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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13064-0.txt b/13064-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..238c3db --- /dev/null +++ b/13064-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4064 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13064 *** + +PERSIA REVISITED + +[Illustration: H.I.M. Nasr-ed-Din, The Late Shah, +on the steps of the Peacock Throne] + + * * * * * + +PERSIA REVISITED + +(1895) + +_WITH REMARKS ON +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, +AND THE PRESENT SITUATION IN PERSIA_ + +(1896) + +BY + +GENERAL SIR THOMAS EDWARD GORDON + +K.C.I.E., C.B., C.S.I. + +_Formerly Military Attaché and Oriental Secretary to +Her Majesty's Legation at Tehran._ + +Author of 'The Roof of the World' + +ILLUSTRATED + + * * * * * + + + + +PREFACE + + +On revisiting Tehran last autumn, I was struck with the evidence of +progress and improvement in Persia, and on returning home I formed the +idea of publishing a short account of my journey, with observations and +opinions which are based on my previous experiences, and have reference +also to what has been recorded by others. In carrying out this idea, I +have made use of information given in the well-known books on Persia by +Malcolm, Fraser, Watson and Curzon. + +'Persia Revisited,' as first written, comprised up to Chapter VI. of the +book; but just as I had finished it for publication, the sad news of the +assassination of the Shah, Nasr-ed-Din, was received. I then saw that my +book, to be complete, should touch on the present situation in Persia, +and accordingly I added two chapters which deal with the new Shah and +his brothers, and the Sadr Azem and the succession. + +The illustrations are from photographs by M. Sevragine of Tehran, with +the exception of the likeness of H.I.M. the Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din, and +that of H.H. Ali Asghar Khan, Sadr Azem, which latter, by Messrs. W. and +D. Downey, of Ebury Street, London, is published by their kind +permission. + +T.E. GORDON. + +_May, 1896._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Régie +--Moulla opposition + + +CHAPTER II. + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The Customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long-distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar-dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah + + + * * * * * + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +H.I.M. NASR-ED-DIN, THE LATE SHAH, ON THE +STEPS OF THE PEACOCK THRONE + +FEMALE PIPE-BEARER OF THE ANDERUN + +PERSIAN LADY AT HOME + +ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN + +THE PRESENT SHAH (WHEN VALI-AHD) ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE + +PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES + +A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN + +A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN + +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH + +H.H. ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR-AZEM + + + * * * * * + + +INSCRIPTION ON THE SEAL OF THE LATE SHAH, SHOWN ON +THE COVER. + +'_El Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan. +El Sultan, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar_.' + +'_The King, Son of the King, Son of the King, Son of the King. +The King, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar line_.' + + + * * * * * + + +PERSIA REVISITED + +CHAPTER I. + + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Régie +--Moulla opposition. + + +The Persians, as a people still nomadic in their habits, and much given +to long pilgrimages, have good knowledge of the ways and means of making +a journey pleasant. Their saying, '_Avval rafîk, baad tarîk_' (First a +companion, then the road), is one which most travellers can fully +appreciate. Accordingly, when planning a trip in the autumn of 1895 to +the Land of Iran, I cast about for a companion, and was fortunate enough +to meet with two friends, both going that way, and who, moreover, like +myself, had previously journeyed in Persia. + +We decided to take the Odessa route to Batoum, and we went by Berlin, +Oderberg, and Lemberg. At Odessa we found that a less expensive, and +more comfortable, though perhaps half a day longer route, lies by +Warsaw. On that line there are fewer changes, and only one Customs +examination, whereas by, Oderberg there are two examinations, Austrian +and Russian. Moreover, through tickets are issued _viâ_ Warsaw, a +convenience not provided _viâ_ Oderberg--fresh tickets and re-booking of +luggage being necessary there, and again both at Pod Voloczyska and +Voloczyska, on the Austrian and Russian frontiers. We came in for a +crowded train of first-class passengers going from the Vienna direction +to Jalta, a favourite seaside place in the Crimea, which has two +fashionable seasons--spring and autumn. These people were making for the +accelerated mail-steamer, which leaves Odessa for Batoum every Wednesday +during the summer service, touching at Sebastopol, Jalta, and +Novorossisk. We were making for the same steamer, and found crowded +cabins. The mass of luggage to be examined at Voloczyska caused much +confusion and delay, and it was only by discreetly managed appeals to +the working staff that we were able to push our way and pass on, +without anything being left behind. There appeared to be orders for very +special examination of books and papers at Voloczyska, and these were +carried out in a foolishly perfunctory manner. In my luggage, the man +who searched passed over a bulky tourist writing-case, but carried off +to a superior a Continental Bradshaw, a blank notebook, and a packet of +useful paper, notwithstanding my open show of their innocence. The man +soon returned with another official, who smiled at the mistake, and good +naturedly helped to close up my baggage. + +We began our journey well by a rapid run to Odessa, arriving there on +the day of departure of the fast boat, and landing at Batoum in six and +a half days from London. The steamers on this service are about 2,500 +tons, 2,400 horse-power, with large accommodation for passengers. The +cabins are comfortable, and the saloons excellent and well served, and +all are lit with the electric light. These boats are, I believe, +Tyne-built. They are broad of beam, and behave well in bad weather. +Novorossisk is a growing great port, situated in a very pretty bay. It +has lately been joined by railway to the main trunk line connecting with +Moscow, and passing through Rostov. This connection enables it to +attract considerable trade from the Don and the Volga, and also to take +much from Rostov and Taganrog, when the Azov approaches are closed with +ice. A very fine sea-wall, to give effectual protection to the railway +loading-piers, and the shipping generally, is now being completed at a +total cost of £850,000. Novorossisk is said to have the biggest +'elevator' in the world. The scenery all along the coast, from the +Crimea to Batoum, is very fine, and in autumn the voyage is most +enjoyable. + +We left Batoum on the night of the day of our arrival. The departure of +the through train to Baku had been changed from morning to night, and +this allowed of travelling by day over that part of the line which +before used to be passed at night. We had previously seen Tiflis, and +therefore did not break our journey. The weather was warm, but not such +as to cause discomfort. As we approached Tiflis the carriages and +buffets became crowded to excess, with townspeople returning from +Saturday-to-Monday holiday, the fine weather having enticed them out to +various places along the line. The railway-carriages on the Batoum-Baku +line are very comfortable, and the refreshment-rooms are frequent and +well provided, so travelling there is made easy and pleasant. The +journey occupies thirty-two hours. + +We reached Baku on September 16, the ninth day from London, and arranged +to leave for Enzelli, on the Persian coast, the port for Tehran, at +midnight the next day. Through the kindness of a member of the Greek +house of Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., we were shown over the oil-wells +and refineries belonging to M. Taghioff, a millionaire of Persian origin +(the name probably was Taghi Khan). The story goes that, on becoming +wealthy through the oil industry in its early days, he presented the +young township with a church, school-house, and hospital, and, in +recognition of his generous public spirit, the Government gave him a +grant of the waste land on which his works now stand, and out of which +millions of roubles have come to him from oil-springs. Our visit had the +appearance of bringing him luck in the form of a new fountain rush. We +had seen all the works and wells; none of the latter were flowing, and +the usual steam-pumping was going on. We were about to leave, when a +commotion at the wells attracted our attention, and we saw the dark +fluid spouting up from two to three hundred feet through the open top of +the high-peaked wooden roof erected over each of the wells. On hurrying +back, we saw the great iron cap, which is swung vertically when the pump +is working, lowered and fixed at some height over the mouth of the well, +to drive the outward flow down into the hollow all round and out into +the ditch leading to the reservoirs. The force of the gush was shown by +the roar of the dash against the iron cap, and the upward rush had the +appearance of a solid quivering column. The flow was calculated at fifty +thousand gallons an hour. The business of refining is generally in the +hands of others than the producers; but some of the larger +firms--notably the Rothschilds, Nobel Brothers, and Taghioff--are both +producers and refiners. This means of course, the employment of very, +much larger capital. + +There is a great dash of the gambling element in the oil-well business +at Baku. Large sums are spent in boring operations, and success so +often stands off that all available capital is sunk in the ground and +swallowed up. Even with good signs, it is impossible to foresee the +results or the extent of production, and there is also an extraordinary +irregularity in the outcome of the separate naphtha-bearing plots. An +instance was mentioned to me of a peasant proprietor who had made enough +money on which to live sumptuously, but he hungered for more, and +engaged in further boring operations. He was on the verge of losing +everything, when oil was suddenly struck, and he made a fortune. He +laboured hard himself, and literally went to sleep a poor working man, +and awoke to find his dream of riches realized. + +Baku has been immensely improved in every way of late, and now has good +streets, hotels, and shops. Water, which was a great want before, is +well supplied from condensers which belong to the town. The rise in the +value of house property and building sites within the last ten years has +been enormous, and great part of the money thus made has gone to native +owners, Persians (or Tartars, as all Mohammedans are called here), and I +was told of a plot of building ground with a small house on it, which +had been originally bought for 600 roubles, being lately sold for +30,000. The town is growing in size, and new buildings are rising, which +give an appearance of prosperity and increasing trade. The harbour is +crowded with steamers and sailing vessels, and the wharfs present a busy +sight. The loading and unloading is quickly done by steam-cranes and +powerful porters, who come in numbers from the Persian districts of +Khalkhal and Ardabil. I watched with much interest a gang of these men +at work. They were wonderfully quick, quiet, and methodical in their +ways, and showed great capacity for handling and carrying heavy weights. + +Baku swarms with Persians, resident and migratory. They are seen +everywhere--as shopkeepers, mechanics, masons, carpenters, coachmen, +carters, and labourers, all in a bustle of business, so different from +Persians, at home. Climate or want of confidence produces indolence +there, but here and elsewhere out of Persia they show themselves to be +active, energetic, and very intelligent. They are in great numbers at +all the censes of trade in the adjoining countries--at Constantinople, +Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Tiflis, Askhabad, and other towns. Most of +the new buildings in Tiflis were built by Persians, and thousands were +engaged in the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway. The permanent +workmen now employed on it are largely Persians, and Askhabad has a +resident population of over twelve thousand. There were said to be +twenty thousand Persians, from the provinces of Azerbaijan and Hamadan, +working last summer on the new railway from Tiflis to Alexandropol and +Kars, now being built, and doubtless many of them will permanently +settle on the line. + +It is said that there are half a million thus located and working out of +Persia, but I think that this is an exaggerated estimate. Most of them +retain their nationality, for while they grumble loudly in their own +country, yet when away they swear by it, and save money steadily to +enable them to return home. Their nomadic character is the cause of this +readiness to seek employment abroad. I was told that in 1894-95 twenty +thousand Persian passports were issued from the Embassy in +Constantinople. This would include pilgrims as well as home visitors. +It is this love of country (not in the sense, however, of patriotism as +understood in the West) which makes a Persian cling to his national +representative abroad, and willingly pay for frequent registration as a +subject who is entitled to protection and permission to return home +whenever he may choose. As a rule, the Persian abroad always appears in +the distinctive national dress--the tall black lambskin cap and the coat +with ample skirt of many pleats. + +I have mentioned the Persian porters who are seen at Baku; they are also +to be found at Petrovsk and Astrachan, and are generally preferred to +the local labourers, who, in common with their class in Russia, take a +long drink once a week, often unfitting them for their work the +following day. The Persians are of sober habits, and can be relied upon +for regular attendance at the wharfs and loading-stages. They have +learnt, however, to take an occasional taste of the _rakivodka_ spirit, +and when reminded that they are Mohammedans, say that the indulgence was +prohibited when no one worked hard. These porters are men of powerful +physique, and display very great strength in bearing separate burdens; +but they cannot work together and make a joint effort to raise heavy +loads, beyond the power of one man. Singly, they are able to lift and +carry eighteen poods, Russian weight, equal to six hundred and +forty-eight pounds English. + +In the newspaper correspondence on the burning Armenian Question, I have +seen allusion made to the poor physique of the Armenian people; but as +far as my observation goes in Persia, Russian Armenia, and the Caucasus, +there is no marked difference between them and the local races, and on +the railway between Baku and Tiflis Armenian porters of powerful form +are common, where contract labour rates attract men stronger than their +fellows. + +Though much of the wealth which has come out of the Baku oil-fields has +been carried away by foreign capitalists, yet much remains with the +inhabitants, and the investment of this has promoted trade in the +Caspian provinces, and multiplied the shipping. There are now between +one hundred and eighty and two hundred steamers on the Caspian, besides +a large number of sailing craft of considerable size, in which German +and Swedish, as well as Armenian and Tartar-Persian, capital is +employed. The Volga Steam Navigation Company is divided into two +companies--one for the river, and the other for the Caspian. The latter +owns six large steamers, with cargo capacity of from sixty to eighty +thousand poods, liquid measurement, for oil-tank purposes, equalling +nine hundred to twelve hundred tons. They have German under-officers, +and Russian captains. It is likely that the German officers come from +the German colonies on the Volga, and probably some of the capital also +comes from that quarter. This Volga Steam Navigation Company was +established over fifty years ago by a Scotchman, named Anderson, and +some of the vessels first built are still used on the river as +cargo-boats. + +Many of the best steamers on the Caspian are officered by Swedes and +Finns, most of whom speak English, acquired whilst serving in English +ships sailing to all parts of the globe. The Mercury Company, which runs +the superior steamers and carries the mails on the Caspian, has Swedish +and Finn officers, but it is said that they are now to be replaced by +Russian naval officers as vacancies occur. This company's vessels are +well appointed, have good cabins, and are fitted with the electric +light. But the best of Caspian mail-boats are most uncomfortable in +rough weather for all but those whom no motion whatever can affect. +Owing to the shoal water on all the coast circumference of this sea, the +big boats are necessarily keelless, and may be described as but great +barges with engines, and when at anchor in a rolling sea their movement +is terribly disturbing. + +We embarked in the _Admiral Korneiloff_, one of the Mercury Company's +best boats, on the night of September 17, and arrived at Enzelli on the +morning of the 19th. I was amused on the voyage to hear the sailors' +version of the story how the Caspian became a Russian sea, on which no +armed Persian vessel can sail. The sovereignty of this Persian sea was +ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the sailors say +that on the Shah being pressed over and over again to consent, and +desiring to find some good excuse to do so, a courtier, seeing the royal +inclination, remarked that Persia suffered sorely from salt soil and +water, which made land barren, and that sea-water was of no use for +irrigation, nor any other good purpose. The Shah on this asked if it +were really true that the water of the Caspian was salt, and on being +assured that it was, he said the Russians might have the whole of it. + +We found an improvement at Enzelli in the form of a hotel kept by a +Greek, with accommodation good enough to be very welcome. We had +excellent fresh salmon at breakfast, which reminded me of the doubt that +has often been expressed of the true salmon being found in an inland +sea. The Caspian fish is a genuine salmon of the same habits as the +marine species known in Europe, with the one sad exception that it will +not look at nor touch fly or bait in any form or shape, and therefore +gives no sport for the rod. The trout in the upper waters of the streams +that the salmon run up, take the fly freely and give good sport, but all +attempts by keen and clever fishermen to hook a salmon have failed. The +fish are largely netted, and same are sent to Tehran packed in ice, +while a good business is done in salting what cannot be sold fresh. The +existence of salmon in this inland salt sea, which lies eighty-four feet +below the level of the ocean, is supposed to be due to its connection +with the open sea having been cut off by a great upheaval in the +prehistoric time. + +After breakfast we were confronted with a functionary new to us in +Persia, one charged with the demand for passports and their examination. +He is prepared to provide passports for those arriving without them, and +to _visé_ when this has not been previously done. Considering the +practice in force with Persia's near neighbour, and the crowd of +deck-passengers always coming and going, it was not likely that this +formality as a source of income would fail to be adopted. The linguistic +educational qualification for the post is evidently confined to Russian, +for on finding that I spoke Persian, the officer asked me for the +information he pretended to seek from the English passports. He +acknowledged the farce he was called upon to play, and we proceeded +without any farther inquiry. The day was warm, but not oppressively so; +the sea-breeze helped the boat across the lagoon and up the Pir-i-Bazaar +stream, and the weather being dry, we reached Resht in carriages By the +Mobarakabad route, without the splashing plunging through a sea of mud +which is the general disagreeable experience of the main road. + +The Enzelli Lagoon is a swarming haunt of numerous kinds of wild-fowl +and fishing birds. Conspicuous among the waders in the shallows and on +the shore are the pelican and the stork. The place is a paradise to +them, teeming with fish and frog food. One of my companions described +what he had witnessed in a struggle with a wounded stork in the shallow +water of this lagoon. He and a friend were out after wild-duck, and his +friend, desiring to bag a giant stork, which looked splendid in his +strongly contrasted pure white and deep black plumage, fired, and +wounded the bird. His Persian servant, with thoughts intent on cooking +it, ran, knife in hand, to cut its throat in the orthodox manner, so as +to make it lawful for a Mohammedan to eat. The bird, on being seized, +struggled hard with its captor, and, snapping its elongated bill widely +in wild terror, by accident got the man's head jammed between its +mandibles. The keen cutting edges of the long strong beak scarified the +man's cheeks, and made him scream with pain and with frantic fear that +it was _his_ throat which was being cut. His master went to his +assistance and released him by wrenching open the stork's bill, but he +was so occupied with supporting his swooning servant that time was given +for the wounded stork to hurry away in safety, flapping its long wings +and snapping its powerful beak, as is the habit of this voiceless bird, +with all the appearance of triumph. + +Enzelli is becoming the port of entry, for the North of Persia, of tea +from India and China. Till within a very short time most of the tea for +Persia, Trans-Caspia, and Russian Turkistan so far as Samarkand, passed +up from Bombay by the Persian Gulf ports. The late reduction in Russian +railway charges, and the low sea-freights from the East in the +oil-steamers returning to Batoum, have brought about this change. +Arrangements have been made for transit to Baku of Russian-owned tea +consigned to Persia on special terms of Customs drawback, and it is now +sold cheaper in Resht than in Baku, where it has a heavy duty added to +the price. The thin muslin-like manufactures of India, in demand in +Central Asia for wear in the hot dry summer, and which found their way +there from the Persian Gulf, are now following the same route as the +tea. Thus, steam and waterway are competing still more with the camel, +to make the longest way round the shortest one in point of time, and the +cheapest to the customers' homes. + +As with tea, so Russian beet-sugar is cheaper at Enzelli-Resht than at +Baku, owing to the State bounty on export. The consumption of tea and +sugar, already large in Persia, is certain to increase in the North +through this development of Russian trade. French beet-sugar continues +to compete by way of Trebizond to Tabriz, but if the experiment now +being tried of manufacturing sugar in the vicinity of Tehran from beet +succeeds, the Persians will benefit further by competition. + +The Russian trade in Persia is mostly in the hands of Armenians, some of +whom have amassed considerable wealth. It is only in the West that the +Jew is regarded as the sample of superior sharpness in the walks of life +that call for the exercise of the qualities most necessary in the +operation of getting the better of one's neighbour. In the East both the +Greek and the Armenian are ahead of him in this respect, and the popular +saying is, 'One Greek equals two Jews, and one Armenian equals two +Greeks.' But, to the credit of the Armenian traders, it should be said +that they are bold and enterprising in a newly-opened country, as well +as clever in an old one. It may be here mentioned that there is no +opening in Persia for the native Jew; he is there refused the facilities +which lead to wealth, and is strictly confined to the poorest +occupations. It is not unlikely that the severe treatment of the Jews in +Persia has its origin in the hatred inspired by the conduct of +Saad-u-Dowleh, a Jewish physician, who rose to the position of Supreme +Vazir under the King Arghoun Khan, in 1284. This Minister owed his +advancement to his pleasing manners and agreeable conversation, and he +gained such an ascendancy over his weak royal master as to be allowed to +remove all Mohammedans from places of trust and profit, and even to +carry his persecution to the length of commanding that no one professing +that faith should appear at Court. The Eastern Christians were then much +more prominent and numerous than they afterwards became, and +Saad-u-Dowleh sank his people's dislike of the Nazarene in his greater +hate of the Mohammedan, so that he employed the former to replace the +followers of the Arabian Prophet whom he dismissed from office and +banished from Court. The penalty of death was exacted for this +persecution, for Saad-u-Dowleh was murdered almost at the same instant +that his sovereign master expired. + +The silk trade of Resht, which has suffered so much for many years from +the disease that attacked the silkworms in the Caspian provinces, and +spread to all the Persian silk districts, is now recovering. The +introduction of cellular seed has been attended with much success, and +there is a rapidly-increasing export of cocoons. The fresh start in this +old industry has given an impetus to mulberry-tree cultivation, and +waste land is in considerable demand for planting purposes. + +An attempt is now being made to grow tea on the low hills near Batoum. +It is not yet known what may be the ultimate chances of success, but +already what is being done there is having the effect of suggesting a +similar experiment near Resht. The conditions of the soil on many of the +wooded hill-slopes in the Persian Caspian provinces, where every +gradation of climate and atmosphere can be met with, appear to be well +adapted for the tea-plant. The cart-road to Kasvin, now being +constructed by a Russian company, will pass through some of these +well-favoured parts, and this will help to draw attention to natural +resources which have hitherto been unnoticed. + +As old Persian travellers, we were at once reminded of our return to the +land of complimentary address and extravagant phrase by the frequent +reply '_Chashm_' (My eye!), the simple slang expression known in our +country, and which 'Trilby' has made better known by its introduction on +the stage. The word is an abbreviation of '_Ba sar o chashm'_ (By my +head and eyes! May my eyes be put out, and my head taken off, if I obey +not!). We also heard the similar but less formal reply _Chira_? +Why?--meaning, why not? why should I not do as you desire? i.e. you will +be obeyed. + +We travelled to Kasvin, halfway to Tehran, over the execrable road which +leads from Resht. For the first forty miles the landscape was lovely +from wooded slopes, green growth and clear running water. The +post-houses are just as they were--ill-provided, and affording the very +smallest degree of comfort that it is possible for a 'rest-house' to +give. They had been in some way improved for the reception of General +Prince Karaupatkin, and his suite, who visited Tehran to announce to the +Shah the accession of H.I.M. Nicolas II.; but no effort to maintain the +improvement had been made, except in one place--Menzil. The _on dit_ in +Tehran was, that the successful launching of the Russian cart-road +enterprise, now fairly well in hand, is entirely due to Prince +Karaupatkin's strong representation on his return to St. Petersburg. He +is said to have taken the opportunity of telling the Shah, in answer as +to his journey up, that he was greatly surprised to find the road +leading to the capital such a very bad one; whereupon his Majesty +remarked that the blame lay with his own countrymen, who, after begging +for a monopoly concession to construct a good road, had held on to it +and done nothing, and they had the right, so long as the contract time +allowed, to prevent others from making the road. The Russian press, +which interested itself in the matter, pointed out that what was wanted +to give an impetus to their trade in North Persia was good roads, not +bounties, and it may be that the interest which is believed to be +guaranteed by the Government on the road capital will take the place of +trade bounties. The money subscribed is sufficient to provide a +solidly-built road, and the idea is that it will be aligned so as to be +fit for railway purposes in the future. The existing cart-road from +Kasvin to Tehran is but a track, lined out fairly straight over a level +bit of high-lying country, with a few bridges over small streams. The +distance, ninety-five miles, is comfortably covered in fourteen to +eighteen hours in carriages drawn by three horses. The nature of the +ground makes this road a good fair-weather one, and as the Russian +company has rented it from the Persian concessionnaire, we may expect to +hear of considerable improvements, so as to encourage an increase of the +Persian waggon traffic which already exists on it. The completion of a +system of quick communication between the Russian Caspian Sea base and +the capital of Persia must attract the practical attention of all who +are interested in Persian affairs. + +Many of the Moullas, in their character as meddlers, are always ready to +step forward in opposition to all matters and measures in which they +have not been consulted and conciliated. So the Russian road from Resht +was pronounced to be a subject for public agitation by the Tabriz +Mujtahid, Mirza Javad Agha, who, since his successful contest over the +Tobacco Régie, has claimed to be one of the most important personages in +Persia. This priest is very rich, and is said to be personally +interested in trade and 'wheat corners' at Tabriz, and as he saw that +the new road was likely to draw away some of the Tabriz traffic, he set +himself the task of stirring up the Moullas of Resht to resent, on +religious grounds, the extended intrusion of Europeans into their town. +The pretence of zeal in the cause was poor, because the Resht Moullas +are themselves interested in local prosperity, and the agitation failed. + +A change is coming over the country in regard to popular feeling towards +priestly interference in personal and secular affairs. The claim to have +control of the concerns of all men may now be said to be but the first +flush of the fiery zeal of divinity students, fresh from the red-hot +teachings of bigoted Moulla masters, who regret the loss of their old +supremacy, and view with alarm the spread of Liberalism, which seems now +to be establishing itself in Persia. + +The unfortunate episode of the Tobacco Régie in 1891 gave the Moullas a +chance to assert themselves, and they promptly seized the opportunity to +champion a popular cause of discontent, and the pity of it was that the +enterprise which raised the disturbance was English. This tobacco +monopoly had been pictured as a business certain to produce great gains, +and the people were thus prepared for the reports which were spread of +high prices to be charged on what they regard as almost a necessary of +life. The conditions of the country were not fully studied before the +monopoly powers were put in force. A suggestion was made that the +company's operations should be confined at first to the foreign export, +which would have returned a good profit, and that afterwards a beginning +should be made at Tehran, to prove to the people that the monopoly would +really give them better tobacco, and not raise prices, which the company +claimed would be the result of their system. But everything was planned +on an extensive scale, and so were prospective profits. The picture of a +rapid road to fortune had been exhibited, and it was therefore decided +that the full right of monopoly should be established at once. An +imprudent beginning was made in exercising the right of search in a +manner which alarmed some people for the privacy of their homes, a +dangerous suggestion in a Mohammedan community. + +The suspicions and fears of all--buyers, sellers, and smokers--were +easily worked upon by the priests, ever ready to assert the supremacy of +the Church over the State. And then the biggest 'strike' I know of took +place. Mirza Hassan, the High-Priest of Kerbela, the most sacred shrine +of the Shiah Mohammedans, declared tobacco in Persia to be 'unlawful' to +the true believer, and everyone--man, woman, and child--was forbidden to +sell or smoke it. The 'strike' took place on a gigantic scale, a million +or two certainly being engaged in it, and steps were taken to see the +order from Kerbela carried out rigorously. 'Vigilance men,' under the +Moullas' directions, made raids on suspected tea-shops, to find and +smash the 'kalian' pipes which form part of the stock-in-trade of +these places of refreshment. The Shah was faced with the sight of silent +and forsaken tea-shops as he passed through the streets of Tehran, and +he saw the signs of the censuring strike in the rows of empty benches, +on which his subjects used to sit at their simple enjoyment of pipes and +tea. The interdiction reached the inner homes of all, and even in the +_anderuns_ and boudoirs of the highest (all of which are smoking-rooms) +it was rigidly obeyed. The priestly prohibition penetrated to the +palaces, and royalty found authority set at defiance in this matter. A +princely personage, a non-smoker, is said to have long urged and +entreated a harem favourite, too deeply devoted to tobacco, to moderate +her indulgence in it, but to no effect. On the strike being ordered, she +at once joined it, and his Highness is reported to have said, 'My +entreaties were in vain, my bribes of jewels were refused, yet the +priest prevails.' And this was at a place where not long before Moullas +had been at a discount. + +[Illustration: PIPE BEARER IN A PERSIAN ANDERUN] + +There are now signs of the people resenting the arrogant assumption or +power by the Moullas, and freeing themselves from their thraldom. There +has always been great liberty of opinion and speech in Persia, and six +hundred years ago the poets Khayyam and Hafiz took full advantage of +this in expressing their contempt for the 'meddling Moullas.' Not very +long ago the donkey-boys in one of the great towns would on occasion +reflect the popular feeling by the shout '_Br-r-r-o akhoond!_' (Go on, +priest!) when they saw a Moulla pattering along on his riding donkey. +_Biro_ is Persian for 'go on,' and, rolled and rattled out long and +loud, is the cry when droves of load-carrying donkeys are driven. The +donkey-boy in Persia is as quick with bold reply as he is in Egypt and +elsewhere. There is a story that a high Persian official called out to a +boy, whose gang of burden-bearing donkeys obstructed his carriage, 'Out +of the way, ass, you driver of asses!' and was promptly answered, 'You +are an ass yourself, though a driver of men!' + +As a finish to this reference to the Tobacco Régie in Persia, I may +mention it is believed that, had the company started as ordinary +traders, they, having the command of ready money, would have succeeded +well. The commencement made in the centres of tobacco cultivation +impressed the peasant producers most favourably; they appreciated the +advantages of cash payments, and regretted the cessation of the system, +and the governors benefited by the readiness with which the taxes were +paid. But the explanation of monopoly, a word which was then unknown in +Persia, raised the fears of the people, and those who had the money to +spare laid in a supply of tobacco before the concession came into force. +This was regarded by the poor as proof of the coming rise in price, and +they therefore hailed the Moullas as their deliverers from the +threatened calamity of dear tobacco. + +The only public debt of Persia is that of a loan contracted in order to +pay the compensation for cancelment of this concession, and the expenses +which had been incurred; but the sale by the Government of the foreign +export (part of the cancelled concession) very nearly provides for the +loan. The Société de 'Tombac' of Constantinople, which bought the +monopoly of export, has had difficulties to contend with, caused by a +Persian combination to buy from the cultivators and sell to the foreign +agents. A prominent Moulla was named as interested in this business, +which was in reality at direct variance with the principles on which the +priesthood had declared the original concession to be 'unlawful.' This +interference with the free trade conditions existing when the +Constantinople company made its contract led to a dispute, which ended +with a fresh agreement, in which there is said to be a stipulation that, +should the Persian Tobacco Régie in its original form be revived at any +time, French subjects are to have the first offer. + +After disposing of the Tobacco Régie, the triumphant Moullas desired to +extend their prohibition to all foreign enterprise in Persia, and they +pronounced against the English Bank, which was doing its work quietly, +and without detriment to the business of others. But the Shah gave them +clearly to understand that their pretensions would be permitted no +further, and that they were to cease from troubling. They then made an +attempt to establish the impression of their power in a visible sign on +all men, by commanding discontinuance of the Persian fashion of shaving +the chin, so that the beard should be worn in accordance with Mohammedan +custom. Again they talked of organizing coercion gangs, to enforce the +order on the barbers, under threat of wrecking their shops. At this time +a foreign diplomat, during an audience of the Shah, on being asked by +his Majesty, according to his wont, what news there was in the European +quarter of the town, mentioned this latest phase of Moulla agitation as +tending to unsettle men's minds. The Shah passed his hand lightly over +his shaven chin, and said, with a touch of humour and royal assurance: +'See, I shave; let them talk; they can do nothing.' + +It is wrong to suppose that the people of Persia are dead to all desire +for progress, and that their religion is a bar to such desire. It is not +so. Many of the Moullas, it is true, are opposed to education and +progress. One frankly said of the people in reference to education, +'They will read the Koran for themselves, and what will be left for us +to do?' The country is advancing in general improvement, slowly, but yet +moving forward; not standing still or sliding back, as some say. The +Moulla struggles in 1891-92 to gain the upper hand produced a feeling of +unquiet, and the most was made of all grievances, so as to fan the +flames of discontent. Pestilent priests paraded the country, and did +their utmost to excite religious fanaticism against the Government. +These agitators spoke so loudly and rashly that the ire of the old +religious leaders, the higher Moullas, men of learning and tranquil +temper, who had not joined the party of retrogression, was roused. The +knowledge of this emboldened the sober-minded to speak out against the +arrogance and conceit of the new self-elected leaders. Open expression +of opinion led to the criticism, 'These priests will next desire to rule +over us.' The Nomads, who have always declined to be priest-ridden, also +showed that they were ready to resist any attempts to establish a +religious supremacy in temporal affairs; and then, by judicious +management of rival jealousies and conflicting interests, the Shah +succeeded in his policy of complete assertion of the royal power. It may +be that the Moullas were made to understand that, just as the Chief +Priest had risen at a great assembly before Nadir Shah, and advised him +to confine himself to temporal affairs, and not to interfere in matters +of religion, so similar sound advice in the reverse order was given for +their guidance. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +Nasr-ed-din Shah was the two hundred and fifty-fourth Sovereign who had +successively ascended the throne of Persia. He succeeded his father, +Mahomed Shah, on September 10, 1848, and would have entered on his +jubilee, the fiftieth year of his reign, according to the Mohammedan +calendar, on May 6, 1896, had not his life been suddenly cut short by a +dastardly assassin on Friday, May 1. This was, I think, the longest +reign of any Persian monarch that can be ascertained with historical +accuracy, except that of Shah Tamasp, who died A.D. 1576, after +occupying the throne for fifty-three years; but this credits him with +having begun his reign at the age of ten years. Nasr-ed-Din Shah +ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. Up to the last his Majesty +was remarkable as retaining all his physical and mental energies; his +health was excellent, due no doubt to his love of nomadic life and its +simple habits. He was passionately fond of the chase, and passed much of +his time in the saddle. It might well be said of him, as of the ancient +Persian monarchs, that the royal edicts were written 'at the stirrup of +the King,' for his Ministers had to follow him into the camp and the +hunting-field, and this prevented his Court becoming lapped in luxury. +Large tracts were preserved for him for ibex and moufflon on the +mountains, and antelope on the plains, and the hawking of duck or +partridge on by-days. This nomadic life, with its hunting habits, +encouraged the pleasant, easy manner which attracted his subjects and +commanded their confidence. He was an energetic worker, and had full +knowledge of all home and foreign affairs. He was superior to all palace +intrigues, if any existed, and his Ministers were rarely changed. The +long continuance in office of his councillors added to the feeling of +public security which his own strong personality had given to the +country. + +In appearance Nasr-ed-Din Shah was little changed since 1889, when his +figure was a well-known one in Europe. He showed the same alertness of +step, brightness of look and manner, and smartness of dress, which +distinguished him then. In his Court he was a striking figure, in marked +contrast to those about him, for it must be confessed that all in +attendance showed some neglect of appearance which compared unfavourably +with the _tout ensemble_ of their Sovereign. This may possibly have been +a subtle form of flattery, so that the Shah alone might catch the eye +and be the 'observed of all observers'--'le Roi-Soleil'--of the land of +the Lion and the Sun. + +No one probably saw more clearly than the Shah that the system of +farming out the administration of the provinces from year to year is +bad, both for the Treasury and the people; but he knew well that reform, +to be sure and certain, must be slow and gradual, for change in Persia, +with its ancient traditions and old memories, cannot be effected at one +stroke. He had done much to mitigate the evil of the present system by +establishing telegraphic communication with all the centres of +provincial government, thus placing himself in close touch with his +subjects, even in the most remote parts. Gradually the confidence which +began in his near neighbourhood had extended throughout the country, and +there was a firm belief in the minds of the people that the Shah could +be approached by all. But it can well be imagined that it takes a +desperate case to induce those who are oppressed in distant places to +have recourse to such a public mode of communicating grievances as the +telegraph. Yet the telegraph is so employed at times, the senders of the +telegrams giving their names openly, and confidently awaiting the +result. + +The Persian Telegraph Department has a peculiar importance in being the +secret agency by which the Shah is served with an independent and +reliable daily report of all that goes on throughout the country. The +system of direct reports of the conduct of governors, by special +resident officials, which was established in the days of Darius the +King, has developed into the present secret service daily telegrams. +Nominations to all the telegraph appointments are made by the Minister +in charge of the department, who bears the appropriate title of +Mukbir-i-Dowleh (Intelligencer of the State). + +An instance of the power exercised through this system occurred within +my personal knowledge a few years ago. A local dignitary in a distant +province fell under the frown of the Prince Governor, who, actuated by +greed, imposed on him a heavy fine for an imaginary offence. The fine +was not paid, on which a charge of contumacy was made, and this was +punished by the cruel bastinado and imprisonment. The Telegraph-master, +notwithstanding the fact of the Governor being a near relative of the +late Shah, reported the circumstance in all its details. The telegraph +enabled the Shah to make his presence felt in distant places, as well as +his power, for he was in the habit of occasionally summoning a Governor +to the office at the other end of the wire, to hear his commands spoken +on the spot. In this instance the Shah, after personal inquiry, ordered +the release of the prisoner, and on being informed some days later that +this had not been done, the Telegraph-master was directed to take the +telegraphic royal command to the prison, and see it instantly obeyed. +The official carried out his instructions, and the guards at once set +the prisoner free. + +The system of farming out the provinces gives rise to much grumbling, +which perhaps, on close examination, may be found to be without full +reason. The real cause of complaint is the absence of fair fixed +taxation demands. Every village has to pay a tithe of its annual value +to the State, and previous to collection the place is visited by one of +the provincial officials, and the fullest details of the circumstances +of each family are ascertained. The limit of the official robbery which +follows is the ability to pay, as measured by the patience of the +sufferers. The peasantry are peaceful, frugal, and easily governed, but +there is a point beyond which they cannot be pressed without risk of +making them turn on the oppressor. They have now learnt the strength of +the defence they possess in the power of making their grievances known. +No doubt the provincial levy of taxation charges doubles the State +tithe, one-half of the whole amount being taken by the Governor and the +officials; but all this does not mean more than one-fifth of the village +income, for the general assessment was made before the existing +improvement in the circumstances of the cultivators had taken place more +or less all over the country. There was then little demand for products +which are now exported and paid for in gold, thus giving a high price in +the silver currency of the country. After the provincial taxation, there +are local charges, which may possibly add a further 2 or 3 per cent, to +the total amount. Formerly insecurity and want of confidence confined +cultivation and stock-breeding to the barest limits, but it is evident +now that the inhabitants can look to enjoy the fruits of their labour, +and they are extending their fields of exertion. On the whole, it may be +said that the peasantry and labouring classes in Persia are fairly well +off, and I think their condition can bear a favourable comparison with +that of the same classes in other countries. + +In the course of my journeying in Persia, I generally found excellent +quarters in the village houses. The rather mean outer appearance of the +dwellings conveys the idea of poor accommodation within, but the reality +is a pleasing disclosure of plain but well-carpeted rooms, with dados of +matting or felt for the backs of the sitters by the wall. I always +looked out for village lodgings when travelling off the main roads, and +in wintry weather they were very comfortable from their open well-built +clay fireplaces giving out heat without the nuisance of smoke. On these +occasions I had ample opportunity to observe the every-day life of the +people, and I was struck with much which showed that their manners and +ways had been favourably touched and turned by a softening civilization +of old date. I also there saw clear evidence of the origin of the +Eastern shoe question, a matter which has often given rise to warm +discussion in Persia and India; I allude to the removal of shoes on +entering the inner rooms of a house. In India it is taken to imply +inferiority, and since the establishment of British supremacy the custom +has never been complied with by a European except in cases of personal +employment in a native State. I remember an instance in point when a +sergeant piper of a Highland regiment took service with one of the +Punjab Sikh chiefs, to instruct a bagpipe band which the Rajah had +formed in admiration of Scottish Highland music. In the contract paper +which set forth in detail the duties, pay, and allowances of the +instructor, the sergeant expressly stipulated that he should not be +required to remove his shoes on entering the Rajah's room when a +European was present. The origin of the custom of removing the shoes was +clearly to avoid soiling the carpets in the house or tent, on which the +inmates sat, ate, and slept. + +Felts and rush-mats, no doubt, formed the first floor-coverings for +tents and houses; but as arts and manufactures grew in Central Asia, the +pastoral tribes, with whom, there being little or no agricultural work +for the women and children, the woollen industries began, introduced +carpets with coloured designs, many of the patterns of which are known +to be of very old date, and still remain in the hands of certain +families as their own carefully-guarded secrets and property. These +carpets then became their pictures, framed in felt side-strips, on which +people sat, slept, and transacted business. At meals the centre is +covered with a cloth, on which the dishes are placed; and I think the +carpet is regarded similarly as a well-polished dining-table was in the +West in olden days, when the cloth was removed at the end of the +courses. At other times it may be supposed that the pretty carpets are +their pictures on the floor, just as ours are on the wall; in fact, many +carpets of old design are so lovely and delicate that they are hung on +the walls of European residents' houses in Persia as being too good to +be trodden on. In the village houses the peasants always leave their +shoes at the inner doors, and when a man arrives in riding-boots, with +no intention of staying long, he complies with the object of the custom +by sitting on the edge of the carpet, or felt, and tucking his legs +underneath him, so that the feet may not touch or soil it. In this there +is no question of inferior and superior, for all are socially equal; it +is merely a matter of good manners and friendly feeling, just as +signified in the West by removal of the hat or cap. It would appear that +in the reception of Western Envoys at the Court of Persia it was +customary to change the boots or shoes for slippers, or to cover them +with these; but the practice was generally regarded as derogatory to +the dignity of the national representative, and sometimes became the +subject of strong protest and resentment. There is reason to believe +that the custom always cropped up with every Envoy as an annoying cause +of heated discussion and disagreeable feeling. On the occasion of the +reception of Mr. Anthony Jenkinson, Queen Elizabeth's Envoy at the Court +of Persia in 1561, this shoe question assumed an acute form; and when a +pair of the Shah's slippers was sent to him to be worn at the interview +with his Majesty, it is said that what was meant as attention was taken +for insult. The interview took place without the slippers being used, +and the meeting was not of a cordial character. + +But besides this shoe difficulty at the Court of Persia, there was also +a divergence of opinion regarding the lower garments, as the tight +knee-breeches and hose of the West were considered improper in the East, +and it is believed that the roomy Turkish _shâlwâr_ trousers were +required to be worn as 'overalls' to hide the legs on occasions of royal +audience. In connection with this phase of Eastern idea, an incident +happened with Sir Douglas Forsyth's diplomatic mission to the Amir of +Kashgar in 1873-74, which is worth mentioning here. The camp-sergeant +with the mission was Sergeant Rhind, of the 92nd Highlanders, and on the +Envoy and staff being received at Yarkand by the Governor of that +province, the second highest dignitary in the kingdom, it was understood +that, as he was most exacting in the full observance of all formalities, +much would depend upon his report of our demeanour, appearance, and +general conduct. This Governor kept quite a little Court, and we +accordingly paid our visit in all the show of a dress parade. Sergeant +Rhind attended in kilted uniform, and his appearance attracted +considerable shy and sly notice. Mahomed Yunis, the Governor, was a man +of severe ideas, and while pretending not to see the Highlander, who +stood behind us during the interview, he was reported to say after our +departure that his costume appeared to be incomplete. Some weeks +afterwards, on our reaching Kashgar, the capital in the North, and +preparing for the formal audience of the Sovereign, the famous Ataligh +Ghazi, the Court master of the ceremonies, appeared suddenly before the +appointed time, and announced most peremptorily that the sergeant was to +accompany us fully dressed. He explained that the kilt with bare knees +was objectionable, and could not be tolerated at the Ataligh's Court; so +the trews had to be substituted for the showy garb of old Gaul. The +indoor dress worn by Persian ladies is not unlike our Highland kilt. + +The shoe question was finally settled in a clause of the Turkmanchai +treaty of 1828, which is accepted by all the foreign legations. It +provides that goloshes or shoe-coverings shall be worn, to be removed +before entering the audience-room or going into the Shah's presence, and +this practice continues at the present time. The 'dragoman' +establishments are much more attached to old ideas than Turks and +Persians, and they cling to their presumed monopoly of knowledge of all +Court and social customs in order to enhance their importance. The +Persians move with the times, and understand Western modes of showing +respect; yet I heard it said by a local light that it was a breach of +good taste to salute the Shah by lifting the hat, and that it offended +Mohammedan notions of propriety to remove the head-covering in society. +Accordingly, I once saw some European gentlemen wearing their hats in +the reception-room of one of the Shah's Ministers; but on observing +others who were known to be well acquainted with Persian feeling +entering with hat in hand, they, who were under the guidance of a +'dragoman', adopted the European custom. In Fraser's 'Persia', we are +told that when Shah Abbas the Great received Sir Dodmore Cotton, +Ambassador from James I., his Majesty, 'being desirous of pleasing his +guests, drank to the health of the King of England. At the name of his +Sovereign the Ambassador stood up and took off his hat. Abbas smiled, +and likewise raised his turban in token of respect.' + +[Illustration: PERSIAN LADY AT HOME.] + +The farming system which is applied to the Customs in Persia continues +to cause considerable loss to the State. An extension of the same direct +control as is exercised in the Telegraph Department would show most +favourable results. Under the present short-sighted system the interests +of all the contractors lie in suppressing correct information and giving +misleading statistics, so that the annual bidding may be kept low. But +notwithstanding this, the truth leaks out to indicate that trade in +Persia is increasing. There are now signs of practical advice at +Tehran, to consider the establishment of a properly constituted Persian +control Board of Customs, by which a well-organized service, under the +central authority, may be maintained, and a considerable increase of +revenue secured. It may be said that all merchants in Persia benefit by +the farming system, for under it they can arrange to have their goods +passed on payment of a lump sum, and with but the merest show of +examination of invoices. In this manner they manage to get consignments +through the Customs at less than the fixed tariff. On a late rumour of a +foreign control of the Customs being likely, the Russian Armenian +merchants engaged in trade in the North frankly represented the fact of +arrangements being made with the authorities at the ports, to take less +than the treaty 5 per cent. on exports and imports, and they urged that +the custom was of such old date and long continuance as to make it a +fully recognised right. They stated that their trade was established on +this basis, and they protested against any change. There can be no doubt +that the same custom prevails in the South, and all along the frontier. +As the farming contracts are much subdivided, competition operates to +reduce rates, so as to induce change of trade routes. Thus, I heard of a +merchant in Central Persia, whose communications are with the South, +asking a contractor in the North for a quotation of his terms, so as to +make it advantageous for him to send his goods that way. In the matter +of contraband articles, the farming system lends itself to encourage the +passing of what the State forbids, as the middlemen and their servants +are tempted to make as much money as possible during the short time of +their annual contract engagements. In a country like Persia, where pride +of arms prevails to keep up the habit of carrying them, there is a +steady demand for modern breech-loading rifles. The Government is alive +to the necessity of preventing the importation of firearms, and from +time to time seizures are made of consignments smuggled under the guise +of merchandise. With a large nomad and semi-nomad population of warlike +and predatory instincts, almost every man of whom lays by money most +diligently, bit by bit, for the purchase of a breechloader and +cartridges, it is obvious that the interests of Government call for the +strongest check to the foreign trade in arms; but it may be taken for +granted that so long as the Customs are farmed out on the present system +the supply will be passed in to meet the demand. The favourite weapon is +the Martini-Henry, and there are many thousands in the possession of the +nomads and villagers. This rifle, as the Peabody-Martini, was first +introduced into the country during the late Turko-Russian War, when, +being the Turkish army weapon, it fell by thousands into the hands of +Russian soldiers, who sold them to the Persian sutlers and pedlars +allowed to accompany the troops. The Persians had shown their usual +energy and enterprise abroad by becoming camp-traders with the Russian +forces engaged on active service in Asia Minor, and they sent the +captured arms, which they purchased in large numbers, over the border +into Persia, where they fetched good prices. A profitable trade in +cartridges followed the introduction of the new rifle, and judging by +the well-filled belts and bandoliers which I saw on the North-western +frontier (Kurdistan and Azerbaijan), the business appears to be a well +established one. In the course of time and trade this rifle found its +way South to the fighting Bakhtiaris, Lurs, and Arabs, and the general +vote in its favour brought about a supply of 'trade' Martini-Henry arms +imported by way of the Persian Gulf, so that now in Persia what is known +as the 'Marteen' has become the popular arm in private possession. The +'Remington' has its possessors and admirers among the Karun Arab tribes, +who get their arms from Baghdad and Turkish sources. There is a brisk +trade in ammunition for the breechloader, and so keen is the desire to +secure and supplement the supply that solid-drawn brass cartridge-cases, +which admit of being used over and over again, with boxes of caps and +sets of reloading apparatus, are now in brisk demand. + +At Kasvin our eyes were refreshed with the sight of the +excellently-equipped Indo-European telegraph line, which comes in there +from Tabriz and the North, and passes on to Tehran and India. This line, +with its wires carried on tall iron standard posts stretching far in a +dominating manner over the country, seems to stand forth as a strong +witness to the effectual command and control exercised by the Shah's +Government at the present time. On the first establishment of this line +there was much conjecture as to the great risk of continued interruption +from the mischief of man; and failure to complete the land working at +the outset dissatisfied commercial men in England, so that to maintain +certain communication the Red Sea cable was laid. But new land lines +were erected which worked equally well as the cable, and the firm +insistence by the Persian Government on heavy damages for all malicious +injury gradually developed the perfect security which comes from local +interests demanding the fullest protection. The service by this line is +now as certain and quick as that of the ocean cable; in fact, I think +the average speed of messages between London and Calcutta is greater +_viâ_ Tehran than _viâ_ Suez. There was an interesting race last year +between the companies to communicate to India the result of the Derby, +and it was won in a way by the cable line. The messages were +simultaneously despatched from Epsom, that by Tehran reaching Bombay +five seconds before the other, but as the name of the winning horse only +was given correctly, Karachi, six hundred miles distant, had to be +asked for a repetition of the names of the second and third horses. The +cable telegram gave the three names accurately. Had Karachi been agreed +upon as the point of arrival for India, instead of Bombay, the +Indo-European would have won this telegraph race. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin. + + +The grape harvest was being gathered at Kasvin as we passed through. The +place is well known for its extensive vineyards and fine fruit-gardens. +Its golden grapes have a wide reputation, and these, with the white +species, also grown there, are in steady demand for wine manufacture, +which is carried on in the town, notwithstanding the greatly +disproportionate number of Moullas among the inhabitants. Large +quantities of the grapes are also sent to Tehran for wine purposes +there. Persia keeps up the character for strong wine which it had 600 +B.C., when the Scythian invaders took to it so eagerly as to establish +the saying, 'As drunk as a Scythian.' It was said that these +hard-headed, deep-drinking, wild warriors were always thirsting for +'another skinful,' and were ever ready to declare that the last was +always the best. Eighteen hundred years later, Hafiz, the merry poet, +sang aloud the praises of Shiraz wine, which to this day bears a high +reputation in Persia, a reputation which was royally good in the +traditional bygone time long before Cyrus, when it appears to have been +highly appreciated in the festivities of Glorious Jamshed, the founder +of Persepolis. The poet Omar Khayyam, in moralizing over the ruins of +the fallen splendour of that famous place, speaks in Fitzgerald's +'Rubaiyat': + + 'They say the lion and the lizard keep + The Court where Jamshed gloried and drank deep.' + +The Persian poet-historian Firdausi ascribes to Jamshed the discovery of +wine in his leisure from kingly duties and scientific pursuits, for to +him is attributed the invention of many useful arts, and the +introduction of the solar year for measurement of time, the first day of +which, when the sun enters Aries, he ordered to be celebrated by a +splendid festival. It is called Nauroz, or New Year's Day, and is still +the greatest festival in Persia. This single institution of former days, +under a different religion and system of measuring time, has triumphed +over the introduction of Mohammedanism, and is observed with as much joy +and festivity now as it was by the ancient inhabitants of Persia. + +According to Moulla Akbar's manuscripts, quoted in Malcolm's 'History of +Persia,' Jamshed was immoderately fond of grapes, and desired to +preserve some which were placed in a large vessel and lodged in a vault +for future use. When the vessel was opened, the grapes had fermented, +and their juice in this state was so acid that the King believed it must +be poisonous. He had some other vessels filled with the juice, and +'Poison' written upon each; these were placed in his room. It happened +that one of his favourite ladies was afflicted with nervous headaches, +the pain of which distracted her so much that she desired death, and +observing a vessel with 'Poison' written on it, she took it and +swallowed its contents. The wine, for such it had become, overpowered +the lady, who fell down in a sound sleep, and awoke much refreshed. +Delighted with the remedy, she repeated the doses so often that the +King's 'poison' was all drunk. He soon discovered this, and forced the +lady to confess what she had done. A quantity of wine was then made, and +Jamshed and all his Court drank of the new beverage, which, from the +circumstance that led to its discovery, is to this day known in Persia +as _zahr-i-khûsh_, or the pleasing poison. After that the manufacture of +wine became a regular industry, and spread from Shiraz, where it +originated. At the present time the process of manufacture is similar to +what it was then, in that the grape-juice is collected in large +Ali-Baba-like jars and buried in the ground. Alexander the Great is said +to have followed the festive example of his royal predecessor, and to +have drunk deep in the majestic halls of Persepolis. It has been +supposed by some that he caused the splendid palaces there to be set on +fire in a drunken freak. + +As a pendant to the story of a lady's discovery, in the time of Jamshed, +of wine as an efficacious cure for nervous headache, another is told +which ascribes to a lady the withdrawal of a royal decree against the +sale and use of wine. The Shah Hussein, on his accession to the throne +in 1694, displayed his religious zeal by forbidding the sale of wine, +and he ordered the destruction of all the stock of it that was in the +royal cellars at Ispahan. But his grandmother, by feigning herself ill, +and wholly dependent upon wine for cure, not only prevailed upon him to +revoke the decree, but also persuaded him to drink some in pure regard +to herself, with the result that he fell away from priestly influence +and became a tippler. Unfortunately for the nation, this grandmother's +guidance led Shah Hussein to ruin by wine and women, and dragged him +down to the deep degradation of surrendering Persia to the cruel tyranny +of the Afghan occupation. + +Wood being scarce in Persia, and poles, stakes, and sticks for upright +and lateral support not being easily procurable, the mode of culture of +the vine has come to be by planting in deep broad trenches, with high +sloping banks, up and over which the stems and branches run and fall. +The trenches are made to lie so as to allow of the bank-slopes having +the best exposure. This is the system followed on the flat, but in hilly +ground, by means of careful trimming and the assistance of piled stones, +the plants are made to develop strong standard stems, with bunchy, +bushy tops. I was particularly struck a few years ago with the neat, +well-tended vineyards at the village of Imâm-Zadeh-Ismail, in the hills +about forty miles north-west of Persepolis. Almost the whole of the +village lands were laid out in vineyards, well walled and beautifully +kept. The vines looked as if they were tended by those who understood +their culture well, and they appeared to thrive wonderfully on the light +soil of the place. Surprising energy had been shown in clearing the +ground, which was naturally stony; and there was abundant evidence of +much patient labour in the garden-like enclosures. Vineyards occupied +all the flat ground on which the village stood, and they extended up the +slopes. Hillside clearing was going on all around for further planting +of vines, which were seen to flourish there. Raisins are largely made +there, and I was told by my Kashkai conductor (for I was well off the +beaten track and required a guide), who seemed to know what he was +talking about, that the fresh grapes were used for wine, but not in the +village. The religious character of the chief inhabitants of the +village, who are sheikhs, and guardians of the Holy Shrine of the +mausoleum of the Imam-Zadeh-Ismail, which lies within its limits, +prevents the preparation there of the forbidden fermented juice of the +grape. The shrine is endowed with the village lands rent free, and all +these lands are devoted to vine cultivation. The vineyards at Shiraz +have been greatly extended of late years, and particular attention is +now paid to the cultivation of the Kholar grape, as the best suited for +wine. This grape takes its name from the village of Kholar, which is +within a few miles of the town. Tabriz, Hamadan, Isfahan, and Shiraz +produce the best wine in Persia. Red and white are made at all these +places; the white wine of Hamadan is a sort of strong sauterne, and some +of it has quite a delicate flavour; Isfahan produces a wine of a port +character, and the best shiraz is sometimes like new madeira. All these +wines resemble in strength those that are now made in Australia. +Something is wanting in the mode of manufacture to make the wine capable +of improvement with keeping, and also of bearing transport. The advent +of the Russian road will probably lead to the development of Kasvin's +large area of fruitful vines, and the success which has attended +vineyard industry at Derbend, on the Caspian, may encourage similar +enterprise there. + +As neither law nor custom forbids the manufacture of wine by +non-Mohammedans, the cultivation of the grape spreads, and the making of +wine increases. From this it may be inferred, as there is little export +of wine from Persia, that all the produce is not consumed by +non-Mohammedans. As a matter of fact, the religious law which forbids +wine to Mohammedans is not rigidly observed; in truth, they are not all +total abstainers, and the delightful poison, as chronicled by Moulla +Akbar, is known to be a convenient remedy for all manner of moods, ills, +and complaints, nervous, imaginary, and real. They have been described +as drinking well when they do break the religious law, for they have a +saying that 'there is as much sin in a glass as in a flagon.' The +Persians have never thoroughly accommodated themselves to the creed of +their Semitic conquerors; they show profound respect for the externals +of Mohammedanism, and are sincere in their practice of piety and the +obligations of religion and charity; but they have always indulged in +the fancies and ideas of the great school of free-thinking philosopher +Sofis, whose observance of the ordinances of severe and joyless life is +notedly lax. + +The weather was lovely as we journeyed over the Kasvin plain to Tehran, +towards the end of September. Autumn in the North of Persia is a +gloriously fine season, almost spring-like in many ways, and, indeed, it +is called there the 'second spring.' The landscape then, though nearly +barren of verdure, has a beauty of its own in warm soft colours, and the +atmospheric effects on the hills and distances, evening and morning, are +of wonderfully delicate tones and tints. The prominent feature in the +landscape near Tehran is the grand cone-shaped Mount Demavend, about +forty miles to the north-east, which shoots up 19,400 feet above +ocean-level, and overtops all the surrounding heights by 6,000 feet or +more. It stood out bold, cold, and clear against the blue sky, and +looked beautifully white with a fresh covering of new snow, and it was +more than usually distinct, from being clear of the cloud-crown it +usually wears. In the evening the massive peak presented a splendid +appearance, looking as in a white heat from the shine of the setting +sun, which, though lost to view below the horizon, yet lighted up the +old volcano. + +Demavend has long been asleep, but the great earthquakes of 1891, 1893 +and 1895 in Astrabad and Kuchan to the eastward, and Khalkhal in the +north-west, show that its underground fires are still alight. The scene +of the last is about one hundred miles north-east of the old volcanic +region of Afshar, remarkable for its remains of vast 'cinter' cones, +formed by the flowing geysers of long, long ago, and which were +shattered and scattered by some mighty explosion, when the great geysers +boiled up and burst their walls. Here is seen the Takht-i-Sulimân, a +ruined fort of very ancient date, which local tradition describes as one +of King Solomon's royal residences, shared by his Queen, Belghéiz (of +Sheba), whose summer throne is also shown on a mountain height above. +This ruin incloses a flowing geyser of tepid sea-green water, about 170 +feet deep, the temperature of which was 66° when I visited the place in +1892. Near it is the Zindân-i-Sulimân (Solomon's Dungeon), an extinct +geyser, 350 feet deep. It shows as a massive 'cinter' cone, 440 feet +high, standing prominently up in the plain. This district was visited +and fully described by the late Sir Henry Rawlinson, and a further +account of it has been given by Mr. Theodore Bent, who, with Mrs. Bent, +went there in 1889. + +The volcanic district of Afshar has long been known for its quicksilver, +which from time to time has been found in small quantities. Some seven +or eight hundred years ago Arab miners laboured long in their search for +the main cinnabar vein which undoubtedly lies hidden there, and their +wide workings in laying open a whole hillside, where signs of cinnabar +are still seen, show what great gangs of labourers they must have had at +their command. The Persian Mines Corporation in 1891-92 engaged in +operations at the same point, but, after considerable sinking of shafts +and driving of galleries into the heart of the hill, they decided to +cease work, being disappointed, like their Arab predecessors, in not +finding quickly what they had traced by clear signs up to its mountain +source. A few miles below the site of these cinnabar-mine operations +there are ancient gold-washing workings, and within thirty miles are +heavy veins of quartz. + +Tehran displays a marked advance in many of the resources of +civilization; houses of an improved style are springing up, the roadways +are better attended to, and there is a great increase in the number of +carriages. The Prime Minister's new house, near the British Legation, is +situated in beautiful gardens, set off with pretty lakelets and terraced +grounds, which give slopes for flowing waterfalls. These gardens, in +common with all in the town, are tenanted every year by nightingales of +sweet song. It is now proposed to enclose an adjoining available space +to form a people's park, which would be a great place of enjoyment in +summer to a people of poetic imagination like the Persians, who delight +in the green glade with the cool sound of flowing water. The severe +cholera epidemic of 1892 showed the absolute necessity of an improvement +in the rude sanitary system which then existed, and a beginning has been +made in the daily careful cleaning of the streets and removal of refuse. +But a better and increased water-supply is greatly needed for the town, +which is becoming larger every year. People who have money to spend +appear to be attracted more than ever to the capital. Those who before +were content with the provincial towns now build houses in Tehran. The +superior houses have garden-ground attached, and much tree-planting is +done. The demand for water increases, but the supply is not +supplemented. Years ago the utmost was made of the sources from which +water is drawn; no pains have been spared to extract every possible drop +of water from the heart of the hills within a considerable distance, and +to convey it undiminished by evaporation to the city. This is done by +underground channels called _kanats_, which are excavated with great +ingenuity and skill, and are marvels of industry. This system prevails +all over Persia, and existence as well as the fertility of the soil +mainly depends on the water-supply thus obtained. The sandy expanse +round Yezd in the desert of South-eastern Persia has been made literally +to blossom like the rose by means of these subterranean channels, some +of which are tunnelled for a distance of thirty miles. I was there in +spring-time, and was then able to see what a wonder-worker water is in +Persia. + +The pressing need of more water for Tehran has now drawn attention to +the proposals of some years ago for increasing the supply. One of these +was to divert to the south an affluent of the Upper Lar, which rises in +the Elburz range, and flows into the Caspian. It was seen that this +could be done by cutting a new channel and tunnelling from a point +sufficiently high, where the stream runs in an elevated valley between +the double ridge of the range. The work would have been similar, but +simpler, to what was completed last year in Madras, where the upper +Periyar stream was changed from a western to an eastern flow. The +execution of the Lar project would be easy, and it would not practically +affect the volume of water in the main stream, which receives many +tributaries below the proposed point of piercing the watershed. But the +Lar Valley was one of the Shah's summer retreats, and a favourite +pasture-ground for his brood mares and young stock. It is, moreover, a +popular resort of flock-owning nomads, and as the Shah's love of camp +life there led him to fear injury to the grassy plains and slopes of +his favourite highlands, the project was abandoned. + +There was another scheme to construct a series of reservoirs by means of +strong barriers at the foot of the lower ravines of the Elburz range, +eight miles north of Tehran, in which to keep the winter water which +comes from the melting snow. The whole mountain-chain is covered with +snow each year from top to bottom. In April and May the snow melts, and +the precious water flows away where it is not wanted. Were this water +stored, it would be made available in the succeeding hot months. The +sloping plain between the hills and the town is capable, with +irrigation, of great fertility, and the construction of these reservoirs +would prove a veritable gold-mine. + +The distribution of water is a most important part of village +administration in Persia. The work of cutting off and letting on water +with most exact observance of time-measurements is carried out by a +waterman called _mirab_ (lord of the water) whose office is hereditary, +subject, however, to the special judgment of popular opinion. The duties +demand a clear head and nimble foot, and the waterman, in hastening +from point to point, has to show all the alertness of a street +lamplighter. He has to keep a correct count of time, for water is +apportioned by the hour, and his memory for all the details of change, +sale, and transfer must be good and unchallenged. When he becomes too +old, or otherwise incapacitated for the performance of his work with the +necessary quickness, he avails himself of the assistance of a son or +someone whom he proposes with the village approval to bring up as his +successor. The old man is then to be seen going leisurely along the +water-courses which issue from the underground channels, accompanied by +his young deputy carrying the long-handled Persian spade, ready to run +and execute his orders. Disputes between village and village over +_kanat_ water-cuts form the subject of severe fights occasionally, and +the saying is that water and women are the main causes of village +quarrels in Persia. + +It was a hot day in June, and having been up before daylight so as to +start at earliest dawn and avoid the mid-day heat for my whole party, we +were all in the enjoyment of afternoon sleep, when the courtyard was +invaded by a shouting mob of excited villagers, calling on me to hear +their story and bear witness to their wounds. They said they were the +tenants of the landlord whose house I was occupying, and they begged me +as his guest to make a statement of their case, so that justice might be +done. There had been a dispute over an irrigation channel, and the +opposing side having mustered strong, they were overpowered by numbers +and badly beaten. Some of the hurts they had received were ugly to look +at, having been inflicted with the long-handled Persian spade, the +foot-flanges of which make it a dangerous weapon. After a patient +hearing, and getting some plaster and simple dressing for their cuts and +bruises, they went away satisfied. So much for water as a cause of +quarrel, but an instance of the other cause, woman, which had come under +my notice shortly before, was more seriously characteristic. It occurred +at Shamsabad, on the border of the Aberkoh Desert, between Yezd and +Shiraz. I halted there after the long night journey across the desert, +and immediately I was settled in my village quarters, the master of the +house in which I lodged asked me to look at the gunshot wounds of one +of his young men, and to prescribe and provide in any way I could +towards healing them. I asked if any bones were broken, saying that I +could do little or nothing in such a case. I was told that they were but +flesh wounds, and on the young man coming in, I was shown a ragged long +cut between the lower ribs, and a deepish wound in the fleshy part of +the leg, which had evidently been made by slugs or buckshot. I +prescribed careful cleansing, and the use of lint and lotion, and I gave +a supply of the necessary material. I asked how the thing had happened, +and the young fellow told me that he and his brother had been +treacherously attacked at a water-mill, whilst having the family grain +ground, by some Aberkoh youths, between whose family and his there was a +longstanding blood-feud; that they both had been shot at close quarters, +and his brother had died of his wounds two days before. + +The master of the house, who was also headman of the village, explained +that the blood-feud had been carried on for five generations, and had +originated in a 'little maid' who, being betrothed in their village, had +eloped with a young man of Aberkoh. The disappointed bridegroom had +afterwards taken his successful rival's life, and the deadly demand of a +life for a life had, in accordance with the law of revenge, been made +and exacted for the past five generations. He said the elders had hoped +the quarrel was nearly dead, as there had been long peace between the +parties, but suddenly the hot blood of youth had risen to renew it, and +now there was fear of further murder. In that remote district the +ancient first principles of natural justice had still strong hold upon +the people, and formed, in the absence of established law, the defence +of families and communities. + +The knowledge that a man is considered disgraced who allows the blood of +his father or brother to pass unrevenged makes many a murderer in +thought pause, and depart from the deed. Accordingly, in those lawless +parts, as a rule, order reigns, and disputes and differences are +discussed by the village 'gray-beards,' who generally are able to +arrange a compromise. But in the reckless rage of a lost love the deed +is done, which carries its fatal consequences to future generations, as +in the case I have mentioned. I told the old village headman, who was +really the local judge, that in some of the wild parts of Firanghistan +there were similar occurrences, and that the best form of reconciliation +in the present instance would be 'wife for wife,' the first offending +family giving a girl-love to a husband-lover on the other side, and thus +finally closing the quarrel in the happiest manner. I said that under +such circumstances intermarriages were generally the best means of +improving friendship and terminating feuds between families. + +The Tehran street tramways continue to work, though the profit return is +small. The company began with graduated fares, but I heard they were +considering a minimum general charge, which it was thought would +encourage more traffic, especially in the visits of women to one +another, as their outdoor dress is unsuited to walking in comfort. The +tramway cars have separate compartments for women. The travelling pace +is necessarily slow, in order to avoid hurt or harm to people and +animals in the crowded thoroughfares. In the East, accidents at the +hands of Europeans or their employés are not readily understood or +easily accepted as such. The Tehran Tramways Company has had its trials +in this respect. At one time it was the heavy hurt of a boy, son of a +Syud, one of the 'pure lineage', a descendant of the family of the +Prophet, on which the populace, roused by the lashing lamentations of +the father, damaged the car and tore up the line. On another occasion a +man, in obstinate disregard of warning, tried to enter at the front, and +was thrown under the wheels. Again the excitable bystanders were worked +up to fury and violence, and the Governor of the town gave judgment +against the company for 'blood-money'. The counter-claim for damage done +to the line enabled a compromise to be effected. Oriental indifference +is the chief cause of the accidents. 'It is impossible but that offences +will come, but woe unto him through whom they come.' For 'offences', the +Oriental reading is 'accidents'. + +In all large Persian towns there is a numerous class of 'roughs' known +as the _kullah-numdah_ (felt-caps; they wear a brown hard-felt low hat +without a brim), excitable and reckless, and always ready for +disturbance. They are the 'casuals', who live from hand to mouth, those +to whom an appeal can be made by the careful working class when the +price of bread is run up to famine figure, owing to the 'cornering' of +wheat, which of late years has been much practised in Persia. The baker +used to be the first victim of popular fury in a bread riot, and it is +said that one was baked alive in his own oven. But in these times of +grain speculation in Persia, the people have learnt to look in 'wheat +corners' for the real cause of dear bread, and in consequence the bread +riots have become more formidable, as was proved lately at Tabriz. On a +previous occasion the Vali Ahd (now H.I.M. the Shah), who, as +Governor-General of Azerbaijan, resided at Tabriz, found himself unable +to cope with the difficulty, and abandoned his projected visit to +Tehran, so as to apply the money he had provided for it to cheapening +bread for the people. This practical pocket-sympathy with them secured a +popularity which will bring its reward. + +Next to the 'wheat-ring' as a cause of disturbance and riot comes what +may be called the 'copper-ring' of Tehran, which is likely to produce +serious trouble throughout the country. The Royal Mint in Persia is +worked on the farming system, the evils of which have now extended to +the currency. The low price of copper allows of it being coined at an +enormous profit, and advantage has been taken of this to a dangerous +extent. The whole country is now poisoned with 'black money,' as the +coppers are called, and it is at a heavy discount. This bears cruelly on +the labouring classes and all who are paid in copper coin. Owing to +exchange with Europe keeping above silver, that metal cannot be imported +and coined, so as to give a gain to the Mint-master, who has no idea of +sacrificing any of the great profit he has made on copper. No silver has +been coined since March, 1895, and this is the Mint-master's excuse for +sending out copper in great quantities, to take the place of silver. +Twenty copper shahi go to a kran (present exchange value 4-1/2d.), and +in the absence of silver employers of labour pay wholly in copper, which +for bazaar purposes is at a discount, so much so that, when a purchase +is beyond question above a kran in amount, an agreement as to payment in +silver or copper is first made, and then the bargaining begins. In a +country where money bears a high value, as proved by the fact that +accounts are still reckoned in dinars, an imaginary coin, of which one +thousand go to a silver kran and fifty to a copper shahi, the +depreciation I have mentioned is a very serious affair, for it touches +the mass of the people sorely. When travelling off the beaten track in +Persia, I have always been amused and interested in hearing my +head-servant announce loudly in a tone of importance and satisfaction to +my village host for the night that I had ordered so many 'thousands' to +be given for house-room, fuel, barley, straw, etc. The kran was never +mentioned; it was always a 'thousand.'[A] + +[Footnote: A: Since the above was written, information has been received +that the late Shah, about three weeks before his death, promulgated a +decree directing the Mint coinage of copper to be suspended for a term +of five years, and intimating that the Customs, Post-office and +Telegraph departments would accept copper coin to a certain amount in +cash transactions, at a fixed rate. And, further, arrangements have been +made with the Imperial Bank of Persia to purchase, on account of the +Government, copper coin up to a certain sum, from small _bona-fide_ +holders who are in possession of it in the regular course of retail +business for the necessaries of life.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon. + + +The late Shah was always liberal and conciliatory in the treatment of +his Christian subjects throughout the country, and this is a matter +which, at the present time, deserves special notice. In the history of +Persia many proofs of friendly feeling towards Christians are to be +found, and the sovereigns appear to have led the popular mind in the way +of goodwill to them. Shah Abbas the Great was an example of kind and +considerate tolerance, and it was Shah Abbas II who said of them, 'It is +for God, not for me to judge of men's consciences: and I will never +interfere with what belongs to the tribunal of the Great Creator and +Lord of the universe.' The Western Christian missionaries are fully +protected in their mission work among the Eastern Christians in Persia +on the understanding that they do not actively and directly engage in +proselytizing Mohammedans. + +[Illustration: ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN] + +The American Presbyterian is the only mission in Tehran, and it carries +on its work so smoothly and judiciously that the sensitive +susceptibilities of the most fanatical Moullas are never roused nor +ruffled. They have succeeded well by never attempting too much. They +show their desire to benefit all classes and creeds, and during the +severe cholera outbreak In 1892 the hospital they established in the +city for the medical treatment of all comers up to the utmost extent of +their accommodation and ability was a powerful and convincing proof of +their good work and will. The disease was of a very fatal type, and its +deadly ravages called forth a display of devotion and self-sacrifice +which deserved and obtained the highest commendation from all Persians +and Europeans. + +While on this subject, the splendid example set by the Governor of the +town, the Vazir Isa Khan, should be noticed. He was very wealthy, and +did much to relieve the sufferings and wants of the poor who were +attacked by the disease. He remained in the city while the epidemic +raged, and would not seek safety in flight to the adjoining mountains, +as many had done. But, sad to say, he fell a victim at the last, and his +wife, who had remained with him throughout, died of the disease two days +before him. + +It will be remembered that in 1891 an agitation was raised regarding the +reported abduction of an Armenian girl, named Katie Greenfield, by a +Kurd in Persian Kurdistan. An attempt which was made to take the girl +back to her family caused the couple to cross the frontier into Turkish +Kurdistan, and great excitement among the Kurds on both sides of the +border was created. The contention grew, and commissioners and consuls, +with troops, Persian and Turkish, took part in it. In the end it was +made perfectly clear that the girl had gone off with Aziz, the Kurd, as +the husband of her own choice, and had embraced the Mohammedan faith by +her own wish. The Kurds in Persian Kurdistan appear to live on friendly +terms with their Armenian village neighbours, and on this occasion a +runaway love-match became the cause of some popular excitement in +England, and much trouble and tumult on the Perso-Turkish frontier. + +The Armenian Archbishop in Persia, who resides at Isfahan, is always a +Russian subject from the monastery of Etchmiadzin, near Erivan, the seat +of the Catholicus, the primate of the orthodox Armenian Church, and this +doubtless has its effect in suggesting protection and security. France +also for a longtime past has steadily asserted the right to protect the +Catholic Armenian Church in Persia, and once a year the French Minister +at Tehran, with the Legation secretaries, attends Divine service in the +chapel there in full diplomatic dress and state, to show the fact and +force of the support which the Church enjoys. France similarly takes +Catholic institutions in Turkey under her protection, and appears to be +generally the Catholic champion in the East. + +The careful observer in Tehran cannot fail to be struck with the +religious tolerance shown to non-Mohammedan Persian subjects in the +'shadow of the Shah.' Amongst these, other than Christians, may be +mentioned the Guebres (Parsees) and the Jews. Persecuted in the +provinces, they receive liberal treatment in Tehran, and it is to be +hoped that the late Shah's gracious example will in time be followed by +his Majesty's provincial governors. + +The Babi sect of Mohammedans, regarded as seceders from Islam, but who +assert their claim to be only the advocates for Mohammedan Church +reform, are at last better understood and more leniently +treated--certainly at Tehran. They have long been persecuted and +punished in the cruellest fashion, even to torture and death, under the +belief that they were a dangerous body which aimed at the subversion of +the State as well as the Church. But better counsels now prevail, to +show that the time has come to cease from persecuting these sectarians, +who, at all events in the present day, show no hostility to the +Government; and the Government has probably discovered the truth of the +Babi saying, that one martyr makes many proselytes. + +The Babis aim at attracting to their ranks the intelligent and the +learned, in preference to the ignorant and unlearned; and it is believed +that now sufficient education whereby to read and write is absolutely +necessary for membership. They wish to convince by example, and not by +force, and this accounts for the absence of active resistance to the +persecutions from which they often suffer most grievously. They say that +they desire to return to original Mohammedanism, as it first came from +the Arabian desert, pure and simple, and free from the harsh intolerance +and arrogance which killed the liberal spirit in which it was conceived. +They deplore the evil passions and fierce animosities engendered by +religious differences; they tolerate all creeds having a common end for +good, and seek to soften the hearts of those who persecute them, by +showing that they but wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. +They have a widespread organization throughout Persia, and many learned +Moullas and Syuds have secretly joined them. They have always been firm +in their faith, even unto death, rejecting the offer of life in return +for a declaration against the Bab, him whom they regard as the messenger +of good tidings. + +An acknowledged authority on the Bab, the founder of this creed, has +written that he 'directed the thoughts and hopes of his disciples to +this world, not to an unseen world.' From this it was inferred he did +not believe in a future state, nor in anything beyond this life. Of +course, among the followers of a new faith, liberal and broad in its +views, continued fresh developments of belief must be expected; and with +reference to the idea that the Babis think not of a hereafter, I was +told that they believe in the re-incarnation of the soul, the good after +death returning to life and happiness, the bad to unhappiness. A Babi, +in speaking of individual pre-existence, said to me, 'You believe in a +future state; why, then, should you not believe in a pre-existent state? +Eternity is without beginning and without end,' This idea of +re-incarnation, generally affecting all Babis, is, of course, an +extension of the original belief regarding the re-incarnation of the +Bab, and the eighteen disciple-prophets who compose the sacred college +of the sect. + +Some time ago signs began to appear of a general feeling that the +persecution of the Babis must cease. Many in high places see this, and +probably say it, and their sympathy becomes known. At one time a high +Mohammedan Church dignitary speaks regarding tolerance and progress in a +manner which seems to mean that he sees no great harm in the new sect. +Then a soldier, high in power and trust, refers to the massacres of +Babis in 1890 and 1891 as not only cruel acts, but as acts of insane +folly, 'for,' he said, 'to kill a Babi is like cutting down a +chenar-tree, from the root of which many stems spring up, and one +becomes many.' Then a Moulla, speaking of the necessity of a more humane +treatment of the Babis, and others of adverse creeds, says that he looks +for the time when all conditions of men will be equally treated, and all +creeds and classes be alike before the law. Omar Khayyam, the +astronomer-poet of Persia, who wrote about eight hundred years ago, gave +open expression to the same liberal-minded views, urging tolerance and +freedom for all religious creeds and classes. + +The last murderous mob attack led by Moullas against the Babis occurred +at Yezd in April, 1891. It was probably an outcome of the Babi massacre +which had taken place at Isfahan the previous year, and which, owing to +the fiercely hostile attitude of the priests, was allowed to pass +unnoticed by any strong public condemnation. On that occasion a party of +the sect, pursued by an excited and blood-thirsty mob, claimed the +'sanctuary' of foreign protection in the office of the Indo-European +Telegraph Company, and found asylum there. Negotiations were opened with +the Governor of the town, who arranged for a safe conduct to their homes +under military escort. Trusting to this, the refugees quitted the +telegraph-office, but had not proceeded far before they were beset by a +furious crowd, and as the escort offered no effectual resistance, the +unfortunates were murdered in an atrociously cruel manner. The Shah's +anger was great on hearing of this shameful treachery, but as the +Governor pleaded powerlessness from want of troops, and helplessness +before the fanaticism of the frenzied mob led by Moullas, the matter was +allowed to drop. + +Considering the great numbers of Babis all over Persia, and the ease +with which membership can be proved, it strikes many observers as +strange that murderous outbreaks against them are not more frequent. The +explanation is that, besides the accepted Babis, there is a vast number +of close sympathizers, between whom and the declared members of the sect +there is but one step, and a continued strong persecution would drive +them into the ranks of the oppressed. It might then be found that the +majority was with the Babis, and this fear is a fact which, irrespective +of other arguments, enables the influential and liberal-minded Moullas +to control their headstrong and over-zealous brethren. + +The isolated outbreaks that do occur are generally produced by personal +animosity and greed of gain. Just as has been known in other countries +where a proscribed religion was practised in secret, and protection +against persecution and informers secured by means of money, so in many +places the Babis have made friends in this manner out of enemies. +Individuals sometimes are troubled by the needy and unscrupulous who +affect an excess of religious zeal, but these desist on their terms +being met. Occasionally in a settlement of bazaar trading-accounts, the +debtor, who is a Mohammedan, being pressed by his creditor, whom he +knows to be a Babi, threatens to denounce him publicly in order to avoid +payment. + +I witnessed an instance of 'sanctuary' asylum being claimed in the +stable of one of the foreign legations at Tehran by a well-known +Persian merchant, a Babi, who fled for his life before the bazaar +ruffians to whom his debtor had denounced him, urging them to smite and +slay the heretic. It was believed that the practice of black-mailing the +Babis was such a well-known successful one at Yezd that some of the low +Mohammedans of the town tried to share in the profits and were +disappointed. This, it was said, led to the massacre which occurred +there in April, 1891. + +The Babis, notwithstanding divergence of opinion on many points, yet +attend the mosques and the Moulla teachings, and comply with all the +outward forms of religion, in order to avert the anger which continued +absence from the congregation would draw upon them from hostile and +bigoted neighbours. Two of them were suddenly taxed in the Musjid with +holding heterodox opinions, and were then accused of being Babis. The +discussion was carried outside and into the bazaar, the accusers loudly +reviling and threatening them. They were poor, and were thus unable to +find protectors at once. When being pressed hard by an excited mob which +had collected on the scene, an over-zealous friend came to their aid, +and said, 'Well, if they are Babis, what harm have they done to anyone?' + +On this the tumult began, and the ferocity of the fanatical crowd rose +to blood-heat. The sympathizer was seized, and as the gathering grew, +the opportunity to gratify private animosity and satisfy opposing +interests was taken advantage of, and three other Babis were added, +making six in all who were dragged before the Governor to be condemned +as members of an accursed sect. The Moullas urged them to save their +lives by cursing the Bab, but they all refused. The wives and children +of some of them were sent for so that their feelings might be worked +upon to renounce their creed and live, but this had no effect in shaking +their resolution. When told that death awaited them, they replied that +they would soon live again. When argued with on this point of their +belief, they merely said that they could not say how it was to be, but +they knew it would be so. They were then given over to the cruel mob, +and were hacked to death, firm in their faith to the last. + +The temptation to make away with others in a similar manner produced +two more victims during the night, but these the Governor tried to save +by keeping them in custody. The brutal mob, however, howled for their +blood, and made such an uproar that the weak Governor, a youth of +eighteen, surrendered them to a cruel death, as he had done the others. +These two, like their brethren, refused to curse the Bab and live. + +The Moullas have ever been defeated in their efforts to produce +recantation from a Babi, and it is this remarkable steadfastness in +their faith which has carried conviction into the hearts of many that +the sect is bound to triumph in the end. The thoughtful say admiringly +of them, as the Romans said of the Christians, whom they in vain doomed +to death under every form of terror, 'What manner of men are these, who +face a dreadful death fearlessly to hold fast to their faith?' An +instance is mentioned of a Babi who did recant in order to escape the +martyr's death, but he afterwards returned to his faith, and suffered +calmly the death he had feared before. + +The Moullas who led the Yezd massacre desired to associate the whole +town in the crime, and called for the illumination of the bazaars in +token of public joy. The order for this was given, but the Governor was +warned in time to issue a countermand. It was found by the state of +public feeling, and told to those in authority, who were able to realize +the danger, that, as one-half or more of the shopkeepers were Babis, +they would not have illuminated, for to have done so would imply +approval of the murders and denial of their faith. Their determination +to refuse to join in the demonstration of joy would have roused further +mob fury, and the whole body of Babis, impelled by the instinct of +self-preservation, would have risen to defend themselves. + +The late Shah was deeply troubled and pained on hearing of this cruel +massacre, and removed the Governor, who was his own grandson (being the +eldest son of his Royal Highness the Zil-es-Sultan), notwithstanding the +excuses urged in his favour, that the priestly power which roused the +mob was too strong for him to act and prevent the murders. It is +probable that the Government is assured of the peaceful nature of the +Babi movement as it now exists; and with the orders to put an end to +persecution, supported in some degree by popular feeling, we may hope +to hear no more of such crimes as were committed at Isfahan and Yezd in +1890 and 1891. + +The Babi reform manifests an important advance upon all previous modern +Oriental systems in its treatment of woman. Polygamy and concubinage are +forbidden, the use of the veil is discouraged, and the equality of the +sexes is so thoroughly recognised that one, at least, of the nineteen +sovereign prophets must always be a female. This is a return to the +position of woman in early Persia, of which Malcolm speaks when he says +that Quintus Curtius told of Alexander not seating himself in the +presence of Sisygambis till told to do so by that matron, because it was +not the custom in Persia for sons to sit in presence of their mother. +This anecdote is quoted to show the great respect in which the female +sex were held in Persia at the time of Alexander's invasion, and which +also was regarded as one of the principal causes of the progress the +country had made in civilization. The Parsees to this day conduct +themselves on somewhat similar lines, and though we have not the +opportunities of judging of maternal respect which were allowed to the +Greeks, yet the fact of the same custom being shown in a father's +presence at the present time seems to point to the rule of good manners +to mothers being yet observed. And we know, from what happened on the +death of Mohamed Shah in 1848, that a capable woman is allowed by public +opinion to exercise openly a powerful influence in affairs of State at a +critical time when wise counsels are required. The Queen-mother at that +time became the president of the State Council, and cleverly succeeded +in conciliating adverse parties and strengthening the Government, till +the position of the young Shah, the late Sovereign, was made secure. + +For a long time Russia and England were regarded as the only great +Powers really interested in the future of Persia; but within the last +few years it has been observed that Turkey, in showing an intention to +consolidate her power in the Baghdad and Erzeroum pashaliks, was likely +to be in a position to renew old claims on the Persian border. France +has also lately increased her interest in Persia, and Germany has now +entered the field of enterprise there in the practical manner of +improving the road from Khani Kin, on the Turkish frontier, to Tehran, +connecting it with a road from Baghdad. It will probably be found that +this road-scheme belongs to the company under German auspices who are +now constructing a railway which is ultimately to connect Baghdad with +the Bosphorus, and part of which is already working. The trunk-line +passes by Angora, Kaisarieh, Diarbekr, Mardin, and Mosul; and a +loop-line leaves it at Eski Shehr, which, going by Konia, Marasch, and +Orfa, rejoins it at Diarbekr. + +There was an idea that, as Konia is a most promising field for the +production of exports, the Smyrna lines competed so eagerly for the +concession to extend there that the Porte was enabled to make terms with +the Anatolian Railway Company (to which I have alluded) for the +extension to Baghdad, which strategically is of great importance. It was +said that the strong competition placed the Government in the position +of the man in the Eastern story who went to the bazaar to sell an old +camel, and a young cat of rare beauty. The cat was shown off sitting on +the camel, and was desired by many purchasers; but there was no bid for +the camel. The competition for the cat ran high, and then the owner +announced that the one could not be sold without the other, on which the +camel was bought with the cat. But as a matter of fact there was no +opening for competition for the Konia branch. The Anatolian Railway had +preferential rights for what is called the southern or loop line, which +I have mentioned as passing through Konia, and rejoining the main or +northern line at Diarbekr. They also have preferential rights of +extension to Baghdad, and they mean to carry the line there. + +The Smyrna Aidin railway has lately had a considerable improvement in +its traffic, from the barley of Asia Minor being in increased demand in +addition to its wheat. This means that the material for the beer as well +as the bread of the masses elsewhere is found to be abundant and cheap +there, and the extension of railway communication in those regions will +most probably increase the supply and demand. The same trade in barley +has lately sprung up in Southern Persia and Turkish Arabia, and for some +time past, while the low price of wheat discouraged the existing wheat +trade there, it has been found profitable to export barley from the +Gulf ports. Barley is the cheapest grain in Persia, where it is grown +for home consumption only, being the universal food for horses. Owing to +want of care with the seed, and the close vicinity of crops, the wheat +was often so mixed with barley as to reduce the price considerably, and +the question of mixture and reduction was always a very stormy one. When +I was at Ahwaz, on the Karun, in 1890, I saw a machine at work +separating the grains, and the Arab owners waiting to take away the +unsaleable barley, the wheat being bought for export by a European firm +there which owned the machine. The Arab sellers probably now move to the +other side of the machine to carry away the unsaleable wheat, the barley +being bought for export owing to the turn of trade. + +The German group that has obtained the Persian road concession has also +taken up the old project of an extension of the Tehran tramways to the +villages on the slopes of the Shimran range, all within a distance of +ten miles from the town. The Court, the city notables, and the foreign +legations, with everyone who desires to be fashionable, and can afford +the change, reside there during the warm months--June, July, August and +September. The whole place may be described as the summer suburb of the +capital, and there is great going to and fro. + +I have already mentioned the Russian road now under construction from +the Caspian Sea base to Kasvin, with the object of enabling Russian +trade to command more thoroughly the Tehran market. The total distance +from the coast to the capital is two hundred miles. There is an +old-established caravan track over easy country, from Kasvin to Hamadan +in the south--west, distant about one hundred and fifty miles. It has +lately been announced that the Russian Road Company has obtained a +concession to convert this track into a cart-road in continuation of +that from Resht. It is seen that with improved communication Russian +trade may be made to compete successfully at Hamadan, which is only +about fifty miles further from the Caspian Sea base than Tehran, and +there will also be the advantage of a return trade