true proceeded rather from Interest then that he was really concern'd for my Benefit However I return'd him Thanks and told him I heard of the Great Change of Humor at Court but yet for all that I did not question but to sell expecting from his Majesty's Justice that he would consider that I had not made such a tedious Voyage nor brought so many Jewels but by the Orders of the Deceased King his Father Nevertheless that I was resolv'd to sell as much as I could without Loss and that I was so much beholding to him for his Favors and his particular Care of me that I would sell Cheaper to him then to another Person Thereupon the Governor promis'd me that I should have the favour of his Sons and be assisted by all the Credit which they had at Court to which purpose he would give me most Effectual and Earnest Recommendations and at length order'd me to bring all that he had set apart He told me he would make his first Purchases of little Jewels and of small value to the end he might see whether I would be as good as my word Which Method of his did no way please me and therefore I propounded to him to take all at a Lump and never to make two Bargains assuring him that he would find it his cheapest way After that I desir'd him to begin with the Great Pieces but he refus'd to accept either of my Proposals he knew how to manage me so dextrously that he perswaded me that his Intentions were real and that he would try by those things wherein he had most Judgment whether I sold him dear or no. So then we agreed upon a Price for Forty Watches of several Fashions All which I sold him at a low rate to purchase his good Opinion and to the end I might sell him more of my Commodities Presently he sent me to his Cashier to receive my Money which while we were telling in he came with a great Chrystal Looking glass set in Gold which he had set aside from among those other that I had shewn him and telling me the hour was now lucky ask'd me the Price of the Glass and I let him have it for Five Hundred Crowns which he paid me with the rest of my Money For the Persians are strangly infatuated with Judicial Astrology and attribute to the Influences of the Stars all their good and bad Success And when two Stars which they call Benign are in Conjunction that they call the lucky hour The 27. The Governor did me the Honour to give me a visit Tho I had rather he had let his visit alone for it cost me a Gold-Box of Eight Guineys Which I presented to him to gratifie the Custom of the Country which is to repay the visits of great Personages with a Present The Governor staid a quarter of an hour in my Chamber after which he went and made a stop where the People that belong'd to the Customer of Constantinople lay which was very near to my Apartment Then he went and visited a Turkish Merchant and an Armenian Merchant that lodg'd in the same Inn who made him every one a Present but of things of little value The People that belong'd to the Customer of Constantinople gave him two Ducats the Turkish Merchant a little bag of Coffee worth an Angel and the Armenian presented him with two Ells of Damask For the Governor comes forth out of the Castle into the City constantly twice a Week that is Frydays and Saturdays Fryday he goes publickly to the Mosqueé to say his Prayers Saturday he visits every Quarter of the City and gives such Orders as he finds to be requisite So that there can be nothing better contriv'd then his Method of Government If he stop before any House they never make him any Present unless they please themselves But if he go into the House Custom obliges 'em to present him And there is an Officer call'd the Receiver of Presents who keeps an account of all that is presented him let it be of never so mean a value The 29. and 30. I din'd with the Governor and sold him as many ordinary Jewels as came to about Five Hundred Pounds We drove our Bargains every price by it self and when we were come to a Price he paid me in ready Money And most assuredly he got by that way of dealing for by that means I sold him at a much cheaper rate The same day a little after I was return'd to my Lodging the Princess his Wife sent for me to make her a price of some certain Jewels which she had made choice of But just as I was ready to take Horse the General of the Mint and the Kings Slave came to give me a visit so that I could not go to the Castle that day neither would I go the three next days as being the three last of the Passion Week but the Fourth of April I went So soon as I came the Princesse's Steward who was an old Eunuch told me That the Princess was extreamly angry that I had stay'd so long and that if one of the Country should have serv'd her so she would have made him feel two hundred Drubs upon the Soles of his Feet At which I laught and ask'd the Eunuch if his Lady were wont to pronounce Sentences Sir said he she is one of the Haughtiest Ladies in the World and for the least fault exacts a most severe punishment If it be a man that has offended her she sends her Eunuchs to seize him who bind him hand and foot and put him in a Sack carry him into the Seraglio into her presence and punish him according to her Commands without letting him out of the Sack or suffering him to know where he is But I never yet knew that the Persian Ladies ever inflicted such sort of punishments And therefore I desir'd the Eunuch to let the Princess know the Reason that had kept me at home and that I was always ready to obey her Commands I tarry'd above four hours at 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
