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
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
me enquire of the People of the Country whether that Mountain was wont to cast forth fire but I could meet with no body that ever saw or heard of any such thing But this is a publick Caution to all men For they tell ye that they who desire to ascend that Mountain never come back and it is reported that Abas the Great one day sent a Foot-Boy up with a Cresset Light upon his Shoulders but that the Light presently went out and the Fellow never appear'd more This Mountain lies upon the left hand as you go to Com. To which City as we drew near we saw on every side the little Mausoleums and Mosques where the Grand-Children and Descendants of Aly lie interr'd The Persians call the first Descendants from this Califfe Yman Zade or Sons of the Apostles and these are the Persian Saints of which there are an infinite number buried in this Kingdom for they reckon four hundred Sepulchers about Com. We made this City the end of our Journey at ten a Clock at night and I was afraid I should have ended my Life there too by an Accident altogether unexpected For I alighted at the Door of the Caravanseray and held my Horse by the Bridle expecting my Groom to come and take him and what time another led Horse perceiving me at his Tail up with his hind Legs and with all his force yerk'd with his Heels at my Breast so that had I been never so little farther from him he had broken my Bones I confess I did not fall for I was supported by my Horses head but for a quarter of an hour I was almost stifl'd not being able to fetch my Breath God in his Mercy took Comparsion of me so that I escap'd the fury of the Blow tho I felt it six weeks afterwards yet not so but that I could go about my Business as I was wont KOM KOM The Tombs of the two last KINGS OF PERSIA And here I shall give you the Platform of that Celebrated Mosque so much talk'd of over all the East It has four Courts belonging to it as you may perceive by the Draught The first is planted with Trees and Flowers like a Garden being a long Square having an Alley in the middle which is separated from the Beds and Plots by a Balustrade There are also two Terrasses an each side running the full length of the Garden three foot high Upon each side of which there are twenty Chambers vaulted nine foot square one Chimney and a Portico At the Entrance into this Court upon the left hand there 's one of these deep Cellars and upon the right hand an Aviary It is a place design'd for Recreation For it is moreover encompass'd with a Canall of clear water that runs out of one Fountain at the Entrance and empties it self into another at the end Ten Disticks in Letters of Gold over the Top of the Portal compose the Inscription of this Mausoleum of which the Translation is as follows The Date of the Portal of the Tomb of the most Venerable and Pure Virgin of Com upon whom be Salvation In the time of the happy Reign of Abas the Second the Support of the World to whom increase of days This Gate was open'd in the face of the People Whoever casts up his Eyes looseth the Idea of Paradise Who has ever cross'd her Courts whose Aspect rejoyces Hearts has not pass'd 'em swiftly like the wind Masoom Vicar to the Great Pontiff whose sage Counsels teach the Sun to govern his Motion caus'd this Portal to be made by one of his Substitutes Aga Mourad the Height and Excellency of which surpasses the Celestial Throne This is the Entrance into the Palace Royal of the thrice Venerable pure Virgin descended from the House of the Prophet Haypy and Glorious that faithful Person that shall prostrate his head upon the Threshold of this Gate in Imitation of the Sun and Moon Whatever he shall demand with Faith from above this Gate shall be like an Arrow that hits the Mark that is to say shall answer his Desires Certainly Fortune shall never molest the Enterprises of him who for the Love of God rais'd this Portal in the Face of the People O thou Faithful if thou demand'st in what Year this Portal was built I answer thee from above the Portal from Desire demand thy Desires To understand this last Distich you must understand that whereas in our Alphabet there are but seven Numeral Letters or which serve instead of a Cipher as V. for five X. for ten L. for fifty c. The Alphabet in the Oriental Languages stands for Arithmetical Numbers and so for a knack of Wit which indeed requires a quick Fancy they denote the Year of any thing by words that have some resemblance to the Thing done and are compos'd of Letters which according to their arithmetical Value make up just the Year of their Epoche and the Letters of this word make 1061. Year Of which I shall produce another Example The deceas'd King of Persia caus'd a Tent to be made that cost one hundred and fifty Thousand Pounds It was call'd the House of Gold because there was nothing but Gold that glister'd in every part of it I shall give you the Description of it in another place It may be easily conjectur'd that it was a sumptuous and costly Piece as well by the Price that it cost as by the number of Camels which were requir'd to carry it that were in all 280. The Anti-chamber was made of Velvet with a Ground of Gold Of which the Cornish was embellish'd with Verses that concluded in this manner If thou demandest at what time the Throne of this Second Salomon was built I will tell thee Behold the Throne of the Second Salomon where the Letters of the last words being tak'n for Ciphers make 1057. Years Which is look'd upon as meer Gibbrish in our Language but among the Orientals passes for Wit and Ornament The second Court is not so beautiful as the first but the third is nothing inferiour to it It is surrounded with Apartments every one containing two Stories a Terrass a Portico and a Canal in like manner as the former Four large Trees stand at each Corner and cover it with their Boughs Out of this third Court you enter into the fourth by a Marble Ascent consisting of twelve Steps The Portal which is at the Top is a most magnificent Piece It is cover'd below with white Marble transparent like to Porphiry or Aggat The top of it which is a large half Duomo is painted with Moresco Work of Or and Azure laid on very thick In this fourth Court are also Chambers both at the lower end and on both sides with Terrasses and Portico's like the other three Those are the Lodgings for the Priests the Governors and Students that live upon the Revenues of that sacred Place Fronting these Courts stands the Body of the Structure consisting of three great