in cotton from +Central Persia, as Armenian merchants now export it to Russia from as +far South as Isfahan and Yezd. The German road from Baghdad to Tehran +will be met at Hamadan. + +Kermanshah and Hamadan, through which the German road will pass, are +both busy centres of trade in districts rich in corn, wool, and wine. +They are also meeting-points of the great and ever-flowing streams of +pilgrims to Kerbela _viâ_ Baghdad, said to number annually about one +hundred thousand. This has been a popular pilgrim route, as well as +trade route, for centuries, and with greater facilities on an improved +road the traffic is certain to increase. + +It is said that the alignment of the Russian road from Resht is to be +made in view of a railway in the future. The same will probably be done +in the Hamadan extension, and it is believed that the German road will +be similarly planned. All this would mean that behind the concessions +are further promises for the time when railway construction comes. +Looking into the dim distance, the eye of faith and hope may see the +fulfilment of railway communication from India to Europe by a connection +between the Quetta or Indus Valley line and Kermanshah. + +This brings us to the agreement of 1890 between Persia and Russia to +shut out railways till the end of the century. This agreement, when made +known, was regarded as proof of a somewhat barbarian policy on the part +of Russia, unwilling or unable herself to assist in opening up Persia +and improving the condition of the country. But there is some reason for +the idea that the Shah himself was ready to meet the Russian request, so +as to keep back the railway which he feared would soon connect his +capital with the Caucasus. There was much railway talk in Persia in +1890, and Russia knew that it would take quite ten years to complete her +railway system up to the Northern frontiers of Persia and Afghanistan. +The railway now being made from Tiflis to Alexandropol and Kars will +probably send out a line down the fertile valley of the Aras to Julfa, +ready for extension across the Persian frontier to Tabriz, and a branch +may be pushed forward from Doshakh, or Keribent, on the Trans-Caspian +railway, to Sarakhs, where Russia, Persia, and Afghanistan meet, to +facilitate trade with Herat as well as Meshed. In the meanwhile also the +cart-roads, ready for railway purposes if wanted, from the Caspian Sea +base to Kasvin, Tehran, and Hamadan, will be completed. + +Russia insisted on regarding the opening of the Karun to the navigation +of the world as a diplomatic victory for England, and a distinct +concession to British commerce, which is predominant in the South. She +therefore thought out well what to get from the Shah in return, to +favour her commercial policy in the North, and the ten years' +prohibition of railways was the result. Russia desires commercial +predominance in Persia just as England does, and she will use all the +influence which her dominating close neighbourhood gives to obtain the +utmost favour and facilities for her trade. + +While Russia and England were thus engaged in strong commercial rivalry, +Germany unexpectedly made her appearance in the Western region of +Central Persia, where their competition meets. Nor has Persia been idle +in trading enterprise; her merchants are not only aiming at getting more +exclusively into their own hands the interior commerce of the country, +but they have established direct relations with firms in foreign +countries, and now work in active competition with the European houses +which in old days had almost all the export and import trade in their +own hands. The introduction of the Imperial Bank of Persia has given an +impetus to this new spirit of native enterprise by affording facilities +which before were not available on the same favourable terms. The Nasiri +Company, a mercantile corporation of Persians, was formed in 1889 to +trade on the Karun, and it commenced operations with two small steamers. +Later, a third steamer was added, and they are now negotiating for the +purchase of a fourth. They have a horse tramway, about one and a half +miles long, to facilitate the necessary transhipment of cargo between +the upper and lower streams, where the Ahwaz Rapids break the river +navigation. This trading corporation has strong support, and the Persian +Government is earnest in giving it every assistance, so that it may +develop into an effectual agency for the revival of the prosperity which +made the Karun Valley in old times what the Nile Valley is now. + +Messrs. Lynch Brothers also run a large steamer on the Lower Karun in +connection with a 'stern-wheeler' (Nile boat pattern) on the upper +stream, and between them and the Nasiri Company a regular and quick +communication is maintained between Bombay and Shuster. One of the +articles of import at the latter place is American kerosene-oil for lamp +purposes, to take the place of the Shuster crude petroleum, said to have +been used there for centuries. This petroleum contains an unusual amount +of benzine, and being highly explosive in lamps, the Shuster people, who +can afford to pay for the safer substance, have taken to American oil. +The Shuster petroleum-springs belong to a family of Syuds in the town, +and did not fall within the field of the Persian Mines Corporation. +These oil-springs may yet become the object of practical operations +should the Nasiri Company develop the resources of the Karun Valley. + +Belgium has also taken an active interest in Persia lately, the tramway +company, and the glass manufactory at Tehran, and the beet-sugar factory +in the vicinity, having all been established with Belgian capital; and +Holland, who is believed to be seeking an opening in Persia, may find +her opportunity in the Karun Valley irrigation works. The creation of +strong international interests in Persia should have the best effect in +strengthening her national independence, developing her natural +resources, and introducing good government. And the peaceful succession +of the lawful heir to the throne should go far to carry the country +forward in the path of progress and prosperity. It is evident that the +strong sentiment attaching to the late Shah's long and peaceful reign, +and the popular feeling of loyalty to him which influenced the people, +has had the effect of enforcing the royal will in favour of the heir +legitimately appointed by Nasr-ed-Din Shah. + +[Illustration: PRESENT SHAH WHEN ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE.] + +The reigning family of Persia are the hereditary chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe, and still preserve the customs of that position. They have +not changed the manly habits of a warlike race for the luxury and +lethargy which sapped the energies and ruined the lives of so many +monarchs of Persia. Up to the time of the present ruling dynasty the +princes of the blood were immured in the harem, where their education +was left to women and their attendants, and until the death of the King +his destined successor was not known. At that period the son of the +lowest slave in the harem was deemed equally eligible to succeed to the +throne with the offspring of the proudest princess who boasted the +honour of marriage with the Sovereign. And similarly as in the West, +up to about four hundred years ago, the Crown was generally made secure +by murder, every actual or possible rival for the throne being blinded +or removed from the scene. This was the practice of the Soffivean +dynasty, which preceded the Kajar. But with the change which then took +place, this hideous practice disappeared, and usages more congenial to +the feelings of the military tribes which support the throne were +established. Under the late Shah the princes of the blood were employed +in the chief governments of the country, and exercised all the powers +and responsibilities of office. + +Persia may be described as a theocratic democracy under an absolute +monarchy. There is no hereditary rank but that of royal birth, and that +of the chiefs of the military tribes, who may be regarded as a military +aristocracy; but there is a system of life titles which secure to the +holders certain privileges and immunities, and are much prized. The +titles are nominally descriptive of some personal quality, talent, or +trust, such as Councillor of the State, Confidant of the King, Trusted +of the Sultan; they are also bestowed upon ladies in high position. The +name of an animal is never introduced into the title; at least, I have +only heard of one instance to the contrary in modern times. An +individual of European parentage was recommended to the late Shah's +notice and favour by his Persian patrons, and they mentioned his great +wish to be honoured with a title. His Majesty, who had a keen sense of +humour, observed the suggestive appearance of the candidate for honours, +and said, 'Well, he is Hujabr-i-Mulk' (the Lion of the Country). The new +noble was ready with his grateful thanks: 'Your sacred Majesty, may I be +thy sacrifice;' but he added in a subdued tone, 'A lion requires at +least a lamb a day.' The Shah laughed at the meaning speech, and said, +'Let him have it.' The granting of a title does not give any emolument +unless specially directed. As a precedent for this title, the Shah may +have had in his mind the story of Ali Kuli Khan, one of the favourites +of Shah Suliman. During the reign of Shah Abbas this chief was generally +in prison, except when his services were required against the enemies of +his country. This had gained for him the name of the Lion of Persia, as +men said that he was always chained except when wanted to fight. + +The Shah can raise whomsoever he chooses from the lowest to the highest +position or post, except in the most powerful of the nomad tribes, where +the nomination to chieftainship is confined to the elders of the leading +families, who generally represent two lines from one head, one being in +the opposition when the other is in power. The chieftain of a clan +considers himself superior in real rank to the most favoured Court +title-holder, and the chiefs of the military tribes may be termed the +hereditary nobility of Persia. The monarch may, by his influence or +direct power, alter the succession, and place an uncle in the situation +of a nephew, and sometimes a younger brother in the condition of an +elder, but the leader of the tribe must be of the family of their chief. +The younger sons and nephews are enrolled in the royal guard, and the +Shah is thus enabled by judicious change and selection to keep his hold +upon the tribe. Change of chiefs is not always effected peacefully. The +wild tribesmen who, in feudal fashion, attach themselves as idle +men-at-arms to a popular leader are sometimes disinclined to accept his +fall from favour without an appeal to arms. But the royal authority +prevails in the end, and the new chiefs rule begins, and lasts just so +long as Fortune smiles and the Shah wills. + +A marked instance of this was shown in July, 1892, when Jehan Shah +Khan-Ilbegi was deprived of the chieftaincy of the Afshar section of the +powerful Shahsevend tribe, who range from Ardebil to Tehran. The famous +Nadir Shah was originally a simple trooper of this tribe, and belonged +to the colony of it which was planted at Deregez on the Turkoman border. +The ostensible cause of the chiefs removal from power was that with his +own hands he had killed his wife, the sister of his cousin, +Rahmat-ulla-Khan, who was known to be his rival in the tribe for place +and power. Jehan Shah had unjustly accused her of being unfaithful to +him, and going to her house, he called her out, and, notwithstanding her +appearing with a copy of the Sacred Koran in her hand, shot her dead +while in the act of swearing on the holy book that she was innocent of +all guilt. Jehan Shah than went in search of the tribesman whom he +suspected of being her paramour, and killed him also. The matter was +reported to the Shah, then in camp in Irak, who ordered Jebam Shah to +be deprived of the chieftainship, and Rahmat-ulla-Khan to be appointed +Ilbegi in his place. It was further ordered that Jehan Shah should be +arrested and sent as a prisoner to Tehran. The Ihtisham-e-Dowleh-Kajâr, +cousin of the late Shah and Governor of Khamseh, in which province Jehan +Shah was then located with his clan, was directed to carry out the royal +commands. + +Much telegraphing had taken place on the subject, and as cipher was not +used, Jehan Shah, by means of money and influence, was able to obtain +the fullest information of all that passed, and as he was known to have +a numerous personal following armed with Peabody-Martini rifles, the +Governor was instructed to act with caution. He accordingly had recourse +to stratagem, and gave out that the object of his journey to the tribal +quarters was to coerce a section of the tribe which had been giving +trouble. He therefore asked Jehan Shah to assist him, and this gave the +chief a good excuse for assembling his men. The Prince Governor took +with him one hundred cavalry and four hundred infantry, but no attention +was paid to the ammunition, and they started without a proper supply. + +Rahmat-ulla-Khan was fully aware of the Governor's real intentions, but +the influence and power of the popular chief prevented any partisan +gathering against him. He therefore could only depend upon the Persian +troops to enforce the order of the Shah, and was unable to do more than +prepare a reception tent and provide a luncheon for the Prince and his +people, about eight miles in advance of their camp, at a place appointed +for the meeting with himself and Jehan Shah. On approaching this place, +these two, with the elders and the tribesmen, went forward for the +customary ceremonial reception of the Governor. Jehan Shah dismounted +and saluted with the utmost show of respect; but on reaching the tent +which had been prepared for them by his rival, he declined to enter and +partake of his hospitality, declaring that he preferred to pass on to +his own tents, some distance off, his mounted following of fifteen +hundred men accompanying him. The Governor knew that Jehan Shah had +become dangerous from the devotion of his well-armed followers, and the +readiness of the main body of the fierce fighting tribesmen to support +him. He had evidently contemplated his arrest and seizure at the place +of meeting, but the show of force and feeling in Jehan Shah's favour was +too strong to admit of any such attempt. He therefore decided to declare +openly the object of his coming, and after lunch he assembled the elders +of the tribe, and summoned Jehan Shah to his presence, who, however, +declined to obey. The Prince on this announced his deposition, and the +appointment of Rahmat-ulla-Khan in his place, showing at the same time +the Shah's written commands. He then appears to have indulged in some +violent abuse of Jehan Shah, and again sent an order to secure his +presence. + +In the meanwhile, that chief had taken counsel with his tribal +following, numbering about fifteen hundred, armed with breechloaders, +and finding them entirely on his side, and determined to dispute the +rule of his rival, he served out cartridges freely, and decided to +discuss the matter with the Governor. He left most of his men at some +distance, and presented himself attended by only a few. The Prince +informed him of the Shah's orders, and after some contentious talk, he +held out the royal firman for him or any of those with him to read. On +one of the elders moving forward to take the paper, Jehan Shah suddenly +motioned them all back with his hands, and the Prince, taking alarm at +this appearance of a signal, called out to his guards to seize Jehan +Shah. There was a shout and a rush, and some of Jehan Shah's men from +behind fired over the heads of the soldiers, who, however, returned the +fire point-blank, killing and wounding several of the Shahsevends. The +tribesmen then opened fire in earnest, and the Prince with his troops +promptly fled. All ran and rode for their lives, pursued by the furious +enemy. Some of the servants kept with their master, and remounted him +twice when the horses he rode were wounded and disabled. The tribesmen +are said to have made him a special target, for he was most conspicuous +in rich dress, and a third time he and his horse were rolled over +together, he receiving two bullet-wounds. He was then seized, partially +stripped, and treated with great indignity. The pursuit was kept up to +his camp, which was captured and plundered; thirty-five of his men were +killed, and fifty wounded. One of the Prince's officials, also +wounded, was taken with him, and both were kept prisoners for three +days. + +[Illustration: PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES] + +In the meantime Jehan Shah, having recovered from his mad fury, trembled +at the recollection of his crime, and dreading the vengeance which he +saw was certain to follow, he packed up his valuables and fled with a +few followers to the Caspian coast. He had the intention to escape by +steamer to Baku, but failing in this, owing to all communication with +Russian territory having been suspended during the outbreak of cholera +then prevailing, he determined to make his way by land across the +Northern frontier. Being closely pursued by a party of Persian cavalry, +he abandoned all his baggage, and with great difficulty reached Tabriz, +where he was constrained to take sanctuary in the house of the chief +Moulla. He died there after enduring existence for about six months +under circumstances and with surroundings which must have been supremely +hateful to him. I was at Tabriz in the end of 1892, while he was there, +and I was told by one who had seen him that he was a sad sight then, the +hereditary head of the Afshar Shahsevends, a section of a royal tribe, +herding in misery with a crowd of criminals seeking sanctuary in order +to avoid the avenger of blood. On the first news of the occurrence the +Shah ordered the immediate mobilization of the infantry regiments of +Khamseh and Kasvin, and this had the effect of dispersing the tribe, +facilitating the work of retribution, and establishing the power of the +new chief. This incident had the best political result in aiding the +Kajar policy of breaking up the ruling families and the cohesion of the +dangerous tribes, and asserting fully the authority of the Tehran +Central Government. Jehan Shah had gradually improved and strengthened +his position by increasing the superior armament of his tribesmen (who +were said to have three thousand breechloaders) and laying in a large +supply of cartridges, so that, with his wealth, influence, and +popularity, he must have been regarded as dangerously powerful. No doubt +the conceited confidence thus produced led him to indulge in the +ungovernable rage which wrecked his freedom and ended his life. The +tribesmen said that the wife whom he killed was truly innocent; but +being themselves men of wild ways and tempestuous temper, they thought +he had been harshly judged, and they therefore stood by him to resist +his seizure and deportation. + +As in England four hundred years ago, every place of worship is a sacred +refuge; and the dwelling-house of the Chief Priest gives similar +protection. This right of sanctuary continues in force throughout +Persia; but to benefit by it for any length of time, money is very +necessary, for without such aid, or when the supplies fail, starvation +steps in to drive the refugee out. While in sanctuary, compromise and +arrangement may be effected, so that the fugitive may be allowed to go +unmolested, the relatives paying, or becoming 'bail' for, the +blood-money or compensation agreed upon. A fugitive from justice, +oppression, or revenge often claims the privilege of sanctuary in the +house or premises of a local dignitary of influence, whose house would +not be unceremoniously entered by pursuers, and this affords time either +to meet the demands or accusations made, or to escape to a safer place. + +At Tehran there is a big gun, said to have been brought by Nadir Shah +from Delhi, and known as the Pearl Cannon. It is said to be so called +from having had a string of pearls hung on it near the muzzle when it +was on show in Imperial Delhi. This was probably the case, for we know +that heavy guns in India were regarded with a degree of respect and +reverence almost approaching worship. The gunners of the Maharajah +Runjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, used to 'salaam' to their guns, +and to hang garlands of the sweet-scented _champak_ flower, which is +used in temples and at festivals, round the muzzles. The Pearl Cannon +occupies a prominent position close to the Shah's palace, and has always +been recognised as possessing a semi-sacred character, and giving the +right of sanctuary to those who touch it and remain by it. + +I remember a regiment of infantry, represented by three hundred men who +were 'off duty' and available for the demonstration, claiming the +privilege of this great gun sanctuary after they had assailed the house +of their Colonel in order to wreak their vengeance on him, as he was +suspected of withholding their pay. The officer's servants were warned +in time, and closed the courtyard door, so that the rioters were unable +to enter; but they relieved their feelings by battering the door with +stones and damaging the Colonel's carriage, which they found outside. +Having thus created a great disturbance and excited considerable rumour, +they proceeded to the Pearl Cannon, and gave vent to their grievances in +loud cries, which reached the royal palace, on which the Shah, +Nasr-ed-Din, was made acquainted with all the facts, and caused the +soldiers' wrongs to be redressed. One of the charges against the Colonel +was that he had managed, by lending money to the men, to gain possession +of their village lands by unfair means--for he was a landlord in the +same district, and desired to add to his holding. The corps was the +Lârâjani territorial infantry battalion, and an English resident at +Tehran, who caught the name as Larry-Johnny, said the whole incident was +'quite Irish, you know.' + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard. + + +The warlike nomads form a most important part of the military strength +of Persia, and it has always been the policy of the Sovereign to secure +their personal attachment to him as the direct paramount chief of each +martial clan. In pursuance of this policy, the royal guard, known as +Gholam-i-Shah, or Slaves of the King, which protects and escorts the +Shah in camp and quarters, is mainly composed of bodies of horse +furnished from the best and most powerful of the military tribes. These +come from all quarters of the empire, and are headed and officered by +members of the most influential families, so that they may be regarded +as hostages for the loyalty and fidelity of the chiefs. All are changed +from time to time, and thus a system of short service prevails, to give +as many as possible a term of duty with the royal guard. + +The term _gholam_, or slave, has always been given as a title to the +personal guards, and everyone who is admitted to the corps claims the +envied distinction of Gholam-i-Shah. This guard has a very ancient +origin, and service in it is highly prized as giving opportunities of +attracting the attention and gaining the favour of the King. The great +Sovereign Sabuktagin, who reigned in the tenth century, was said to have +risen from the ranks of the royal guard. All the couriers of the foreign +legations at Tehran are styled Gholam, and the title is accepted as an +honourable one, meaning a mounted servant of courage and trust, who is +ready to defend to the death all interests committed to his charge. + +The total strength of 'the guard' is twelve hundred and fifty, of whom +two hundred are the élite, called _gholam peshkhidmet_ (personal +attendants) and mostly belong to the Kajar, the Shah's own tribe, with +which his Majesty always identified himself in the most public manner, +and thus made every man proud of his clanship with the King. I here +allude to the royal signature, 'Nasr-ed-Din, Shah, Kajar.' These +superior guardsmen have all the rank of gentleman, and may be called the +mounted 'gentlemen at arms' of the guard. They have the customary right +of appointment to Court and palace posts, such as door-keeper, usher, +messenger, etc. Their service is for life, and is hereditary, a son +succeeding his father, and taking his place in the guard when promotion, +age, illness, or death creates a vacancy. They have distinctive +horse-trappings with silver neck-straps, breastplates, and headstalls, +which pass from father to son, and have become highly prized heirlooms. +The Shah was most partial to the representative tribesmen of his guard, +and his happy characteristics as a King of nomadic taste and camp-like +ways, in familiar acquaintance with all about him, were well shown at a +military review which I witnessed at Tehran some years ago. The review +was a special one, held in honour of the Swedish officers deputed by +King Oscar II. of Norway and Sweden to convey the high order of the +Seraphin to his Majesty the Shah, and as many troops as possible were +called in from the surrounding districts to take part in it. The royal +guard mustered strong, and when they marched past, the Shah stepped +forward to the saluting line, so as to be closer to them, and called out +to each troop, and named each commander in terms of praise and pleasure. +This display of personal knowledge of the men, and acquaintance with +their leaders, drew from them a perfect buzz of delight. + +On this occasion the smart appearance of the Bakhtiari horse attracted +particular attention. The Persian bystanders showed their pride in these +popular mounted mountaineers by the admiring exclamation, 'Here come the +Bakhtiaris!' They were very noticeable by their white felt, round, +brimless hats, and the good line they preserved when passing. The +Bakhtiaris (Lurs) are the most numerous and powerful of all the military +tribes, and are noted for their superior martial qualities both as horse +and foot. They are of the most ancient Persian descent, and have held +the hills and valleys of Luristan from time immemorial; while all the +other military tribes may be said to be of much later date, and of +foreign origin--Arab, Syrian, Turk, and Tartar. Competent authorities, +who have had full opportunity of judging, agree in saying that they are +as good material for soldiers as can be found anywhere. I was greatly +interested in hearing the Shah's Prime Minister speak in glowing terms +of the gallantry of the Bakhtiari infantry at the capture of Kandahar +under Nadir Shah, who, after subduing them in their own mountains, won +them over to serve him loyally and well in his conquering campaigns +against Afghanistan and India. The Grand Vizier mentioned the +circumstance of the Bakhtiari contingent, after one of the many repulses +met in the repeated attempts to carry Kandahar by storm, having in the +evening, when all was quiet on both sides, assaulted without orders and +captured a commanding, position in the defences, which they had failed +to take during the day. The shouts of the victors roused the resting +besiegers, and Nadir at once took advantage of the success to carry the +citadel and gain possession of the town. As a closing remark concerning +these nomad tribes, I may mention that they regard themselves as in +every way superior to the settled inhabitants, and express this conceit +in their saying, 'One man of the tents is equal to two of the town.' + +I have mentioned the prerogative of the Shah to raise whomsoever he +chooses from the lowest to the highest position, except under +restrictions in the military tribes. This quite falls in with the +democratic spirit which lies dormant among the people, ready to be +displayed in willingness to accept a Sovereign of signal power who +springs from the lower ranks of life. The social equality which Islam +grants to all men was nothing new to Persia in forming ideas regarding a +popular leader and elected King. The descent of such a man is deemed of +little consequence in the minds of a people who look to personification +of power as the right to rule. In fact, with them it is said that the +fame of such a man is in proportion to the lowness of his origin. They +know of notable instances of the nation being delivered from terrible +tyranny and degrading foreign subjection, and being made gloriously +great, by men of the people. They point to Kawâh, the blacksmith, who +headed a revolt against the monstrously cruel usurper King Zohâk, using +his apron as a banner, and finally overthrew and slew him, and placed +Faridûn, a Prince of the Peshdâdian dynasty, on the throne which he +might have occupied himself. This blacksmith's apron continued for ages +to be the royal standard of Persia. In the ninth century, +Yacub-bin-Leis, called the Pewterer, as he had worked when young at that +(his father's) trade, made his way to the throne by sheer force of +strong character and stout courage. He remained the people's hero to the +last, was noted for his simple habits, for keeping with his name his +trade appellation (Suffâri, the Pewterer), and for never having been +wantonly cruel or oppressive. In the tenth century, when the great +Sabuktagin rose from soldier to Sovereign, we see the principle of +selection in preference to hereditary succession practised and accepted +by the nation. And the choice was justified by the glory he gave to the +Persian arms in extending the empire to India, and in the further +conquests of his soldier-son, Mahmud, who succeeded to his father's +throne, and added still more to the greatness of the kingdom, till it +reached from Baghdad to Kashgar, from Georgia to Bengal, from the Oxus +to the Ganges. + +When the country was groaning under the Afghan yoke, it was the daring +spirit of one from the ranks of the people, Nadir Kuli (Shah), who +conceived the overthrow of the oppressor and the recovery of Persian +independence. Originally a simple trooper of the Afshar tribe, he +advanced himself by valour, boldness, and enterprise, and crowned his +successes by winning the admiration of the royal leaders and adherents, +who on the death of the infant King, Abbas III., son of Shah Tamasp, +elected him to be their King. As such he carried the war into the +country of the evicted oppressors, and established the power of the +empire from the Oxus to Delhi, whence he returned with the splendid +spoil which yet enriches and adorns the Crown of Persia. It speaks much +for Nadir Shah's strong character that, having gained such distinction, +he did not allow flatterers to find amid the obscurity of his birth the +lost traces of great ancestors. He never boasted a proud genealogy; on +the contrary, he often spoke of his low birth, and we are told that even +his flattering historian had to content himself with saying that the +diamond has its value from its own lustre, and not from the rock in +which it grows. A characteristic story of this remarkable man is that +on demanding a daughter of his vanquished enemy, Mahmud Shah, the +Emperor of Delhi, in marriage for his son, Nasr-ullah, he was met with +the answer that for alliance with a Princess of the Imperial house of +Timor a genealogy of seven generations was required. 'Tell him,' said +Nadir, 'that Nasr-ullah is the son of Nadir Shah, the son of the sword, +the grandson of the sword, and so on till they have a descent of +seventy, instead of seven generations.' Nadir, the man of action and +blood and iron, had the greatest contempt for the weak, dissolute Mahmud +Shah, who, according to the native historian of the time, was 'never +without a mistress in his arms and a glass in his hand,' a debauchee of +the lowest type, as well as a mere puppet King. In the end the demon of +suspicion poisoned the mind of Nadir to such an extent that he became +madly murderous, and assassination ended his life. The Persians say that +he began as a deliverer and ended as a destroyer. + +As a people, the Persians are of a happy disposition and bright +imagination, doubtless produced by the dry, clear air of their high +tableland, which relieves from dullness and depression. They enjoy a +joke and laugh heartily, and they are able to see that most things have +their comic side. The late Shah was quick to show the merry look of +appreciation when something amusing was said. At the Nauroz Court +reception of the Corps Diplomatique all the Legations, headed by the +Turkish Embassy, were ranged in a semicircle in front of the Shah, and +after the congratulatory address was delivered by the Sultan's +Ambassador, his Majesty advanced and walked round slowly, pausing to say +a few words to each Minister. His face lit up with animation when he +spoke to one whom he knew to be able to reply in the Persian tongue. On +one occasion, after speaking with the Ottoman Ambassador, who is always +a Persian linguist (Persian being an obligatory subject of qualification +for the Tehran post), he passed on to a Minister who was a good Persian +scholar. Further on he found an equally well--qualified colloquial +proficient in another; and on finding himself before a well-known very +clever diplomatist for whom he had a great personal liking, he smiled +and said pleasantly, 'Have you learnt any Persian yet?' The Minister +bowed, and, looking duly serious, said in Persian, 'I know something.' +The Minister meant to say that he knew a little, but the word +'something,' as used, could be taken, as in English, to signify 'a thing +or two.' Such a meaning from the diplomatist who spoke was quite +appropriate, and the Shah laughed softly and looked much amused. + +As another instance (but in this case of grim humour) of seeing the +comic side, a Prince Governor of a province, sitting in judgment, +ordered a merchant to pay a fine of fifty tomans, but, though well known +to be rich, he protested his utter inability to pay, saying he had never +seen such a sum of money, and begged for some other punishment which the +Prince in his wisdom and mercy would command. His Highness then +suggested a choice of eating fifty raw onions, or eating fifty sticks +(the Oriental mode of expression when speaking of bastinado strokes), or +paying the fifty tomans. Persians are fond of raw onions, those they eat +being small, and the merchant enjoyed the prospect of thus saving his +money. He thought that the punishment had been ordered in ignorance, so, +concealing his feeling of happy surprise, and affecting fear, he +elected for onions. He struggled hard with them, but could not swallow +more than half the number. He was then asked to pay the fine, but he +claimed his further choice of the fifty sticks. Triced up, he underwent +the pain of twenty-five well laid on to the soles of his feet, and then +called out that he would willingly pay the fifty tomans to have no more. +On this he was cast loose, and the Prince said, 'You fool! you had a +choice of one of three punishments, and you took all three.' + +Persian servants regard their fixed pay as but a retaining fee, and look +for their real wages in perquisites. They show considerable ingenuity +and brightness of idea in reasons for purchasing this, that, and the +other thing, not really required, but affording opportunities for +'pickings.' A new head-servant, on looking round his master's premises, +and seeing no opening for a fresh purchase, at last cast his eye on the +fowls, kept to secure a supply of fresh eggs, instead of the doubtful +ones bought in the bazaar. He introduced stale eggs into the fowl-house, +and on their condition being remarked at breakfast, he gravely explained +that he had noticed the hens were old, and it sometimes happened that +old hens laid stale eggs, whereas young hens always laid fresh eggs; so +he suggested clearing out the fowl-house and restocking it with young +poultry. + +The leisure time the servants have is not always well spent, it is true, +but they have ideas of imagination and sentiment, which in some degree +is suggestive of refinement. I have seen this shown in their love of +singing birds, and their dandy ways of dress; for some of them are very +particular as to the cut of a coat and the fit of a hat. I have +sometimes been interested in seeing them carefully tending their pet +nightingales, cleaning the cages, and decking them out with bits of +coloured cloth and any flowers in season. In November I saw quite a +dozen cages thus brightened, each with its brisk-looking nightingale +occupant, put out in the sunshine in the courtyard; and on asking about +such a collection of cages, was told rather shyly, as if fearing a smile +at their sentimental ways, that there was an afternoon tea that day in +the neighbourhood, to which the nightingales and their owners were +going. These singing-bird-parties are held in the underground rooms of +houses, which are cool in summer and warm in winter, and I imagine the +company and rivalry of a number of birds in the semi-darkness, with +glimmering light from the 'kalian' pipes, and the bubbling of water in +the pipe-bowls, and the boiling samovar tea-urns, all combine to cheat +the birds pleasantly into believing that it is night-time in the spring +song-season. + +The Persian poets brought the nightingale much into their songs of +praise of earthly joys. The bulbul, of which they wrote and sang, was +the European nightingale, which visits Persia in spring to sing and love +and nest. They pass as far South as Shiraz, where they meet the plump +little Indian bulbul, which is often mistaken for the Shiraz poets' +singing-bird. The word is applied to both species in India and Persia, +but the birds are quite different in shape, plumage, and voice. They +meet at Shiraz, a place which possesses a climate so temperate and +equable as to bring together the birds and fruits of the East and West, +North and South; for there I saw and heard the Indian bulbul and the +hoopoe, the European nightingale, the cuckoo, and the magpie, and I know +that the fruits range from apples to dates. + +The nightingale is the favourite pet singing-bird of the Persians. I had +good information regarding the manner of obtaining them for cage +purposes from some small boys who were engaged picking roses in a +rose-garden at Ujjatabod, near Yezd. There are two large rose-gardens in +that oasis in the Yezd Desert, where the manufacture of rose-water and +the attar essence is carried on. The gardens are appropriately favourite +haunts of the nightingales on their return with the season of gladness +from their winter resorts in the woods of the Caspian coast. The Persian +poets tell of the passionate love of the nightingale for the scented +rose, and in fanciful figure of speech make the full-blossomed flower +complain of too much kissing from its bird-lover, so that its sweetness +goes, and its beauty fades far too sadly soon. The boys told me of the +number of family pairs, their nests and eggs, and said that they took +the young male birds when fully fledged and about to leave the nest, and +brought them up by hand at first, till able to feed themselves. There is +a great demand in the towns for the young nightingales, which in Persia +sing well in captivity, so rarely the case with the bird in Europe. The +shopkeepers like to have their pet birds by them, and in the nesting +season they may be heard all over the bazaars, singing sweetly and +longingly for the partners they know of by instinct, but never meet. + +There is much pleasing romance and sentiment in the popular idea +regarding the origin of the national emblem, Sher o Khurshed (the Lion +and the Sun). The following legend concerning it was told to me by the +Malik-ut-Tujjar, or Master of the Merchants of Tehran, a gentleman well +versed in Persian history, literature, and lore, and who spoke with all +the enthusiasm of national pride. When the first monarchy of Ajam +(Persia) was founded by Kai Uramâs, some five thousand years ago, the +sun was in the sign of Asad (Leo), the highest tower in the heavens, and +the lion was therefore taken as the Persian emblem, and it so remained +without the sun over it, as now shown, till about six hundred years ago. +Ghazan Khan, who then reigned as King, was so attached to his wife, the +Queen Khurshed (the Sun), that he desired to perpetuate her name by +putting it on the coins he struck; but the Ulema objected to a woman's +name on the King's coin, whereupon he decided to put her face on a +rising sun above the national emblem of the lion, as now seen in the +well-known royal arms of Persia. The story is that King Ghazan's +affection for his Queen, Khurshed, was such that he styled her Sham'bu +Ghazan (the Light of Ghazan). + +This may have been the origin of the expression Khurshed Kullah, or +Sun-crowned, which I have seen stated is a term that was used to denote +the Sovereign of an empire, but from the fact of the features and style +of dressing the hair shown in the sun-picture being those of a woman, I +think the title may be regarded as applied only to queens. Catherine II. +of Russia, from the magnificence of her Court, her beauty and ambition, +and her fame in love and war, was known in Persia during her lifetime as +Khurshed Kullah, and she is still designated by that title. + +I would here mention another instance of a Mohammedan monarch desiring +to publish to his people in the most sovereign manner his high regard +for a wife by putting her name on the current coin. The reign of the +Emperor Jehangir, son of Akbar the Great, the founder of the Moghul +Empire in India and the builder of Agra, was chiefly remarkable for the +influence exercised over him by his favourite wife, Nur Mahal, the Light +of the Harem, immortalized by Moore in 'Lalla Rookh.' The currency was +struck in her name, and we are also told that in her hands centred all +the intrigues that make up the work of Oriental administration. She lies +buried by the side of her husband at Lahore, the capital of the Punjab. + +The subject of Ghazan Khan's succession to the throne of Persia is an +unusually interesting one. He was a Moghul chief of the line of Chengiz +Khan, and, holding Persia in tributary dependence for his sovereign +master the Khakan, was at the head of one hundred thousand tried Tartar +warriors. Persia was then Mohammedan, and the proposal was made to him +to join the new faith, and become the King-elect of an independent Iran. +He consulted his commanders, and then decided to enter Islam and become +King. His apostasy was followed by the instant conversion of his hundred +thousand men, who, with the true spirit of Tartar soldiers, followed +their leader into the pale of Islam, and soon became the active +supporters of the faith which they had so suddenly embraced. We can +imagine the triumphant joy of the proselytizing priests as they passed +down the crowded ranks of the time-hardened, weather-proof warrior sons +of the bow and spear, who on June 17, 1265, paraded at Firozkoh, where +the Tartar host was then encamped, to repeat the Mohammedan confession +of faith. To them the learning of the Arabic words must have been the +severest exercise they had ever been called upon to practise, and it is +easy to think of the muttered swearing among the puzzled veterans that +what was good enough for their leader was good enough for them, and that +they were ready to do as he had done, without further talk or ceremony. +Islam was then most actively aggressive, extending by the argument of +smooth speech or sharp sword, as occasion demanded, and the Moullas must +have regarded with enthusiastic pride the glorious reinforcement they +had brought to its armies by the consecration of such a splendid warrior +host to the service of their Church. + +Ghazan Khan was the first of this race of kings from the line of Chengiz +who threw off all allegiance to Tartary by directing that the name of +the monarch of that empire should not in future be put on the Persian +coins. On the coins which he struck, the Mohammedan creed, 'There is no +God but God, and Mohammed is His Prophet,' was inscribed instead of the +name and titles of the Khakan. He had not the courage of his heart's +desire to strike his wife's name on the coins, as Jehangir did, but he +was differently placed, in that, as a fresh convert and a new King by +the favour of Islam, he felt himself unable to put aside the priests who +had bribed him with a crown. Malcolm, in remarking on Ghazan Khan's +accession to the throne of Persia, says that Henry IV. of France +similarly changed his creed to secure the crown. + +Ghazan Khan reigned about the middle of the thirteenth century, and was +known in Europe for his supposed readiness to assist in re-establishing +the Christians in the Holy Land. He was deemed a wise and just Prince, +and it is believed that his policy led him to seek the aid of the States +of Europe in order to improve the position and condition of himself and +his kingdom. It is said that Pope Boniface VIII endeavoured by a display +of his connection with Ghazan Khan to excite the Christian princes to +another Crusade, and it was probably this connection with the head of +the Christian Church which led to a general impression among Western +writers that Ghazan Khan was not sincere in his conversion to +Mohammedanism, and was at heart a Christian. There is reason to think +that the secret spring of his action was to weaken the Egyptian Empire, +which he regarded as hostile and dangerous to himself and Persia. It is +not clear whether Ghazan Khan apostatized from the religion of his +ancestors or that of the Christians, but he is believed to have been +attached all his life to the latter faith, though he does not appear to +have made a public declaration of his belief in its doctrines. He +professed Mohammedanism in order to obtain the crown, but his life had +been passed in friendship with Christians, and in wars with the +followers of the faith he adopted. + +Xenophon mentions that the royal emblem of Persia from early times was a +golden eagle with outstretched wings, resting on a spearhead like the +Roman eagle, but he makes no allusion to a standard. Persian historians +tell of a famous standard carried from the mythical time of Zohâk to +that of the last of the Pehlevi kings. Their story is that Kawâh, a +blacksmith, raised a successful revolt against the implacably cruel King +Zohâk in the earliest time of Persian sovereignty, and relieved the +country from his terrible tyranny by putting him to death. The +victorious blacksmith then placed on the throne Faridûn, a Prince of the +Peshdâdian dynasty, who adopted his apron, which had been the standard +of revolt, as the royal banner of Persia. As such it was said to be +richly ornamented with jewels, to which every king, from Faridûn +to the last of the Pehlevi monarchs, added. It was called the +Durafsh-i-Kawâh[1] (the Standard of Kawâh), and continued to be the +royal standard of Persia till the Mohammedan conquest, when it was taken +in battle by Saad-e-Wakass, and sent to the Khalif Omar. Malcolm said +that the causes which led to the sign of Sol in Leo becoming the arms of +Persia could not be distinctly traced, but thought there was reason to +believe that the use of this symbol was not of very great antiquity. He +said, with reference to it being upon the coins of one of the Seljukian +dynasty of Iconium, that when this family was destroyed by Halaku, +the grandson of Chengiz, it was far from improbable that that Prince or +his successor adopted this emblematical representation as a trophy of +his conquest, and that it has remained ever since among the most +remarkable of the royal insignia of Persia. He also mentioned the +opinion that this representation of Sol in Leo was first adopted by +Ghiat-u-dîn-Kai-Khusru-bin-Kai-Kobad, 1236 A.D., and that the emblem is +supposed to have reference either to his own horoscope or that of his +Queen, who was a Princess of Georgia. This approaches the legend told by +the Malik-ut-Tujjar of Tehran, for the face depicted on Sol is that of a +woman. + +[Transcriber's note 1: The original text has Durnfsh-i-Kawâh. The original +Farsi is Derafsh-i-Kaviani. The typesetter must have read an +'a' as an 'n'. Durnfsh is otherwise unpronounceable.