The New atlas, or, Travels and voyages in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, thro' the most renowned parts of the world ... performed by an English gentleman, in nine years travel and voyages, more exact than ever.

CHAP. XIV. The King of Persia an Absolute Monarch; of the Great Officers of his Court, and other Matters.

THE King of Persia has an Absolute or Despo∣tical Power over his Subjects, and anciently, the Kings were in a manner adored by their People: He meddles in matters of Religion, as well as in Se∣cular Affairs, and they begin not their Festivals till they have obtained his leave to keep them; and sometimes, though the Moon has appeared, he sets them back, notwithstanding it is their great Feast of Ramadan. His Subjects give him great Reverence and Respect, and scarcely look upon him but with Trembling, paying an implicit Obedience to his Orders. If they swear by his Head, the Oath is more binding to them, than when they swear by the Deity; and without consulting the Law, he is the Arbitrary Judge of their Lives and Fortunes, appointing such Rewards and Punishments as he shall think fit, without controul: And if the great∣est Officer of the Court falls under the King's dis∣pleasure, all his Friends forsake him, none daring to own him, or subsist him with necessaries, so that he puts to Death whom he pleases, and the nearest Relations of the party are constrained to seem pleas∣ed with his Injustice; nay, sometimes the Sons are commanded to cut off their Fathers Noses, or to kill them, which order they readily obey. These Kings are so jealous of being deposed, by reason of their great Tyranny, that they cause the Males of all

their Female Kindred, to be shut up in a Stone Trough, as soon as Born, and there starved to Death. So soon as a King comes to the Crown, he puts out the Eyes of all his Male Relations, except Sons. He sometimes changes Wives with his No∣bles, giving them his instead of theirs, and it is not murmured at, especially in publick; and if he likes not his Bargain, will exchange again at pleasure.

He has a Seraglio of very beautiful Women, who are kept mighty strict, for he is exceeding jealous of them, and it is Death with extream tortures, for any Man, except Eunuches, to be seen there; nay, they are prohibited to look on them, though they are Vailed; and when he takes any of them into the Country with him, no Men dare be in the way; and in the Town where he lodges in his Progress, all the Men are obliged to leave their Houses, till the Harum, or Lady is departed; the Eunuches to give them Notice, by crying the Courouk, and if any stay after, they are severely punished: Some∣times there is a Courouk for Provision, and then none dares sell any therein mentioned, but for the King's use, and this frequently lasts not above a Week or two. Many times the King lays aside the stifness of Majesty, and is familiar with his Subjects, and Strangers, Drinking and Eating with them in private, but it is dangerous speaking amiss, least he falls into a Passion to the Party's destruction, and therefore the least said proves always the best; for many have been put to Death for their prating and adviseing him, which the Franks getting Drunk will often attempt to do, when they see him so familiar with them.

The King gives Audience to Ambassadors, but transacts no business with them, for that is left to the Ministers of State, and is well pleased if they drink lustily with him, and he has a Remembrancer to tell him the next Day, all that he says or does when he is Drunk, for then, many times, he gives away Prodigally, as his Rings from his Fingers, and large possessions, but if he finds it an over-sight, or

too great a value for the Person, he recalls it again, and requites the Person with some little Present. He has an Eatmad-Doulet to transact for him, as his chief Minister, who usually attends his Person. He has always great store of Gold in Plate, and a vast Treasure in Jewels; for the Nobles present him in their Order, every Spring, with one rich thing or other, and he possesses the Treasures and Estates of those he puts to Death, unless he pleases to give it to their Relations; besides, the Silks are a Royal Manufactury, and he has great Incomes from them.

The Forces of the Kingdom consists in three Bands, or Bodies of Men, viz. the Corschi, the Goulams, and the Teufencgi, the first of these are descended of Turks, and Inhabit the Country, liv∣ing in Tents, for the most part, and are able to make a great Body; there are about 25000 of them con∣stantly in the King's Pay, having from ten to fifteen Tomans a Year; their General must be of their Body, and is called Corschi-Bassa, who executes the King's Commands in putting any great Man to Death, for they will not suffer the Native Persians to do it. Their chief Riches consist in Cattle, which they drive from place to place, and feed in the vast Plains and Mountains.

The second Rank of Soldiers are Slaves of ma∣ny Nations, but chiefly Georgians, and about 14000 of them are in the King's Pay, and have from 5 to 8 Tomans a Year; their General is called Koul∣ler Agasi.

Those of the third Rank are such as are raised in the Villages, mostly Armenian Renegadoes, and are about 8000, having equal Pay with the last menti∣oned; these are of little regard though they March on Horseback, for in the Battle they alight and Fight on Foot; the other two Bodies Fight on Horseback, with Bows, Arrows and Harquibuses.

Besides these, there is a new Militia of Guards that bear Muskets, but these rarely go into the Field, unless the King be there in Person. As for the Court-Officers,

The Eatmad Doulet is as the Visier Basha in Turkey, next to him is the Sedre, who manages matters of Religion, and has divers under him; these makes all Contracts, Testaments, and other publick Deeds, Judges of Divorces, &c. As for the Sedre, he is the High Priest of their Law; there are particularly under him a Scheick of the Law, and a Cidi, or Judge, and these are Established in the Principal Towns of Persia, and are nominated by the King, and only depend upon him.