of State are brought out and tied close by For Talaar signifies properly an exalted Balcony and Tavieleh denotes a Stable or any other place where they tie Horses In the place designed for his Majesty a Quilt was laid stuft with fine Sheeps Wool four fingers thick and between three and four foot in length over which was spread a very fine Coverlet of Indian Work pinked with Gold being a most admirable piece of Workmanship This Carpet covered all the Quilt and hung down four fingers on every side by that means hindering the Quilt from being seen besides that it was kept tight at the two Corners by two great Apples of massie Gold set with precious stones close to which stood two little Vessels to spit in sumptuously wrought At the other end lay a Cushion of which the lower side was of Cloth of Gold intermixed with red Flowers and green Leaves As for the upper side I could not tell what Stuff it was made of because I could not come near enough to observe it besides that it was all over covered with Diamonds Emeralds Pearl and other Precious stones that cast a wonderful lustre so that it was impossible to know the ground of that costly Embroidery The Room was enlightened with fourteen Lamps all of massie Gold not hung up but set upon the ground as we set our Candlesticks upon Tables or Stands These Branches all of Duckat Gold are so substantial that there are some which weigh sixty Marks and the least weigh thirty or forty Of these Lamps there were eight in the Talaar in the Middle and three in each of the Halls where were also eight Candlesticks with two Branches apiece of massie Gold also three foot high and weighing more than the Lamps The place for the Coronation being thus prepared they brought and laid upon the middle of the Talaar the four Principal Pieces which are in a manner consecrated to this Ceremony The first was a Scourzie or Seat which served instead of a Throne being a little square Cushion Stool three Geometrical feet in height the feet of the Pillars that supported the Corners being fashioned like so many great Apples and to secure the Seat there ran as many Cross Bars both above and below The upper part was smooth and plain without any thing that might make the Seat softer being all the same materials with the rest that is massie Gold very thick the four Pillars also and the Feet being plated with Gold and set with little Rubies and some Emraulds This same Stool at other times is kept very charily in the Treasury Royal which is a Dungeon in the Fortress of Ispahan and so weighty that two men can hardly carry it I saw it there by good fortune having the opportunity to get in when the Vazier or Farmer Royal of the City came to open all the Magazines and Closets in regard the King was the next day to shew them to his Mother and his Wives The second Piece was a Taag or Diadem or Crown for I cannot find any other word to express it by in our Language nor could the Persians were they to translate the word Crown into their own Language find a more proper word than their own Taag which is that Persian Crown or famous Bonnet which some Travellers call the Sophy's Bonnet tho I know not for what reason I have in another place delivered my opinion sufficiently concerning it It is a Flat Bonnet somewhat like the Mortar-Caps of the Presidents of the French Parliaments only it is not altogether so large nor so deep It is made somewhat straiter at the lower end and carries in the middle a Point that seems to come out of the middle of the Bonnet but is only sowed on tho very neatly and artificially This Point rises up about a fingers length and lessens toward the end tho at the top it seems to grow bigger again The Materials of the Bonnet prepared for the new King was of Cloth of Gold bound about after the manner of a Dhul-bandt which our Writers for want of Language erroneously call a Turbant with one of the finest and Thinnest Calicuts that India could afford and Tissued with Silver upon the brims the breadth of two fingers The outside of the Hollow of the Bonnet at the Top was covered all over with an Embroidery of Diamonds from whence hung down several Chains of precious stones that shaded all the rest of the Circumference and dangled down upon the Bonnet which was no less sumptuously embellished with all the richest Jewels of the Crown round about stood little tufts resembling Herons Feathers all of Jewellers work nothing inferiour to the rest In other parts of the Bonnet were erected little Plumes of Herons Feathers and Birds of Paradise The Dhul-bandt was all hung about with strings of Precious stones Diamonds Rubies Emraulds and Topazes fastened to the Heron Plumes which strings covered all the Dhul-bandt from the top to the bottom dangling down upon the Calicut Facing to keep it fast and prevent it from unloosening Just over the forehead shone another Heron-Tuft much more glorious than all the rest from the top of which rose up three Sockets of Precious Stones wherein were placed little Tufts of Herons Plumes The third Piece was a Chemchir or Sword of which the Hilt and Scabbard were all covered over with Precious Stones proportionably to the Diadem All the Persian Swords are about three Fingers broad and bowed backward almost like a Semicircle For they who profess to understand a Weapon in Persia maintain that a Blade so bowed cuts much keener and makes a deeper wound than a streight Sword which they demonstrate by the Rules of Fencing which we have not at this time leisure to examine The fourth Piece is a Gangher or Persian Dagger of which we have given you the Portraiture as of all the rest so that there needs not any farther description For the infinite number of Precious Stones would not permit the sight to judge of the Materials of the Sheath tho there is no question to be made but that it was of Gold Now to tell you the worth of these three last Pieces for as to the first it may be easily computed is a Task which I dare not undertake because I could never understand any thing of certainty in that concern True it is that I have heard a Lord of the Court aver that as well the Crown as the Sword and Dagger were valued at above a hundred thousand Tomans which amount to near five Millions of our French Money But I would not advise any person to believe it For I know the Persians too well and particularly the Courtiers of that Country for there is no People in the world less friends to Truth and who take so much pleasure to multiply Objects or to enhance the Grandeur and Magnificence of their Prince However it is not altogether improbable what they say for I have seen one of his Majesties Heron-Tufts of