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil-field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran. + + +The distinguished Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted +by Fateh Ali Shah, in honour of Sir John Malcolm, on his second mission +to the Court of Persia in 1810, in company with Pottinger, Christie, +Macdonald-Kinneir, Monteith, and other British officers, who rendered +excellent service to Persia in organizing a body of her troops. These +officers were followed by others, who in 1834, under Sir Henry Lyndsay +Bethune, led the troops they had trained against the Pretenders who, on +the death of Fateh Ali Shah, opposed the succession of the Vali Ahd +(heir-apparent), Mohamed Shah, father of the late Sovereign. The +Pretenders were defeated by Sir Lyndsay Bethune, and thus England +established the stability of the throne of the Kajars in the direct +line, and carried out the will of the great Fateh Ali Shah, who had +appointed his grandson to succeed him after the death of his son, Abbas +Mirza. During all the changes since Mohamed Shah's accession, Persia has +always had reason to regard England as a friendly neighbour who has no +aggressive designs against her. This feeling must have become conviction +on finding that the defeat she suffered in 1856 caused her no loss of +territory in the South, and the Order of the Lion and the Sun continues +to be a signal sign of strong friendship between the two nations. + +There are two great St. Bernard dogs belonging to the British Minister +at Tehran, which, by their leonine appearance and tawny red colour, +massive forms and large limbs, have made a remarkable impression on the +imaginative Persian mind. They are dogs of long pedigree, being son and +daughter of two famous class champions. Never being tied up, but +allowed full freedom, they are perfectly quiet and good-natured, though +at first sight, to the nervous, they may look doubtful, if not +dangerous. These powerful giant dogs accompany the Minister's wife in +her walks, and seem to know that they are to guard and protect; showy, +gay Rex precedes, with his head up and eyes all about, while Dido +follows, with head down, lioness-like, watchful and suspicious. Painful +experience has taught the street-scavenger curs, which dash savagely at +strange dogs, to slink away at the sight of this pair of champions, and +the passers-by, who, as Mohammedans, are merciless to dogs, treat them +as quite different from the dog they despise, so that they walk along +feared and respected by all, man and dog alike. A Persian gentleman, +riding past with his mounted followers, drew up at the sight of these +St. Bernards, and said, 'I would give the finest Kerman shawl, or the +very best Persian horse, for a puppy dog of that breed.' + +[Illustration: A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN] + +Some of the mendicant dervishes of Tehran are of wild look, with matted +locks, and with howling voice go about demanding, not begging, alms. +They regard a giver as under some obligation to them, for affording him +the means of observance of a duty imposed by religion. These stalk along +defiantly, carrying club or axe, and often present a disagreeable +appearance. One of them came suddenly by a side-path behind the +Minister's wife, and followed, yelling out his cry of 'Hakk, hakk!' It +was almost dark, and he did not see the great dogs, which had gone +ahead. His cry and continued close-following steps were disturbing, so I +turned and asked him either to go on at once or keep farther back. He +frowned at what no doubt he considered my bad taste in objecting to his +pleasing and superior presence, and hastened his pace a little to pass, +but stopped suddenly on seeing the 'lion-dogs' belonging to the +Janâb-i-Khanum-i-Sifarat (the Lady Excellency of the Legation), and +asked to be allowed to follow us, saying he would be perfectly quiet. On +reaching the Legation gate, and seeing his way clear, the dogs having +entered, he left, saying gently, 'Goodnight; God be with you.' + +Formerly a lady could hardly walk about without some little fear of look +or laugh calculated to annoy. This is often the case in a Mohammedan +country, the meaning being that the figure and face should be shrouded +and veiled. But in presence of Rex and Dido there is no sign of the +light look or laugh; on the contrary, there is rather the respectful +gesture of, 'The road is free to thee.' The vivid imagination of the +Persian pictures the group as personifying the Imperial arms, the Lady +with the Royal guard, the Lion of Iran. + +Before the warriors of the Mehdi made the term 'dervish' better known, +it was commonly understood to signify a beggar. But though the +derivation is 'before the door,' yet this does not mean begging from +door to door. The dervish originally was a disciple who freed himself +from all family ties, and set forth without purse or scrip to tell of a +new faith among a friendly people, and to tarry here or there as a +welcome guest. In due course he developed into a regular soldier of the +Church, and as schisms arose and the fires of religious animosities were +kindled, various orders of fighting fanatics, calling themselves +dervishes, sprang into existence. Such were the Ismailis, first known as +the Hassanis, in Persia, in the eleventh century, similar in character +to the present dervishes of the Soudan. In the more favourable sense of +the word, the true dervishes of to-day in Persia represent the spiritual +and mystic side of Islam, and there are several orders of such, with +members who belong to the highest and wealthiest ranks. + +In the time of Fateh Ali Shah, the mendicant dervishes, who were then as +numerous and profligate in Persia as vagrant monks used to be in Spain +and Italy, became such a pest that one of the first acts of his +successor, Mahomed Shah, was to direct that no beggars should be +tolerated except the lame, the sick, and the blind, and that all +able-bodied men appearing in dervish garb were to be seized for military +service. The profession fell out of fashion then, and there are now +comparatively few mendicant dervishes to be seen. Those that still wear +the 'ragged robe' do not all appear to follow the rules of poverty, +self-denial, abstinence, and celibacy. One there was, a negro from +'darkest Africa,' who attached himself as a charity-pensioner to the +British Legation in Tehran, and was to be seen in all weathers, snow and +sunshine, fantastically dressed, chattering and chuckling in real Sambo +style. He knew that his religious cry of 'Ya Hoo' was characteristic of +him, and he was always ready to shout it out to the 'Ingleez,' whose +generosity he had reason to appreciate. He had a story of being a prince +of fallen fortune, who was kidnapped in Central Africa, traded and +bartered across Arabia, and abandoned in North Persia. He was known as +the Black Prince. During the cholera epidemic of 1892, he took up his +residence under some shady chenar-trees of great age, a recognised +resting-place for dervishes, close to the summer-quarters of the English +Legation at Gulhek, in the vicinity of Tehran. One day he sat outside +the gate and poured forth a pitiable tale of the death of his wife from +cholera during the night, and begged for money to pay for her burial. +Having made his collection, he disappeared at nightfall, leaving his +dead partner under the chenar-trees, and it was then discovered that he +had possessed two wives, who called him _agha_, or master, and he had +departed with the survivor, leaving the other to be buried by strangers. +After that he was known as the Prince of Darkness. + +The privileged beggars or mendicant dervishes of Tehran are not all of +the stained, soiled, dust-and-ashes description; some are occasionally +seen presenting a pleasing contrast in washed white garments, and of +neat appearance. There was one such in Tehran, a well-known cheerful old +man, who looked as if he could, in quiet company, tell entertaining +stones, for recitation is adopted by some of these wandering dervishes +as a pleasant means of livelihood, and many of them in the storytelling +art show considerable talent, cultivated taste, and retentive memory. +But, to be successful, they must be able to indulge in variations of +their old stories by the introduction of new incidents which they have +heard or invented. One who is known for good style is always welcomed at +the many tea-shops and gardens in village and town. + +[Illustration: A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN] + +In a most unlikely spot, on a long stretch of sand in the Yezd Desert, I +met a well-dressed dervish in clean, cool white clothes, who stopped on +perceiving that I was a 'Firanghi,' and, gently swaying his neat +dervish-dole dish, said quietly, 'Charity; alms are as dew-drops from +the heavens,' a most appropriate speech in the sandy waterless waste. +Membership with the higher dervish orders appears to signify and +convey something of the character of Freemasonry. I know of one +highly-placed Persian gentleman who is a dervish, and also of a European +gentleman of Oriental light and learning who has been admitted to the +same order. A famous Prime Minister of Persia in past time, Haji Mirza +Aghasi, was a well-known but rather eccentric dervish. My knowledge of +this was the means, on one occasion, of averting a disagreeable display +of violence by a gay sort of madcap, the relative of a post-house +master, who had attached himself as groom to the stable establishment. +My smart Armenian servant, who was equally good as groom or table +attendant, had taken off his warm pea-jacket to help in bracing up the +loads on my baggage post-horses, which were to be driven loose at a +canter, the usual practice when riding post with extra baggage. A +powerful, merry-talking groom, who came forward with the horses, picked +up the jacket and put it on, saying that the morning was cold. And so it +was, for the month was November. When all was ready for a start, my +servant asked him for the jacket, but the laughing _diwana_, or +eccentric fellow, said it was a gift to him, and refused to part with +it. Warm words passed, and I intervened and told him to drop his +dervish ways and give back the jacket. The _diwana_ became excited, and +shouted to all who were standing by that I had called him a dervish, and +had hurt his feelings badly. I then told him he was hard to please, as +surely a High Vazir was good enough to be compared with, for was it not +true that the famous Haji Mirza Aghasi was of the noble order of +dervishes. He took in slowly what I said, then smiled, and gave back the +jacket with a good grace. The Persians have a proverb similar to our own +regarding giving to beggars, '_Avval khesh, baad darvesh_' (First our +own, then the beggar. Charity begins at home). + +The ordinary Persian horses are small, but very wiry and enduring. In +harness they are also capable of very long journeys in light draught, as +proved in the carriage service between Tehran and Kasvin. The distance +is about ninety-seven miles, divided into six stages. On arriving at one +of these, I found that all the posting horses had been taken by a +Russian Mohammedan merchant who was travelling ahead of me in great +style, with five carriages. I had two vehicles, one a carriage for +myself, and the other a _tarantass_ for my servant and luggage, each +drawn by three horses. There was considerable traffic on the road then, +and the horses had only a few hours in the stable between 'turns.' It +was night when I arrived at the post-house, and though anxious to go on, +I had no option but to remain there till the horses should come back +from the next stage. On their return, after three hours' rest and a feed +of barley, six took my carriage and waggon to the next post-house, +sixteen miles, where again I found an empty stable, the horses which had +gone with the party ahead of me not having come back. On inquiring +judiciously from the post-house master if the horses which had brought +me from the last stage were able to do another, I was told that with an +hour's rest and an extra feed they would be ready to go on. And they +travelled the second stage well, showing no signs of distress. These +horses had done sixteen miles in draught, and sixteen miles in cantering +back to their stable during the evening and night; then thirty-two miles +in draught with me in the morning, and after a short rest were to return +the same distance to their own stable, all in double-quick time. + +I had the privilege of again seeing what I consider one of the most +interesting sights in Persia, the stables of his Majesty the Shah. They +contain the very best blood in Asia, and comprise the pick of the finest +horses in Arabia, Persia, Kurdistan, Karadagh, Khorasan, and the +Turkoman country, also the choicest home-breds from the horse-farms +belonging to the late Shah and his sons, the present Shah and the +Zil-es-Sultan, all of them great horse fanciers and breeders. The late +Shah had three breeding establishments: one in the vicinity of Tehran, +another near Hamadan, and the third at Maragha, in Azerbaijan, where the +pasture is good. In each of these there are said to be about one +thousand mares and foals. There is no part of the establishment of a +monarch of Persia to which more attention is paid than his horses. They +are always placed under the care of an officer of high rank, who is +styled Mir Akhor. + +The Mir Akhor (Master of the Horse), Mohamed Hussein Mirza, a Prince of +royal blood, shows by his intimate knowledge of the history of each +horse, and the good condition of all and everything under his care, that +he loves his charge well. We were first shown the racing-stud, called +_mal-i-shart_ (race-horses), thirteen in number, all in hard condition +(the Persian expression is, 'as hard as marble'), and showing good bone +and much muscle. They were Arabs, but not all imported from Arabia, some +being bred from pure stock in the late Shah's establishments. The royal +races are held at Doshan Tepé, six miles from Tehran, where there is a +soft sand-soil course, said to be a two-mile one, but the correct +measurement is one and a half miles. The Persians breed and train for +long-distance speed and endurance, and the races at Doshan Tepé are from +three to nine miles. The Prince pointed out the last winner of the +nine-mile race, saying that he ran it in twenty-five minutes. This horse +was a well-shaped, warm gray Arab, with black points. He, with a darker +gray and a chestnut, all Arabs of pure breed from Nejd, none of which it +is said can be obtained except by free gift, or rare capture in war, +took the eye most with their make and shape. All were ridden slowly +round the yard by their 'feather-weight' jockey-boys, dressed in red +racing-jackets and blue breeches, with long, soft leather boots, and +coloured handkerchiefs bound tightly round their heads in place of +caps. I think these _shart_ horses in the royal stables, which are +always kept in galloping-condition, are the outcome of the old days of +flight or fight, when it was necessary to be always prepared for raid, +attack, or treachery, and so often man's best friend in pressing need +was his horse. + + 'A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!' + + +After the racing stud came the riding-horses, sixty-two in all: +deer-like Arabs of the best desert blood of Nejd and Anizah, and others +of a stouter build from the country of the Jaf Kurds; selected +cross-breeds from Persian and Turkish Kurdistan, and bigger-boned +animals from the Karadagh, the result of a strong strain of good +Northern blood. There were some long, low, powerful Yamut and other +breeds from the Turkoman country, and some good-looking active small +horses from Khorasan. From the Kashkai breeding-grounds near Shiraz were +shown some fine big horses of high quality, also neat, stout mixed +breeds from the hills and plains of Luristan and Persian Arabistan; and +Arabs of the best type, bred from 'blood stock' by the Shah's sons, +also choice specimens from the royal home farms. + +Three gray Arabs, favourites of the late Shah, were brought out, set off +with gold collars, and their points were gone over to show how +powerfully safe they were as riding-horses on the hillside and the +plain. One of them was said to be getting too old for good work, but he +was bursting so with flesh and spirits that he threw out before and let +out behind in such vigorous wide-circling style as to scatter the crowd +of spectators, _gholams_, guards, and grooms. The most powerful and +best-shaped among the riding-horses, in my opinion, were a Jaf (Kurd) +dappled gray, and two big gray Turkomans, the latter very deep in the +girth, and distinguished by the long, fine neck so common to their +class, and rather large but lean heads, showing blood and breeding. The +Turkomans say that the superior size and strength of their horses over +others are due to the rich grass of their pasturelands, I may conclude +this short account of the royal stud by mentioning that, as Persia is +essentially a country of horses and horsemen, every foreign Minister on +first arrival and presentation to the Shah receives the gift of a horse +from his Majesty's stables. All these horses had their tails plaited or +tied up. The Persians never cut a horse's tail, but tie it up, which not +only improves the animal's appearance, but prevents the tail trailing on +the ground, or being whisked about when wet or dirty, to the annoyance +of the rider. The tail is only knotted up when the horse is made ready +for riding, otherwise it remains loose, to be used for flipping off +flies. + +The stable of the King is deemed one of the most sacred of sanctuaries, +and this usage continues in force to the present time. The stables of +the foreign Legations are also regarded, by reason of the Ilchi-Envoy +representative sovereign character, as affording a similar asylum, and +in 1890 I was witness to protection being thus claimed in the stable of +the British Minister. The military tribes of Persia have always regarded +this sanctuary of the stable with the most superstitious reverence. 'A +horse,' they say, 'will never bear him to victory by whom it is +violated.' In a Persian MS. referred to by Malcolm, all the misfortunes +of Nadir Mirza, the grandson of Nadir Shah, are attributed to his having +violated the honour of the stable by putting to death a person who had +taken refuge there. The same writer says that the fleeing criminal finds +a place of safety at the head of the horse even when tied up in the open +air; the fugitive touches the headstall, and is safe so long as he +remains there. Malcolm again tells us of what is still observed, that it +is not unusual for those of the military tribes who desire to show their +respect at the funerals of chiefs and soldiers of high reputation to +send a horse without a rider, but with arms upon the saddle, to swell +the train of the mourning cavalcade. The favourite charger of the +departed warrior, carrying his arms and clothes, accompanies the +procession; the sheepskin cap he wore is placed on the pommel of his +saddle; his scarf sash, or _kumarbund,_ is bound round the horse's neck, +and his boots are laid across the saddle. In all this may be seen the +origin of similar customs now followed by the most civilized nations, +and of the regard in which the horse is held as 'the noble animal.' + +The late Shah had not a single English or European riding-horse in his +stables, nor are any such seen in the country except some from +Russia--heavy, coarse animals, bred in the Don districts, and used for +carriage purposes. The artillery with the Persian Cossack brigade at +Tehran also have a few Russian horses. Nasr-ed-Din had such a high +appreciation of Arab and Eastern horses, of which he was in a position +to get the very best, that he found it difficult to understand what he +considered the fancy prices paid in England for racing stock. The story +is told that when he was shown Ormonde at Eaton Hall, in 1889, and was +informed that £14,000 had been offered for him, he tapped the ground +briskly with his cane, and said in a vivacious manner: 'What! £14,000 +offered for him? Sell him, sell him now to-day. Why, he may be dead +to-morrow.' He would have been astonished to hear that Ormonde +afterwards changed owners at the advanced price of about £30,000. + +In speaking to two friends, competent judges of such matters, about the +breeding and training for long-distance races in Persia, and the time in +which it was said the nine miles had been run, I found that, while one +thought the time might be reasonably correct, the other was more than +doubtful. I have since then seen in the _Journal of the United Service +Institution of India_, 1886, a paper on 'Horse-breeding in Central Asia, +translated from the Russian of Kostenko by W.E.G.,' in which the +following details regarding the Kirghiz race-meetings and the pace and +staying powers of their horses are given. M. Kostenko mentions that the +details are taken from an article by M. Garder in the _Voyenni Sbornik_ +for 1875. He says that among the Inner Kirghiz Horde, races for prizes +were instituted by the Minister of State Domains, beginning with the +year 1851. On October 4 of the same year a circular course measuring +four miles was made, and the horses ran five times round it. The winner +did the 20 miles in 48 minutes and 45 seconds. Commencing with 1853, the +races were run over a distance of 13-1/3 miles on a circular course, and +of these races detailed information from 1869 was obtained. + +The greatest speed was recorded on October 2, 1853, when the distance +(13-1/3 miles) was done in 27 minutes and 30 seconds. The longest time, +on the other hand, was 39 minutes 30 seconds. + +The Chief Administration of the State Studs did not credit the +information sent from the Horde, so that in 1856 there was sent to the +sitting committee a second mètre, for the speed to be followed on it, +the circumference of the circle having been previously measured. The +president of the committee repotted that the measurement of the course +was correct, except that in every 4 versts (2-2/3 miles) it was out +17-1/2 feet. The deficiency was then made good. Accordingly, on October +2 a trial was held, at which the speed was checked with the aid of the +second mètre that had been forwarded, and several watches with +seconds-hands. These showed the 13-1/3 miles run in 31 minutes. Of +nineteen races run over this course, the average time was 33 minutes 40 +seconds. + +In 1861 a race was run over another circular course, measuring about +3-1/2 miles, five times round. The mare that won performed the +distance--about 17 miles--in 48 minutes 45 seconds. In the Kalmak +_uluses_ (groups of nomad tents) of the Astrachan Government, races of +10 miles have been held. The greatest speed recorded was in 1864, viz., +23 minutes 56 seconds; the longest time was in the same year, viz., 27 +minutes. The average time between 1862 and 1865, and 1867 and 1869, was +25 minutes 15 seconds. + +The riders in these races are lads of not more than ten or twelve years +of age. They are in no way specially trained, as from early age they are +always riding, and grow up in good condition for hard exercise. Their +weights range from four to six stone. + +The Persians are a nation of horsemen still, and most of them can ride +well. All the migratory tribes breed horses, and such is the habit of +observation of horses in the country, that, as a rule, a man is known by +his horse, just as in some parts of England a man is known by his dog. +Owing to the notice thus taken of a man's horse, a party of nomad +brigands who carried off all my baggage-train in 1890 were discovered +and hunted down. There is a road guard service for all the King's +highways in Persia, and an annual fixed sum is allowed for its +maintenance. Officials with influence among the neighbouring nomads farm +this service on the main roads, and entertain a certain number of +'black-mail' men for each stage from the various tribal sections to keep +watch and ward. The official who farms the road guard service is held +liable to pay compensation for losses by robbery, and this stimulates +the energies of all to recover stolen property and to keep the highways +safe and secure. Incidents of robbery occasionally happen, but, all +things considered, the system may be said to work fairly well, as +instanced in the recovery of my baggage. + +I had taken a short-cut over the hills to avoid some miles of circuit by +the highroad, and on the way I met the relieved Governor of Luristan +returning to Tehran, with a long train of well-guarded laden mules. Some +little distance behind them came three mounted nomads, armed with +Martini-Henry rifles (the common arm now in Persia), and showing +well-filled cartridge belts. They rode up to me and my party, consisting +of a _gholam_ courier and two servants, all mounted. One of the nomads, +riding a chestnut mare, while examining me intently, dropped a short +stick which he carried, alongside of me, and on dismounting to pick it +up, his mare wheeled round towards me, and I saw that she had lost her +right eye. We passed on, and shortly rejoined the highroad, and when +close to the next halting stage, a post-boy, driving three loose +post-horses before him, galloped up to say that he had seen my baggage +mules driven off the highroad by five armed nomads. The road guards were +called, and on hearing my description of the three men we had met, and +that one of them was riding a one-eyed chestnut mare, they at once said, +'Kara Beg and his sons are in this,' and rode off to follow the trail. +Almost all my luggage was recovered that night, and Kara Beg was hunted +hard, and disappeared. He had been suspected of several robberies +carefully carried out, so that detection was difficult; but in my case +it appeared that he had hung on to the rear of the Luristan Governor's +baggage without being able to steal anything, and when disappointment +had made his men sore and reckless, they followed up my mules, which had +no guard, and carried them off. The tribal road guards knew where to +find him and his men, and soon had most of the plundered property back. +The recovery was due to identification of his mare. + +The English national love of sport has lately introduced into Tehran the +popular _gymkhana_, an institution which hails from India, where it is +English enterprise under an Indian name. The British Legation has +started this amusement, and it seems to provide energy for many who had +longed for some fresh outdoor exercise, but could not organize it. Now, +when weather permits, there are weekly gatherings for variety races, +tent-pegging, and paper-chases. A very amusing and effective novelty, +which I saw there for the first time, was a donkey tug-of-war. This new +'gym' was imported by a sporting young diplomatic secretary, who had +lately arrived from Cairo, where he had seen it in full exercise. Tehran +has excellent riding-donkeys for hire, well turned out, and attended by +the usual smart-tongued youth. Eight donkeys, four a side, heading +outwards, all ridden by Europeans, mostly English, were engaged in this +sport. Neither whip nor spur was allowed. The rope was passed along +under the right arm, and held as each rider thought best. At the word +'_Off!'_ heels were brought into fast play on the donkeys' ribs to make +them move forward, and the scenes that followed were ludicrous and +exciting. Riders were pulled off backward, and, still hanging on to the +rope, they managed to remount and get again into the pulling line in +time to drag off someone on the opposite side, who had lost his balance +on the sudden 'go' forward from the lessened strain. This amusement was +a highly popular one with the laughing spectators. + +Our travelling-party on the outward journey had separated at Tehran, and +I travelled back homeward alone. I left Tehran in the middle of +November, and as there had been a heavy fall of snow some days before, I +quite expected to have a cold crossing of the Kharzan Pass over the +Elburz range. I did the journey to Kasvin comfortably in a carriage, and +rode thence to Resht in three days. I was unexpectedly fortunate in +finding that the bright weather had freed the road over the pass from +snow, and I had a perfect day, with still air, for that part of my ride. + +About halfway between Kasvin and Resht the road passes through the +extensive olive-groves of Rudbar, which for many centuries has been the +centre of a flourishing olive-oil and soap business. There are about +sixty villages in the district engaged in this industry; they possess +from eighty to one hundred thousand trees, each yielding on an average +from six to nine pounds' weight of fruit a year. The olive as a +fruit-tree has been known in Persia from a comparatively early period, +and it is not surprising to hear the villagers ascribe quite a fabulous +age to some of the old trees, just as in Italy some olives are credited +with an equally astonishing antiquity. + +To me it has appeared that the habit the olive has of sending up new +stems from the root of an old trunk--just as the chenar sycamore does in +Persia--may have made the old trees become young again, and thus +present, to succeeding generations in the villages, the look of the same +old trunks. Messrs. Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., of Baku, have +obtained a concession for pressing and refining olive-oil in this +district, and I observed the buildings which they are erecting for their +business rising on the right bank of the river there. + +Near Rudbar commences the thick growth of various hard-wood trees, which +flourish well in the damp soil of the Caspian slopes and lowlands, and +in November their foliage was surpassingly lovely, with many warm tints, +from delicate red to deep russet and shades of shot-green and brown. On +some of the high, thickly-wooded hills, the different colours ran in +well-defined belts, showing where particular kinds of trees had found +most favourable soil, and had grasped it to the exclusion of all others. + +About forty miles from the Caspian coast I fell in with rain and +mud--such mud as cannot be realized without being seen. I embarked at +Enzelli on board a small Russian steamer, the _Tehran_, which had taken +the place of one of the usual large vessels employed on the +mail-service. The sea was rising as I embarked, and I was lucky in +getting on board before the surf on the bar at the mouth of the lagoon +became impassable. The steamer had five hundred tons of iron cargo on +board, machinery for electric light and other purposes, intended for +Tehran, but which could not be landed owing to the rolling sea. It was +therefore carried back to Baku, a second time within a fortnight, for +accident had prevented it being landed on the previous voyage. + +There is always this risk of wind and weather preventing landing at +Enzelli. Proposals have been made to remove the bar sufficiently to +allow steamers of eight hundred tons to pass into the lagoon harbour; +but the expense of doing this, and keeping up dredgers, would be +great--too great, it is thought, to allow of any profitable return. The +same landing difficulties are experienced at Astara and Lenkoran, the +places of call between Enzelli and Baku. Should there be any intention +of eventually making a railway from the coast to Kasvin and Hamadan, +there to meet a line to Baghdad, then it would be the best course in +every way to connect Resht with Baku by a railway along the coast, +passing through Astara and Lenkoran. + +The coast country is famous for its rice, which could be extensively +cultivated, and the resources in forest and fishery produce are great. +There would be considerable local traffic as the country opened up, and +the through trade in oil from Baku would be a paying one. I believe the +Russians know that it would be cheaper to build a railway along this +coast-line of about three hundred miles, with such trade capabilities, +than, in the absence of harbours, to erect breakwaters, make sheltered +anchorages, and dredge navigation channels. For two-thirds of the +distance the line would lie in Russian territory. + +I met at Enzelli a foreign artist, whose acquaintance I had formed in +Tehran, where he made some good pictures of local life and scenery. He +was loud in his complaints of the elements--the heavy rain and the awful +mud. He had come down the road with a minimum of travelling comforts, +and had been rather miserable. On going off to the mail-boat in the +steam-launch, he vented his feelings of disgust with Persia by spitting +over the side towards the land, and saying, 'Ach! ach! what a country! +'May I never see it again!' When I reminded him of Tehran and its club, +he acknowledged that he had enjoyed his stay there, and appreciated the +place; but the rain and sea of mud at Resht had drowned and smothered +all his pleasant memories of Persia. + +The voyage to Baku was uneventful. There are two Astaras, one Persian, +the other Russian, with the frontier stream between them. The steamer +remained part of the night at the former place, and moved in the morning +three miles to the anchorage opposite the latter. There the Russian +Customs officers came on board to examine luggage. The first mate of the +steamer, a Swedish Finn, attended the search proceedings, and became +much interested In a rusty pistol which was found in the luggage of one +of the deck passengers. The question arose, Was the pistol loaded? and +he undertook to find out. He raised the hammer to full cock, and, +placing the muzzle in his mouth, he blew down the barrel, with his +finger on the cap nipple, to feel if the air passed through. He naïvely +explained to me the certainty of this mode of discovering whether a +percussion arm is loaded or not. In this instance the pistol was thought +to be loaded, but it was found to be only choked with rust. + +I had intended to return _viâ_ Constantinople, but on arrival at Baku I +learnt that the damage done to the railway between Tiflis and Batoum by +a storm of unprecedented fury and unusually heavy floods was so extended +and bad as to stop all traffic for a long time. I went to Oujari, a +station one hundred and sixty miles from Baku, where I was hospitably +entertained by Mr. Andrew Urquhart, a Scotch gentleman, established +there with a factory and hydraulic presses for the liquorice-root +industry, and from there I entered into telegraphic communication with +Tiflis to ascertain if I could get a carriage to Vladikavkas, so as to +join the railway and proceed home through Russia. There was such a +number of passengers detained at Tiflis, _en route_ to Batoum, and all +anxious to go to Vladikavkas by road, that I found I should have to wait +long for my turn. Accordingly, after six days' stay with my hospitable +friend, I went back to Baku and took steamer to Petrovsk, whence I +travelled by rail to Moscow and St. Petersburg on my way to England +_viâ_ Berlin. + +A great petroleum field is now being developed near Grosnoje, a station +on the Petrovsk Vladikavkas railway, north of the main Caucasus range; +and an English company has had the good fortune, after venturing much, +to find the fountain for which they and others have long looked. After +carrying on 'sounding' operations for some time, and sinking several +wells, oil was at length 'struck' towards the end of August at a depth +of three hundred and fifty feet, and it came up with such force as to +reach a height of five hundred feet above ground. The well was on a +hillside, and the valley below had been dammed up previously to form a +reservoir capable of holding a large supply of oil. But such was the +flow from the fountain, that after a few days it rose above the dam, +and, although every effort was made to raise and strengthen it, the oil +overflowed, and the top of the dyke was carried away. Millions of +gallons were lost, though on its course down the valley the oil +completely filled another reservoir, which had been prepared for the oil +of a rival company, but which never came from their own wells. +Eventually the main flow of oil found its own level in a low-lying piece +of ground, about four miles below the broken dam. + +As the fountain continued to flow with almost undiminished vigour, the +Governor of Grosnoje began to be alarmed at the damage which was being +done by this deluge of oil, and he therefore placed four hundred +soldiers at the disposal of the English engineer in charge, and by their +organized labour he was able to repair the dam, so that the flow of oil +was checked. A friend, from whom I received this account, visited the +place on November 27, and saw the fountain still playing to a height of +twenty feet, and also the lake of oil which had been formed. The lake +was about three hundred and fifty yards long, one hundred and twenty +yards wide, and from fifty to sixty feet deep. The fountain was still +playing on January 10, but it shortly afterwards ceased to flow. The +same company had another stroke of luck in again 'striking oil' last +month at another spot, some little distance from the original fountain, +while, strange to say, none of the other companies engaged in +prospecting for oil there have as yet succeeded in getting so much as a +gallon. All this flow of fortune to the one firm reads very like the +luck of Gilead Beck in the 'Golden Butterfly.' + +Mr. Stevens, H.B.M.'s Consul for the consular district of Batoum, shows +in his report for 1894 that the demand for naphtha fuel is increasing in +Russia at such a rate, owing to it being more and more widely adopted +for railways, steamers, factories, and other undertakings using +steam-power, that the time appears by no means far distant when the +Russian home market may be in a position to consume in the shape of fuel +almost the entire output of the wells of the Caspian, and he adds that +probably the supply will even be insufficient to meet the demand. With +all this in view, the value of the Grosnoje wells, situated as they are +on the main line of railway through the heart of Russia, is likely to +prove very great. + +I landed in a heavy snowstorm at Petrovsk on November 30, and found the +whole country under its winter sheet. Since October 1 all railway fares +and charges in Russia have been greatly reduced, and the policy now +appears to be to encourage travelling and traffic, which must result in +a general improvement of the minds and condition of the people. + +Railway travelling in Russia is now much cheaper than in any other +country; a through first-class ticket from the Caspian to St. +Petersburg, seventeen hundred miles, is but £4 10s., and the other +classes are low in proportion. The carriages are comfortable, and the +refreshment-rooms excellent. + +With accurate information as to the sailings from Petrovsk to Baku and +Enzelli, one can now go from London to Tehran in fourteen days. This, of +course, means steady travelling, frequent changes, a saddle-seat for +about one hundred miles (which can now be reduced to seventy-five), and +some previous experience of rough life, so as to reconcile the +traveller to the poor accommodation afforded in a Persian post-house. +But the Russian road, now under construction, will soon change the rough +ride into a fairly comfortable carriage-drive, with well-provided +post-houses for food and rest. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia. + + +The famous shrine and sanctuary of Shah Abdul Azim, about five miles +from Tehran, is a very popular place of pilgrimage with the inhabitants +of the town, and its close neighbourhood to the crowded capital makes it +a great holiday, as well as religious, resort. This shrine has been +specially favoured by many sovereigns, and particularly by those of the +present dynasty. On the Mohammedan special weekly day of prayer and +mosque services, Friday, called Juma, or the day of the congregation, +Shah Abdul Azim is visited by great numbers of people. + +On Friday, May 1, this sanctuary was the scene of one of the saddest +events which has ever happened in Persia--the murder within its sacred +precincts of Nasr-ed-Din Shah, a monarch who was about to celebrate the +jubilee of a reign which will always be remembered, not only for its +remarkable length, but also for its peaceful character and general +popularity. The proof of this popularity is that Nasr-ed-Din Shah was +able to leave his country on three occasions for visits to Europe, and +returned each time to receive a welcome from his subjects. This in +itself is unprecedented in Eastern history. + +I little thought when I had the honour of conversing with him in October +last that it was possible that a King so admired and loved by his +people, and then looking forward with pride and pleasure to the +celebration of his approaching jubilee, should perish in their midst by +the hand of an assassin within five days of the event. + +Passing over what in the early years of his reign, through the +exigencies of the times and the pitfalls of intrigue, led to the +shedding of blood, we see in his later years a reluctance to inflict +capital or severe punishment which almost amounted to a serious fault. +I remember an instance of this in the case of a notorious highway +robber, guilty of many murders, who was spared so long, that it was only +on the bad effect of leniency becoming prominently dangerous to traders +and travellers that the extreme penalty was sanctioned. I have already +mentioned how the people had learnt to put their trust in the late +Shah's desire to protect them against oppressive government in the +provinces, and how he had made himself popular with the military and +nomad tribes. The crime which has caused his death will undoubtedly be +regarded as sacrilege, both with reference to the life which was taken +and the sanctuary which it violated. And the abhorrence of the crime +will strengthen what it was intended to end or weaken, viz., the +influence and power of the Kajar dynasty. With the impressionable +Persians there will be but one feeling, of shuddering horror that such a +thing could be done by one of their own faith, who was a subject of +their Sovereign. + +A criminal of the deepest dye can abide with perfect impunity in the +Mohammedan sanctuary, and the tranquillity of this sacred safety, we are +told, brings reflection and repentance to work the redemption of many +from evil ways. Thus we can understand how horror-struck the nation must +be at the thought of the Shah being mortally wounded while in the pious +act of kneeling in reverence on passing the chain which marks the actual +line where the 'bast' or sanctuary begins. + +The murder is said to have been prompted by the well-known agitator, +Jemal-ed-Din, who, though called an Afghan, is really a native of +Hamadan, in Western Persia; but having travelled and resided a short +time in Afghanistan, the term 'Afghani' was added to his name. He was +well known in Tehran in 1891 for his vehement and violent public +speaking against all Western innovations. I have seen it stated that it +was owing to him the tobacco monopoly was withdrawn, as he had roused +the Moullas throughout Persia, and wellnigh brought about a revolution. +Jemal-ed-Din no doubt took a strong part at Tehran in the agitation, but +he was in no way such a prominent leader of it as has been represented. +The sudden introduction of systematic labour and Excise regulations +under foreign direction, by which it was said a few depots were to +displace the numerous retail shops and stalls, at once created a +hostile army of unemployed small owners of hereditary businesses, who +worked on the fears and feelings of the mass of the people. The Moullas +and guild-masters then took the lead, and brought about the cancelment +of the concession. All this I have previously described. It suited well +the nature of a stormy petrel like Jemal-ed-Din to find himself in +Tehran at that time, and he became an inflammatory public orator of the +hottest kind. At first he confined himself to speaking against the +tobacco monopoly and all European enterprise, and on his violent +speeches being made the subject of some remonstrance, the Shah said that +the Persians had long enjoyed great liberty of speech, and with them +words generally took the place of deeds. But this freedom was +misunderstood by Jemal, who gradually grew bolder, until his +revolutionary utterances went beyond all endurance. He scarcely veiled +his contempt for the Crown, and his opinion that all should combine to +rid Persia of the rule of the Shah and the continuance of the Kajar +dynasty. He was warned, but would not listen to reason; he was then +arrested, and informed of the decision to deport him from Persia. On the +day of his departure from Tehran under escort, he managed to make his +escape, and took sanctuary in the same shrine of Shah Abdul Azim where +the Shah was mortally wounded on May 1 by his follower, Mirza Mohamed +Reza. Jemal opened negotiations with the Government from his asylum, and +was finally persuaded to leave Persia quietly. It was said that he +received generous treatment in the matter of his leaving, but I am aware +that he stated he had cause for complaint on this head. We must bear in +mind, however, that he was a hot hater of the Shah, and a thorough +'irreconcilable.' On quitting Persia he went to Constantinople, where he +appeared to be allowed such free expression of disrespect to his +Sovereign that the Shah addressed a remonstrance to the Sultan, who +stated in reply that Jemal was leaving for some remote place to employ +himself in literary work. + +As a native of Hamadan, Jemal-ed-Din is a Persian subject; he is also of +the Shiah faith, though it is believed that, in order to make things +easy for himself, he passes as a Sunni where the State religion is of +that creed. He was well received by the Shah on his visit to Tehran in +1890 as a man of learning and letters, and it is said that he accepted +and enjoyed his hospitality. This, however, did not prevent him plotting +against his royal host, and doing his utmost to compass the downfall of +the Kajar dynasty. He probably saw clearly during his stay in Persia +then that the Shah's authority rested too strongly in the minds of the +people, by reason of his long and peaceful reign and mild rule, to give +any hope of a successful revolution during his lifetime. And it may have +been in this connection that recourse was had to assassination. + +Jemal-ed-Din is credited among Orientals with a powerful energy and will +in working on the enthusiasm of others, and establishing a moral +despotism over them. His disciple, Mohamed Reza, appears to have +resembled his teacher in reckless disregard of kindness, and +determination to render evil for good. In him a willing hand was +apparently found to carry out the first part of Jemal-ed-Din's programme +for the reformation of Persia, but the possibility of madness in the act +of murder was not foreseen. For the horror of the crime has been so +intensified from being committed in the holy shrine of the sainted Shah +Abdul Azim, that its object must be defeated in the most complete +manner, and the reaction will result in stronger attachment to the +throne of the Kajars. + +Jemal-ed-Din held a brief for the union of Sunni and Shiah, an idea +which from time to time has found favour with some advanced leaders of +the former faith. He spoke of the gain to Islam in sinking their +religious differences, and joining to form one Church and one creed. He +was said to be very earnest on this point, and he succeeded in planting +his opinions in Persia, as shown by the subject being still occasionally +discussed. But the idea is entirely of foreign growth, and is generally +introduced by enthusiasts like Jemal-ed-Din, who have exchanged their +Persian national pride of Church and State for the ambition to see Islam +ruling as one power from Constantinople to Pekin. These visionaries fail +to see what thoughtful Persian politicians and Churchmen know well, that +the Shiah schism has preserved Persia as a nation, for without it the +incentive to popular cohesion would long ago have ceased. + +The annual Passion-play to commemorate the murder and martyrdom of the +progeny of Ali, and the solemn fast-days when their assassins are +cursed and reviled, which are observed all over Persia, serve to keep +alive their patriotism and pride of independence, for with the Persians, +religion and patriotism are synonymous terms. There is probably no +country where Church and State are more closely and fortunately bound +together than Persia. Had the sovereignty not been Shiah, it would long +ago have disappeared between its Sunni neighbours. With them the +persecution of the 'accursed Rafizi,' as they speak of the sect, is the +exercise of a holy duty, and their enslavement by Sunnis is a +meritorious act, giving the heretics an opportunity of benefiting by +example, and of rescue from perdition by conversion to the orthodox +faith. Thus it was that the Hazaras and Shiah inhabitants of the small +principalities on the head-waters of the Oxus were sold into Sunni +slavery, and the purchase of the Shiah Circassians in the Turkish +markets was justified on the same grounds. The bitter experience of ages +has taught all Shiahs that, once helplessly at the mercy of the Sunnis, +there must be absolute submission on all points. This conviction has +buried itself deep in the minds of the Persian people, and they now and +then are painfully reminded of the savage readiness of their Sunni +neighbours to emphasize the fact. + +In 1892 a bazaar quarrel in Herat between Sunni and Shiah traders grew +to a disturbance, and culminated in some of the latter, Persian +subjects, being slain and their goods plundered, the Moullas solemnly +pronouncing their judgment that it was 'lawful' for Sunnis to take the +lives as well as the property of the heretical Shiahs. The Shah, on the +representation of the Meshed religious authorities, addressed a +remonstrance to the Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who, being a strong and wise +ruler, made reparation. The religious antagonism is very bitter in +Afghanistan, and were it not for the warlike character and good fighting +qualities of the Shiah Kizzilbash tribe at Kabul, their presence at the +capital would not be tolerated by the bigoted Moullas. The common danger +makes the Kizzilbashes a united band and dangerous foe, and arms them to +be always ready to fight for their lives. They have become a power which +it is the policy of the rulers to conciliate, and thus secure their +support. But notwithstanding this, the fanatical hatred of the orthodox +Sunni, as representing both Church and State, cannot be suppressed. I +was with General Sir William Mansfield (the late Lord Sandhurst) when +he, being Commander-in-Chief in India, had a conversation with the Amir +Sher Ali of Kabul on general subjects, in the course of which the Amir, +in rather a captious manner, made some sharp remarks on what he called +the hostile differences in the Christian Church; Sir William rejoined by +referring to the great division in Islam between Sunni and Shiah, and +asked if there were many of the latter faith at Kabul. A look of +displeasure passed over Sher Ali's face as, half turning towards his +people who stood behind him, he said, in a severe tone, 'Yes, there are +a few of the dogs there, sons of burnt fathers.' + +The mutual hatred ever existing with Sunni and Shiah has always worked +against very cordial relations between Turkey and Persia, and once +certainly, in the sixteenth century, the fear of Persia, then actively +hostile on the south-eastern border, benefited Austria and Russia by +deterring the Turkish Power, in the days of its triumph and strength, +from extended aggressive operations north and west of Constantinople. +Accordingly, the reconciliation of Sunni and Shiah has long been a +cardinal point of policy with the Porte. While it appears that Austria +thus benefited in an indirect manner through Turkey's fear of Persia, it +is an interesting coincidence that, from the time the latter extended +her diplomatic relations beyond those with Russia and England, which, +for a considerable period, were the only Western Powers represented at +the Shah's Court, Austria has held a prominently friendly position in +Persia. Austrian officers have long been employed in her army, and the +fact of the Emperor Francis Joseph and the late Shah Nasr-ed-Din having +ascended their thrones within three months of each other in the same +year (1848) was regarded by the latter as an association with himself of +the highest honour and amity. And this brings to my recollection a +matter connected with the Austrian Legation at Tehran which occurred +after the deportation of Jemal-ed-Din in 1891. Mohamed Reza, the +murderer of the late Shah, remained in Tehran, and continued the +treasonable practices which had been originated by Jemal, even to the +extent of disseminating his revolutionary opinions by means of printed +papers. + +The press used for printing was a lithographic one, and one of the +Mirzas employed by the Austrian Legation having been drawn into Jemal's +secret society, he was induced to set it up in his own house. The usual +informer accomplice was found, or offered himself, for the purpose of +betraying his brethren, and the police became so keen on capture that +oblivious of the privilege enjoyed by the employé of a foreign Legation, +they entered the Mirza's house and arrested him in the act of printing +treasonable papers from the lithographic press. The Mirza was carried +off to prison before the Minister knew of the occurrence, but, on being +informed, he promptly made a strong remonstrance against the violation +of international privilege. The fullest satisfaction was at once given; +the Chief of Police called and apologized, and the prisoner was released +and sent to the Legation. + +The Minister conducted his own inquiry, and on undeniable proof of the +truth of what was alleged, he dismissed the Mirza from his post, and +the Persian authorities were then free to arrest him. The Mirza was kept +a prisoner for some time, and was eventually released with Mohamed Reza +and his companions. The Tehran telegram of May 4 tells us that Mohamed +Reza continued his old course of public hostility to the Government, and +was again imprisoned, but once more obtained his release, and was +granted a pension by the Shah, notwithstanding which he remained +discontented, as the 'black-mailer' generally does, greed suggesting +that the price paid for silence is inadequate. This lenient treatment of +the conspirators was quite characteristic of the later disposition of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and his averseness to judicial severity. + +From what is now known regarding the Mohammedan revival and Church union +contemplated by Jemal-ed-Din, it is obvious that the idea of any +connection between Babism and the crime at Shah Abdul Azim is out of the +question, for the Babis of Persia and Jemal-ed-Din's followers have +little or nothing in common. I have already told how the former are +averse to violent measures, practise no public preaching, and suffer in +silence, while the latter we know shout aloud and try to terrorize. + +When Nadir Shah accepted the throne, he insisted on the abandonment of +the Shiah schism and reunion with the Sunni faith, and he went to +extreme lengths in suppressing the unwillingness of the clergy to accept +the arbitrary decree which he issued in proclaiming his mandate. His +attempt to bridge the great gulf between the hostile creeds entirely +failed, and the Persians remained Shiahs. Freedom of thought and liberty +of speech are national characteristics and privileges, and with minds +never thoroughly subjected to severe Church discipline, the people have +been ever ready to indulge in free criticisms on religious and other +matters. They had no desire to study a new religion, even at the command +of their King, and, judging that any change would be irksome, they sided +with the Moullas, and without display refused to be Sunnis. Nadir's +devotion to ambition was greater than his love of religion, and his +object in trying to drive all into one creed was to remove the obstacles +to the progress of his Imperial power among the Sunnis of India, +Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Asia Minor. On issuing his mandate to +form the Shiahs into a new branch of the true faith, he intimated to the +Emperor of Constantinople his high aim at general concord among +Mohammedans. + +Islam, as it was forced on Persia, was the faith of foreign conquerors +and oppressors, so it never has had the same considerable influence on +the people as elsewhere. This, taken with their habits of freedom of +thought and love of romance and poetry, inclined them to champion the +Shiah schism, which, on the fall of the Arab power, they adopted for +their National Church. I refer to this in connection with what is now +reported of Jemal-ed-Din's relations with the chiefs of the State Church +party at Constantinople, for in his preachings in Persia there were +clear signs of movement towards a great Mohammedan revival, which was to +restore Islam to its old dominant position in the world. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar Dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, + Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah. + + +Among the great families of Tartary from whom the chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe claim descent, much importance has always been given to the +birth of the mother of a candidate for high position. Therefore, in the +choice of an heir to the throne, Persia, as now represented by the Kajar +dynasty, looks to the claims of the mother as well as the father, and +requires royal birth on both sides. For this reason Mozuffer-ed-Din +Mirza, the second son of the late Shah, his mother being a Kajar +Princess, was preferred to the first-born, Sultan Masud Mirza, known +as the Zil-es-Sultan. It has been customary with the Kajars to have the +Vali Ahd, or Heir-apparent, at a distance from the capital, and for him +to be nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, the richest and most +important province of Persia. Its capital is Tabriz, a town of +considerable commercial prosperity, through its Russian and other +foreign trade connections. The mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +maintained a dignified position of high influence at the Court of the +late Shah until her death, which took place at Tehran in May, 1892. +During the intrigues and disquieting rumours which at one time +prevailed, the strong influence of the mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +was always present to watch over his interests in the Shah's palace, and +when she died his friends feared that he had lost his only good +protector. But the Sadr Azem, then known as the Amin-es-Sultan, rightly +interpreting the true feelings of the royal father and the people, +promptly filled the vacancy himself, and has now led the nation to act +as executors of the will of the departed Shah in securing the peaceful +succession of the heir whom he appointed. + +[Illustration: H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, KAJAR] + +There has been much speculation regarding the character, abilities, and +disposition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. I think the general opinion formed +of him by those who have had opportunity of judging is favourable. He is +of kindly disposition, and has pleasing manners, and though prudence has +demanded that as Heir-apparent he should not take a very active part in +public affairs, yet there have been occasions on which he showed himself +to be a capable ruler. His position made it absolutely necessary that he +should avoid all appearance of impatience of subjection to the Central +Government, and he showed considerable tact in never giving cause for +suspicion on this point. He was most successful in keeping clear of +everything that could offend the susceptibilities of his royal father, +and was always regarded as a dutiful son and a loyal subject. His was a +most difficult position to fill, and the fact that he filled it to the +satisfaction of the Shah proves that he possesses the qualities of +prudence, patience, and good judgment. + +Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza had with him for a long time as Kaimakam, or +Vazir, the well-known Amir-i-Nizam, who was virtually Governor-General +of Azerbaijan, for the Shah held him personally responsible for the +administration of the province. He was a man of strong character, and +had great influence in Azerbaijan. His wealth also added to his +importance, and it was not surprising, perhaps, that he considered +himself qualified to hold independent opinions. The active resistance to +the tobacco monopoly was first shown in Tabriz, and he was said to have +encouraged opposition to the wishes of the Central Government. In +consequence of this the Shah summoned him to Tehran in the end of 1891, +and early in 1892 appointed him to be Governor-General of Kurdistan and +Kermanshah, a post which he still holds. On this change taking place, +Mozuffer-ed-Din was directed to assume responsible charge of the +Northern province, and has continued to exercise it till now. The +Amir-i-Nizam was succeeded as Kaimakam by Haji Mirza Abdul Rahim, who +was formerly Persian Minister at St. Petersburg, and as his predecessor +had been Minister at Paris for some years, the European experiences of +these able Vazirs no doubt aided the further education of the Vali Ahd. +The association of enlightened companions and Ministers gave him +opportunities of gaining knowledge which not only informed him on +matters of public importance and general interest, but was also +calculated to prepare him for the position of Sovereign. It has been +said of him that he is entirely Russian in his inclinations, and +considering his long residence at Tabriz, within view, as it were, of +the great power of Russia's vast empire, it would be strange if he had +not been strongly impressed with the vital necessity of securing the +goodwill of the Czar, and we may feel certain that the advice and +opinions of the two Vazirs I have mentioned were to this effect. But it +does not follow that Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah's mind is wholly bent in that +one direction. Judging from the present as well as the past, he knows +well he can believe in England's sincere desire to preserve the same +friendly relations with him as existed with his father, and that she +wishes to see Persia strong, prosperous, and independent. + +While the Amir-i-Nizam was at Tabriz, his energetic management left +nothing for the Prince to do, and as, moreover, a policy of caution +debarred him from taking a very active part in public affairs, he +occupied himself chiefly with the simple amusements of a country +gentleman. He was greatly interested in his horse-breeding farms +established on the fine pasturelands of Maragha, near Lake Urumia, and +made frequent visits there. He is a good horseman and a keen sportsman +with gun, rifle, and falcon, just as his father was, and his love of +life in the open brought him much in contact with the people in a manner +that developed the good-nature for which he is known. He possesses in a +large measure the pleasing characteristics of a nomad chief, and on the +departure of the Amir-i-Nizam, his personal qualities, added to the +sympathetic exercise of his duties, made his rule popular. + +While his prominent brothers have benefited pecuniarily to a +considerable extent by the positions which they hold, the Vali Ahd was +content to maintain a miniature Court on a modest scale, keeping up his +dignity in a fitting manner, and showing no desire to amass money. The +people were aware of this, and respected him for not taking advantage of +his opportunities to enrich himself as others might have done. More than +once lately mention has been made in the papers of the large fortune +which the Zil-es-Sultan is said to have acquired at Isfahan, and +invested in foreign securities. + +Mention may here be made of the first two sons of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. +The elder is Mohamed Ali Mirza, twenty-four years of age, whose mother +is a daughter of Mirza Taki Khan, Amir-el-Kebir and his wife, who was +the favourite sister of the late Shah. The second is Malik Mansur, about +fifteen years of age, whose mother is a daughter of Ismail Mirza, a +Prince of the reigning Kajar family. The latter is spoken of as an +engaging and bright-looking youth, and is generally believed to be the +favourite son. The other sons are not much known nor mentioned as yet, +but it may be said that the succession in the direct line appears to be +well assured. + +Naturally the health of the Heir-apparent was a matter of great +consequence to himself, in the first place in view of his future, and +secondly to those who desired to see the nomination to the succession +undisturbed, for change would have produced great uncertainty and unrest +throughout the country. When I visited Tabriz in the end of 1892, there +were three physicians attached to the Vali Ahd's Court. One was the +Hakim Bashi, Mirza Mahmud Khan, a Persian of superior education and +professional training, who was in constant attendance on the Prince, and +with him were associated the English Dr. Adcock (who had then been four +years in Tabriz, and is still with Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah), and an Italian +doctor, S. Castaldi, brother of the wife of the Russian Consul-General, +regarding whom I have no late information. + +The succession of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah so far has been peaceful, +notwithstanding the fears of many that opposition would appear in the +South. This is the first time with the present dynasty that on the death +of the Shah the Vali Ahd has found no rival in his path. Curzon stated +very decidedly in his important work on Persia that a contest for the +throne was most improbable, and his forecast has proved correct. +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah is the fifth Sovereign of the Kajar dynasty, which +was founded by Agha Mohamed Shah, and I may here remark that the reign +of the late Shah was just within one year of completing a century of +royal rule shared by only three successive sovereigns of this line, a +notable fact in an Oriental kingdom. + +Fateh Ali Shah succeeded to the throne in 1797, having been appointed +Vali Ahd by his uncle, Agha Mohamed Shah, who had no family of his own. +He was the son of Hussein Kuli Khan (full brother of the Shah), +Governor-General at Shiraz, and he was there with his father when called +to the throne at Tehran. On the death of Agha Mohamed Shah in camp with +his army on the Northern frontier, General Sadik Khan, chief of the +Shekaki tribe in Azerbaijan, seized the opportunity to gain possession +of the Crown jewels and treasure, and quitted the camp with his men; but +the rest of the troops marched at the command of the strong Prime +Minister Haji Ibrahim, to the capital, which by his orders was held by +the Kajar chief, Mirza Mohamed Khan, for the legitimate heir of the +Shah. Two competitors for the Crown appeared in the South, in the +persons of Fateh Ali Shah's own father, and a son of Zaki Khan Zend; but +both, as well as the Shekaki chief who advanced similar claims in the +North, and Nadir Mirza, grandson of the great Nadir Shah, who had +entered Khorasan from Afghanistan, and raised the standard of revolt, +were soon defeated and driven into submission. The Shakaki chief was +able from his possession of the Crown jewels and treasure to make terms +for pardon and preferment; but he afterwards broke his oath of +allegiance, and rebelled. He was captured and confined in a dungeon, +where his life soon ceased. + +Fateh Ali Shah died in 1834, and was succeeded by his grandson, Mohamed +Shah, son of the capable Abbas Mirza, who predeceased his father. He was +at Tabriz, holding the post of nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, +which was the customary position assigned to the Vali Abd, when his +grandfather died, and I have in a previous chapter told of the part +taken by British officers in defeating the Pretenders, who attempted to +dispute his right to the throne. These Pretenders were his uncles Ali +Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, and Hussein Ali Mirza, Governor-General at +Shiraz, each of whom proclaimed himself King. Fateh Ali Shah died at +Isfahan while on his way to Shiraz to compel the obedience of his son +Hussein Ali Mirza, who in expectation of his father's death from age and +infirmity had decided to withhold payment of revenue to the Crown. The +rebellious son advanced with an army, and took possession of the jewels +and treasure which his father had brought with him; and his brother, the +Zil-es-Sultan, seized what had been left at Tehran, but Mohamed Shah +afterwards regained possession of the whole. + +Nasr-ed-Din, son and heir-apparent of Mohamed Shah, was present at his +post of Governor-General of Azerbaijan when his father died in Tehran, +and there was an interval of disturbance for the six or seven weeks +which passed between the death of the one King and the coronation of the +other. During this period revolution prevailed in the towns, and robbery +and violence in the country. The son of Ali Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, +the Prince-Governor of Tehran, who had disputed the succession of +Mohamed Shah, issued forth from his retirement in Kasvin to contest the +Crown with his cousin; but the attempt came to an inglorious end. A +revolt at Meshed with a similar object also failed, and then Mirza Taki +Khan, Amir-i-Nizam, proceeded successfully to consolidate the power of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, whose long reign, and on the whole good rule, have so +accustomed the people to peace that the old ways of revolution and +revolt on the death of a Shah have been forgotten and changed. + +The regalia and Crown jewels of Persia mentioned in these changes of +royal rule have, by inexplicable good fortune, been preserved from +plunder while in the hands of rebels. The Crown jewels are in great part +a portion of the splendid spoil which Nadir Shah obtained in the sack of +Delhi, when it was the capital of the richest empire in the East. On his +assassination near Meshed, the treasury was seized by the troops, and +while a considerable share, including the famous Koh-i-Nur diamond, +which now adorns the English crown, fell to the Afghans with Nadir's +army, the greater part, with the Koh-i-Nur companion diamond, known as +the Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light), was secured by Persian soldiers, who hid +it all away in Khorasan and the adjoining districts. + +When Agha Mohamed Shah found leisure from his wars and work of firmly +establishing his authority, he turned his attention to the recovery of +Nadirs jewels, and proceeded to Meshed, where, by means of cunning and +cruelty, he succeeded in wresting from the plunderers of Nadir's camp, +and others, the rare collection of gems and ornaments now in the royal +treasury at Tehran. The value of the collection is believed to be very +great. + +The singular preservation of the regalia and Crown jewels of Persia from +plunder while they were in the hands of rebels after the death of Agha +Mohamed Shah, and again on the death of Fatch Ali Shah, is most +remarkable. A superstitious feeling of fear and respect appears to have +kept them from being lost from the Crown, or it may be that, on the +principle of 'safety in numbers,' every one, with a prospective share of +the plunder in view, was a check on his neighbour against theft of that +which they thought belonged to all. + +Sultan Masud Mirza, better known as the Zil-es-Sultan, the eldest son of +the late Shah, has generally been regarded as likely to challenge the +right of his younger brother to the throne. His ambition and overweening +self-confidence combined to make him imprudent in permitting his +partisans to speak aloud of his superior qualifications as a successor +to his father. The late Shah's considerate treatment of him on all +occasions also led him to make ill-judged requests for such extended +rule in the South that his father said Persia was not large enough for +two Shahs. I think his idea of a viceroyalty in the South came from +foolish vanity, and not from any serious thought of semi-independence, +as some who heard him speak on this subject supposed. + +His father always wrote to him as 'my well-beloved first-born,' and up +to 1888 he allowed him great power and freedom of action. He was fond of +'playing at soldiers,' and he went to work at this amusement with such +energy and will that he formed a numerous and very efficient army under +well-trained officers, too good, the Shah thought, to be quite safe. +Nasr-ed-Din sent an officer whom he could trust to Isfahan to bring back +a true report on the army there; and such was the Zil's self-assurance, +that he went out of his way to show him everything, and to make the most +of his force. + +The Shah, on learning all, became jealous or suspicious, and ordered the +reduction of the troops to the moderate limits really required for +provincial purposes. As affairs then stood, the Zil, with his +well-appointed army, was master of the situation, but he was constrained +to submit. He singled out the Amin-es-Sultan (now the Sadr Azem) as his +enemy at Court, and regarded him as the strong adviser who influenced +the Shah. His relations with Tehran then became so strained that the +Shah summoned him to his presence to have his wishes clearly explained +to him. The meeting of father and son did not tend to smooth matters, +and the latter, allowing his temper to carry him to extreme lengths, +tendered his resignation of the various governments he held, asking only +to retain the governorship of Isfahan. His request was granted, and from +that time he made no secret of his enmity to the Prime Minister. + +Two or three years later the Shah restored to him some of the provinces +which he had resigned in 1888, and this enabled, him to carry out more +successfully the task which he had set himself, viz., that of amassing +money, after his army was broken up. The warlike Bakhtiari tribe form +the most important part of the military strength under the nominal +command of the Zil-es-Sultan, but he alienated them entirely by his +cruel and treacherous murder of their popular chief, Hussein Kuli Khan, +in 1882, and the long imprisonment of his son, the equally popular +Isfendiar Khan. Now that he has promised allegiance to his brother, +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah, we may regard the peace of the South as assured. + +The Naib-es-Sultaneh, Kamran Mirza, as Minister of War, +Commander-in-Chief, and Governor of Tehran, who was in constant +attendance on his father, was also regarded by foolish partisans as a +likely successor to the throne, but he himself never entertained the +idea. His position as head of the army gives him no real power--in fact, +it rather takes from his influence as Governor of Tehran; for the +soldiers look upon him as a costly appendage, for whose pleasures and +palaces their pay is clipped. + +There is really no standing army, in Persia as we understand such, +except the royal guard and the weak Persian Cossack brigade at Tehran. +The artillery and infantry which do all the garrison work are militia +regiments, embodied for two years at a time. The conditions are one +year's service to two years' leave, and that they serve under their own +local chiefs and officers. The administration of regiments is given to +Ministers, high officials, and others for purposes of emolument or +distinction, as the case may be. This system gives the influence over +the troops to those who deal with their pay, and not to the +Commander-in-Chief, who is regarded merely as the keeper of the great +gate through which the pay passes after toll is taken. The +Naib-es-Sultaneh, equally with his brother, the Zil-es-Sultan, appears +to have a great dislike to the Prime Minister, whose loyalty to the +Sovereign and his heir could not fail to create strong jealousy in high +places. + +I shall now finish with a few remarks on the able and sagacious Sadr +Azem, the Prime Minister, who, by his strong character, resolute will, +and prompt action, has proved his loyalty to the Crown and his fidelity +to the Shah. He became Prime Minister at an unusually early age for such +a high position, and this preferment drew upon him the jealousy and envy +of many in such a manner as often to cause him great embarrassment. +There can be no doubt of his conspicuous energy and talent. His pleasing +manner and happy disposition attract adherents and gain for him their +best services. In addition to his personal qualities, he has an +astonishing knowledge of public affairs, which makes him a most valuable +Minister. With the people he is deservedly popular, for not only is he +liberal and kind, but he understands their feelings and can interpret +their minds. + +[Illustration: MIRZA ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR AZEM (_From a Photograph by +Messrs. W. and D. Downey_)] + +He was beside Nasr-ed-Din Shah in the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim when the +assassination took place, and at once brought his Majesty back to the +palace in Tehran. This happened about two o'clock in the afternoon, and +the Shah breathed his last within four hours afterwards. It appears that +the Sadr Azem immediately grasped the situation, and put himself in +telegraphic communication with the Vali Ahd at Tabriz, four hundred +miles distant. He then summoned all the Ministers, State officials, +military commanders, and the most influential people of the city, to the +palace, and announced the death of the Shah. Under his able guidance, +the prompt recognition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza as Shah, in accordance +with the will of his father, was effected. + +The English and Russian Legations, as representing the two strongest and +chiefly interested European Powers, were immediately informed, and the +Minister of the former, and the Charge d'Affaires of the latter, were +invited to the palace. On their arrival, the Sadr Azem wired to the Vali +Ahd in their presence the allegiance of the whole party who were there +assembled. This was done about four or five hours after the death of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and the following morning, in consequence of this +decisive action, Mozuffer-ed-Din was publicly proclaimed Shah of Persia. + +Thus the electric telegraph, which Nasr-ed-Din Shah introduced into +Persia, has been the means of helping most materially to save the +country from the uncertainty which has hitherto always produced +revolution and civil war in the interval between the death of one Shah +and the accession of his successor. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Persia Revisited, by Thomas Edward Gordon + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13064 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Persia Revisited + +Author: Thomas Edward Gordon + +Release Date: July 30, 2004 [EBook #13064] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERSIA REVISITED *** + + + + +Produced by Karen Lofstrom and PG Distributed Proofreaders. Produced +from images provided by the Million Book Project. + + + + + +PERSIA REVISITED + +[Illustration: H.I.M. Nasr-ed-Din, The Late Shah, +on the steps of the Peacock Throne] + + * * * * * + +PERSIA REVISITED + +(1895) + +_WITH REMARKS ON +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, +AND THE PRESENT SITUATION IN PERSIA_ + +(1896) + +BY + +GENERAL SIR THOMAS EDWARD GORDON + +K.C.I.E., C.B., C.S.I. + +_Formerly Military Attaché and Oriental Secretary to +Her Majesty's Legation at Tehran._ + +Author of 'The Roof of the World' + +ILLUSTRATED + + * * * * * + + + + +PREFACE + + +On revisiting Tehran last autumn, I was struck with the evidence of +progress and improvement in Persia, and on returning home I formed the +idea of publishing a short account of my journey, with observations and +opinions which are based on my previous experiences, and have reference +also to what has been recorded by others. In carrying out this idea, I +have made use of information given in the well-known books on Persia by +Malcolm, Fraser, Watson and Curzon. + +'Persia Revisited,' as first written, comprised up to Chapter VI. of the +book; but just as I had finished it for publication, the sad news of the +assassination of the Shah, Nasr-ed-Din, was received. I then saw that my +book, to be complete, should touch on the present situation in Persia, +and accordingly I added two chapters which deal with the new Shah and +his brothers, and the Sadr Azem and the succession. + +The illustrations are from photographs by M. Sevragine of Tehran, with +the exception of the likeness of H.I.M. the Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din, and +that of H.H. Ali Asghar Khan, Sadr Azem, which latter, by Messrs. W. and +D. Downey, of Ebury Street, London, is published by their kind +permission. + +T.E. GORDON. + +_May, 1896._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Régie +--Moulla opposition + + +CHAPTER II. + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The Customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long-distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar-dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah + + + * * * * * + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +H.I.M. NASR-ED-DIN, THE LATE SHAH, ON THE +STEPS OF THE PEACOCK THRONE + +FEMALE PIPE-BEARER OF THE ANDERUN + +PERSIAN LADY AT HOME + +ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN + +THE PRESENT SHAH (WHEN VALI-AHD) ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE + +PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES + +A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN + +A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN + +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH + +H.H. ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR-AZEM + + + * * * * * + + +INSCRIPTION ON THE SEAL OF THE LATE SHAH, SHOWN ON +THE COVER. + +'_El Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan. +El Sultan, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar_.' + +'_The King, Son of the King, Son of the King, Son of the King. +The King, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar line_.' + + + * * * * * + + +PERSIA REVISITED + +CHAPTER I. + + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Régie +--Moulla opposition. + + +The Persians, as a people still nomadic in their habits, and much given +to long pilgrimages, have good knowledge of the ways and means of making +a journey pleasant. Their saying, '_Avval rafîk, baad tarîk_' (First a +companion, then the road), is one which most travellers can fully +appreciate. Accordingly, when planning a trip in the autumn of 1895 to +the Land of Iran, I cast about for a companion, and was fortunate enough +to meet with two friends, both going that way, and who, moreover, like +myself, had previously journeyed in Persia. + +We decided to take the Odessa route to Batoum, and we went by Berlin, +Oderberg, and Lemberg. At Odessa we found that a less expensive, and +more comfortable, though perhaps half a day longer route, lies by +Warsaw. On that line there are fewer changes, and only one Customs +examination, whereas by, Oderberg there are two examinations, Austrian +and Russian. Moreover, through tickets are issued _viâ_ Warsaw, a +convenience not provided _viâ_ Oderberg--fresh tickets and re-booking of +luggage being necessary there, and again both at Pod Voloczyska and +Voloczyska, on the Austrian and Russian frontiers. We came in for a +crowded train of first-class passengers going from the Vienna direction +to Jalta, a favourite seaside place in the Crimea, which has two +fashionable seasons--spring and autumn. These people were making for the +accelerated mail-steamer, which leaves Odessa for Batoum every Wednesday +during the summer service, touching at Sebastopol, Jalta, and +Novorossisk. We were making for the same steamer, and found crowded +cabins. The mass of luggage to be examined at Voloczyska caused much +confusion and delay, and it was only by discreetly managed appeals to +the working staff that we were able to push our way and pass on, +without anything being left behind. There appeared to be orders for very +special examination of books and papers at Voloczyska, and these were +carried out in a foolishly perfunctory manner. In my luggage, the man +who searched passed over a bulky tourist writing-case, but carried off +to a superior a Continental Bradshaw, a blank notebook, and a packet of +useful paper, notwithstanding my open show of their innocence. The man +soon returned with another official, who smiled at the mistake, and good +naturedly helped to close up my baggage. + +We began our journey well by a rapid run to Odessa, arriving there on +the day of departure of the fast boat, and landing at Batoum in six and +a half days from London. The steamers on this service are about 2,500 +tons, 2,400 horse-power, with large accommodation for passengers. The +cabins are comfortable, and the saloons excellent and well served, and +all are lit with the electric light. These boats are, I believe, +Tyne-built. They are broad of beam, and behave well in bad weather. +Novorossisk is a growing great port, situated in a very pretty bay. It +has lately been joined by railway to the main trunk line connecting with +Moscow, and passing through Rostov. This connection enables it to +attract considerable trade from the Don and the Volga, and also to take +much from Rostov and Taganrog, when the Azov approaches are closed with +ice. A very fine sea-wall, to give effectual protection to the railway +loading-piers, and the shipping generally, is now being completed at a +total cost of £850,000. Novorossisk is said to have the biggest +'elevator' in the world. The scenery all along the coast, from the +Crimea to Batoum, is very fine, and in autumn the voyage is most +enjoyable. + +We left Batoum on the night of the day of our arrival. The departure of +the through train to Baku had been changed from morning to night, and +this allowed of travelling by day over that part of the line which +before used to be passed at night. We had previously seen Tiflis, and +therefore did not break our journey. The weather was warm, but not such +as to cause discomfort. As we approached Tiflis the carriages and +buffets became crowded to excess, with townspeople returning from +Saturday-to-Monday holiday, the fine weather having enticed them out to +various places along the line. The railway-carriages on the Batoum-Baku +line are very comfortable, and the refreshment-rooms are frequent and +well provided, so travelling there is made easy and pleasant. The +journey occupies thirty-two hours. + +We reached Baku on September 16, the ninth day from London, and arranged +to leave for Enzelli, on the Persian coast, the port for Tehran, at +midnight the next day. Through the kindness of a member of the Greek +house of Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., we were shown over the oil-wells +and refineries belonging to M. Taghioff, a millionaire of Persian origin +(the name probably was Taghi Khan). The story goes that, on becoming +wealthy through the oil industry in its early days, he presented the +young township with a church, school-house, and hospital, and, in +recognition of his generous public spirit, the Government gave him a +grant of the waste land on which his works now stand, and out of which +millions of roubles have come to him from oil-springs. Our visit had the +appearance of bringing him luck in the form of a new fountain rush. We +had seen all the works and wells; none of the latter were flowing, and +the usual steam-pumping was going on. We were about to leave, when a +commotion at the wells attracted our attention, and we saw the dark +fluid spouting up from two to three hundred feet through the open top of +the high-peaked wooden roof erected over each of the wells. On hurrying +back, we saw the great iron cap, which is swung vertically when the pump +is working, lowered and fixed at some height over the mouth of the well, +to drive the outward flow down into the hollow all round and out into +the ditch leading to the reservoirs. The force of the gush was shown by +the roar of the dash against the iron cap, and the upward rush had the +appearance of a solid quivering column. The flow was calculated at fifty +thousand gallons an hour. The business of refining is generally in the +hands of others than the producers; but some of the larger +firms--notably the Rothschilds, Nobel Brothers, and Taghioff--are both +producers and refiners. This means of course, the employment of very, +much larger capital. + +There is a great dash of the gambling element in the oil-well business +at Baku. Large sums are spent in boring operations, and success so +often stands off that all available capital is sunk in the ground and +swallowed up. Even with good signs, it is impossible to foresee the +results or the extent of production, and there is also an extraordinary +irregularity in the outcome of the separate naphtha-bearing plots. An +instance was mentioned to me of a peasant proprietor who had made enough +money on which to live sumptuously, but he hungered for more, and +engaged in further boring operations. He was on the verge of losing +everything, when oil was suddenly struck, and he made a fortune. He +laboured hard himself, and literally went to sleep a poor working man, +and awoke to find his dream of riches realized. + +Baku has been immensely improved in every way of late, and now has good +streets, hotels, and shops. Water, which was a great want before, is +well supplied from condensers which belong to the town. The rise in the +value of house property and building sites within the last ten years has +been enormous, and great part of the money thus made has gone to native +owners, Persians (or Tartars, as all Mohammedans are called here), and I +was told of a plot of building ground with a small house on it, which +had been originally bought for 600 roubles, being lately sold for +30,000. The town is growing in size, and new buildings are rising, which +give an appearance of prosperity and increasing trade. The harbour is +crowded with steamers and sailing vessels, and the wharfs present a busy +sight. The loading and unloading is quickly done by steam-cranes and +powerful porters, who come in numbers from the Persian districts of +Khalkhal and Ardabil. I watched with much interest a gang of these men +at work. They were wonderfully quick, quiet, and methodical in their +ways, and showed great capacity for handling and carrying heavy weights. + +Baku swarms with Persians, resident and migratory. They are seen +everywhere--as shopkeepers, mechanics, masons, carpenters, coachmen, +carters, and labourers, all in a bustle of business, so different from +Persians, at home. Climate or want of confidence produces indolence +there, but here and elsewhere out of Persia they show themselves to be +active, energetic, and very intelligent. They are in great numbers at +all the censes of trade in the adjoining countries--at Constantinople, +Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Tiflis, Askhabad, and other towns. Most of +the new buildings in Tiflis were built by Persians, and thousands were +engaged in the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway. The permanent +workmen now employed on it are largely Persians, and Askhabad has a +resident population of over twelve thousand. There were said to be +twenty thousand Persians, from the provinces of Azerbaijan and Hamadan, +working last summer on the new railway from Tiflis to Alexandropol and +Kars, now being built, and doubtless many of them will permanently +settle on the line. + +It is said that there are half a million thus located and working out of +Persia, but I think that this is an exaggerated estimate. Most of them +retain their nationality, for while they grumble loudly in their own +country, yet when away they swear by it, and save money steadily to +enable them to return home. Their nomadic character is the cause of this +readiness to seek employment abroad. I was told that in 1894-95 twenty +thousand Persian passports were issued from the Embassy in +Constantinople. This would include pilgrims as well as home visitors. +It is this love of country (not in the sense, however, of patriotism as +understood in the West) which makes a Persian cling to his national +representative abroad, and willingly pay for frequent registration as a +subject who is entitled to protection and permission to return home +whenever he may choose. As a rule, the Persian abroad always appears in +the distinctive national dress--the tall black lambskin cap and the coat +with ample skirt of many pleats. + +I have mentioned the Persian porters who are seen at Baku; they are also +to be found at Petrovsk and Astrachan, and are generally preferred to +the local labourers, who, in common with their class in Russia, take a +long drink once a week, often unfitting them for their work the +following day. The Persians are of sober habits, and can be relied upon +for regular attendance at the wharfs and loading-stages. They have +learnt, however, to take an occasional taste of the _rakivodka_ spirit, +and when reminded that they are Mohammedans, say that the indulgence was +prohibited when no one worked hard. These porters are men of powerful +physique, and display very great strength in bearing separate burdens; +but they cannot work together and make a joint effort to raise heavy +loads, beyond the power of one man. Singly, they are able to lift and +carry eighteen poods, Russian weight, equal to six hundred and +forty-eight pounds English. + +In the newspaper correspondence on the burning Armenian Question, I have +seen allusion made to the poor physique of the Armenian people; but as +far as my observation goes in Persia, Russian Armenia, and the Caucasus, +there is no marked difference between them and the local races, and on +the railway between Baku and Tiflis Armenian porters of powerful form +are common, where contract labour rates attract men stronger than their +fellows. + +Though much of the wealth which has come out of the Baku oil-fields has +been carried away by foreign capitalists, yet much remains with the +inhabitants, and the investment of this has promoted trade in the +Caspian provinces, and multiplied the shipping. There are now between +one hundred and eighty and two hundred steamers on the Caspian, besides +a large number of sailing craft of considerable size, in which German +and Swedish, as well as Armenian and Tartar-Persian, capital is +employed. The Volga Steam Navigation Company is divided into two +companies--one for the river, and the other for the Caspian. The latter +owns six large steamers, with cargo capacity of from sixty to eighty +thousand poods, liquid measurement, for oil-tank purposes, equalling +nine hundred to twelve hundred tons. They have German under-officers, +and Russian captains. It is likely that the German officers come from +the German colonies on the Volga, and probably some of the capital also +comes from that quarter. This Volga Steam Navigation Company was +established over fifty years ago by a Scotchman, named Anderson, and +some of the vessels first built are still used on the river as +cargo-boats. + +Many of the best steamers on the Caspian are officered by Swedes and +Finns, most of whom speak English, acquired whilst serving in English +ships sailing to all parts of the globe. The Mercury Company, which runs +the superior steamers and carries the mails on the Caspian, has Swedish +and Finn officers, but it is said that they are now to be replaced by +Russian naval officers as vacancies occur. This company's vessels are +well appointed, have good cabins, and are fitted with the electric +light. But the best of Caspian mail-boats are most uncomfortable in +rough weather for all but those whom no motion whatever can affect. +Owing to the shoal water on all the coast circumference of this sea, the +big boats are necessarily keelless, and may be described as but great +barges with engines, and when at anchor in a rolling sea their movement +is terribly disturbing. + +We embarked in the _Admiral Korneiloff_, one of the Mercury Company's +best boats, on the night of September 17, and arrived at Enzelli on the +morning of the 19th. I was amused on the voyage to hear the sailors' +version of the story how the Caspian became a Russian sea, on which no +armed Persian vessel can sail. The sovereignty of this Persian sea was +ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the sailors say +that on the Shah being pressed over and over again to consent, and +desiring to find some good excuse to do so, a courtier, seeing the royal +inclination, remarked that Persia suffered sorely from salt soil and +water, which made land barren, and that sea-water was of no use for +irrigation, nor any other good purpose. The Shah on this asked if it +were really true that the water of the Caspian was salt, and on being +assured that it was, he said the Russians might have the whole of it. + +We found an improvement at Enzelli in the form of a hotel kept by a +Greek, with accommodation good enough to be very welcome. We had +excellent fresh salmon at breakfast, which reminded me of the doubt that +has often been expressed of the true salmon being found in an inland +sea. The Caspian fish is a genuine salmon of the same habits as the +marine species known in Europe, with the one sad exception that it will +not look at nor touch fly or bait in any form or shape, and therefore +gives no sport for the rod. The trout in the upper waters of the streams +that the salmon run up, take the fly freely and give good sport, but all +attempts by keen and clever fishermen to hook a salmon have failed. The +fish are largely netted, and same are sent to Tehran packed in ice, +while a good business is done in salting what cannot be sold fresh. The +existence of salmon in this inland salt sea, which lies eighty-four feet +below the level of the ocean, is supposed to be due to its connection +with the open sea having been cut off by a great upheaval in the +prehistoric time. + +After breakfast we were confronted with a functionary new to us in +Persia, one charged with the demand for passports and their examination. +He is prepared to provide passports for those arriving without them, and +to _visé_ when this has not been previously done. Considering the +practice in force with Persia's near neighbour, and the crowd of +deck-passengers always coming and going, it was not likely that this +formality as a source of income would fail to be adopted. The linguistic +educational qualification for the post is evidently confined to Russian, +for on finding that I spoke Persian, the officer asked me for the +information he pretended to seek from the English passports. He +acknowledged the farce he was called upon to play, and we proceeded +without any farther inquiry. The day was warm, but not oppressively so; +the sea-breeze helped the boat across the lagoon and up the Pir-i-Bazaar +stream, and the weather being dry, we reached Resht in carriages By the +Mobarakabad route, without the splashing plunging through a sea of mud +which is the general disagreeable experience of the main road. + +The Enzelli Lagoon is a swarming haunt of numerous kinds of wild-fowl +and fishing birds. Conspicuous among the waders in the shallows and on +the shore are the pelican and the stork. The place is a paradise to +them, teeming with fish and frog food. One of my companions described +what he had witnessed in a struggle with a wounded stork in the shallow +water of this lagoon. He and a friend were out after wild-duck, and his +friend, desiring to bag a giant stork, which looked splendid in his +strongly contrasted pure white and deep black plumage, fired, and +wounded the bird. His Persian servant, with thoughts intent on cooking +it, ran, knife in hand, to cut its throat in the orthodox manner, so as +to make it lawful for a Mohammedan to eat. The bird, on being seized, +struggled hard with its captor, and, snapping its elongated bill widely +in wild terror, by accident got the man's head jammed between its +mandibles. The keen cutting edges of the long strong beak scarified the +man's cheeks, and made him scream with pain and with frantic fear that +it was _his_ throat which was being cut. His master went to his +assistance and released him by wrenching open the stork's bill, but he +was so occupied with supporting his swooning servant that time was given +for the wounded stork to hurry away in safety, flapping its long wings +and snapping its powerful beak, as is the habit of this voiceless bird, +with all the appearance of triumph. + +Enzelli is becoming the port of entry, for the North of Persia, of tea +from India and China. Till within a very short time most of the tea for +Persia, Trans-Caspia, and Russian Turkistan so far as Samarkand, passed +up from Bombay by the Persian Gulf ports. The late reduction in Russian +railway charges, and the low sea-freights from the East in the +oil-steamers returning to Batoum, have brought about this change. +Arrangements have been made for transit to Baku of Russian-owned tea +consigned to Persia on special terms of Customs drawback, and it is now +sold cheaper in Resht than in Baku, where it has a heavy duty added to +the price. The thin muslin-like manufactures of India, in demand in +Central Asia for wear in the hot dry summer, and which found their way +there from the Persian Gulf, are now following the same route as the +tea. Thus, steam and waterway are competing still more with the camel, +to make the longest way round the shortest one in point of time, and the +cheapest to the customers' homes. + +As with tea, so Russian beet-sugar is cheaper at Enzelli-Resht than at +Baku, owing to the State bounty on export. The consumption of tea and +sugar, already large in Persia, is certain to increase in the North +through this development of Russian trade. French beet-sugar continues +to compete by way of Trebizond to Tabriz, but if the experiment now +being tried of manufacturing sugar in the vicinity of Tehran from beet +succeeds, the Persians will benefit further by competition. + +The Russian trade in Persia is mostly in the hands of Armenians, some of +whom have amassed considerable wealth. It is only in the West that the +Jew is regarded as the sample of superior sharpness in the walks of life +that call for the exercise of the qualities most necessary in the +operation of getting the better of one's neighbour. In the East both the +Greek and the Armenian are ahead of him in this respect, and the popular +saying is, 'One Greek equals two Jews, and one Armenian equals two +Greeks.' But, to the credit of the Armenian traders, it should be said +that they are bold and enterprising in a newly-opened country, as well +as clever in an old one. It may be here mentioned that there is no +opening in Persia for the native Jew; he is there refused the facilities +which lead to wealth, and is strictly confined to the poorest +occupations. It is not unlikely that the severe treatment of the Jews in +Persia has its origin in the hatred inspired by the conduct of +Saad-u-Dowleh, a Jewish physician, who rose to the position of Supreme +Vazir under the King Arghoun Khan, in 1284. This Minister owed his +advancement to his pleasing manners and agreeable conversation, and he +gained such an ascendancy over his weak royal master as to be allowed to +remove all Mohammedans from places of trust and profit, and even to +carry his persecution to the length of commanding that no one professing +that faith should appear at Court. The Eastern Christians were then much +more prominent and numerous than they afterwards became, and +Saad-u-Dowleh sank his people's dislike of the Nazarene in his greater +hate of the Mohammedan, so that he employed the former to replace the +followers of the Arabian Prophet whom he dismissed from office and +banished from Court. The penalty of death was exacted for this +persecution, for Saad-u-Dowleh was murdered almost at the same instant +that his sovereign master expired. + +The silk trade of Resht, which has suffered so much for many years from +the disease that attacked the silkworms in the Caspian provinces, and +spread to all the Persian silk districts, is now recovering. The +introduction of cellular seed has been attended with much success, and +there is a rapidly-increasing export of cocoons. The fresh start in this +old industry has given an impetus to mulberry-tree cultivation, and +waste land is in considerable demand for planting purposes. + +An attempt is now being made to grow tea on the low hills near Batoum. +It is not yet known what may be the ultimate chances of success, but +already what is being done there is having the effect of suggesting a +similar experiment near Resht. The conditions of the soil on many of the +wooded hill-slopes in the Persian Caspian provinces, where every +gradation of climate and atmosphere can be met with, appear to be well +adapted for the tea-plant. The cart-road to Kasvin, now being +constructed by a Russian company, will pass through some of these +well-favoured parts, and this will help to draw attention to natural +resources which have hitherto been unnoticed. + +As old Persian travellers, we were at once reminded of our return to the +land of complimentary address and extravagant phrase by the frequent +reply '_Chashm_' (My eye!), the simple slang expression known in our +country, and which 'Trilby' has made better known by its introduction on +the stage. The word is an abbreviation of '_Ba sar o chashm'_ (By my +head and eyes! May my eyes be put out, and my head taken off, if I obey +not!). We also heard the similar but less formal reply _Chira_? +Why?--meaning, why not? why should I not do as you desire? i.e. you will +be obeyed. + +We travelled to Kasvin, halfway to Tehran, over the execrable road which +leads from Resht. For the first forty miles the landscape was lovely +from wooded slopes, green growth and clear running water. The +post-houses are just as they were--ill-provided, and affording the very +smallest degree of comfort that it is possible for a 'rest-house' to +give. They had been in some way improved for the reception of General +Prince Karaupatkin, and his suite, who visited Tehran to announce to the +Shah the accession of H.I.M. Nicolas II.; but no effort to maintain the +improvement had been made, except in one place--Menzil. The _on dit_ in +Tehran was, that the successful launching of the Russian cart-road +enterprise, now fairly well in hand, is entirely due to Prince +Karaupatkin's strong representation on his return to St. Petersburg. He +is said to have taken the opportunity of telling the Shah, in answer as +to his journey up, that he was greatly surprised to find the road +leading to the capital such a very bad one; whereupon his Majesty +remarked that the blame lay with his own countrymen, who, after begging +for a monopoly concession to construct a good road, had held on to it +and done nothing, and they had the right, so long as the contract time +allowed, to prevent others from making the road. The Russian press, +which interested itself in the matter, pointed out that what was wanted +to give an impetus to their trade in North Persia was good roads, not +bounties, and it may be that the interest which is believed to be +guaranteed by the Government on the road capital will take the place of +trade bounties. The money subscribed is sufficient to provide a +solidly-built road, and the idea is that it will be aligned so as to be +fit for railway purposes in the future. The existing cart-road from +Kasvin to Tehran is but a track, lined out fairly straight over a level +bit of high-lying country, with a few bridges over small streams. The +distance, ninety-five miles, is comfortably covered in fourteen to +eighteen hours in carriages drawn by three horses. The nature of the +ground makes this road a good fair-weather one, and as the Russian +company has rented it from the Persian concessionnaire, we may expect to +hear of considerable improvements, so as to encourage an increase of the +Persian waggon traffic which already exists on it. The completion of a +system of quick communication between the Russian Caspian Sea base and +the capital of Persia must attract the practical attention of all who +are interested in Persian affairs. + +Many of the Moullas, in their character as meddlers, are always ready to +step forward in opposition to all matters and measures in which they +have not been consulted and conciliated. So the Russian road from Resht +was pronounced to be a subject for public agitation by the Tabriz +Mujtahid, Mirza Javad Agha, who, since his successful contest over the +Tobacco Régie, has claimed to be one of the most important personages in +Persia. This priest is very rich, and is said to be personally +interested in trade and 'wheat corners' at Tabriz, and as he saw that +the new road was likely to draw away some of the Tabriz traffic, he set +himself the task of stirring up the Moullas of Resht to resent, on +religious grounds, the extended intrusion of Europeans into their town. +The pretence of zeal in the cause was poor, because the Resht Moullas +are themselves interested in local prosperity, and the agitation failed. + +A change is coming over the country in regard to popular feeling towards +priestly interference in personal and secular affairs. The claim to have +control of the concerns of all men may now be said to be but the first +flush of the fiery zeal of divinity students, fresh from the red-hot +teachings of bigoted Moulla masters, who regret the loss of their old +supremacy, and view with alarm the spread of Liberalism, which seems now +to be establishing itself in Persia. + +The unfortunate episode of the Tobacco Régie in 1891 gave the Moullas a +chance to assert themselves, and they promptly seized the opportunity to +champion a popular cause of discontent, and the pity of it was that the +enterprise which raised the disturbance was English. This tobacco +monopoly had been pictured as a business certain to produce great gains, +and the people were thus prepared for the reports which were spread of +high prices to be charged on what they regard as almost a necessary of +life. The conditions of the country were not fully studied before the +monopoly powers were put in force. A suggestion was made that the +company's operations should be confined at first to the foreign export, +which would have returned a good profit, and that afterwards a beginning +should be made at Tehran, to prove to the people that the monopoly would +really give them better tobacco, and not raise prices, which the company +claimed would be the result of their system. But everything was planned +on an extensive scale, and so were prospective profits. The picture of a +rapid road to fortune had been exhibited, and it was therefore decided +that the full right of monopoly should be established at once. An +imprudent beginning was made in exercising the right of search in a +manner which alarmed some people for the privacy of their homes, a +dangerous suggestion in a Mohammedan community. + +The suspicions and fears of all--buyers, sellers, and smokers--were +easily worked upon by the priests, ever ready to assert the supremacy of +the Church over the State. And then the biggest 'strike' I know of took +place. Mirza Hassan, the High-Priest of Kerbela, the most sacred shrine +of the Shiah Mohammedans, declared tobacco in Persia to be 'unlawful' to +the true believer, and everyone--man, woman, and child--was forbidden to +sell or smoke it. The 'strike' took place on a gigantic scale, a million +or two certainly being engaged in it, and steps were taken to see the +order from Kerbela carried out rigorously. 'Vigilance men,' under the +Moullas' directions, made raids on suspected tea-shops, to find and +smash the 'kalian' pipes which form part of the stock-in-trade of +these places of refreshment. The Shah was faced with the sight of silent +and forsaken tea-shops as he passed through the streets of Tehran, and +he saw the signs of the censuring strike in the rows of empty benches, +on which his subjects used to sit at their simple enjoyment of pipes and +tea. The interdiction reached the inner homes of all, and even in the +_anderuns_ and boudoirs of the highest (all of which are smoking-rooms) +it was rigidly obeyed. The priestly prohibition penetrated to the +palaces, and royalty found authority set at defiance in this matter. A +princely personage, a non-smoker, is said to have long urged and +entreated a harem favourite, too deeply devoted to tobacco, to moderate +her indulgence in it, but to no effect. On the strike being ordered, she +at once joined it, and his Highness is reported to have said, 'My +entreaties were in vain, my bribes of jewels were refused, yet the +priest prevails.' And this was at a place where not long before Moullas +had been at a discount. + +[Illustration: PIPE BEARER IN A PERSIAN ANDERUN] + +There are now signs of the people resenting the arrogant assumption or +power by the Moullas, and freeing themselves from their thraldom. There +has always been great liberty of opinion and speech in Persia, and six +hundred years ago the poets Khayyam and Hafiz took full advantage of +this in expressing their contempt for the 'meddling Moullas.' Not very +long ago the donkey-boys in one of the great towns would on occasion +reflect the popular feeling by the shout '_Br-r-r-o akhoond!_' (Go on, +priest!) when they saw a Moulla pattering along on his riding donkey. +_Biro_ is Persian for 'go on,' and, rolled and rattled out long and +loud, is the cry when droves of load-carrying donkeys are driven. The +donkey-boy in Persia is as quick with bold reply as he is in Egypt and +elsewhere. There is a story that a high Persian official called out to a +boy, whose gang of burden-bearing donkeys obstructed his carriage, 'Out +of the way, ass, you driver of asses!' and was promptly answered, 'You +are an ass yourself, though a driver of men!' + +As a finish to this reference to the Tobacco Régie in Persia, I may +mention it is believed that, had the company started as ordinary +traders, they, having the command of ready money, would have succeeded +well. The commencement made in the centres of tobacco cultivation +impressed the peasant producers most favourably; they appreciated the +advantages of cash payments, and regretted the cessation of the system, +and the governors benefited by the readiness with which the taxes were +paid. But the explanation of monopoly, a word which was then unknown in +Persia, raised the fears of the people, and those who had the money to +spare laid in a supply of tobacco before the concession came into force. +This was regarded by the poor as proof of the coming rise in price, and +they therefore hailed the Moullas as their deliverers from the +threatened calamity of dear tobacco. + +The only public debt of Persia is that of a loan contracted in order to +pay the compensation for cancelment of this concession, and the expenses +which had been incurred; but the sale by the Government of the foreign +export (part of the cancelled concession) very nearly provides for the +loan. The Société de 'Tombac' of Constantinople, which bought the +monopoly of export, has had difficulties to contend with, caused by a +Persian combination to buy from the cultivators and sell to the foreign +agents. A prominent Moulla was named as interested in this business, +which was in reality at direct variance with the principles on which the +priesthood had declared the original concession to be 'unlawful.' This +interference with the free trade conditions existing when the +Constantinople company made its contract led to a dispute, which ended +with a fresh agreement, in which there is said to be a stipulation that, +should the Persian Tobacco Régie in its original form be revived at any +time, French subjects are to have the first offer. + +After disposing of the Tobacco Régie, the triumphant Moullas desired to +extend their prohibition to all foreign enterprise in Persia, and they +pronounced against the English Bank, which was doing its work quietly, +and without detriment to the business of others. But the Shah gave them +clearly to understand that their pretensions would be permitted no +further, and that they were to cease from troubling. They then made an +attempt to establish the impression of their power in a visible sign on +all men, by commanding discontinuance of the Persian fashion of shaving +the chin, so that the beard should be worn in accordance with Mohammedan +custom. Again they talked of organizing coercion gangs, to enforce the +order on the barbers, under threat of wrecking their shops. At this time +a foreign diplomat, during an audience of the Shah, on being asked by +his Majesty, according to his wont, what news there was in the European +quarter of the town, mentioned this latest phase of Moulla agitation as +tending to unsettle men's minds. The Shah passed his hand lightly over +his shaven chin, and said, with a touch of humour and royal assurance: +'See, I shave; let them talk; they can do nothing.' + +It is wrong to suppose that the people of Persia are dead to all desire +for progress, and that their religion is a bar to such desire. It is not +so. Many of the Moullas, it is true, are opposed to education and +progress. One frankly said of the people in reference to education, +'They will read the Koran for themselves, and what will be left for us +to do?' The country is advancing in general improvement, slowly, but yet +moving forward; not standing still or sliding back, as some say. The +Moulla struggles in 1891-92 to gain the upper hand produced a feeling of +unquiet, and the most was made of all grievances, so as to fan the +flames of discontent. Pestilent priests paraded the country, and did +their utmost to excite religious fanaticism against the Government. +These agitators spoke so loudly and rashly that the ire of the old +religious leaders, the higher Moullas, men of learning and tranquil +temper, who had not joined the party of retrogression, was roused. The +knowledge of this emboldened the sober-minded to speak out against the +arrogance and conceit of the new self-elected leaders. Open expression +of opinion led to the criticism, 'These priests will next desire to rule +over us.' The Nomads, who have always declined to be priest-ridden, also +showed that they were ready to resist any attempts to establish a +religious supremacy in temporal affairs; and then, by judicious +management of rival jealousies and conflicting interests, the Shah +succeeded in his policy of complete assertion of the royal power. It may +be that the Moullas were made to understand that, just as the Chief +Priest had risen at a great assembly before Nadir Shah, and advised him +to confine himself to temporal affairs, and not to interfere in matters +of religion, so similar sound advice in the reverse order was given for +their guidance. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +Nasr-ed-din Shah was the two hundred and fifty-fourth Sovereign who had +successively ascended the throne of Persia. He succeeded his father, +Mahomed Shah, on September 10, 1848, and would have entered on his +jubilee, the fiftieth year of his reign, according to the Mohammedan +calendar, on May 6, 1896, had not his life been suddenly cut short by a +dastardly assassin on Friday, May 1. This was, I think, the longest +reign of any Persian monarch that can be ascertained with historical +accuracy, except that of Shah Tamasp, who died A.D. 1576, after +occupying the throne for fifty-three years; but this credits him with +having begun his reign at the age of ten years. Nasr-ed-Din Shah +ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. Up to the last his Majesty +was remarkable as retaining all his physical and mental energies; his +health was excellent, due no doubt to his love of nomadic life and its +simple habits. He was passionately fond of the chase, and passed much of +his time in the saddle. It might well be said of him, as of the ancient +Persian monarchs, that the royal edicts were written 'at the stirrup of +the King,' for his Ministers had to follow him into the camp and the +hunting-field, and this prevented his Court becoming lapped in luxury. +Large tracts were preserved for him for ibex and moufflon on the +mountains, and antelope on the plains, and the hawking of duck or +partridge on by-days. This nomadic life, with its hunting habits, +encouraged the pleasant, easy manner which attracted his subjects and +commanded their confidence. He was an energetic worker, and had full +knowledge of all home and foreign affairs. He was superior to all palace +intrigues, if any existed, and his Ministers were rarely changed. The +long continuance in office of his councillors added to the feeling of +public security which his own strong personality had given to the +country. + +In appearance Nasr-ed-Din Shah was little changed since 1889, when his +figure was a well-known one in Europe. He showed the same alertness of +step, brightness of look and manner, and smartness of dress, which +distinguished him then. In his Court he was a striking figure, in marked +contrast to those about him, for it must be confessed that all in +attendance showed some neglect of appearance which compared unfavourably +with the _tout ensemble_ of their Sovereign. This may possibly have been +a subtle form of flattery, so that the Shah alone might catch the eye +and be the 'observed of all observers'--'le Roi-Soleil'--of the land of +the Lion and the Sun. + +No one probably saw more clearly than the Shah that the system of +farming out the administration of the provinces from year to year is +bad, both for the Treasury and the people; but he knew well that reform, +to be sure and certain, must be slow and gradual, for change in Persia, +with its ancient traditions and old memories, cannot be effected at one +stroke. He had done much to mitigate the evil of the present system by +establishing telegraphic communication with all the centres of +provincial government, thus placing himself in close touch with his +subjects, even in the most remote parts. Gradually the confidence which +began in his near neighbourhood had extended throughout the country, and +there was a firm belief in the minds of the people that the Shah could +be approached by all. But it can well be imagined that it takes a +desperate case to induce those who are oppressed in distant places to +have recourse to such a public mode of communicating grievances as the +telegraph. Yet the telegraph is so employed at times, the senders of the +telegrams giving their names openly, and confidently awaiting the +result. + +The Persian Telegraph Department has a peculiar importance in being the +secret agency by which the Shah is served with an independent and +reliable daily report of all that goes on throughout the country. The +system of direct reports of the conduct of governors, by special +resident officials, which was established in the days of Darius the +King, has developed into the present secret service daily telegrams. +Nominations to all the telegraph appointments are made by the Minister +in charge of the department, who bears the appropriate title of +Mukbir-i-Dowleh (Intelligencer of the State). + +An instance of the power exercised through this system occurred within +my personal knowledge a few years ago. A local dignitary in a distant +province fell under the frown of the Prince Governor, who, actuated by +greed, imposed on him a heavy fine for an imaginary offence. The fine +was not paid, on which a charge of contumacy was made, and this was +punished by the cruel bastinado and imprisonment. The Telegraph-master, +notwithstanding the fact of the Governor being a near relative of the +late Shah, reported the circumstance in all its details. The telegraph +enabled the Shah to make his presence felt in distant places, as well as +his power, for he was in the habit of occasionally summoning a Governor +to the office at the other end of the wire, to hear his commands spoken +on the spot. In this instance the Shah, after personal inquiry, ordered +the release of the prisoner, and on being informed some days later that +this had not been done, the Telegraph-master was directed to take the +telegraphic royal command to the prison, and see it instantly obeyed. +The official carried out his instructions, and the guards at once set +the prisoner free. + +The system of farming out the provinces gives rise to much grumbling, +which perhaps, on close examination, may be found to be without full +reason. The real cause of complaint is the absence of fair fixed +taxation demands. Every village has to pay a tithe of its annual value +to the State, and previous to collection the place is visited by one of +the provincial officials, and the fullest details of the circumstances +of each family are ascertained. The limit of the official robbery which +follows is the ability to pay, as measured by the patience of the +sufferers. The peasantry are peaceful, frugal, and easily governed, but +there is a point beyond which they cannot be pressed without risk of +making them turn on the oppressor. They have now learnt the strength of +the defence they possess in the power of making their grievances known. +No doubt the provincial levy of taxation charges doubles the State +tithe, one-half of the whole amount being taken by the Governor and the +officials; but all this does not mean more than one-fifth of the village +income, for the general assessment was made before the existing +improvement in the circumstances of the cultivators had taken place more +or less all over the country. There was then little demand for products +which are now exported and paid for in gold, thus giving a high price in +the silver currency of the country. After the provincial taxation, there +are local charges, which may possibly add a further 2 or 3 per cent, to +the total amount. Formerly insecurity and want of confidence confined +cultivation and stock-breeding to the barest limits, but it is evident +now that the inhabitants can look to enjoy the fruits of their labour, +and they are extending their fields of exertion. On the whole, it may be +said that the peasantry and labouring classes in Persia are fairly well +off, and I think their condition can bear a favourable comparison with +that of the same classes in other countries. + +In the course of my journeying in Persia, I generally found excellent +quarters in the village houses. The rather mean outer appearance of the +dwellings conveys the idea of poor accommodation within, but the reality +is a pleasing disclosure of plain but well-carpeted rooms, with dados of +matting or felt for the backs of the sitters by the wall. I always +looked out for village lodgings when travelling off the main roads, and +in wintry weather they were very comfortable from their open well-built +clay fireplaces giving out heat without the nuisance of smoke. On these +occasions I had ample opportunity to observe the every-day life of the +people, and I was struck with much which showed that their manners and +ways had been favourably touched and turned by a softening civilization +of old date. I also there saw clear evidence of the origin of the +Eastern shoe question, a matter which has often given rise to warm +discussion in Persia and India; I allude to the removal of shoes on +entering the inner rooms of a house. In India it is taken to imply +inferiority, and since the establishment of British supremacy the custom +has never been complied with by a European except in cases of personal +employment in a native State. I remember an instance in point when a +sergeant piper of a Highland regiment took service with one of the +Punjab Sikh chiefs, to instruct a bagpipe band which the Rajah had +formed in admiration of Scottish Highland music. In the contract paper +which set forth in detail the duties, pay, and allowances of the +instructor, the sergeant expressly stipulated that he should not be +required to remove his shoes on entering the Rajah's room when a +European was present. The origin of the custom of removing the shoes was +clearly to avoid soiling the carpets in the house or tent, on which the +inmates sat, ate, and slept. + +Felts and rush-mats, no doubt, formed the first floor-coverings for +tents and houses; but as arts and manufactures grew in Central Asia, the +pastoral tribes, with whom, there being little or no agricultural work +for the women and children, the woollen industries began, introduced +carpets with coloured designs, many of the patterns of which are known +to be of very old date, and still remain in the hands of certain +families as their own carefully-guarded secrets and property. These +carpets then became their pictures, framed in felt side-strips, on which +people sat, slept, and transacted business. At meals the centre is +covered with a cloth, on which the dishes are placed; and I think the +carpet is regarded similarly as a well-polished dining-table was in the +West in olden days, when the cloth was removed at the end of the +courses. At other times it may be supposed that the pretty carpets are +their pictures on the floor, just as ours are on the wall; in fact, many +carpets of old design are so lovely and delicate that they are hung on +the walls of European residents' houses in Persia as being too good to +be trodden on. In the village houses the peasants always leave their +shoes at the inner doors, and when a man arrives in riding-boots, with +no intention of staying long, he complies with the object of the custom +by sitting on the edge of the carpet, or felt, and tucking his legs +underneath him, so that the feet may not touch or soil it. In this there +is no question of inferior and superior, for all are socially equal; it +is merely a matter of good manners and friendly feeling, just as +signified in the West by removal of the hat or cap. It would appear that +in the reception of Western Envoys at the Court of Persia it was +customary to change the boots or shoes for slippers, or to cover them +with these; but the practice was generally regarded as derogatory to +the dignity of the national representative, and sometimes became the +subject of strong protest and resentment. There is reason to believe +that the custom always cropped up with every Envoy as an annoying cause +of heated discussion and disagreeable feeling. On the occasion of the +reception of Mr. Anthony Jenkinson, Queen Elizabeth's Envoy at the Court +of Persia in 1561, this shoe question assumed an acute form; and when a +pair of the Shah's slippers was sent to him to be worn at the interview +with his Majesty, it is said that what was meant as attention was taken +for insult. The interview took place without the slippers being used, +and the meeting was not of a cordial character. + +But besides this shoe difficulty at the Court of Persia, there was also +a divergence of opinion regarding the lower garments, as the tight +knee-breeches and hose of the West were considered improper in the East, +and it is believed that the roomy Turkish _shâlwâr_ trousers were +required to be worn as 'overalls' to hide the legs on occasions of royal +audience. In connection with this phase of Eastern idea, an incident +happened with Sir Douglas Forsyth's diplomatic mission to the Amir of +Kashgar in 1873-74, which is worth mentioning here. The camp-sergeant +with the mission was Sergeant Rhind, of the 92nd Highlanders, and on the +Envoy and staff being received at Yarkand by the Governor of that +province, the second highest dignitary in the kingdom, it was understood +that, as he was most exacting in the full observance of all formalities, +much would depend upon his report of our demeanour, appearance, and +general conduct. This Governor kept quite a little Court, and we +accordingly paid our visit in all the show of a dress parade. Sergeant +Rhind attended in kilted uniform, and his appearance attracted +considerable shy and sly notice. Mahomed Yunis, the Governor, was a man +of severe ideas, and while pretending not to see the Highlander, who +stood behind us during the interview, he was reported to say after our +departure that his costume appeared to be incomplete. Some weeks +afterwards, on our reaching Kashgar, the capital in the North, and +preparing for the formal audience of the Sovereign, the famous Ataligh +Ghazi, the Court master of the ceremonies, appeared suddenly before the +appointed time, and announced most peremptorily that the sergeant was to +accompany us fully dressed. He explained that the kilt with bare knees +was objectionable, and could not be tolerated at the Ataligh's Court; so +the trews had to be substituted for the showy garb of old Gaul. The +indoor dress worn by Persian ladies is not unlike our Highland kilt. + +The shoe question was finally settled in a clause of the Turkmanchai +treaty of 1828, which is accepted by all the foreign legations. It +provides that goloshes or shoe-coverings shall be worn, to be removed +before entering the audience-room or going into the Shah's presence, and +this practice continues at the present time. The 'dragoman' +establishments are much more attached to old ideas than Turks and +Persians, and they cling to their presumed monopoly of knowledge of all +Court and social customs in order to enhance their importance. The +Persians move with the times, and understand Western modes of showing +respect; yet I heard it said by a local light that it was a breach of +good taste to salute the Shah by lifting the hat, and that it offended +Mohammedan notions of propriety to remove the head-covering in society. +Accordingly, I once saw some European gentlemen wearing their hats in +the reception-room of one of the Shah's Ministers; but on observing +others who were known to be well acquainted with Persian feeling +entering with hat in hand, they, who were under the guidance of a +'dragoman', adopted the European custom. In Fraser's 'Persia', we are +told that when Shah Abbas the Great received Sir Dodmore Cotton, +Ambassador from James I., his Majesty, 'being desirous of pleasing his +guests, drank to the health of the King of England. At the name of his +Sovereign the Ambassador stood up and took off his hat. Abbas smiled, +and likewise raised his turban in token of respect.' + +[Illustration: PERSIAN LADY AT HOME.] + +The farming system which is applied to the Customs in Persia continues +to cause considerable loss to the State. An extension of the same direct +control as is exercised in the Telegraph Department would show most +favourable results. Under the present short-sighted system the interests +of all the contractors lie in suppressing correct information and giving +misleading statistics, so that the annual bidding may be kept low. But +notwithstanding this, the truth leaks out to indicate that trade in +Persia is increasing. There are now signs of practical advice at +Tehran, to consider the establishment of a properly constituted Persian +control Board of Customs, by which a well-organized service, under the +central authority, may be maintained, and a considerable increase of +revenue secured. It may be said that all merchants in Persia benefit by +the farming system, for under it they can arrange to have their goods +passed on payment of a lump sum, and with but the merest show of +examination of invoices. In this manner they manage to get consignments +through the Customs at less than the fixed tariff. On a late rumour of a +foreign control of the Customs being likely, the Russian Armenian +merchants engaged in trade in the North frankly represented the fact of +arrangements being made with the authorities at the ports, to take less +than the treaty 5 per cent. on exports and imports, and they urged that +the custom was of such old date and long continuance as to make it a +fully recognised right. They stated that their trade was established on +this basis, and they protested against any change. There can be no doubt +that the same custom prevails in the South, and all along the frontier. +As the farming contracts are much subdivided, competition operates to +reduce rates, so as to induce change of trade routes. Thus, I heard of a +merchant in Central Persia, whose communications are with the South, +asking a contractor in the North for a quotation of his terms, so as to +make it advantageous for him to send his goods that way. In the matter +of contraband articles, the farming system lends itself to encourage the +passing of what the State forbids, as the middlemen and their servants +are tempted to make as much money as possible during the short time of +their annual contract engagements. In a country like Persia, where pride +of arms prevails to keep up the habit of carrying them, there is a +steady demand for modern breech-loading rifles. The Government is alive +to the necessity of preventing the importation of firearms, and from +time to time seizures are made of consignments smuggled under the guise +of merchandise. With a large nomad and semi-nomad population of warlike +and predatory instincts, almost every man of whom lays by money most +diligently, bit by bit, for the purchase of a breechloader and +cartridges, it is obvious that the interests of Government call for the +strongest check to the foreign trade in arms; but it may be taken for +granted that so long as the Customs are farmed out on the present system +the supply will be passed in to meet the demand. The favourite weapon is +the Martini-Henry, and there are many thousands in the possession of the +nomads and villagers. This rifle, as the Peabody-Martini, was first +introduced into the country during the late Turko-Russian War, when, +being the Turkish army weapon, it fell by thousands into the hands of +Russian soldiers, who sold them to the Persian sutlers and pedlars +allowed to accompany the troops. The Persians had shown their usual +energy and enterprise abroad by becoming camp-traders with the Russian +forces engaged on active service in Asia Minor, and they sent the +captured arms, which they purchased in large numbers, over the border +into Persia, where they fetched good prices. A profitable trade in +cartridges followed the introduction of the new rifle, and judging by +the well-filled belts and bandoliers which I saw on the North-western +frontier (Kurdistan and Azerbaijan), the business appears to be a well +established one. In the course of time and trade this rifle found its +way South to the fighting Bakhtiaris, Lurs, and Arabs, and the general +vote in its favour brought about a supply of 'trade' Martini-Henry arms +imported by way of the Persian Gulf, so that now in Persia what is known +as the 'Marteen' has become the popular arm in private possession. The +'Remington' has its possessors and admirers among the Karun Arab tribes, +who get their arms from Baghdad and Turkish sources. There is a brisk +trade in ammunition for the breechloader, and so keen is the desire to +secure and supplement the supply that solid-drawn brass cartridge-cases, +which admit of being used over and over again, with boxes of caps and +sets of reloading apparatus, are now in brisk demand. + +At Kasvin our eyes were refreshed with the sight of the +excellently-equipped Indo-European telegraph line, which comes in there +from Tabriz and the North, and passes on to Tehran and India. This line, +with its wires carried on tall iron standard posts stretching far in a +dominating manner over the country, seems to stand forth as a strong +witness to the effectual command and control exercised by the Shah's +Government at the present time. On the first establishment of this line +there was much conjecture as to the great risk of continued interruption +from the mischief of man; and failure to complete the land working at +the outset dissatisfied commercial men in England, so that to maintain +certain communication the Red Sea cable was laid. But new land lines +were erected which worked equally well as the cable, and the firm +insistence by the Persian Government on heavy damages for all malicious +injury gradually developed the perfect security which comes from local +interests demanding the fullest protection. The service by this line is +now as certain and quick as that of the ocean cable; in fact, I think +the average speed of messages between London and Calcutta is greater +_viâ_ Tehran than _viâ_ Suez. There was an interesting race last year +between the companies to communicate to India the result of the Derby, +and it was won in a way by the cable line. The messages were +simultaneously despatched from Epsom, that by Tehran reaching Bombay +five seconds before the other, but as the name of the winning horse only +was given correctly, Karachi, six hundred miles distant, had to be +asked for a repetition of the names of the second and third horses. The +cable telegram gave the three names accurately. Had Karachi been agreed +upon as the point of arrival for India, instead of Bombay, the +Indo-European would have won this telegraph race. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin. + + +The grape harvest was being gathered at Kasvin as we passed through. The +place is well known for its extensive vineyards and fine fruit-gardens. +Its golden grapes have a wide reputation, and these, with the white +species, also grown there, are in steady demand for wine manufacture, +which is carried on in the town, notwithstanding the greatly +disproportionate number of Moullas among the inhabitants. Large +quantities of the grapes are also sent to Tehran for wine purposes +there. Persia keeps up the character for strong wine which it had 600 +B.C., when the Scythian invaders took to it so eagerly as to establish +the saying, 'As drunk as a Scythian.' It was said that these +hard-headed, deep-drinking, wild warriors were always thirsting for +'another skinful,' and were ever ready to declare that the last was +always the best. Eighteen hundred years later, Hafiz, the merry poet, +sang aloud the praises of Shiraz wine, which to this day bears a high +reputation in Persia, a reputation which was royally good in the +traditional bygone time long before Cyrus, when it appears to have been +highly appreciated in the festivities of Glorious Jamshed, the founder +of Persepolis. The poet Omar Khayyam, in moralizing over the ruins of +the fallen splendour of that famous place, speaks in Fitzgerald's +'Rubaiyat': + + 'They say the lion and the lizard keep + The Court where Jamshed gloried and drank deep.' + +The Persian poet-historian Firdausi ascribes to Jamshed the discovery of +wine in his leisure from kingly duties and scientific pursuits, for to +him is attributed the invention of many useful arts, and the +introduction of the solar year for measurement of time, the first day of +which, when the sun enters Aries, he ordered to be celebrated by a +splendid festival. It is called Nauroz, or New Year's Day, and is still +the greatest festival in Persia. This single institution of former days, +under a different religion and system of measuring time, has triumphed +over the introduction of Mohammedanism, and is observed with as much joy +and festivity now as it was by the ancient inhabitants of Persia. + +According to Moulla Akbar's manuscripts, quoted in Malcolm's 'History of +Persia,' Jamshed was immoderately fond of grapes, and desired to +preserve some which were placed in a large vessel and lodged in a vault +for future use. When the vessel was opened, the grapes had fermented, +and their juice in this state was so acid that the King believed it must +be poisonous. He had some other vessels filled with the juice, and +'Poison' written upon each; these were placed in his room. It happened +that one of his favourite ladies was afflicted with nervous headaches, +the pain of which distracted her so much that she desired death, and +observing a vessel with 'Poison' written on it, she took it and +swallowed its contents. The wine, for such it had become, overpowered +the lady, who fell down in a sound sleep, and awoke much refreshed. +Delighted with the remedy, she repeated the doses so often that the +King's 'poison' was all drunk. He soon discovered this, and forced the +lady to confess what she had done. A quantity of wine was then made, and +Jamshed and all his Court drank of the new beverage, which, from the +circumstance that led to its discovery, is to this day known in Persia +as _zahr-i-khûsh_, or the pleasing poison. After that the manufacture of +wine became a regular industry, and spread from Shiraz, where it +originated. At the present time the process of manufacture is similar to +what it was then, in that the grape-juice is collected in large +Ali-Baba-like jars and buried in the ground. Alexander the Great is said +to have followed the festive example of his royal predecessor, and to +have drunk deep in the majestic halls of Persepolis. It has been +supposed by some that he caused the splendid palaces there to be set on +fire in a drunken freak. + +As a pendant to the story of a lady's discovery, in the time of Jamshed, +of wine as an efficacious cure for nervous headache, another is told +which ascribes to a lady the withdrawal of a royal decree against the +sale and use of wine. The Shah Hussein, on his accession to the throne +in 1694, displayed his religious zeal by forbidding the sale of wine, +and he ordered the destruction of all the stock of it that was in the +royal cellars at Ispahan. But his grandmother, by feigning herself ill, +and wholly dependent upon wine for cure, not only prevailed upon him to +revoke the decree, but also persuaded him to drink some in pure regard +to herself, with the result that he fell away from priestly influence +and became a tippler. Unfortunately for the nation, this grandmother's +guidance led Shah Hussein to ruin by wine and women, and dragged him +down to the deep degradation of surrendering Persia to the cruel tyranny +of the Afghan occupation. + +Wood being scarce in Persia, and poles, stakes, and sticks for upright +and lateral support not being easily procurable, the mode of culture of +the vine has come to be by planting in deep broad trenches, with high +sloping banks, up and over which the stems and branches run and fall. +The trenches are made to lie so as to allow of the bank-slopes having +the best exposure. This is the system followed on the flat, but in hilly +ground, by means of careful trimming and the assistance of piled stones, +the plants are made to develop strong standard stems, with bunchy, +bushy tops. I was particularly struck a few years ago with the neat, +well-tended vineyards at the village of Imâm-Zadeh-Ismail, in the hills +about forty miles north-west of Persepolis. Almost the whole of the +village lands were laid out in vineyards, well walled and beautifully +kept. The vines looked as if they were tended by those who understood +their culture well, and they appeared to thrive wonderfully on the light +soil of the place. Surprising energy had been shown in clearing the +ground, which was naturally stony; and there was abundant evidence of +much patient labour in the garden-like enclosures. Vineyards occupied +all the flat ground on which the village stood, and they extended up the +slopes. Hillside clearing was going on all around for further planting +of vines, which were seen to flourish there. Raisins are largely made +there, and I was told by my Kashkai conductor (for I was well off the +beaten track and required a guide), who seemed to know what he was +talking about, that the fresh grapes were used for wine, but not in the +village. The religious character of the chief inhabitants of the +village, who are sheikhs, and guardians of the Holy Shrine of the +mausoleum of the Imam-Zadeh-Ismail, which lies within its limits, +prevents the preparation there of the forbidden fermented juice of the +grape. The shrine is endowed with the village lands rent free, and all +these lands are devoted to vine cultivation. The vineyards at Shiraz +have been greatly extended of late years, and particular attention is +now paid to the cultivation of the Kholar grape, as the best suited for +wine. This grape takes its name from the village of Kholar, which is +within a few miles of the town. Tabriz, Hamadan, Isfahan, and Shiraz +produce the best wine in Persia. Red and white are made at all these +places; the white wine of Hamadan is a sort of strong sauterne, and some +of it has quite a delicate flavour; Isfahan produces a wine of a port +character, and the best shiraz is sometimes like new madeira. All these +wines resemble in strength those that are now made in Australia. +Something is wanting in the mode of manufacture to make the wine capable +of improvement with keeping, and also of bearing transport. The advent +of the Russian road will probably lead to the development of Kasvin's +large area of fruitful vines, and the success which has attended +vineyard industry at Derbend, on the Caspian, may encourage similar +enterprise there. + +As neither law nor custom forbids the manufacture of wine by +non-Mohammedans, the cultivation of the grape spreads, and the making of +wine increases. From this it may be inferred, as there is little export +of wine from Persia, that all the produce is not consumed by +non-Mohammedans. As a matter of fact, the religious law which forbids +wine to Mohammedans is not rigidly observed; in truth, they are not all +total abstainers, and the delightful poison, as chronicled by Moulla +Akbar, is known to be a convenient remedy for all manner of moods, ills, +and complaints, nervous, imaginary, and real. They have been described +as drinking well when they do break the religious law, for they have a +saying that 'there is as much sin in a glass as in a flagon.' The +Persians have never thoroughly accommodated themselves to the creed of +their Semitic conquerors; they show profound respect for the externals +of Mohammedanism, and are sincere in their practice of piety and the +obligations of religion and charity; but they have always indulged in +the fancies and ideas of the great school of free-thinking philosopher +Sofis, whose observance of the ordinances of severe and joyless life is +notedly lax. + +The weather was lovely as we journeyed over the Kasvin plain to Tehran, +towards the end of September. Autumn in the North of Persia is a +gloriously fine season, almost spring-like in many ways, and, indeed, it +is called there the 'second spring.' The landscape then, though nearly +barren of verdure, has a beauty of its own in warm soft colours, and the +atmospheric effects on the hills and distances, evening and morning, are +of wonderfully delicate tones and tints. The prominent feature in the +landscape near Tehran is the grand cone-shaped Mount Demavend, about +forty miles to the north-east, which shoots up 19,400 feet above +ocean-level, and overtops all the surrounding heights by 6,000 feet or +more. It stood out bold, cold, and clear against the blue sky, and +looked beautifully white with a fresh covering of new snow, and it was +more than usually distinct, from being clear of the cloud-crown it +usually wears. In the evening the massive peak presented a splendid +appearance, looking as in a white heat from the shine of the setting +sun, which, though lost to view below the horizon, yet lighted up the +old volcano. + +Demavend has long been asleep, but the great earthquakes of 1891, 1893 +and 1895 in Astrabad and Kuchan to the eastward, and Khalkhal in the +north-west, show that its underground fires are still alight. The scene +of the last is about one hundred miles north-east of the old volcanic +region of Afshar, remarkable for its remains of vast 'cinter' cones, +formed by the flowing geysers of long, long ago, and which were +shattered and scattered by some mighty explosion, when the great geysers +boiled up and burst their walls. Here is seen the Takht-i-Sulimân, a +ruined fort of very ancient date, which local tradition describes as one +of King Solomon's royal residences, shared by his Queen, Belghéiz (of +Sheba), whose summer throne is also shown on a mountain height above. +This ruin incloses a flowing geyser of tepid sea-green water, about 170 +feet deep, the temperature of which was 66° when I visited the place in +1892. Near it is the Zindân-i-Sulimân (Solomon's Dungeon), an extinct +geyser, 350 feet deep. It shows as a massive 'cinter' cone, 440 feet +high, standing prominently up in the plain. This district was visited +and fully described by the late Sir Henry Rawlinson, and a further +account of it has been given by Mr. Theodore Bent, who, with Mrs. Bent, +went there in 1889. + +The volcanic district of Afshar has long been known for its quicksilver, +which from time to time has been found in small quantities. Some seven +or eight hundred years ago Arab miners laboured long in their search for +the main cinnabar vein which undoubtedly lies hidden there, and their +wide workings in laying open a whole hillside, where signs of cinnabar +are still seen, show what great gangs of labourers they must have had at +their command. The Persian Mines Corporation in 1891-92 engaged in +operations at the same point, but, after considerable sinking of shafts +and driving of galleries into the heart of the hill, they decided to +cease work, being disappointed, like their Arab predecessors, in not +finding quickly what they had traced by clear signs up to its mountain +source. A few miles below the site of these cinnabar-mine operations +there are ancient gold-washing workings, and within thirty miles are +heavy veins of quartz. + +Tehran displays a marked advance in many of the resources of +civilization; houses of an improved style are springing up, the roadways +are better attended to, and there is a great increase in the number of +carriages. The Prime Minister's new house, near the British Legation, is +situated in beautiful gardens, set off with pretty lakelets and terraced +grounds, which give slopes for flowing waterfalls. These gardens, in +common with all in the town, are tenanted every year by nightingales of +sweet song. It is now proposed to enclose an adjoining available space +to form a people's park, which would be a great place of enjoyment in +summer to a people of poetic imagination like the Persians, who delight +in the green glade with the cool sound of flowing water. The severe +cholera epidemic of 1892 showed the absolute necessity of an improvement +in the rude sanitary system which then existed, and a beginning has been +made in the daily careful cleaning of the streets and removal of refuse. +But a better and increased water-supply is greatly needed for the town, +which is becoming larger every year. People who have money to spend +appear to be attracted more than ever to the capital. Those who before +were content with the provincial towns now build houses in Tehran. The +superior houses have garden-ground attached, and much tree-planting is +done. The demand for water increases, but the supply is not +supplemented. Years ago the utmost was made of the sources from which +water is drawn; no pains have been spared to extract every possible drop +of water from the heart of the hills within a considerable distance, and +to convey it undiminished by evaporation to the city. This is done by +underground channels called _kanats_, which are excavated with great +ingenuity and skill, and are marvels of industry. This system prevails +all over Persia, and existence as well as the fertility of the soil +mainly depends on the water-supply thus obtained. The sandy expanse +round Yezd in the desert of South-eastern Persia has been made literally +to blossom like the rose by means of these subterranean channels, some +of which are tunnelled for a distance of thirty miles. I was there in +spring-time, and was then able to see what a wonder-worker water is in +Persia. + +The pressing need of more water for Tehran has now drawn attention to +the proposals of some years ago for increasing the supply. One of these +was to divert to the south an affluent of the Upper Lar, which rises in +the Elburz range, and flows into the Caspian. It was seen that this +could be done by cutting a new channel and tunnelling from a point +sufficiently high, where the stream runs in an elevated valley between +the double ridge of the range. The work would have been similar, but +simpler, to what was completed last year in Madras, where the upper +Periyar stream was changed from a western to an eastern flow. The +execution of the Lar project would be easy, and it would not practically +affect the volume of water in the main stream, which receives many +tributaries below the proposed point of piercing the watershed. But the +Lar Valley was one of the Shah's summer retreats, and a favourite +pasture-ground for his brood mares and young stock. It is, moreover, a +popular resort of flock-owning nomads, and as the Shah's love of camp +life there led him to fear injury to the grassy plains and slopes of +his favourite highlands, the project was abandoned. + +There was another scheme to construct a series of reservoirs by means of +strong barriers at the foot of the lower ravines of the Elburz range, +eight miles north of Tehran, in which to keep the winter water which +comes from the melting snow. The whole mountain-chain is covered with +snow each year from top to bottom. In April and May the snow melts, and +the precious water flows away where it is not wanted. Were this water +stored, it would be made available in the succeeding hot months. The +sloping plain between the hills and the town is capable, with +irrigation, of great fertility, and the construction of these reservoirs +would prove a veritable gold-mine. + +The distribution of water is a most important part of village +administration in Persia. The work of cutting off and letting on water +with most exact observance of time-measurements is carried out by a +waterman called _mirab_ (lord of the water) whose office is hereditary, +subject, however, to the special judgment of popular opinion. The duties +demand a clear head and nimble foot, and the waterman, in hastening +from point to point, has to show all the alertness of a street +lamplighter. He has to keep a correct count of time, for water is +apportioned by the hour, and his memory for all the details of change, +sale, and transfer must be good and unchallenged. When he becomes too +old, or otherwise incapacitated for the performance of his work with the +necessary quickness, he avails himself of the assistance of a son or +someone whom he proposes with the village approval to bring up as his +successor. The old man is then to be seen going leisurely along the +water-courses which issue from the underground channels, accompanied by +his young deputy carrying the long-handled Persian spade, ready to run +and execute his orders. Disputes between village and village over +_kanat_ water-cuts form the subject of severe fights occasionally, and +the saying is that water and women are the main causes of village +quarrels in Persia. + +It was a hot day in June, and having been up before daylight so as to +start at earliest dawn and avoid the mid-day heat for my whole party, we +were all in the enjoyment of afternoon sleep, when the courtyard was +invaded by a shouting mob of excited villagers, calling on me to hear +their story and bear witness to their wounds. They said they were the +tenants of the landlord whose house I was occupying, and they begged me +as his guest to make a statement of their case, so that justice might be +done. There had been a dispute over an irrigation channel, and the +opposing side having mustered strong, they were overpowered by numbers +and badly beaten. Some of the hurts they had received were ugly to look +at, having been inflicted with the long-handled Persian spade, the +foot-flanges of which make it a dangerous weapon. After a patient +hearing, and getting some plaster and simple dressing for their cuts and +bruises, they went away satisfied. So much for water as a cause of +quarrel, but an instance of the other cause, woman, which had come under +my notice shortly before, was more seriously characteristic. It occurred +at Shamsabad, on the border of the Aberkoh Desert, between Yezd and +Shiraz. I halted there after the long night journey across the desert, +and immediately I was settled in my village quarters, the master of the +house in which I lodged asked me to look at the gunshot wounds of one +of his young men, and to prescribe and provide in any way I could +towards healing them. I asked if any bones were broken, saying that I +could do little or nothing in such a case. I was told that they were but +flesh wounds, and on the young man coming in, I was shown a ragged long +cut between the lower ribs, and a deepish wound in the fleshy part of +the leg, which had evidently been made by slugs or buckshot. I +prescribed careful cleansing, and the use of lint and lotion, and I gave +a supply of the necessary material. I asked how the thing had happened, +and the young fellow told me that he and his brother had been +treacherously attacked at a water-mill, whilst having the family grain +ground, by some Aberkoh youths, between whose family and his there was a +longstanding blood-feud; that they both had been shot at close quarters, +and his brother had died of his wounds two days before. + +The master of the house, who was also headman of the village, explained +that the blood-feud had been carried on for five generations, and had +originated in a 'little maid' who, being betrothed in their village, had +eloped with a young man of Aberkoh. The disappointed bridegroom had +afterwards taken his successful rival's life, and the deadly demand of a +life for a life had, in accordance with the law of revenge, been made +and exacted for the past five generations. He said the elders had hoped +the quarrel was nearly dead, as there had been long peace between the +parties, but suddenly the hot blood of youth had risen to renew it, and +now there was fear of further murder. In that remote district the +ancient first principles of natural justice had still strong hold upon +the people, and formed, in the absence of established law, the defence +of families and communities. + +The knowledge that a man is considered disgraced who allows the blood of +his father or brother to pass unrevenged makes many a murderer in +thought pause, and depart from the deed. Accordingly, in those lawless +parts, as a rule, order reigns, and disputes and differences are +discussed by the village 'gray-beards,' who generally are able to +arrange a compromise. But in the reckless rage of a lost love the deed +is done, which carries its fatal consequences to future generations, as +in the case I have mentioned. I told the old village headman, who was +really the local judge, that in some of the wild parts of Firanghistan +there were similar occurrences, and that the best form of reconciliation +in the present instance would be 'wife for wife,' the first offending +family giving a girl-love to a husband-lover on the other side, and thus +finally closing the quarrel in the happiest manner. I said that under +such circumstances intermarriages were generally the best means of +improving friendship and terminating feuds between families. + +The Tehran street tramways continue to work, though the profit return is +small. The company began with graduated fares, but I heard they were +considering a minimum general charge, which it was thought would +encourage more traffic, especially in the visits of women to one +another, as their outdoor dress is unsuited to walking in comfort. The +tramway cars have separate compartments for women. The travelling pace +is necessarily slow, in order to avoid hurt or harm to people and +animals in the crowded thoroughfares. In the East, accidents at the +hands of Europeans or their employés are not readily understood or +easily accepted as such. The Tehran Tramways Company has had its trials +in this respect. At one time it was the heavy hurt of a boy, son of a +Syud, one of the 'pure lineage', a descendant of the family of the +Prophet, on which the populace, roused by the lashing lamentations of +the father, damaged the car and tore up the line. On another occasion a +man, in obstinate disregard of warning, tried to enter at the front, and +was thrown under the wheels. Again the excitable bystanders were worked +up to fury and violence, and the Governor of the town gave judgment +against the company for 'blood-money'. The counter-claim for damage done +to the line enabled a compromise to be effected. Oriental indifference +is the chief cause of the accidents. 'It is impossible but that offences +will come, but woe unto him through whom they come.' For 'offences', the +Oriental reading is 'accidents'. + +In all large Persian towns there is a numerous class of 'roughs' known +as the _kullah-numdah_ (felt-caps; they wear a brown hard-felt low hat +without a brim), excitable and reckless, and always ready for +disturbance. They are the 'casuals', who live from hand to mouth, those +to whom an appeal can be made by the careful working class when the +price of bread is run up to famine figure, owing to the 'cornering' of +wheat, which of late years has been much practised in Persia. The baker +used to be the first victim of popular fury in a bread riot, and it is +said that one was baked alive in his own oven. But in these times of +grain speculation in Persia, the people have learnt to look in 'wheat +corners' for the real cause of dear bread, and in consequence the bread +riots have become more formidable, as was proved lately at Tabriz. On a +previous occasion the Vali Ahd (now H.I.M. the Shah), who, as +Governor-General of Azerbaijan, resided at Tabriz, found himself unable +to cope with the difficulty, and abandoned his projected visit to +Tehran, so as to apply the money he had provided for it to cheapening +bread for the people. This practical pocket-sympathy with them secured a +popularity which will bring its reward. + +Next to the 'wheat-ring' as a cause of disturbance and riot comes what +may be called the 'copper-ring' of Tehran, which is likely to produce +serious trouble throughout the country. The Royal Mint in Persia is +worked on the farming system, the evils of which have now extended to +the currency. The low price of copper allows of it being coined at an +enormous profit, and advantage has been taken of this to a dangerous +extent. The whole country is now poisoned with 'black money,' as the +coppers are called, and it is at a heavy discount. This bears cruelly on +the labouring classes and all who are paid in copper coin. Owing to +exchange with Europe keeping above silver, that metal cannot be imported +and coined, so as to give a gain to the Mint-master, who has no idea of +sacrificing any of the great profit he has made on copper. No silver has +been coined since March, 1895, and this is the Mint-master's excuse for +sending out copper in great quantities, to take the place of silver. +Twenty copper shahi go to a kran (present exchange value 4-1/2d.), and +in the absence of silver employers of labour pay wholly in copper, which +for bazaar purposes is at a discount, so much so that, when a purchase +is beyond question above a kran in amount, an agreement as to payment in +silver or copper is first made, and then the bargaining begins. In a +country where money bears a high value, as proved by the fact that +accounts are still reckoned in dinars, an imaginary coin, of which one +thousand go to a silver kran and fifty to a copper shahi, the +depreciation I have mentioned is a very serious affair, for it touches +the mass of the people sorely. When travelling off the beaten track in +Persia, I have always been amused and interested in hearing my +head-servant announce loudly in a tone of importance and satisfaction to +my village host for the night that I had ordered so many 'thousands' to +be given for house-room, fuel, barley, straw, etc. The kran was never +mentioned; it was always a 'thousand.'[A] + +[Footnote: A: Since the above was written, information has been received +that the late Shah, about three weeks before his death, promulgated a +decree directing the Mint coinage of copper to be suspended for a term +of five years, and intimating that the Customs, Post-office and +Telegraph departments would accept copper coin to a certain amount in +cash transactions, at a fixed rate. And, further, arrangements have been +made with the Imperial Bank of Persia to purchase, on account of the +Government, copper coin up to a certain sum, from small _bona-fide_ +holders who are in possession of it in the regular course of retail +business for the necessaries of life.