The Pichnamaz is an Officer in every Mosque, and in the King's Houshold he directs the Prayers, and makes the People say as he does, and use the same Jestures, always standing before them, that they may not see him; there are as many of these in Persia as there are Mosques, and they bear a consi∣derable Authority. The Mulas are of the same Tribe, living on the Ecclesiastical Revenues, and their Business is to Teach the Sciences and Law, being properly the Persian Doctors, wearing relute Turbans. The Nuzar is the Wardrobe Keeper, and Master of the Jewels, and is a kind of a Trea∣surer. The Melitar is the chief Gentleman of the King's Bed-Chamber, and carrys a Pouch by his side full of Hancarchiefs, which he presents to him as often as he requires them.

The Deroga is Judge of Criminal Matters, of the second degree, as Robbery, Quarels, and the like; and under him are the Aatas, or Constables: There are a great number of other Officers of lesser Note, whose Names and Offices, for Brevities sake, I am constrained to pass over.

They Hunt the Antelopes with Panthers, brought up to that purpose; this Beast creeps on its Belly till it comes near the Game, then runs with main force and leaps at it; but if the Panther misses at two or three leaps, he pursues no further, but re∣turns creeping back as ashamed of his being Baffled. They Hawk much in this Country, and the Faul∣cons brought from Muscovy are of great Value; they bring them up to fly at the Antelope, by feeding

them on the Nose of a dead Antelope; then flying at the living ones, they fasten on his Nose, and pierce him with their Beaks and Tallents, flutter∣ing so with their Wings, that blinding his sight, he stops, and the Dogs coming up easily, takes him. The King keeps for his Pleasure a great many Lyons, Elephants, Leopards and Tygars.

To Encourage Christians to turn Mahometans, they have a Law that gives them the Estates of their Christian Kindred when they dye, though they be in the first Degree of Kindred, and the Deceased leaves Children; but the Judges for Money have found out a way to invade it, by causing them to make it over to some Mahometan Friend by Testa∣ment, who possess it in trust for the Widow and Children.

They have an odd way to make Women confess their Crimes, viz. they tye their hands behind them, and then put large live Rats into their Drawers next their Flesh, which runing up and down, and pinch∣ing them, extort Confessions from them; for of all Creatures in the World, the Rat is most terrible and frightful to them. As for the Men to bring them to a Confession of their Guilt, their flesh is pulled off with Pinchers from their Legs, Arms and Thighs.

When the Sun is Eclipsed, they run to their Mosques, and say a Prayer made for that purpose, imploring God to avert heavy Judgments from them, and not to leave them in Darkness; at the Eclips of the Moon, they beat their Kettle and Brass Pans, making a Hedious din, perswading themselves they help her so in her Labour to expell the Darkness, which upon the going off of the Eclipse, her mo∣tion makes her seem to strugle with.

When a House is on Fire, they let it burn out, sa∣ving however what Goods they can, saying, Provi∣dence will stop it of it self when it sees sit; yet they freely permit others, who are not of their Religion, to endeavour the Extinction of the Flames.

They hold Christians so impure, that if they have touched any Food in the Market, and they know it, they will not buy it; and if one comes in∣to a Bagnio, the Master of it is obliged to wash it a∣gain before the Persians will enter; yet they own Christ shall come at the last Day, and be Mahomet's Lieutenant, and then all shall embrace the Mahome∣tan Profession, for then Mahomet will take a Wife, and have a numerous Issue. They hold Marriage in so great Veneration, that they blame him because he never was Married. They keep their Feasts a Day before the Turks, for the Turks begin not their Bairam, or Easter, till they see the Moon, and the Persians do it according to the Moon's course, being more knowing in the Celestial Sciences. The Per∣sian Kings are the more Reverenc'd, because they are held to be of the Race of Aly, Mahomet's Successor. The Persians are divided into two Sects, one called Schiai, the other Sunni; the first think it enough to follow the Commands of the Law; but the other do that, and likewise observe Councils.

At their Little Bairam they Sacrifice a Camel in Ispahan, the King first strikes it with a Javellin, and then the People from the four Quarters of the City Assemble in a tumultuous manner, and hew the poor Beast to pieces, with Swords, Axes, Glaves, and the like, every one striving to get a part of him, so that it often comes to a quarrel, and many are killed; the pieces they get they broil and Eat, ac∣counting it Sacred Meat. In other Cities they kill an Ox in like manner, and in their Houses many Sheep, which they distribute to the Poor.

In their Creed they have an odd imagination con∣cerning Man's dying: They hold that every one must come and die in the place where the Angel took the Earth on which he has been formed, ima∣gining that one of the Celestial Spirits has the care committed to him, of forming the Human Creature, by mingling a little Dust with the Seed of the Pa∣rents.

They allow liberty of Conscience to all Stran∣gers, and there are at Ispahan, a great many Jews, Banians, Guebres, and Armenians, who pursue their several Tenents. They have a great many Horses, Mules, and Camels, at all Seasons, and though these things are here set down, many of the Parti∣culars may serve in General for all Persia; and there∣fore, having been detained in this City too long, I fear, from the intended Travels, I now take my leave of it, to proceed on my Journey.