divulging a secret that would have been the ruine of his own and his Uncle's Family At length the General of the Slaves asham'd of having put off the young Lord so many times and now being run to the end of his Rope as one that had no more Excuses to make he resolv'd to break off at once with the Vazier that he might deliver himself from his importunate Sollicitor To this purpose one Evening at the time that he was ready to go to his Prayers and from thence to Court for 't is the Custom of the Mahumetans to say their Prayers in Publick perceiving the young Lord at a distance advancing toward him he took that opportunity when there was a great number of People and several persons of Quality to hear him at what time as soon as the young Lord came near him fetching a deep sigh and lifting up his Eyes and Arms to Heaven Good God said he what shall I do with this man he pursues me every where like a Criminal he will not give me time to say my Prayers he haunts me going into my Haram among my Women I find him at my heels whereever I go prithee Friend what wouldst have me do to satisfie thee Am I King of Persia to create thy Uncle Prime Minister of State Prethee go to his Majesty the business does not lie in my Power You may easily judge what a Thunder Clap this was to the young Lord he would not for ten times the Sum that he had provok'd those Expressions from a man so ill principl'd he repented with all his heart that he had press'd him so close but 't was too late for Ibrahim's Plot was thereby discover'd and all the Court that knew him rightly believ'd 't would cost his Ambition sauce as indeed it fell out By a Quirk of the same nature the General of the Slaves had already formerly hook'd out of the Nazir or Lord Treasurer's Pocket three hundred Tomans which make a thousand pound at the time that the Court return'd to Ispahan To which purpose the cunning Fox went to him at his house all in a heat and after he had drawn him aside Sir said he I come to assure you that your Head which the practice of your Enemies had endanger'd is now secure The King at first began to listen to their Calumnies so that had not I interpos'd for your safety the King was resolv'd neither to have sent you the Habit nor the Patent Royal. The General of the Musquetteers was he that did you the most prejudice which caus'd a Quarrel between us I suppose you will acknowledge the kindness we have done you The same Prank he plaid Mirza Moumen that is Lord without Blot the Nazir or Superintendant of the Stables who was drawn in by him for about nine thousand pounds by making him believe that he had protected him against Potent Accusers who sought to bring him under his Majesties displeasure But that was not all for that he was resolv'd to imploy his Credit with his Master as to raise him from being Treasurer of the Stables to be Treasurer of the Kings Demeans in the room of Mac-Soud-Bec who undeservedly enjoy'd the Employment and whose head already totter'd upon his shoulders for that the King was resolv'd that none of those should live who had oppos'd his Advancement to the Throne Upon his Departure also that he might leave some marks behind him of his malicious Cunning he resolv'd to set the King 's two Chief Eunuchs who are petty Kings in the Palace together by the ears to the mutual perdition of each other that is the Mehther or Lord Chamberlain and the Aga Moubarek or Overseer of the Queen Mothers Houshold To that purpose he went to the High Chamberlain to tell him as a secret of great Importance and which the Friendship he had for him oblig'd him to reveal that Aga Moubarek took all opportunities to slander and accuse him to the King but that his wickedness fell upon his own head for that he had often heard his Majesty say that he could no longer endure the Backbiting Tongue and Malignity of that person that he was resolv'd to have put him to death and had done it already had it not been for some remainder of kindness he has for him for the service he did him at his Fathers death stopt his displeasure At the same time he went to Aga Moubarek and told him also the very same Story of the Chamberlains Inveteracy against him So that the two Eunuchs foster'd for some time a secret and implacable hatred one against the other both expecting when the effects of the Princes Anger would break out to the ruine of his Enemy according as the General of the Slaves had fed their hopes But the time being elaps'd and nothing hapning of what they were made believe they began to doubt the truth of what he had inform'd ' em And therefore knowing the Author of the Story to be a great forger of Lies they resolv'd to find out the truth The Mehther or High Chamberlain was the first that discover'd it For being saluted one day with the usual Complements the Great Chamberlain coldly repli'd There 's a Tongue that coldly salutes my Ears but stabs me to the heart and then drawing him aside What unkindness said he have I done you that you should go about to procure my death by rendring me odious to the Prince as you do every day all my comfort is you will not be so successful in your enterprize as you think for Aga Moubarek finding thereby a Gate opened for discovery 'T is not for you said he but for me to complain For is it not you that have been continually pealing in the Kings Ears such and such stories concerning me which had been enough to have taken away my life had his Majesty given credit to your Tales but thanks be to God they were not believ'd The two Eunuchs were so strangely surpriz'd to find themselves upbraided with the same unkindnesses that they began to compare their accusations of each other with which they were charg'd and that Examination at last discover'd that it was but a Romance tho a pernicious Romance which the General of the Slaves had compos'd to set those two Lords together by the Ears and to make his advantage of their quarrelling Nevertheless seeing the dark contrivance had not succeeded altogether they dissembl'd their resentment at present and said nothing resolving to wait for an opportunity of Revenge which they vow'd should never escape 'em whenever it offer'd it self These Eunuchs are very ready at these kind of dark Contrivances there being no people in the World that know how to carry on a private Revenge by close and covert means and then give fire to the Mine of a sudden so well as they do nor did they fail to pay this crafty Deceiver in his own Coin For it is thought that they were the persons who mainly contributed to his disgrace and death