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon. + + +The late Shah was always liberal and conciliatory in the treatment of +his Christian subjects throughout the country, and this is a matter +which, at the present time, deserves special notice. In the history of +Persia many proofs of friendly feeling towards Christians are to be +found, and the sovereigns appear to have led the popular mind in the way +of goodwill to them. Shah Abbas the Great was an example of kind and +considerate tolerance, and it was Shah Abbas II who said of them, 'It is +for God, not for me to judge of men's consciences: and I will never +interfere with what belongs to the tribunal of the Great Creator and +Lord of the universe.' The Western Christian missionaries are fully +protected in their mission work among the Eastern Christians in Persia +on the understanding that they do not actively and directly engage in +proselytizing Mohammedans. + +[Illustration: ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN] + +The American Presbyterian is the only mission in Tehran, and it carries +on its work so smoothly and judiciously that the sensitive +susceptibilities of the most fanatical Moullas are never roused nor +ruffled. They have succeeded well by never attempting too much. They +show their desire to benefit all classes and creeds, and during the +severe cholera outbreak In 1892 the hospital they established in the +city for the medical treatment of all comers up to the utmost extent of +their accommodation and ability was a powerful and convincing proof of +their good work and will. The disease was of a very fatal type, and its +deadly ravages called forth a display of devotion and self-sacrifice +which deserved and obtained the highest commendation from all Persians +and Europeans. + +While on this subject, the splendid example set by the Governor of the +town, the Vazir Isa Khan, should be noticed. He was very wealthy, and +did much to relieve the sufferings and wants of the poor who were +attacked by the disease. He remained in the city while the epidemic +raged, and would not seek safety in flight to the adjoining mountains, +as many had done. But, sad to say, he fell a victim at the last, and his +wife, who had remained with him throughout, died of the disease two days +before him. + +It will be remembered that in 1891 an agitation was raised regarding the +reported abduction of an Armenian girl, named Katie Greenfield, by a +Kurd in Persian Kurdistan. An attempt which was made to take the girl +back to her family caused the couple to cross the frontier into Turkish +Kurdistan, and great excitement among the Kurds on both sides of the +border was created. The contention grew, and commissioners and consuls, +with troops, Persian and Turkish, took part in it. In the end it was +made perfectly clear that the girl had gone off with Aziz, the Kurd, as +the husband of her own choice, and had embraced the Mohammedan faith by +her own wish. The Kurds in Persian Kurdistan appear to live on friendly +terms with their Armenian village neighbours, and on this occasion a +runaway love-match became the cause of some popular excitement in +England, and much trouble and tumult on the Perso-Turkish frontier. + +The Armenian Archbishop in Persia, who resides at Isfahan, is always a +Russian subject from the monastery of Etchmiadzin, near Erivan, the seat +of the Catholicus, the primate of the orthodox Armenian Church, and this +doubtless has its effect in suggesting protection and security. France +also for a longtime past has steadily asserted the right to protect the +Catholic Armenian Church in Persia, and once a year the French Minister +at Tehran, with the Legation secretaries, attends Divine service in the +chapel there in full diplomatic dress and state, to show the fact and +force of the support which the Church enjoys. France similarly takes +Catholic institutions in Turkey under her protection, and appears to be +generally the Catholic champion in the East. + +The careful observer in Tehran cannot fail to be struck with the +religious tolerance shown to non-Mohammedan Persian subjects in the +'shadow of the Shah.' Amongst these, other than Christians, may be +mentioned the Guebres (Parsees) and the Jews. Persecuted in the +provinces, they receive liberal treatment in Tehran, and it is to be +hoped that the late Shah's gracious example will in time be followed by +his Majesty's provincial governors. + +The Babi sect of Mohammedans, regarded as seceders from Islam, but who +assert their claim to be only the advocates for Mohammedan Church +reform, are at last better understood and more leniently +treated--certainly at Tehran. They have long been persecuted and +punished in the cruellest fashion, even to torture and death, under the +belief that they were a dangerous body which aimed at the subversion of +the State as well as the Church. But better counsels now prevail, to +show that the time has come to cease from persecuting these sectarians, +who, at all events in the present day, show no hostility to the +Government; and the Government has probably discovered the truth of the +Babi saying, that one martyr makes many proselytes. + +The Babis aim at attracting to their ranks the intelligent and the +learned, in preference to the ignorant and unlearned; and it is believed +that now sufficient education whereby to read and write is absolutely +necessary for membership. They wish to convince by example, and not by +force, and this accounts for the absence of active resistance to the +persecutions from which they often suffer most grievously. They say that +they desire to return to original Mohammedanism, as it first came from +the Arabian desert, pure and simple, and free from the harsh intolerance +and arrogance which killed the liberal spirit in which it was conceived. +They deplore the evil passions and fierce animosities engendered by +religious differences; they tolerate all creeds having a common end for +good, and seek to soften the hearts of those who persecute them, by +showing that they but wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. +They have a widespread organization throughout Persia, and many learned +Moullas and Syuds have secretly joined them. They have always been firm +in their faith, even unto death, rejecting the offer of life in return +for a declaration against the Bab, him whom they regard as the messenger +of good tidings. + +An acknowledged authority on the Bab, the founder of this creed, has +written that he 'directed the thoughts and hopes of his disciples to +this world, not to an unseen world.' From this it was inferred he did +not believe in a future state, nor in anything beyond this life. Of +course, among the followers of a new faith, liberal and broad in its +views, continued fresh developments of belief must be expected; and with +reference to the idea that the Babis think not of a hereafter, I was +told that they believe in the re-incarnation of the soul, the good after +death returning to life and happiness, the bad to unhappiness. A Babi, +in speaking of individual pre-existence, said to me, 'You believe in a +future state; why, then, should you not believe in a pre-existent state? +Eternity is without beginning and without end,' This idea of +re-incarnation, generally affecting all Babis, is, of course, an +extension of the original belief regarding the re-incarnation of the +Bab, and the eighteen disciple-prophets who compose the sacred college +of the sect. + +Some time ago signs began to appear of a general feeling that the +persecution of the Babis must cease. Many in high places see this, and +probably say it, and their sympathy becomes known. At one time a high +Mohammedan Church dignitary speaks regarding tolerance and progress in a +manner which seems to mean that he sees no great harm in the new sect. +Then a soldier, high in power and trust, refers to the massacres of +Babis in 1890 and 1891 as not only cruel acts, but as acts of insane +folly, 'for,' he said, 'to kill a Babi is like cutting down a +chenar-tree, from the root of which many stems spring up, and one +becomes many.' Then a Moulla, speaking of the necessity of a more humane +treatment of the Babis, and others of adverse creeds, says that he looks +for the time when all conditions of men will be equally treated, and all +creeds and classes be alike before the law. Omar Khayyam, the +astronomer-poet of Persia, who wrote about eight hundred years ago, gave +open expression to the same liberal-minded views, urging tolerance and +freedom for all religious creeds and classes. + +The last murderous mob attack led by Moullas against the Babis occurred +at Yezd in April, 1891. It was probably an outcome of the Babi massacre +which had taken place at Isfahan the previous year, and which, owing to +the fiercely hostile attitude of the priests, was allowed to pass +unnoticed by any strong public condemnation. On that occasion a party of +the sect, pursued by an excited and blood-thirsty mob, claimed the +'sanctuary' of foreign protection in the office of the Indo-European +Telegraph Company, and found asylum there. Negotiations were opened with +the Governor of the town, who arranged for a safe conduct to their homes +under military escort. Trusting to this, the refugees quitted the +telegraph-office, but had not proceeded far before they were beset by a +furious crowd, and as the escort offered no effectual resistance, the +unfortunates were murdered in an atrociously cruel manner. The Shah's +anger was great on hearing of this shameful treachery, but as the +Governor pleaded powerlessness from want of troops, and helplessness +before the fanaticism of the frenzied mob led by Moullas, the matter was +allowed to drop. + +Considering the great numbers of Babis all over Persia, and the ease +with which membership can be proved, it strikes many observers as +strange that murderous outbreaks against them are not more frequent. The +explanation is that, besides the accepted Babis, there is a vast number +of close sympathizers, between whom and the declared members of the sect +there is but one step, and a continued strong persecution would drive +them into the ranks of the oppressed. It might then be found that the +majority was with the Babis, and this fear is a fact which, irrespective +of other arguments, enables the influential and liberal-minded Moullas +to control their headstrong and over-zealous brethren. + +The isolated outbreaks that do occur are generally produced by personal +animosity and greed of gain. Just as has been known in other countries +where a proscribed religion was practised in secret, and protection +against persecution and informers secured by means of money, so in many +places the Babis have made friends in this manner out of enemies. +Individuals sometimes are troubled by the needy and unscrupulous who +affect an excess of religious zeal, but these desist on their terms +being met. Occasionally in a settlement of bazaar trading-accounts, the +debtor, who is a Mohammedan, being pressed by his creditor, whom he +knows to be a Babi, threatens to denounce him publicly in order to avoid +payment. + +I witnessed an instance of 'sanctuary' asylum being claimed in the +stable of one of the foreign legations at Tehran by a well-known +Persian merchant, a Babi, who fled for his life before the bazaar +ruffians to whom his debtor had denounced him, urging them to smite and +slay the heretic. It was believed that the practice of black-mailing the +Babis was such a well-known successful one at Yezd that some of the low +Mohammedans of the town tried to share in the profits and were +disappointed. This, it was said, led to the massacre which occurred +there in April, 1891. + +The Babis, notwithstanding divergence of opinion on many points, yet +attend the mosques and the Moulla teachings, and comply with all the +outward forms of religion, in order to avert the anger which continued +absence from the congregation would draw upon them from hostile and +bigoted neighbours. Two of them were suddenly taxed in the Musjid with +holding heterodox opinions, and were then accused of being Babis. The +discussion was carried outside and into the bazaar, the accusers loudly +reviling and threatening them. They were poor, and were thus unable to +find protectors at once. When being pressed hard by an excited mob which +had collected on the scene, an over-zealous friend came to their aid, +and said, 'Well, if they are Babis, what harm have they done to anyone?' + +On this the tumult began, and the ferocity of the fanatical crowd rose +to blood-heat. The sympathizer was seized, and as the gathering grew, +the opportunity to gratify private animosity and satisfy opposing +interests was taken advantage of, and three other Babis were added, +making six in all who were dragged before the Governor to be condemned +as members of an accursed sect. The Moullas urged them to save their +lives by cursing the Bab, but they all refused. The wives and children +of some of them were sent for so that their feelings might be worked +upon to renounce their creed and live, but this had no effect in shaking +their resolution. When told that death awaited them, they replied that +they would soon live again. When argued with on this point of their +belief, they merely said that they could not say how it was to be, but +they knew it would be so. They were then given over to the cruel mob, +and were hacked to death, firm in their faith to the last. + +The temptation to make away with others in a similar manner produced +two more victims during the night, but these the Governor tried to save +by keeping them in custody. The brutal mob, however, howled for their +blood, and made such an uproar that the weak Governor, a youth of +eighteen, surrendered them to a cruel death, as he had done the others. +These two, like their brethren, refused to curse the Bab and live. + +The Moullas have ever been defeated in their efforts to produce +recantation from a Babi, and it is this remarkable steadfastness in +their faith which has carried conviction into the hearts of many that +the sect is bound to triumph in the end. The thoughtful say admiringly +of them, as the Romans said of the Christians, whom they in vain doomed +to death under every form of terror, 'What manner of men are these, who +face a dreadful death fearlessly to hold fast to their faith?' An +instance is mentioned of a Babi who did recant in order to escape the +martyr's death, but he afterwards returned to his faith, and suffered +calmly the death he had feared before. + +The Moullas who led the Yezd massacre desired to associate the whole +town in the crime, and called for the illumination of the bazaars in +token of public joy. The order for this was given, but the Governor was +warned in time to issue a countermand. It was found by the state of +public feeling, and told to those in authority, who were able to realize +the danger, that, as one-half or more of the shopkeepers were Babis, +they would not have illuminated, for to have done so would imply +approval of the murders and denial of their faith. Their determination +to refuse to join in the demonstration of joy would have roused further +mob fury, and the whole body of Babis, impelled by the instinct of +self-preservation, would have risen to defend themselves. + +The late Shah was deeply troubled and pained on hearing of this cruel +massacre, and removed the Governor, who was his own grandson (being the +eldest son of his Royal Highness the Zil-es-Sultan), notwithstanding the +excuses urged in his favour, that the priestly power which roused the +mob was too strong for him to act and prevent the murders. It is +probable that the Government is assured of the peaceful nature of the +Babi movement as it now exists; and with the orders to put an end to +persecution, supported in some degree by popular feeling, we may hope +to hear no more of such crimes as were committed at Isfahan and Yezd in +1890 and 1891. + +The Babi reform manifests an important advance upon all previous modern +Oriental systems in its treatment of woman. Polygamy and concubinage are +forbidden, the use of the veil is discouraged, and the equality of the +sexes is so thoroughly recognised that one, at least, of the nineteen +sovereign prophets must always be a female. This is a return to the +position of woman in early Persia, of which Malcolm speaks when he says +that Quintus Curtius told of Alexander not seating himself in the +presence of Sisygambis till told to do so by that matron, because it was +not the custom in Persia for sons to sit in presence of their mother. +This anecdote is quoted to show the great respect in which the female +sex were held in Persia at the time of Alexander's invasion, and which +also was regarded as one of the principal causes of the progress the +country had made in civilization. The Parsees to this day conduct +themselves on somewhat similar lines, and though we have not the +opportunities of judging of maternal respect which were allowed to the +Greeks, yet the fact of the same custom being shown in a father's +presence at the present time seems to point to the rule of good manners +to mothers being yet observed. And we know, from what happened on the +death of Mohamed Shah in 1848, that a capable woman is allowed by public +opinion to exercise openly a powerful influence in affairs of State at a +critical time when wise counsels are required. The Queen-mother at that +time became the president of the State Council, and cleverly succeeded +in conciliating adverse parties and strengthening the Government, till +the position of the young Shah, the late Sovereign, was made secure. + +For a long time Russia and England were regarded as the only great +Powers really interested in the future of Persia; but within the last +few years it has been observed that Turkey, in showing an intention to +consolidate her power in the Baghdad and Erzeroum pashaliks, was likely +to be in a position to renew old claims on the Persian border. France +has also lately increased her interest in Persia, and Germany has now +entered the field of enterprise there in the practical manner of +improving the road from Khani Kin, on the Turkish frontier, to Tehran, +connecting it with a road from Baghdad. It will probably be found that +this road-scheme belongs to the company under German auspices who are +now constructing a railway which is ultimately to connect Baghdad with +the Bosphorus, and part of which is already working. The trunk-line +passes by Angora, Kaisarieh, Diarbekr, Mardin, and Mosul; and a +loop-line leaves it at Eski Shehr, which, going by Konia, Marasch, and +Orfa, rejoins it at Diarbekr. + +There was an idea that, as Konia is a most promising field for the +production of exports, the Smyrna lines competed so eagerly for the +concession to extend there that the Porte was enabled to make terms with +the Anatolian Railway Company (to which I have alluded) for the +extension to Baghdad, which strategically is of great importance. It was +said that the strong competition placed the Government in the position +of the man in the Eastern story who went to the bazaar to sell an old +camel, and a young cat of rare beauty. The cat was shown off sitting on +the camel, and was desired by many purchasers; but there was no bid for +the camel. The competition for the cat ran high, and then the owner +announced that the one could not be sold without the other, on which the +camel was bought with the cat. But as a matter of fact there was no +opening for competition for the Konia branch. The Anatolian Railway had +preferential rights for what is called the southern or loop line, which +I have mentioned as passing through Konia, and rejoining the main or +northern line at Diarbekr. They also have preferential rights of +extension to Baghdad, and they mean to carry the line there. + +The Smyrna Aidin railway has lately had a considerable improvement in +its traffic, from the barley of Asia Minor being in increased demand in +addition to its wheat. This means that the material for the beer as well +as the bread of the masses elsewhere is found to be abundant and cheap +there, and the extension of railway communication in those regions will +most probably increase the supply and demand. The same trade in barley +has lately sprung up in Southern Persia and Turkish Arabia, and for some +time past, while the low price of wheat discouraged the existing wheat +trade there, it has been found profitable to export barley from the +Gulf ports. Barley is the cheapest grain in Persia, where it is grown +for home consumption only, being the universal food for horses. Owing to +want of care with the seed, and the close vicinity of crops, the wheat +was often so mixed with barley as to reduce the price considerably, and +the question of mixture and reduction was always a very stormy one. When +I was at Ahwaz, on the Karun, in 1890, I saw a machine at work +separating the grains, and the Arab owners waiting to take away the +unsaleable barley, the wheat being bought for export by a European firm +there which owned the machine. The Arab sellers probably now move to the +other side of the machine to carry away the unsaleable wheat, the barley +being bought for export owing to the turn of trade. + +The German group that has obtained the Persian road concession has also +taken up the old project of an extension of the Tehran tramways to the +villages on the slopes of the Shimran range, all within a distance of +ten miles from the town. The Court, the city notables, and the foreign +legations, with everyone who desires to be fashionable, and can afford +the change, reside there during the warm months--June, July, August and +September. The whole place may be described as the summer suburb of the +capital, and there is great going to and fro. + +I have already mentioned the Russian road now under construction from +the Caspian Sea base to Kasvin, with the object of enabling Russian +trade to command more thoroughly the Tehran market. The total distance +from the coast to the capital is two hundred miles. There is an +old-established caravan track over easy country, from Kasvin to Hamadan +in the south--west, distant about one hundred and fifty miles. It has +lately been announced that the Russian Road Company has obtained a +concession to convert this track into a cart-road in continuation of +that from Resht. It is seen that with improved communication Russian +trade may be made to compete successfully at Hamadan, which is only +about fifty miles further from the Caspian Sea base than Tehran, and +there will also be the advantage of a return trade in cotton from +Central Persia, as Armenian merchants now export it to Russia from as +far South as Isfahan and Yezd. The German road from Baghdad to Tehran +will be met at Hamadan. + +Kermanshah and Hamadan, through which the German road will pass, are +both busy centres of trade in districts rich in corn, wool, and wine. +They are also meeting-points of the great and ever-flowing streams of +pilgrims to Kerbela _viâ_ Baghdad, said to number annually about one +hundred thousand. This has been a popular pilgrim route, as well as +trade route, for centuries, and with greater facilities on an improved +road the traffic is certain to increase. + +It is said that the alignment of the Russian road from Resht is to be +made in view of a railway in the future. The same will probably be done +in the Hamadan extension, and it is believed that the German road will +be similarly planned. All this would mean that behind the concessions +are further promises for the time when railway construction comes. +Looking into the dim distance, the eye of faith and hope may see the +fulfilment of railway communication from India to Europe by a connection +between the Quetta or Indus Valley line and Kermanshah. + +This brings us to the agreement of 1890 between Persia and Russia to +shut out railways till the end of the century. This agreement, when made +known, was regarded as proof of a somewhat barbarian policy on the part +of Russia, unwilling or unable herself to assist in opening up Persia +and improving the condition of the country. But there is some reason for +the idea that the Shah himself was ready to meet the Russian request, so +as to keep back the railway which he feared would soon connect his +capital with the Caucasus. There was much railway talk in Persia in +1890, and Russia knew that it would take quite ten years to complete her +railway system up to the Northern frontiers of Persia and Afghanistan. +The railway now being made from Tiflis to Alexandropol and Kars will +probably send out a line down the fertile valley of the Aras to Julfa, +ready for extension across the Persian frontier to Tabriz, and a branch +may be pushed forward from Doshakh, or Keribent, on the Trans-Caspian +railway, to Sarakhs, where Russia, Persia, and Afghanistan meet, to +facilitate trade with Herat as well as Meshed. In the meanwhile also the +cart-roads, ready for railway purposes if wanted, from the Caspian Sea +base to Kasvin, Tehran, and Hamadan, will be completed. + +Russia insisted on regarding the opening of the Karun to the navigation +of the world as a diplomatic victory for England, and a distinct +concession to British commerce, which is predominant in the South. She +therefore thought out well what to get from the Shah in return, to +favour her commercial policy in the North, and the ten years' +prohibition of railways was the result. Russia desires commercial +predominance in Persia just as England does, and she will use all the +influence which her dominating close neighbourhood gives to obtain the +utmost favour and facilities for her trade. + +While Russia and England were thus engaged in strong commercial rivalry, +Germany unexpectedly made her appearance in the Western region of +Central Persia, where their competition meets. Nor has Persia been idle +in trading enterprise; her merchants are not only aiming at getting more +exclusively into their own hands the interior commerce of the country, +but they have established direct relations with firms in foreign +countries, and now work in active competition with the European houses +which in old days had almost all the export and import trade in their +own hands. The introduction of the Imperial Bank of Persia has given an +impetus to this new spirit of native enterprise by affording facilities +which before were not available on the same favourable terms. The Nasiri +Company, a mercantile corporation of Persians, was formed in 1889 to +trade on the Karun, and it commenced operations with two small steamers. +Later, a third steamer was added, and they are now negotiating for the +purchase of a fourth. They have a horse tramway, about one and a half +miles long, to facilitate the necessary transhipment of cargo between +the upper and lower streams, where the Ahwaz Rapids break the river +navigation. This trading corporation has strong support, and the Persian +Government is earnest in giving it every assistance, so that it may +develop into an effectual agency for the revival of the prosperity which +made the Karun Valley in old times what the Nile Valley is now. + +Messrs. Lynch Brothers also run a large steamer on the Lower Karun in +connection with a 'stern-wheeler' (Nile boat pattern) on the upper +stream, and between them and the Nasiri Company a regular and quick +communication is maintained between Bombay and Shuster. One of the +articles of import at the latter place is American kerosene-oil for lamp +purposes, to take the place of the Shuster crude petroleum, said to have +been used there for centuries. This petroleum contains an unusual amount +of benzine, and being highly explosive in lamps, the Shuster people, who +can afford to pay for the safer substance, have taken to American oil. +The Shuster petroleum-springs belong to a family of Syuds in the town, +and did not fall within the field of the Persian Mines Corporation. +These oil-springs may yet become the object of practical operations +should the Nasiri Company develop the resources of the Karun Valley. + +Belgium has also taken an active interest in Persia lately, the tramway +company, and the glass manufactory at Tehran, and the beet-sugar factory +in the vicinity, having all been established with Belgian capital; and +Holland, who is believed to be seeking an opening in Persia, may find +her opportunity in the Karun Valley irrigation works. The creation of +strong international interests in Persia should have the best effect in +strengthening her national independence, developing her natural +resources, and introducing good government. And the peaceful succession +of the lawful heir to the throne should go far to carry the country +forward in the path of progress and prosperity. It is evident that the +strong sentiment attaching to the late Shah's long and peaceful reign, +and the popular feeling of loyalty to him which influenced the people, +has had the effect of enforcing the royal will in favour of the heir +legitimately appointed by Nasr-ed-Din Shah. + +[Illustration: PRESENT SHAH WHEN ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE.] + +The reigning family of Persia are the hereditary chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe, and still preserve the customs of that position. They have +not changed the manly habits of a warlike race for the luxury and +lethargy which sapped the energies and ruined the lives of so many +monarchs of Persia. Up to the time of the present ruling dynasty the +princes of the blood were immured in the harem, where their education +was left to women and their attendants, and until the death of the King +his destined successor was not known. At that period the son of the +lowest slave in the harem was deemed equally eligible to succeed to the +throne with the offspring of the proudest princess who boasted the +honour of marriage with the Sovereign. And similarly as in the West, +up to about four hundred years ago, the Crown was generally made secure +by murder, every actual or possible rival for the throne being blinded +or removed from the scene. This was the practice of the Soffivean +dynasty, which preceded the Kajar. But with the change which then took +place, this hideous practice disappeared, and usages more congenial to +the feelings of the military tribes which support the throne were +established. Under the late Shah the princes of the blood were employed +in the chief governments of the country, and exercised all the powers +and responsibilities of office. + +Persia may be described as a theocratic democracy under an absolute +monarchy. There is no hereditary rank but that of royal birth, and that +of the chiefs of the military tribes, who may be regarded as a military +aristocracy; but there is a system of life titles which secure to the +holders certain privileges and immunities, and are much prized. The +titles are nominally descriptive of some personal quality, talent, or +trust, such as Councillor of the State, Confidant of the King, Trusted +of the Sultan; they are also bestowed upon ladies in high position. The +name of an animal is never introduced into the title; at least, I have +only heard of one instance to the contrary in modern times. An +individual of European parentage was recommended to the late Shah's +notice and favour by his Persian patrons, and they mentioned his great +wish to be honoured with a title. His Majesty, who had a keen sense of +humour, observed the suggestive appearance of the candidate for honours, +and said, 'Well, he is Hujabr-i-Mulk' (the Lion of the Country). The new +noble was ready with his grateful thanks: 'Your sacred Majesty, may I be +thy sacrifice;' but he added in a subdued tone, 'A lion requires at +least a lamb a day.' The Shah laughed at the meaning speech, and said, +'Let him have it.' The granting of a title does not give any emolument +unless specially directed. As a precedent for this title, the Shah may +have had in his mind the story of Ali Kuli Khan, one of the favourites +of Shah Suliman. During the reign of Shah Abbas this chief was generally +in prison, except when his services were required against the enemies of +his country. This had gained for him the name of the Lion of Persia, as +men said that he was always chained except when wanted to fight. + +The Shah can raise whomsoever he chooses from the lowest to the highest +position or post, except in the most powerful of the nomad tribes, where +the nomination to chieftainship is confined to the elders of the leading +families, who generally represent two lines from one head, one being in +the opposition when the other is in power. The chieftain of a clan +considers himself superior in real rank to the most favoured Court +title-holder, and the chiefs of the military tribes may be termed the +hereditary nobility of Persia. The monarch may, by his influence or +direct power, alter the succession, and place an uncle in the situation +of a nephew, and sometimes a younger brother in the condition of an +elder, but the leader of the tribe must be of the family of their chief. +The younger sons and nephews are enrolled in the royal guard, and the +Shah is thus enabled by judicious change and selection to keep his hold +upon the tribe. Change of chiefs is not always effected peacefully. The +wild tribesmen who, in feudal fashion, attach themselves as idle +men-at-arms to a popular leader are sometimes disinclined to accept his +fall from favour without an appeal to arms. But the royal authority +prevails in the end, and the new chiefs rule begins, and lasts just so +long as Fortune smiles and the Shah wills. + +A marked instance of this was shown in July, 1892, when Jehan Shah +Khan-Ilbegi was deprived of the chieftaincy of the Afshar section of the +powerful Shahsevend tribe, who range from Ardebil to Tehran. The famous +Nadir Shah was originally a simple trooper of this tribe, and belonged +to the colony of it which was planted at Deregez on the Turkoman border. +The ostensible cause of the chiefs removal from power was that with his +own hands he had killed his wife, the sister of his cousin, +Rahmat-ulla-Khan, who was known to be his rival in the tribe for place +and power. Jehan Shah had unjustly accused her of being unfaithful to +him, and going to her house, he called her out, and, notwithstanding her +appearing with a copy of the Sacred Koran in her hand, shot her dead +while in the act of swearing on the holy book that she was innocent of +all guilt. Jehan Shah than went in search of the tribesman whom he +suspected of being her paramour, and killed him also. The matter was +reported to the Shah, then in camp in Irak, who ordered Jebam Shah to +be deprived of the chieftainship, and Rahmat-ulla-Khan to be appointed +Ilbegi in his place. It was further ordered that Jehan Shah should be +arrested and sent as a prisoner to Tehran. The Ihtisham-e-Dowleh-Kajâr, +cousin of the late Shah and Governor of Khamseh, in which province Jehan +Shah was then located with his clan, was directed to carry out the royal +commands. + +Much telegraphing had taken place on the subject, and as cipher was not +used, Jehan Shah, by means of money and influence, was able to obtain +the fullest information of all that passed, and as he was known to have +a numerous personal following armed with Peabody-Martini rifles, the +Governor was instructed to act with caution. He accordingly had recourse +to stratagem, and gave out that the object of his journey to the tribal +quarters was to coerce a section of the tribe which had been giving +trouble. He therefore asked Jehan Shah to assist him, and this gave the +chief a good excuse for assembling his men. The Prince Governor took +with him one hundred cavalry and four hundred infantry, but no attention +was paid to the ammunition, and they started without a proper supply. + +Rahmat-ulla-Khan was fully aware of the Governor's real intentions, but +the influence and power of the popular chief prevented any partisan +gathering against him. He therefore could only depend upon the Persian +troops to enforce the order of the Shah, and was unable to do more than +prepare a reception tent and provide a luncheon for the Prince and his +people, about eight miles in advance of their camp, at a place appointed +for the meeting with himself and Jehan Shah. On approaching this place, +these two, with the elders and the tribesmen, went forward for the +customary ceremonial reception of the Governor. Jehan Shah dismounted +and saluted with the utmost show of respect; but on reaching the tent +which had been prepared for them by his rival, he declined to enter and +partake of his hospitality, declaring that he preferred to pass on to +his own tents, some distance off, his mounted following of fifteen +hundred men accompanying him. The Governor knew that Jehan Shah had +become dangerous from the devotion of his well-armed followers, and the +readiness of the main body of the fierce fighting tribesmen to support +him. He had evidently contemplated his arrest and seizure at the place +of meeting, but the show of force and feeling in Jehan Shah's favour was +too strong to admit of any such attempt. He therefore decided to declare +openly the object of his coming, and after lunch he assembled the elders +of the tribe, and summoned Jehan Shah to his presence, who, however, +declined to obey. The Prince on this announced his deposition, and the +appointment of Rahmat-ulla-Khan in his place, showing at the same time +the Shah's written commands. He then appears to have indulged in some +violent abuse of Jehan Shah, and again sent an order to secure his +presence. + +In the meanwhile, that chief had taken counsel with his tribal +following, numbering about fifteen hundred, armed with breechloaders, +and finding them entirely on his side, and determined to dispute the +rule of his rival, he served out cartridges freely, and decided to +discuss the matter with the Governor. He left most of his men at some +distance, and presented himself attended by only a few. The Prince +informed him of the Shah's orders, and after some contentious talk, he +held out the royal firman for him or any of those with him to read. On +one of the elders moving forward to take the paper, Jehan Shah suddenly +motioned them all back with his hands, and the Prince, taking alarm at +this appearance of a signal, called out to his guards to seize Jehan +Shah. There was a shout and a rush, and some of Jehan Shah's men from +behind fired over the heads of the soldiers, who, however, returned the +fire point-blank, killing and wounding several of the Shahsevends. The +tribesmen then opened fire in earnest, and the Prince with his troops +promptly fled. All ran and rode for their lives, pursued by the furious +enemy. Some of the servants kept with their master, and remounted him +twice when the horses he rode were wounded and disabled. The tribesmen +are said to have made him a special target, for he was most conspicuous +in rich dress, and a third time he and his horse were rolled over +together, he receiving two bullet-wounds. He was then seized, partially +stripped, and treated with great indignity. The pursuit was kept up to +his camp, which was captured and plundered; thirty-five of his men were +killed, and fifty wounded. One of the Prince's officials, also +wounded, was taken with him, and both were kept prisoners for three +days. + +[Illustration: PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES] + +In the meantime Jehan Shah, having recovered from his mad fury, trembled +at the recollection of his crime, and dreading the vengeance which he +saw was certain to follow, he packed up his valuables and fled with a +few followers to the Caspian coast. He had the intention to escape by +steamer to Baku, but failing in this, owing to all communication with +Russian territory having been suspended during the outbreak of cholera +then prevailing, he determined to make his way by land across the +Northern frontier. Being closely pursued by a party of Persian cavalry, +he abandoned all his baggage, and with great difficulty reached Tabriz, +where he was constrained to take sanctuary in the house of the chief +Moulla. He died there after enduring existence for about six months +under circumstances and with surroundings which must have been supremely +hateful to him. I was at Tabriz in the end of 1892, while he was there, +and I was told by one who had seen him that he was a sad sight then, the +hereditary head of the Afshar Shahsevends, a section of a royal tribe, +herding in misery with a crowd of criminals seeking sanctuary in order +to avoid the avenger of blood. On the first news of the occurrence the +Shah ordered the immediate mobilization of the infantry regiments of +Khamseh and Kasvin, and this had the effect of dispersing the tribe, +facilitating the work of retribution, and establishing the power of the +new chief. This incident had the best political result in aiding the +Kajar policy of breaking up the ruling families and the cohesion of the +dangerous tribes, and asserting fully the authority of the Tehran +Central Government. Jehan Shah had gradually improved and strengthened +his position by increasing the superior armament of his tribesmen (who +were said to have three thousand breechloaders) and laying in a large +supply of cartridges, so that, with his wealth, influence, and +popularity, he must have been regarded as dangerously powerful. No doubt +the conceited confidence thus produced led him to indulge in the +ungovernable rage which wrecked his freedom and ended his life. The +tribesmen said that the wife whom he killed was truly innocent; but +being themselves men of wild ways and tempestuous temper, they thought +he had been harshly judged, and they therefore stood by him to resist +his seizure and deportation. + +As in England four hundred years ago, every place of worship is a sacred +refuge; and the dwelling-house of the Chief Priest gives similar +protection. This right of sanctuary continues in force throughout +Persia; but to benefit by it for any length of time, money is very +necessary, for without such aid, or when the supplies fail, starvation +steps in to drive the refugee out. While in sanctuary, compromise and +arrangement may be effected, so that the fugitive may be allowed to go +unmolested, the relatives paying, or becoming 'bail' for, the +blood-money or compensation agreed upon. A fugitive from justice, +oppression, or revenge often claims the privilege of sanctuary in the +house or premises of a local dignitary of influence, whose house would +not be unceremoniously entered by pursuers, and this affords time either +to meet the demands or accusations made, or to escape to a safer place. + +At Tehran there is a big gun, said to have been brought by Nadir Shah +from Delhi, and known as the Pearl Cannon. It is said to be so called +from having had a string of pearls hung on it near the muzzle when it +was on show in Imperial Delhi. This was probably the case, for we know +that heavy guns in India were regarded with a degree of respect and +reverence almost approaching worship. The gunners of the Maharajah +Runjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, used to 'salaam' to their guns, +and to hang garlands of the sweet-scented _champak_ flower, which is +used in temples and at festivals, round the muzzles. The Pearl Cannon +occupies a prominent position close to the Shah's palace, and has always +been recognised as possessing a semi-sacred character, and giving the +right of sanctuary to those who touch it and remain by it. + +I remember a regiment of infantry, represented by three hundred men who +were 'off duty' and available for the demonstration, claiming the +privilege of this great gun sanctuary after they had assailed the house +of their Colonel in order to wreak their vengeance on him, as he was +suspected of withholding their pay. The officer's servants were warned +in time, and closed the courtyard door, so that the rioters were unable +to enter; but they relieved their feelings by battering the door with +stones and damaging the Colonel's carriage, which they found outside. +Having thus created a great disturbance and excited considerable rumour, +they proceeded to the Pearl Cannon, and gave vent to their grievances in +loud cries, which reached the royal palace, on which the Shah, +Nasr-ed-Din, was made acquainted with all the facts, and caused the +soldiers' wrongs to be redressed. One of the charges against the Colonel +was that he had managed, by lending money to the men, to gain possession +of their village lands by unfair means--for he was a landlord in the +same district, and desired to add to his holding. The corps was the +Lârâjani territorial infantry battalion, and an English resident at +Tehran, who caught the name as Larry-Johnny, said the whole incident was +'quite Irish, you know.' + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard. + + +The warlike nomads form a most important part of the military strength +of Persia, and it has always been the policy of the Sovereign to secure +their personal attachment to him as the direct paramount chief of each +martial clan. In pursuance of this policy, the royal guard, known as +Gholam-i-Shah, or Slaves of the King, which protects and escorts the +Shah in camp and quarters, is mainly composed of bodies of horse +furnished from the best and most powerful of the military tribes. These +come from all quarters of the empire, and are headed and officered by +members of the most influential families, so that they may be regarded +as hostages for the loyalty and fidelity of the chiefs. All are changed +from time to time, and thus a system of short service prevails, to give +as many as possible a term of duty with the royal guard. + +The term _gholam_, or slave, has always been given as a title to the +personal guards, and everyone who is admitted to the corps claims the +envied distinction of Gholam-i-Shah. This guard has a very ancient +origin, and service in it is highly prized as giving opportunities of +attracting the attention and gaining the favour of the King. The great +Sovereign Sabuktagin, who reigned in the tenth century, was said to have +risen from the ranks of the royal guard. All the couriers of the foreign +legations at Tehran are styled Gholam, and the title is accepted as an +honourable one, meaning a mounted servant of courage and trust, who is +ready to defend to the death all interests committed to his charge. + +The total strength of 'the guard' is twelve hundred and fifty, of whom +two hundred are the élite, called _gholam peshkhidmet_ (personal +attendants) and mostly belong to the Kajar, the Shah's own tribe, with +which his Majesty always identified himself in the most public manner, +and thus made every man proud of his clanship with the King. I here +allude to the royal signature, 'Nasr-ed-Din, Shah, Kajar.' These +superior guardsmen have all the rank of gentleman, and may be called the +mounted 'gentlemen at arms' of the guard. They have the customary right +of appointment to Court and palace posts, such as door-keeper, usher, +messenger, etc. Their service is for life, and is hereditary, a son +succeeding his father, and taking his place in the guard when promotion, +age, illness, or death creates a vacancy. They have distinctive +horse-trappings with silver neck-straps, breastplates, and headstalls, +which pass from father to son, and have become highly prized heirlooms. +The Shah was most partial to the representative tribesmen of his guard, +and his happy characteristics as a King of nomadic taste and camp-like +ways, in familiar acquaintance with all about him, were well shown at a +military review which I witnessed at Tehran some years ago. The review +was a special one, held in honour of the Swedish officers deputed by +King Oscar II. of Norway and Sweden to convey the high order of the +Seraphin to his Majesty the Shah, and as many troops as possible were +called in from the surrounding districts to take part in it. The royal +guard mustered strong, and when they marched past, the Shah stepped +forward to the saluting line, so as to be closer to them, and called out +to each troop, and named each commander in terms of praise and pleasure. +This display of personal knowledge of the men, and acquaintance with +their leaders, drew from them a perfect buzz of delight. + +On this occasion the smart appearance of the Bakhtiari horse attracted +particular attention. The Persian bystanders showed their pride in these +popular mounted mountaineers by the admiring exclamation, 'Here come the +Bakhtiaris!' They were very noticeable by their white felt, round, +brimless hats, and the good line they preserved when passing. The +Bakhtiaris (Lurs) are the most numerous and powerful of all the military +tribes, and are noted for their superior martial qualities both as horse +and foot. They are of the most ancient Persian descent, and have held +the hills and valleys of Luristan from time immemorial; while all the +other military tribes may be said to be of much later date, and of +foreign origin--Arab, Syrian, Turk, and Tartar. Competent authorities, +who have had full opportunity of judging, agree in saying that they are +as good material for soldiers as can be found anywhere. I was greatly +interested in hearing the Shah's Prime Minister speak in glowing terms +of the gallantry of the Bakhtiari infantry at the capture of Kandahar +under Nadir Shah, who, after subduing them in their own mountains, won +them over to serve him loyally and well in his conquering campaigns +against Afghanistan and India. The Grand Vizier mentioned the +circumstance of the Bakhtiari contingent, after one of the many repulses +met in the repeated attempts to carry Kandahar by storm, having in the +evening, when all was quiet on both sides, assaulted without orders and +captured a commanding, position in the defences, which they had failed +to take during the day. The shouts of the victors roused the resting +besiegers, and Nadir at once took advantage of the success to carry the +citadel and gain possession of the town. As a closing remark concerning +these nomad tribes, I may mention that they regard themselves as in +every way superior to the settled inhabitants, and express this conceit +in their saying, 'One man of the tents is equal to two of the town.' + +I have mentioned the prerogative of the Shah to raise whomsoever he +chooses from the lowest to the highest position, except under +restrictions in the military tribes. This quite falls in with the +democratic spirit which lies dormant among the people, ready to be +displayed in willingness to accept a Sovereign of signal power who +springs from the lower ranks of life. The social equality which Islam +grants to all men was nothing new to Persia in forming ideas regarding a +popular leader and elected King. The descent of such a man is deemed of +little consequence in the minds of a people who look to personification +of power as the right to rule. In fact, with them it is said that the +fame of such a man is in proportion to the lowness of his origin. They +know of notable instances of the nation being delivered from terrible +tyranny and degrading foreign subjection, and being made gloriously +great, by men of the people. They point to Kawâh, the blacksmith, who +headed a revolt against the monstrously cruel usurper King Zohâk, using +his apron as a banner, and finally overthrew and slew him, and placed +Faridûn, a Prince of the Peshdâdian dynasty, on the throne which he +might have occupied himself. This blacksmith's apron continued for ages +to be the royal standard of Persia. In the ninth century, +Yacub-bin-Leis, called the Pewterer, as he had worked when young at that +(his father's) trade, made his way to the throne by sheer force of +strong character and stout courage. He remained the people's hero to the +last, was noted for his simple habits, for keeping with his name his +trade appellation (Suffâri, the Pewterer), and for never having been +wantonly cruel or oppressive. In the tenth century, when the great +Sabuktagin rose from soldier to Sovereign, we see the principle of +selection in preference to hereditary succession practised and accepted +by the nation. And the choice was justified by the glory he gave to the +Persian arms in extending the empire to India, and in the further +conquests of his soldier-son, Mahmud, who succeeded to his father's +throne, and added still more to the greatness of the kingdom, till it +reached from Baghdad to Kashgar, from Georgia to Bengal, from the Oxus +to the Ganges. + +When the country was groaning under the Afghan yoke, it was the daring +spirit of one from the ranks of the people, Nadir Kuli (Shah), who +conceived the overthrow of the oppressor and the recovery of Persian +independence. Originally a simple trooper of the Afshar tribe, he +advanced himself by valour, boldness, and enterprise, and crowned his +successes by winning the admiration of the royal leaders and adherents, +who on the death of the infant King, Abbas III., son of Shah Tamasp, +elected him to be their King. As such he carried the war into the +country of the evicted oppressors, and established the power of the +empire from the Oxus to Delhi, whence he returned with the splendid +spoil which yet enriches and adorns the Crown of Persia. It speaks much +for Nadir Shah's strong character that, having gained such distinction, +he did not allow flatterers to find amid the obscurity of his birth the +lost traces of great ancestors. He never boasted a proud genealogy; on +the contrary, he often spoke of his low birth, and we are told that even +his flattering historian had to content himself with saying that the +diamond has its value from its own lustre, and not from the rock in +which it grows. A characteristic story of this remarkable man is that +on demanding a daughter of his vanquished enemy, Mahmud Shah, the +Emperor of Delhi, in marriage for his son, Nasr-ullah, he was met with +the answer that for alliance with a Princess of the Imperial house of +Timor a genealogy of seven generations was required. 'Tell him,' said +Nadir, 'that Nasr-ullah is the son of Nadir Shah, the son of the sword, +the grandson of the sword, and so on till they have a descent of +seventy, instead of seven generations.' Nadir, the man of action and +blood and iron, had the greatest contempt for the weak, dissolute Mahmud +Shah, who, according to the native historian of the time, was 'never +without a mistress in his arms and a glass in his hand,' a debauchee of +the lowest type, as well as a mere puppet King. In the end the demon of +suspicion poisoned the mind of Nadir to such an extent that he became +madly murderous, and assassination ended his life. The Persians say that +he began as a deliverer and ended as a destroyer. + +As a people, the Persians are of a happy disposition and bright +imagination, doubtless produced by the dry, clear air of their high +tableland, which relieves from dullness and depression. They enjoy a +joke and laugh heartily, and they are able to see that most things have +their comic side. The late Shah was quick to show the merry look of +appreciation when something amusing was said. At the Nauroz Court +reception of the Corps Diplomatique all the Legations, headed by the +Turkish Embassy, were ranged in a semicircle in front of the Shah, and +after the congratulatory address was delivered by the Sultan's +Ambassador, his Majesty advanced and walked round slowly, pausing to say +a few words to each Minister. His face lit up with animation when he +spoke to one whom he knew to be able to reply in the Persian tongue. On +one occasion, after speaking with the Ottoman Ambassador, who is always +a Persian linguist (Persian being an obligatory subject of qualification +for the Tehran post), he passed on to a Minister who was a good Persian +scholar. Further on he found an equally well--qualified colloquial +proficient in another; and on finding himself before a well-known very +clever diplomatist for whom he had a great personal liking, he smiled +and said pleasantly, 'Have you learnt any Persian yet?' The Minister +bowed, and, looking duly serious, said in Persian, 'I know something.' +The Minister meant to say that he knew a little, but the word +'something,' as used, could be taken, as in English, to signify 'a thing +or two.' Such a meaning from the diplomatist who spoke was quite +appropriate, and the Shah laughed softly and looked much amused. + +As another instance (but in this case of grim humour) of seeing the +comic side, a Prince Governor of a province, sitting in judgment, +ordered a merchant to pay a fine of fifty tomans, but, though well known +to be rich, he protested his utter inability to pay, saying he had never +seen such a sum of money, and begged for some other punishment which the +Prince in his wisdom and mercy would command. His Highness then +suggested a choice of eating fifty raw onions, or eating fifty sticks +(the Oriental mode of expression when speaking of bastinado strokes), or +paying the fifty tomans. Persians are fond of raw onions, those they eat +being small, and the merchant enjoyed the prospect of thus saving his +money. He thought that the punishment had been ordered in ignorance, so, +concealing his feeling of happy surprise, and affecting fear, he +elected for onions. He struggled hard with them, but could not swallow +more than half the number. He was then asked to pay the fine, but he +claimed his further choice of the fifty sticks. Triced up, he underwent +the pain of twenty-five well laid on to the soles of his feet, and then +called out that he would willingly pay the fifty tomans to have no more. +On this he was cast loose, and the Prince said, 'You fool! you had a +choice of one of three punishments, and you took all three.' + +Persian servants regard their fixed pay as but a retaining fee, and look +for their real wages in perquisites. They show considerable ingenuity +and brightness of idea in reasons for purchasing this, that, and the +other thing, not really required, but affording opportunities for +'pickings.' A new head-servant, on looking round his master's premises, +and seeing no opening for a fresh purchase, at last cast his eye on the +fowls, kept to secure a supply of fresh eggs, instead of the doubtful +ones bought in the bazaar. He introduced stale eggs into the fowl-house, +and on their condition being remarked at breakfast, he gravely explained +that he had noticed the hens were old, and it sometimes happened that +old hens laid stale eggs, whereas young hens always laid fresh eggs; so +he suggested clearing out the fowl-house and restocking it with young +poultry. + +The leisure time the servants have is not always well spent, it is true, +but they have ideas of imagination and sentiment, which in some degree +is suggestive of refinement. I have seen this shown in their love of +singing birds, and their dandy ways of dress; for some of them are very +particular as to the cut of a coat and the fit of a hat. I have +sometimes been interested in seeing them carefully tending their pet +nightingales, cleaning the cages, and decking them out with bits of +coloured cloth and any flowers in season. In November I saw quite a +dozen cages thus brightened, each with its brisk-looking nightingale +occupant, put out in the sunshine in the courtyard; and on asking about +such a collection of cages, was told rather shyly, as if fearing a smile +at their sentimental ways, that there was an afternoon tea that day in +the neighbourhood, to which the nightingales and their owners were +going. These singing-bird-parties are held in the underground rooms of +houses, which are cool in summer and warm in winter, and I imagine the +company and rivalry of a number of birds in the semi-darkness, with +glimmering light from the 'kalian' pipes, and the bubbling of water in +the pipe-bowls, and the boiling samovar tea-urns, all combine to cheat +the birds pleasantly into believing that it is night-time in the spring +song-season. + +The Persian poets brought the nightingale much into their songs of +praise of earthly joys. The bulbul, of which they wrote and sang, was +the European nightingale, which visits Persia in spring to sing and love +and nest. They pass as far South as Shiraz, where they meet the plump +little Indian bulbul, which is often mistaken for the Shiraz poets' +singing-bird. The word is applied to both species in India and Persia, +but the birds are quite different in shape, plumage, and voice. They +meet at Shiraz, a place which possesses a climate so temperate and +equable as to bring together the birds and fruits of the East and West, +North and South; for there I saw and heard the Indian bulbul and the +hoopoe, the European nightingale, the cuckoo, and the magpie, and I know +that the fruits range from apples to dates. + +The nightingale is the favourite pet singing-bird of the Persians. I had +good information regarding the manner of obtaining them for cage +purposes from some small boys who were engaged picking roses in a +rose-garden at Ujjatabod, near Yezd. There are two large rose-gardens in +that oasis in the Yezd Desert, where the manufacture of rose-water and +the attar essence is carried on. The gardens are appropriately favourite +haunts of the nightingales on their return with the season of gladness +from their winter resorts in the woods of the Caspian coast. The Persian +poets tell of the passionate love of the nightingale for the scented +rose, and in fanciful figure of speech make the full-blossomed flower +complain of too much kissing from its bird-lover, so that its sweetness +goes, and its beauty fades far too sadly soon. The boys told me of the +number of family pairs, their nests and eggs, and said that they took +the young male birds when fully fledged and about to leave the nest, and +brought them up by hand at first, till able to feed themselves. There is +a great demand in the towns for the young nightingales, which in Persia +sing well in captivity, so rarely the case with the bird in Europe. The +shopkeepers like to have their pet birds by them, and in the nesting +season they may be heard all over the bazaars, singing sweetly and +longingly for the partners they know of by instinct, but never meet. + +There is much pleasing romance and sentiment in the popular idea +regarding the origin of the national emblem, Sher o Khurshed (the Lion +and the Sun). The following legend concerning it was told to me by the +Malik-ut-Tujjar, or Master of the Merchants of Tehran, a gentleman well +versed in Persian history, literature, and lore, and who spoke with all +the enthusiasm of national pride. When the first monarchy of Ajam +(Persia) was founded by Kai Uramâs, some five thousand years ago, the +sun was in the sign of Asad (Leo), the highest tower in the heavens, and +the lion was therefore taken as the Persian emblem, and it so remained +without the sun over it, as now shown, till about six hundred years ago. +Ghazan Khan, who then reigned as King, was so attached to his wife, the +Queen Khurshed (the Sun), that he desired to perpetuate her name by +putting it on the coins he struck; but the Ulema objected to a woman's +name on the King's coin, whereupon he decided to put her face on a +rising sun above the national emblem of the lion, as now seen in the +well-known royal arms of Persia. The story is that King Ghazan's +affection for his Queen, Khurshed, was such that he styled her Sham'bu +Ghazan (the Light of Ghazan). + +This may have been the origin of the expression Khurshed Kullah, or +Sun-crowned, which I have seen stated is a term that was used to denote +the Sovereign of an empire, but from the fact of the features and style +of dressing the hair shown in the sun-picture being those of a woman, I +think the title may be regarded as applied only to queens. Catherine II. +of Russia, from the magnificence of her Court, her beauty and ambition, +and her fame in love and war, was known in Persia during her lifetime as +Khurshed Kullah, and she is still designated by that title. + +I would here mention another instance of a Mohammedan monarch desiring +to publish to his people in the most sovereign manner his high regard +for a wife by putting her name on the current coin. The reign of the +Emperor Jehangir, son of Akbar the Great, the founder of the Moghul +Empire in India and the builder of Agra, was chiefly remarkable for the +influence exercised over him by his favourite wife, Nur Mahal, the Light +of the Harem, immortalized by Moore in 'Lalla Rookh.' The currency was +struck in her name, and we are also told that in her hands centred all +the intrigues that make up the work of Oriental administration. She lies +buried by the side of her husband at Lahore, the capital of the Punjab. + +The subject of Ghazan Khan's succession to the throne of Persia is an +unusually interesting one. He was a Moghul chief of the line of Chengiz +Khan, and, holding Persia in tributary dependence for his sovereign +master the Khakan, was at the head of one hundred thousand tried Tartar +warriors. Persia was then Mohammedan, and the proposal was made to him +to join the new faith, and become the King-elect of an independent Iran. +He consulted his commanders, and then decided to enter Islam and become +King. His apostasy was followed by the instant conversion of his hundred +thousand men, who, with the true spirit of Tartar soldiers, followed +their leader into the pale of Islam, and soon became the active +supporters of the faith which they had so suddenly embraced. We can +imagine the triumphant joy of the proselytizing priests as they passed +down the crowded ranks of the time-hardened, weather-proof warrior sons +of the bow and spear, who on June 17, 1265, paraded at Firozkoh, where +the Tartar host was then encamped, to repeat the Mohammedan confession +of faith. To them the learning of the Arabic words must have been the +severest exercise they had ever been called upon to practise, and it is +easy to think of the muttered swearing among the puzzled veterans that +what was good enough for their leader was good enough for them, and that +they were ready to do as he had done, without further talk or ceremony. +Islam was then most actively aggressive, extending by the argument of +smooth speech or sharp sword, as occasion demanded, and the Moullas must +have regarded with enthusiastic pride the glorious reinforcement they +had brought to its armies by the consecration of such a splendid warrior +host to the service of their Church. + +Ghazan Khan was the first of this race of kings from the line of Chengiz +who threw off all allegiance to Tartary by directing that the name of +the monarch of that empire should not in future be put on the Persian +coins. On the coins which he struck, the Mohammedan creed, 'There is no +God but God, and Mohammed is His Prophet,' was inscribed instead of the +name and titles of the Khakan. He had not the courage of his heart's +desire to strike his wife's name on the coins, as Jehangir did, but he +was differently placed, in that, as a fresh convert and a new King by +the favour of Islam, he felt himself unable to put aside the priests who +had bribed him with a crown. Malcolm, in remarking on Ghazan Khan's +accession to the throne of Persia, says that Henry IV. of France +similarly changed his creed to secure the crown. + +Ghazan Khan reigned about the middle of the thirteenth century, and was +known in Europe for his supposed readiness to assist in re-establishing +the Christians in the Holy Land. He was deemed a wise and just Prince, +and it is believed that his policy led him to seek the aid of the States +of Europe in order to improve the position and condition of himself and +his kingdom. It is said that Pope Boniface VIII endeavoured by a display +of his connection with Ghazan Khan to excite the Christian princes to +another Crusade, and it was probably this connection with the head of +the Christian Church which led to a general impression among Western +writers that Ghazan Khan was not sincere in his conversion to +Mohammedanism, and was at heart a Christian. There is reason to think +that the secret spring of his action was to weaken the Egyptian Empire, +which he regarded as hostile and dangerous to himself and Persia. It is +not clear whether Ghazan Khan apostatized from the religion of his +ancestors or that of the Christians, but he is believed to have been +attached all his life to the latter faith, though he does not appear to +have made a public declaration of his belief in its doctrines. He +professed Mohammedanism in order to obtain the crown, but his life had +been passed in friendship with Christians, and in wars with the +followers of the faith he adopted. + +Xenophon mentions that the royal emblem of Persia from early times was a +golden eagle with outstretched wings, resting on a spearhead like the +Roman eagle, but he makes no allusion to a standard. Persian historians +tell of a famous standard carried from the mythical time of Zohâk to +that of the last of the Pehlevi kings. Their story is that Kawâh, a +blacksmith, raised a successful revolt against the implacably cruel King +Zohâk in the earliest time of Persian sovereignty, and relieved the +country from his terrible tyranny by putting him to death. The +victorious blacksmith then placed on the throne Faridûn, a Prince of the +Peshdâdian dynasty, who adopted his apron, which had been the standard +of revolt, as the royal banner of Persia. As such it was said to be +richly ornamented with jewels, to which every king, from Faridûn +to the last of the Pehlevi monarchs, added. It was called the +Durafsh-i-Kawâh[1] (the Standard of Kawâh), and continued to be the +royal standard of Persia till the Mohammedan conquest, when it was taken +in battle by Saad-e-Wakass, and sent to the Khalif Omar. Malcolm said +that the causes which led to the sign of Sol in Leo becoming the arms of +Persia could not be distinctly traced, but thought there was reason to +believe that the use of this symbol was not of very great antiquity. He +said, with reference to it being upon the coins of one of the Seljukian +dynasty of Iconium, that when this family was destroyed by Halaku, +the grandson of Chengiz, it was far from improbable that that Prince or +his successor adopted this emblematical representation as a trophy of +his conquest, and that it has remained ever since among the most +remarkable of the royal insignia of Persia. He also mentioned the +opinion that this representation of Sol in Leo was first adopted by +Ghiat-u-dîn-Kai-Khusru-bin-Kai-Kobad, 1236 A.D., and that the emblem is +supposed to have reference either to his own horoscope or that of his +Queen, who was a Princess of Georgia. This approaches the legend told by +the Malik-ut-Tujjar of Tehran, for the face depicted on Sol is that of a +woman. + +[Transcriber's note 1: The original text has Durnfsh-i-Kawâh. The original +Farsi is Derafsh-i-Kaviani. The typesetter must have read an +'a' as an 'n'. Durnfsh is otherwise unpronounceable.