to see himself prevented and therefore he was no less importunate to have his and therefore to the end he might be admitted to kiss the Kings Feet he took the same way and method which the Dutch Embassadour had done for indeed there was no other way and had therefore the same success For two days after being accompanied with his Second in the Factory about Nine of the Clock in the Morning he was introduced by the General of the Musquetteers to make his Obeysance to the King his Interpreter and his Collegue coming behind him After the usual Ceremonies he presented the Prince with two hundred half Guineys according to the self-interested Custom of the East where the Kings stiling themselves Gods Lieutenants forbid all People to appear in their Presence without an Offering Presently he sate down by the Command of the Prince and by his Interpreter and in the behalf of the English Nation and Company wished him a long and flourishing Reign Afterwards he made a short rehearsal of the great Services which the English Nation had done the Kings of Persia his Ancestors of Immortal memory For which reason those Triumphant Monarchs had always favoured the English Nation more than any other Nation of Europe of which he was assured his Majesty was well informed for which reason he hoped that his Majesty would continue the same favours to the English Nation and grant them a Confirmation of all the Treaties and Priviledges which had been granted formerly to the English To which the King returned the same answer which he had done to the Dutch Envoy Mr. Agent is my Guest and all the English Nation are most dear to me Whatever my Predecessours of Glorious Memory have granted to your Company I shall also confirm And if you have any thing farther to request of Me for the advantage of your Nation you may confidently propose it and it shall be decreed if reasonable To which the Agent and his Second returned their humble Thanks as well for their Master as themselves beseeching his Majesty to accept of their Services To which his Majesty condescended with a Nod of his Head which was also a sign of his taking Leave which they also took making their Obeysances after their own manner Now in regard they were beholden to the General of the Musquetteers for this favourable Audience in regard the King did nothing without his Advice therefore they sent their Interpreter in the Evening to give him thanks for the favour he had procured them in acknowledgment whereof they made him a Present of a Rich Jewel and thirty Ducats of Gold The same day the Meehmandar-Bachi or Chief of those that attend upon the Kings Guests or Strangers of Quality who is as it were a Grand Master of the Ceremonies came to wait upon the King dispatched from the Grandees of the Kingdom to give his Majesty notice that they came forward making easie Journeys with the Body of the deceased King and the whole Body of the Court in his time That to prevent the People from suspecting any thing of Fatal they had given out that the King was with his Wives and would not therefore shew himself that nevertheless the Rumour of his Death began to fly abroad which however could not now be much prejudicial seeing that his Majesty had taken the Government of the Kingdom into his own hands that as yet they preserved all things in the same condition they were in before and expected with submission what Orders his Majesty would be pleased to send for their future proceeding Together with this Deputy there came an Eunuch also sent by Hamzeh-Mirza the Kings Brother to salute his Majesty in the name of the young Prince to throw himself at his Feet to beg his favour and to supplicate him by all that was Sacred in the Mahumetan Law not to put out his Eyes That he would be pleased to shut up him as close as he thought fit that he would take from him whatever he pleased but that for the Law of God he would leave him his sight that he might not be incapable of applying himself to his Studies wherein he resolved to spend his whole Life The King kept the Eunuch with himself reserving the answer to the young Prince's request till he should be brought to Court But he returned an Answer the same day to the Letter which the Master of the Ceremonies brought which was composed in the form of a Command and contained the following Instructions 1. That the King approved what had been done from the Fatal Moment of the King his Fathers death 2. That they should make all the hast they could to him without disturbing the Order of Affairs leaving all things in the same condition wherein they were 3. That they should take care to cause the Body of his deceased Father of high and Immortal Memory whose place is in Paradise to be carried to the City of Kom under the charge of Mirzah-Maassoum and that at the same time they should send away three other Coffins like that wherein they had put the King under as good a Convoy one to Metched another to Ardevil and the third to Kachan For the better understanding the reason of which Command the Reader is to know that the Persians are strangely superstitious about the Burial of their Kings For fearing lest by some Magical Art any Enchantments should be practised upon their Bodies to the prejudice of their Children they conceal as much as in them lies the real Place of Interment To this end they send to several Places several Coffins of Lead with others of Wood which they call Taboat and bury all alike with the same Magnificence In this manner they delude the Curiosity of the People who cannot discern by the outside in which of the Coffins the real body should be Not but it might be discovered by such as would put themselves to the expence and trouble of doing it And thus it shall be related in the Life of Habas the Great that twelve of these Coffins were conveyed to twelve of the principal Mosques not for the sake of their Riches but of the Person which they enclosed and yet no body knew in which of the twelve the Kings Body was laid tho the common Belief is that it was deposited at Ardevil It is also said in the Life of Sefiè I. That there were three Coffins carried to three several Places as if there had been a Triple Production from one Body tho it were a thing almost certainly known that the Coffin where the Body was laid was carried to this same City of Kom and to the same Place where the deceased King commanded the Body of his deceased Father to be carried It is a very beautiful City and for its Antiquity gives way to none of the rest as being thought to be the Guriana of the Ancients It is seated in the Province of Arak-agem or Parthia upon the Frontiers of Media She prides her self as one