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil-field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran. + + +The distinguished Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted +by Fateh Ali Shah, in honour of Sir John Malcolm, on his second mission +to the Court of Persia in 1810, in company with Pottinger, Christie, +Macdonald-Kinneir, Monteith, and other British officers, who rendered +excellent service to Persia in organizing a body of her troops. These +officers were followed by others, who in 1834, under Sir Henry Lyndsay +Bethune, led the troops they had trained against the Pretenders who, on +the death of Fateh Ali Shah, opposed the succession of the Vali Ahd +(heir-apparent), Mohamed Shah, father of the late Sovereign. The +Pretenders were defeated by Sir Lyndsay Bethune, and thus England +established the stability of the throne of the Kajars in the direct +line, and carried out the will of the great Fateh Ali Shah, who had +appointed his grandson to succeed him after the death of his son, Abbas +Mirza. During all the changes since Mohamed Shah's accession, Persia has +always had reason to regard England as a friendly neighbour who has no +aggressive designs against her. This feeling must have become conviction +on finding that the defeat she suffered in 1856 caused her no loss of +territory in the South, and the Order of the Lion and the Sun continues +to be a signal sign of strong friendship between the two nations. + +There are two great St. Bernard dogs belonging to the British Minister +at Tehran, which, by their leonine appearance and tawny red colour, +massive forms and large limbs, have made a remarkable impression on the +imaginative Persian mind. They are dogs of long pedigree, being son and +daughter of two famous class champions. Never being tied up, but +allowed full freedom, they are perfectly quiet and good-natured, though +at first sight, to the nervous, they may look doubtful, if not +dangerous. These powerful giant dogs accompany the Minister's wife in +her walks, and seem to know that they are to guard and protect; showy, +gay Rex precedes, with his head up and eyes all about, while Dido +follows, with head down, lioness-like, watchful and suspicious. Painful +experience has taught the street-scavenger curs, which dash savagely at +strange dogs, to slink away at the sight of this pair of champions, and +the passers-by, who, as Mohammedans, are merciless to dogs, treat them +as quite different from the dog they despise, so that they walk along +feared and respected by all, man and dog alike. A Persian gentleman, +riding past with his mounted followers, drew up at the sight of these +St. Bernards, and said, 'I would give the finest Kerman shawl, or the +very best Persian horse, for a puppy dog of that breed.' + +[Illustration: A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN] + +Some of the mendicant dervishes of Tehran are of wild look, with matted +locks, and with howling voice go about demanding, not begging, alms. +They regard a giver as under some obligation to them, for affording him +the means of observance of a duty imposed by religion. These stalk along +defiantly, carrying club or axe, and often present a disagreeable +appearance. One of them came suddenly by a side-path behind the +Minister's wife, and followed, yelling out his cry of 'Hakk, hakk!' It +was almost dark, and he did not see the great dogs, which had gone +ahead. His cry and continued close-following steps were disturbing, so I +turned and asked him either to go on at once or keep farther back. He +frowned at what no doubt he considered my bad taste in objecting to his +pleasing and superior presence, and hastened his pace a little to pass, +but stopped suddenly on seeing the 'lion-dogs' belonging to the +Janâb-i-Khanum-i-Sifarat (the Lady Excellency of the Legation), and +asked to be allowed to follow us, saying he would be perfectly quiet. On +reaching the Legation gate, and seeing his way clear, the dogs having +entered, he left, saying gently, 'Goodnight; God be with you.' + +Formerly a lady could hardly walk about without some little fear of look +or laugh calculated to annoy. This is often the case in a Mohammedan +country, the meaning being that the figure and face should be shrouded +and veiled. But in presence of Rex and Dido there is no sign of the +light look or laugh; on the contrary, there is rather the respectful +gesture of, 'The road is free to thee.' The vivid imagination of the +Persian pictures the group as personifying the Imperial arms, the Lady +with the Royal guard, the Lion of Iran. + +Before the warriors of the Mehdi made the term 'dervish' better known, +it was commonly understood to signify a beggar. But though the +derivation is 'before the door,' yet this does not mean begging from +door to door. The dervish originally was a disciple who freed himself +from all family ties, and set forth without purse or scrip to tell of a +new faith among a friendly people, and to tarry here or there as a +welcome guest. In due course he developed into a regular soldier of the +Church, and as schisms arose and the fires of religious animosities were +kindled, various orders of fighting fanatics, calling themselves +dervishes, sprang into existence. Such were the Ismailis, first known as +the Hassanis, in Persia, in the eleventh century, similar in character +to the present dervishes of the Soudan. In the more favourable sense of +the word, the true dervishes of to-day in Persia represent the spiritual +and mystic side of Islam, and there are several orders of such, with +members who belong to the highest and wealthiest ranks. + +In the time of Fateh Ali Shah, the mendicant dervishes, who were then as +numerous and profligate in Persia as vagrant monks used to be in Spain +and Italy, became such a pest that one of the first acts of his +successor, Mahomed Shah, was to direct that no beggars should be +tolerated except the lame, the sick, and the blind, and that all +able-bodied men appearing in dervish garb were to be seized for military +service. The profession fell out of fashion then, and there are now +comparatively few mendicant dervishes to be seen. Those that still wear +the 'ragged robe' do not all appear to follow the rules of poverty, +self-denial, abstinence, and celibacy. One there was, a negro from +'darkest Africa,' who attached himself as a charity-pensioner to the +British Legation in Tehran, and was to be seen in all weathers, snow and +sunshine, fantastically dressed, chattering and chuckling in real Sambo +style. He knew that his religious cry of 'Ya Hoo' was characteristic of +him, and he was always ready to shout it out to the 'Ingleez,' whose +generosity he had reason to appreciate. He had a story of being a prince +of fallen fortune, who was kidnapped in Central Africa, traded and +bartered across Arabia, and abandoned in North Persia. He was known as +the Black Prince. During the cholera epidemic of 1892, he took up his +residence under some shady chenar-trees of great age, a recognised +resting-place for dervishes, close to the summer-quarters of the English +Legation at Gulhek, in the vicinity of Tehran. One day he sat outside +the gate and poured forth a pitiable tale of the death of his wife from +cholera during the night, and begged for money to pay for her burial. +Having made his collection, he disappeared at nightfall, leaving his +dead partner under the chenar-trees, and it was then discovered that he +had possessed two wives, who called him _agha_, or master, and he had +departed with the survivor, leaving the other to be buried by strangers. +After that he was known as the Prince of Darkness. + +The privileged beggars or mendicant dervishes of Tehran are not all of +the stained, soiled, dust-and-ashes description; some are occasionally +seen presenting a pleasing contrast in washed white garments, and of +neat appearance. There was one such in Tehran, a well-known cheerful old +man, who looked as if he could, in quiet company, tell entertaining +stones, for recitation is adopted by some of these wandering dervishes +as a pleasant means of livelihood, and many of them in the storytelling +art show considerable talent, cultivated taste, and retentive memory. +But, to be successful, they must be able to indulge in variations of +their old stories by the introduction of new incidents which they have +heard or invented. One who is known for good style is always welcomed at +the many tea-shops and gardens in village and town. + +[Illustration: A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN] + +In a most unlikely spot, on a long stretch of sand in the Yezd Desert, I +met a well-dressed dervish in clean, cool white clothes, who stopped on +perceiving that I was a 'Firanghi,' and, gently swaying his neat +dervish-dole dish, said quietly, 'Charity; alms are as dew-drops from +the heavens,' a most appropriate speech in the sandy waterless waste. +Membership with the higher dervish orders appears to signify and +convey something of the character of Freemasonry. I know of one +highly-placed Persian gentleman who is a dervish, and also of a European +gentleman of Oriental light and learning who has been admitted to the +same order. A famous Prime Minister of Persia in past time, Haji Mirza +Aghasi, was a well-known but rather eccentric dervish. My knowledge of +this was the means, on one occasion, of averting a disagreeable display +of violence by a gay sort of madcap, the relative of a post-house +master, who had attached himself as groom to the stable establishment. +My smart Armenian servant, who was equally good as groom or table +attendant, had taken off his warm pea-jacket to help in bracing up the +loads on my baggage post-horses, which were to be driven loose at a +canter, the usual practice when riding post with extra baggage. A +powerful, merry-talking groom, who came forward with the horses, picked +up the jacket and put it on, saying that the morning was cold. And so it +was, for the month was November. When all was ready for a start, my +servant asked him for the jacket, but the laughing _diwana_, or +eccentric fellow, said it was a gift to him, and refused to part with +it. Warm words passed, and I intervened and told him to drop his +dervish ways and give back the jacket. The _diwana_ became excited, and +shouted to all who were standing by that I had called him a dervish, and +had hurt his feelings badly. I then told him he was hard to please, as +surely a High Vazir was good enough to be compared with, for was it not +true that the famous Haji Mirza Aghasi was of the noble order of +dervishes. He took in slowly what I said, then smiled, and gave back the +jacket with a good grace. The Persians have a proverb similar to our own +regarding giving to beggars, '_Avval khesh, baad darvesh_' (First our +own, then the beggar. Charity begins at home). + +The ordinary Persian horses are small, but very wiry and enduring. In +harness they are also capable of very long journeys in light draught, as +proved in the carriage service between Tehran and Kasvin. The distance +is about ninety-seven miles, divided into six stages. On arriving at one +of these, I found that all the posting horses had been taken by a +Russian Mohammedan merchant who was travelling ahead of me in great +style, with five carriages. I had two vehicles, one a carriage for +myself, and the other a _tarantass_ for my servant and luggage, each +drawn by three horses. There was considerable traffic on the road then, +and the horses had only a few hours in the stable between 'turns.' It +was night when I arrived at the post-house, and though anxious to go on, +I had no option but to remain there till the horses should come back +from the next stage. On their return, after three hours' rest and a feed +of barley, six took my carriage and waggon to the next post-house, +sixteen miles, where again I found an empty stable, the horses which had +gone with the party ahead of me not having come back. On inquiring +judiciously from the post-house master if the horses which had brought +me from the last stage were able to do another, I was told that with an +hour's rest and an extra feed they would be ready to go on. And they +travelled the second stage well, showing no signs of distress. These +horses had done sixteen miles in draught, and sixteen miles in cantering +back to their stable during the evening and night; then thirty-two miles +in draught with me in the morning, and after a short rest were to return +the same distance to their own stable, all in double-quick time. + +I had the privilege of again seeing what I consider one of the most +interesting sights in Persia, the stables of his Majesty the Shah. They +contain the very best blood in Asia, and comprise the pick of the finest +horses in Arabia, Persia, Kurdistan, Karadagh, Khorasan, and the +Turkoman country, also the choicest home-breds from the horse-farms +belonging to the late Shah and his sons, the present Shah and the +Zil-es-Sultan, all of them great horse fanciers and breeders. The late +Shah had three breeding establishments: one in the vicinity of Tehran, +another near Hamadan, and the third at Maragha, in Azerbaijan, where the +pasture is good. In each of these there are said to be about one +thousand mares and foals. There is no part of the establishment of a +monarch of Persia to which more attention is paid than his horses. They +are always placed under the care of an officer of high rank, who is +styled Mir Akhor. + +The Mir Akhor (Master of the Horse), Mohamed Hussein Mirza, a Prince of +royal blood, shows by his intimate knowledge of the history of each +horse, and the good condition of all and everything under his care, that +he loves his charge well. We were first shown the racing-stud, called +_mal-i-shart_ (race-horses), thirteen in number, all in hard condition +(the Persian expression is, 'as hard as marble'), and showing good bone +and much muscle. They were Arabs, but not all imported from Arabia, some +being bred from pure stock in the late Shah's establishments. The royal +races are held at Doshan Tepé, six miles from Tehran, where there is a +soft sand-soil course, said to be a two-mile one, but the correct +measurement is one and a half miles. The Persians breed and train for +long-distance speed and endurance, and the races at Doshan Tepé are from +three to nine miles. The Prince pointed out the last winner of the +nine-mile race, saying that he ran it in twenty-five minutes. This horse +was a well-shaped, warm gray Arab, with black points. He, with a darker +gray and a chestnut, all Arabs of pure breed from Nejd, none of which it +is said can be obtained except by free gift, or rare capture in war, +took the eye most with their make and shape. All were ridden slowly +round the yard by their 'feather-weight' jockey-boys, dressed in red +racing-jackets and blue breeches, with long, soft leather boots, and +coloured handkerchiefs bound tightly round their heads in place of +caps. I think these _shart_ horses in the royal stables, which are +always kept in galloping-condition, are the outcome of the old days of +flight or fight, when it was necessary to be always prepared for raid, +attack, or treachery, and so often man's best friend in pressing need +was his horse. + + 'A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!' + + +After the racing stud came the riding-horses, sixty-two in all: +deer-like Arabs of the best desert blood of Nejd and Anizah, and others +of a stouter build from the country of the Jaf Kurds; selected +cross-breeds from Persian and Turkish Kurdistan, and bigger-boned +animals from the Karadagh, the result of a strong strain of good +Northern blood. There were some long, low, powerful Yamut and other +breeds from the Turkoman country, and some good-looking active small +horses from Khorasan. From the Kashkai breeding-grounds near Shiraz were +shown some fine big horses of high quality, also neat, stout mixed +breeds from the hills and plains of Luristan and Persian Arabistan; and +Arabs of the best type, bred from 'blood stock' by the Shah's sons, +also choice specimens from the royal home farms. + +Three gray Arabs, favourites of the late Shah, were brought out, set off +with gold collars, and their points were gone over to show how +powerfully safe they were as riding-horses on the hillside and the +plain. One of them was said to be getting too old for good work, but he +was bursting so with flesh and spirits that he threw out before and let +out behind in such vigorous wide-circling style as to scatter the crowd +of spectators, _gholams_, guards, and grooms. The most powerful and +best-shaped among the riding-horses, in my opinion, were a Jaf (Kurd) +dappled gray, and two big gray Turkomans, the latter very deep in the +girth, and distinguished by the long, fine neck so common to their +class, and rather large but lean heads, showing blood and breeding. The +Turkomans say that the superior size and strength of their horses over +others are due to the rich grass of their pasturelands, I may conclude +this short account of the royal stud by mentioning that, as Persia is +essentially a country of horses and horsemen, every foreign Minister on +first arrival and presentation to the Shah receives the gift of a horse +from his Majesty's stables. All these horses had their tails plaited or +tied up. The Persians never cut a horse's tail, but tie it up, which not +only improves the animal's appearance, but prevents the tail trailing on +the ground, or being whisked about when wet or dirty, to the annoyance +of the rider. The tail is only knotted up when the horse is made ready +for riding, otherwise it remains loose, to be used for flipping off +flies. + +The stable of the King is deemed one of the most sacred of sanctuaries, +and this usage continues in force to the present time. The stables of +the foreign Legations are also regarded, by reason of the Ilchi-Envoy +representative sovereign character, as affording a similar asylum, and +in 1890 I was witness to protection being thus claimed in the stable of +the British Minister. The military tribes of Persia have always regarded +this sanctuary of the stable with the most superstitious reverence. 'A +horse,' they say, 'will never bear him to victory by whom it is +violated.' In a Persian MS. referred to by Malcolm, all the misfortunes +of Nadir Mirza, the grandson of Nadir Shah, are attributed to his having +violated the honour of the stable by putting to death a person who had +taken refuge there. The same writer says that the fleeing criminal finds +a place of safety at the head of the horse even when tied up in the open +air; the fugitive touches the headstall, and is safe so long as he +remains there. Malcolm again tells us of what is still observed, that it +is not unusual for those of the military tribes who desire to show their +respect at the funerals of chiefs and soldiers of high reputation to +send a horse without a rider, but with arms upon the saddle, to swell +the train of the mourning cavalcade. The favourite charger of the +departed warrior, carrying his arms and clothes, accompanies the +procession; the sheepskin cap he wore is placed on the pommel of his +saddle; his scarf sash, or _kumarbund,_ is bound round the horse's neck, +and his boots are laid across the saddle. In all this may be seen the +origin of similar customs now followed by the most civilized nations, +and of the regard in which the horse is held as 'the noble animal.' + +The late Shah had not a single English or European riding-horse in his +stables, nor are any such seen in the country except some from +Russia--heavy, coarse animals, bred in the Don districts, and used for +carriage purposes. The artillery with the Persian Cossack brigade at +Tehran also have a few Russian horses. Nasr-ed-Din had such a high +appreciation of Arab and Eastern horses, of which he was in a position +to get the very best, that he found it difficult to understand what he +considered the fancy prices paid in England for racing stock. The story +is told that when he was shown Ormonde at Eaton Hall, in 1889, and was +informed that £14,000 had been offered for him, he tapped the ground +briskly with his cane, and said in a vivacious manner: 'What! £14,000 +offered for him? Sell him, sell him now to-day. Why, he may be dead +to-morrow.' He would have been astonished to hear that Ormonde +afterwards changed owners at the advanced price of about £30,000. + +In speaking to two friends, competent judges of such matters, about the +breeding and training for long-distance races in Persia, and the time in +which it was said the nine miles had been run, I found that, while one +thought the time might be reasonably correct, the other was more than +doubtful. I have since then seen in the _Journal of the United Service +Institution of India_, 1886, a paper on 'Horse-breeding in Central Asia, +translated from the Russian of Kostenko by W.E.G.,' in which the +following details regarding the Kirghiz race-meetings and the pace and +staying powers of their horses are given. M. Kostenko mentions that the +details are taken from an article by M. Garder in the _Voyenni Sbornik_ +for 1875. He says that among the Inner Kirghiz Horde, races for prizes +were instituted by the Minister of State Domains, beginning with the +year 1851. On October 4 of the same year a circular course measuring +four miles was made, and the horses ran five times round it. The winner +did the 20 miles in 48 minutes and 45 seconds. Commencing with 1853, the +races were run over a distance of 13-1/3 miles on a circular course, and +of these races detailed information from 1869 was obtained. + +The greatest speed was recorded on October 2, 1853, when the distance +(13-1/3 miles) was done in 27 minutes and 30 seconds. The longest time, +on the other hand, was 39 minutes 30 seconds. + +The Chief Administration of the State Studs did not credit the +information sent from the Horde, so that in 1856 there was sent to the +sitting committee a second mètre, for the speed to be followed on it, +the circumference of the circle having been previously measured. The +president of the committee repotted that the measurement of the course +was correct, except that in every 4 versts (2-2/3 miles) it was out +17-1/2 feet. The deficiency was then made good. Accordingly, on October +2 a trial was held, at which the speed was checked with the aid of the +second mètre that had been forwarded, and several watches with +seconds-hands. These showed the 13-1/3 miles run in 31 minutes. Of +nineteen races run over this course, the average time was 33 minutes 40 +seconds. + +In 1861 a race was run over another circular course, measuring about +3-1/2 miles, five times round. The mare that won performed the +distance--about 17 miles--in 48 minutes 45 seconds. In the Kalmak +_uluses_ (groups of nomad tents) of the Astrachan Government, races of +10 miles have been held. The greatest speed recorded was in 1864, viz., +23 minutes 56 seconds; the longest time was in the same year, viz., 27 +minutes. The average time between 1862 and 1865, and 1867 and 1869, was +25 minutes 15 seconds. + +The riders in these races are lads of not more than ten or twelve years +of age. They are in no way specially trained, as from early age they are +always riding, and grow up in good condition for hard exercise. Their +weights range from four to six stone. + +The Persians are a nation of horsemen still, and most of them can ride +well. All the migratory tribes breed horses, and such is the habit of +observation of horses in the country, that, as a rule, a man is known by +his horse, just as in some parts of England a man is known by his dog. +Owing to the notice thus taken of a man's horse, a party of nomad +brigands who carried off all my baggage-train in 1890 were discovered +and hunted down. There is a road guard service for all the King's +highways in Persia, and an annual fixed sum is allowed for its +maintenance. Officials with influence among the neighbouring nomads farm +this service on the main roads, and entertain a certain number of +'black-mail' men for each stage from the various tribal sections to keep +watch and ward. The official who farms the road guard service is held +liable to pay compensation for losses by robbery, and this stimulates +the energies of all to recover stolen property and to keep the highways +safe and secure. Incidents of robbery occasionally happen, but, all +things considered, the system may be said to work fairly well, as +instanced in the recovery of my baggage. + +I had taken a short-cut over the hills to avoid some miles of circuit by +the highroad, and on the way I met the relieved Governor of Luristan +returning to Tehran, with a long train of well-guarded laden mules. Some +little distance behind them came three mounted nomads, armed with +Martini-Henry rifles (the common arm now in Persia), and showing +well-filled cartridge belts. They rode up to me and my party, consisting +of a _gholam_ courier and two servants, all mounted. One of the nomads, +riding a chestnut mare, while examining me intently, dropped a short +stick which he carried, alongside of me, and on dismounting to pick it +up, his mare wheeled round towards me, and I saw that she had lost her +right eye. We passed on, and shortly rejoined the highroad, and when +close to the next halting stage, a post-boy, driving three loose +post-horses before him, galloped up to say that he had seen my baggage +mules driven off the highroad by five armed nomads. The road guards were +called, and on hearing my description of the three men we had met, and +that one of them was riding a one-eyed chestnut mare, they at once said, +'Kara Beg and his sons are in this,' and rode off to follow the trail. +Almost all my luggage was recovered that night, and Kara Beg was hunted +hard, and disappeared. He had been suspected of several robberies +carefully carried out, so that detection was difficult; but in my case +it appeared that he had hung on to the rear of the Luristan Governor's +baggage without being able to steal anything, and when disappointment +had made his men sore and reckless, they followed up my mules, which had +no guard, and carried them off. The tribal road guards knew where to +find him and his men, and soon had most of the plundered property back. +The recovery was due to identification of his mare. + +The English national love of sport has lately introduced into Tehran the +popular _gymkhana_, an institution which hails from India, where it is +English enterprise under an Indian name. The British Legation has +started this amusement, and it seems to provide energy for many who had +longed for some fresh outdoor exercise, but could not organize it. Now, +when weather permits, there are weekly gatherings for variety races, +tent-pegging, and paper-chases. A very amusing and effective novelty, +which I saw there for the first time, was a donkey tug-of-war. This new +'gym' was imported by a sporting young diplomatic secretary, who had +lately arrived from Cairo, where he had seen it in full exercise. Tehran +has excellent riding-donkeys for hire, well turned out, and attended by +the usual smart-tongued youth. Eight donkeys, four a side, heading +outwards, all ridden by Europeans, mostly English, were engaged in this +sport. Neither whip nor spur was allowed. The rope was passed along +under the right arm, and held as each rider thought best. At the word +'_Off!'_ heels were brought into fast play on the donkeys' ribs to make +them move forward, and the scenes that followed were ludicrous and +exciting. Riders were pulled off backward, and, still hanging on to the +rope, they managed to remount and get again into the pulling line in +time to drag off someone on the opposite side, who had lost his balance +on the sudden 'go' forward from the lessened strain. This amusement was +a highly popular one with the laughing spectators. + +Our travelling-party on the outward journey had separated at Tehran, and +I travelled back homeward alone. I left Tehran in the middle of +November, and as there had been a heavy fall of snow some days before, I +quite expected to have a cold crossing of the Kharzan Pass over the +Elburz range. I did the journey to Kasvin comfortably in a carriage, and +rode thence to Resht in three days. I was unexpectedly fortunate in +finding that the bright weather had freed the road over the pass from +snow, and I had a perfect day, with still air, for that part of my ride. + +About halfway between Kasvin and Resht the road passes through the +extensive olive-groves of Rudbar, which for many centuries has been the +centre of a flourishing olive-oil and soap business. There are about +sixty villages in the district engaged in this industry; they possess +from eighty to one hundred thousand trees, each yielding on an average +from six to nine pounds' weight of fruit a year. The olive as a +fruit-tree has been known in Persia from a comparatively early period, +and it is not surprising to hear the villagers ascribe quite a fabulous +age to some of the old trees, just as in Italy some olives are credited +with an equally astonishing antiquity. + +To me it has appeared that the habit the olive has of sending up new +stems from the root of an old trunk--just as the chenar sycamore does in +Persia--may have made the old trees become young again, and thus +present, to succeeding generations in the villages, the look of the same +old trunks. Messrs. Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., of Baku, have +obtained a concession for pressing and refining olive-oil in this +district, and I observed the buildings which they are erecting for their +business rising on the right bank of the river there. + +Near Rudbar commences the thick growth of various hard-wood trees, which +flourish well in the damp soil of the Caspian slopes and lowlands, and +in November their foliage was surpassingly lovely, with many warm tints, +from delicate red to deep russet and shades of shot-green and brown. On +some of the high, thickly-wooded hills, the different colours ran in +well-defined belts, showing where particular kinds of trees had found +most favourable soil, and had grasped it to the exclusion of all others. + +About forty miles from the Caspian coast I fell in with rain and +mud--such mud as cannot be realized without being seen. I embarked at +Enzelli on board a small Russian steamer, the _Tehran_, which had taken +the place of one of the usual large vessels employed on the +mail-service. The sea was rising as I embarked, and I was lucky in +getting on board before the surf on the bar at the mouth of the lagoon +became impassable. The steamer had five hundred tons of iron cargo on +board, machinery for electric light and other purposes, intended for +Tehran, but which could not be landed owing to the rolling sea. It was +therefore carried back to Baku, a second time within a fortnight, for +accident had prevented it being landed on the previous voyage. + +There is always this risk of wind and weather preventing landing at +Enzelli. Proposals have been made to remove the bar sufficiently to +allow steamers of eight hundred tons to pass into the lagoon harbour; +but the expense of doing this, and keeping up dredgers, would be +great--too great, it is thought, to allow of any profitable return. The +same landing difficulties are experienced at Astara and Lenkoran, the +places of call between Enzelli and Baku. Should there be any intention +of eventually making a railway from the coast to Kasvin and Hamadan, +there to meet a line to Baghdad, then it would be the best course in +every way to connect Resht with Baku by a railway along the coast, +passing through Astara and Lenkoran. + +The coast country is famous for its rice, which could be extensively +cultivated, and the resources in forest and fishery produce are great. +There would be considerable local traffic as the country opened up, and +the through trade in oil from Baku would be a paying one. I believe the +Russians know that it would be cheaper to build a railway along this +coast-line of about three hundred miles, with such trade capabilities, +than, in the absence of harbours, to erect breakwaters, make sheltered +anchorages, and dredge navigation channels. For two-thirds of the +distance the line would lie in Russian territory. + +I met at Enzelli a foreign artist, whose acquaintance I had formed in +Tehran, where he made some good pictures of local life and scenery. He +was loud in his complaints of the elements--the heavy rain and the awful +mud. He had come down the road with a minimum of travelling comforts, +and had been rather miserable. On going off to the mail-boat in the +steam-launch, he vented his feelings of disgust with Persia by spitting +over the side towards the land, and saying, 'Ach! ach! what a country! +'May I never see it again!' When I reminded him of Tehran and its club, +he acknowledged that he had enjoyed his stay there, and appreciated the +place; but the rain and sea of mud at Resht had drowned and smothered +all his pleasant memories of Persia. + +The voyage to Baku was uneventful. There are two Astaras, one Persian, +the other Russian, with the frontier stream between them. The steamer +remained part of the night at the former place, and moved in the morning +three miles to the anchorage opposite the latter. There the Russian +Customs officers came on board to examine luggage. The first mate of the +steamer, a Swedish Finn, attended the search proceedings, and became +much interested In a rusty pistol which was found in the luggage of one +of the deck passengers. The question arose, Was the pistol loaded? and +he undertook to find out. He raised the hammer to full cock, and, +placing the muzzle in his mouth, he blew down the barrel, with his +finger on the cap nipple, to feel if the air passed through. He naïvely +explained to me the certainty of this mode of discovering whether a +percussion arm is loaded or not. In this instance the pistol was thought +to be loaded, but it was found to be only choked with rust. + +I had intended to return _viâ_ Constantinople, but on arrival at Baku I +learnt that the damage done to the railway between Tiflis and Batoum by +a storm of unprecedented fury and unusually heavy floods was so extended +and bad as to stop all traffic for a long time. I went to Oujari, a +station one hundred and sixty miles from Baku, where I was hospitably +entertained by Mr. Andrew Urquhart, a Scotch gentleman, established +there with a factory and hydraulic presses for the liquorice-root +industry, and from there I entered into telegraphic communication with +Tiflis to ascertain if I could get a carriage to Vladikavkas, so as to +join the railway and proceed home through Russia. There was such a +number of passengers detained at Tiflis, _en route_ to Batoum, and all +anxious to go to Vladikavkas by road, that I found I should have to wait +long for my turn. Accordingly, after six days' stay with my hospitable +friend, I went back to Baku and took steamer to Petrovsk, whence I +travelled by rail to Moscow and St. Petersburg on my way to England +_viâ_ Berlin. + +A great petroleum field is now being developed near Grosnoje, a station +on the Petrovsk Vladikavkas railway, north of the main Caucasus range; +and an English company has had the good fortune, after venturing much, +to find the fountain for which they and others have long looked. After +carrying on 'sounding' operations for some time, and sinking several +wells, oil was at length 'struck' towards the end of August at a depth +of three hundred and fifty feet, and it came up with such force as to +reach a height of five hundred feet above ground. The well was on a +hillside, and the valley below had been dammed up previously to form a +reservoir capable of holding a large supply of oil. But such was the +flow from the fountain, that after a few days it rose above the dam, +and, although every effort was made to raise and strengthen it, the oil +overflowed, and the top of the dyke was carried away. Millions of +gallons were lost, though on its course down the valley the oil +completely filled another reservoir, which had been prepared for the oil +of a rival company, but which never came from their own wells. +Eventually the main flow of oil found its own level in a low-lying piece +of ground, about four miles below the broken dam. + +As the fountain continued to flow with almost undiminished vigour, the +Governor of Grosnoje began to be alarmed at the damage which was being +done by this deluge of oil, and he therefore placed four hundred +soldiers at the disposal of the English engineer in charge, and by their +organized labour he was able to repair the dam, so that the flow of oil +was checked. A friend, from whom I received this account, visited the +place on November 27, and saw the fountain still playing to a height of +twenty feet, and also the lake of oil which had been formed. The lake +was about three hundred and fifty yards long, one hundred and twenty +yards wide, and from fifty to sixty feet deep. The fountain was still +playing on January 10, but it shortly afterwards ceased to flow. The +same company had another stroke of luck in again 'striking oil' last +month at another spot, some little distance from the original fountain, +while, strange to say, none of the other companies engaged in +prospecting for oil there have as yet succeeded in getting so much as a +gallon. All this flow of fortune to the one firm reads very like the +luck of Gilead Beck in the 'Golden Butterfly.' + +Mr. Stevens, H.B.M.'s Consul for the consular district of Batoum, shows +in his report for 1894 that the demand for naphtha fuel is increasing in +Russia at such a rate, owing to it being more and more widely adopted +for railways, steamers, factories, and other undertakings using +steam-power, that the time appears by no means far distant when the +Russian home market may be in a position to consume in the shape of fuel +almost the entire output of the wells of the Caspian, and he adds that +probably the supply will even be insufficient to meet the demand. With +all this in view, the value of the Grosnoje wells, situated as they are +on the main line of railway through the heart of Russia, is likely to +prove very great. + +I landed in a heavy snowstorm at Petrovsk on November 30, and found the +whole country under its winter sheet. Since October 1 all railway fares +and charges in Russia have been greatly reduced, and the policy now +appears to be to encourage travelling and traffic, which must result in +a general improvement of the minds and condition of the people. + +Railway travelling in Russia is now much cheaper than in any other +country; a through first-class ticket from the Caspian to St. +Petersburg, seventeen hundred miles, is but £4 10s., and the other +classes are low in proportion. The carriages are comfortable, and the +refreshment-rooms excellent. + +With accurate information as to the sailings from Petrovsk to Baku and +Enzelli, one can now go from London to Tehran in fourteen days. This, of +course, means steady travelling, frequent changes, a saddle-seat for +about one hundred miles (which can now be reduced to seventy-five), and +some previous experience of rough life, so as to reconcile the +traveller to the poor accommodation afforded in a Persian post-house. +But the Russian road, now under construction, will soon change the rough +ride into a fairly comfortable carriage-drive, with well-provided +post-houses for food and rest. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia. + + +The famous shrine and sanctuary of Shah Abdul Azim, about five miles +from Tehran, is a very popular place of pilgrimage with the inhabitants +of the town, and its close neighbourhood to the crowded capital makes it +a great holiday, as well as religious, resort. This shrine has been +specially favoured by many sovereigns, and particularly by those of the +present dynasty. On the Mohammedan special weekly day of prayer and +mosque services, Friday, called Juma, or the day of the congregation, +Shah Abdul Azim is visited by great numbers of people. + +On Friday, May 1, this sanctuary was the scene of one of the saddest +events which has ever happened in Persia--the murder within its sacred +precincts of Nasr-ed-Din Shah, a monarch who was about to celebrate the +jubilee of a reign which will always be remembered, not only for its +remarkable length, but also for its peaceful character and general +popularity. The proof of this popularity is that Nasr-ed-Din Shah was +able to leave his country on three occasions for visits to Europe, and +returned each time to receive a welcome from his subjects. This in +itself is unprecedented in Eastern history. + +I little thought when I had the honour of conversing with him in October +last that it was possible that a King so admired and loved by his +people, and then looking forward with pride and pleasure to the +celebration of his approaching jubilee, should perish in their midst by +the hand of an assassin within five days of the event. + +Passing over what in the early years of his reign, through the +exigencies of the times and the pitfalls of intrigue, led to the +shedding of blood, we see in his later years a reluctance to inflict +capital or severe punishment which almost amounted to a serious fault. +I remember an instance of this in the case of a notorious highway +robber, guilty of many murders, who was spared so long, that it was only +on the bad effect of leniency becoming prominently dangerous to traders +and travellers that the extreme penalty was sanctioned. I have already +mentioned how the people had learnt to put their trust in the late +Shah's desire to protect them against oppressive government in the +provinces, and how he had made himself popular with the military and +nomad tribes. The crime which has caused his death will undoubtedly be +regarded as sacrilege, both with reference to the life which was taken +and the sanctuary which it violated. And the abhorrence of the crime +will strengthen what it was intended to end or weaken, viz., the +influence and power of the Kajar dynasty. With the impressionable +Persians there will be but one feeling, of shuddering horror that such a +thing could be done by one of their own faith, who was a subject of +their Sovereign. + +A criminal of the deepest dye can abide with perfect impunity in the +Mohammedan sanctuary, and the tranquillity of this sacred safety, we are +told, brings reflection and repentance to work the redemption of many +from evil ways. Thus we can understand how horror-struck the nation must +be at the thought of the Shah being mortally wounded while in the pious +act of kneeling in reverence on passing the chain which marks the actual +line where the 'bast' or sanctuary begins. + +The murder is said to have been prompted by the well-known agitator, +Jemal-ed-Din, who, though called an Afghan, is really a native of +Hamadan, in Western Persia; but having travelled and resided a short +time in Afghanistan, the term 'Afghani' was added to his name. He was +well known in Tehran in 1891 for his vehement and violent public +speaking against all Western innovations. I have seen it stated that it +was owing to him the tobacco monopoly was withdrawn, as he had roused +the Moullas throughout Persia, and wellnigh brought about a revolution. +Jemal-ed-Din no doubt took a strong part at Tehran in the agitation, but +he was in no way such a prominent leader of it as has been represented. +The sudden introduction of systematic labour and Excise regulations +under foreign direction, by which it was said a few depots were to +displace the numerous retail shops and stalls, at once created a +hostile army of unemployed small owners of hereditary businesses, who +worked on the fears and feelings of the mass of the people. The Moullas +and guild-masters then took the lead, and brought about the cancelment +of the concession. All this I have previously described. It suited well +the nature of a stormy petrel like Jemal-ed-Din to find himself in +Tehran at that time, and he became an inflammatory public orator of the +hottest kind. At first he confined himself to speaking against the +tobacco monopoly and all European enterprise, and on his violent +speeches being made the subject of some remonstrance, the Shah said that +the Persians had long enjoyed great liberty of speech, and with them +words generally took the place of deeds. But this freedom was +misunderstood by Jemal, who gradually grew bolder, until his +revolutionary utterances went beyond all endurance. He scarcely veiled +his contempt for the Crown, and his opinion that all should combine to +rid Persia of the rule of the Shah and the continuance of the Kajar +dynasty. He was warned, but would not listen to reason; he was then +arrested, and informed of the decision to deport him from Persia. On the +day of his departure from Tehran under escort, he managed to make his +escape, and took sanctuary in the same shrine of Shah Abdul Azim where +the Shah was mortally wounded on May 1 by his follower, Mirza Mohamed +Reza. Jemal opened negotiations with the Government from his asylum, and +was finally persuaded to leave Persia quietly. It was said that he +received generous treatment in the matter of his leaving, but I am aware +that he stated he had cause for complaint on this head. We must bear in +mind, however, that he was a hot hater of the Shah, and a thorough +'irreconcilable.' On quitting Persia he went to Constantinople, where he +appeared to be allowed such free expression of disrespect to his +Sovereign that the Shah addressed a remonstrance to the Sultan, who +stated in reply that Jemal was leaving for some remote place to employ +himself in literary work. + +As a native of Hamadan, Jemal-ed-Din is a Persian subject; he is also of +the Shiah faith, though it is believed that, in order to make things +easy for himself, he passes as a Sunni where the State religion is of +that creed. He was well received by the Shah on his visit to Tehran in +1890 as a man of learning and letters, and it is said that he accepted +and enjoyed his hospitality. This, however, did not prevent him plotting +against his royal host, and doing his utmost to compass the downfall of +the Kajar dynasty. He probably saw clearly during his stay in Persia +then that the Shah's authority rested too strongly in the minds of the +people, by reason of his long and peaceful reign and mild rule, to give +any hope of a successful revolution during his lifetime. And it may have +been in this connection that recourse was had to assassination. + +Jemal-ed-Din is credited among Orientals with a powerful energy and will +in working on the enthusiasm of others, and establishing a moral +despotism over them. His disciple, Mohamed Reza, appears to have +resembled his teacher in reckless disregard of kindness, and +determination to render evil for good. In him a willing hand was +apparently found to carry out the first part of Jemal-ed-Din's programme +for the reformation of Persia, but the possibility of madness in the act +of murder was not foreseen. For the horror of the crime has been so +intensified from being committed in the holy shrine of the sainted Shah +Abdul Azim, that its object must be defeated in the most complete +manner, and the reaction will result in stronger attachment to the +throne of the Kajars. + +Jemal-ed-Din held a brief for the union of Sunni and Shiah, an idea +which from time to time has found favour with some advanced leaders of +the former faith. He spoke of the gain to Islam in sinking their +religious differences, and joining to form one Church and one creed. He +was said to be very earnest on this point, and he succeeded in planting +his opinions in Persia, as shown by the subject being still occasionally +discussed. But the idea is entirely of foreign growth, and is generally +introduced by enthusiasts like Jemal-ed-Din, who have exchanged their +Persian national pride of Church and State for the ambition to see Islam +ruling as one power from Constantinople to Pekin. These visionaries fail +to see what thoughtful Persian politicians and Churchmen know well, that +the Shiah schism has preserved Persia as a nation, for without it the +incentive to popular cohesion would long ago have ceased. + +The annual Passion-play to commemorate the murder and martyrdom of the +progeny of Ali, and the solemn fast-days when their assassins are +cursed and reviled, which are observed all over Persia, serve to keep +alive their patriotism and pride of independence, for with the Persians, +religion and patriotism are synonymous terms. There is probably no +country where Church and State are more closely and fortunately bound +together than Persia. Had the sovereignty not been Shiah, it would long +ago have disappeared between its Sunni neighbours. With them the +persecution of the 'accursed Rafizi,' as they speak of the sect, is the +exercise of a holy duty, and their enslavement by Sunnis is a +meritorious act, giving the heretics an opportunity of benefiting by +example, and of rescue from perdition by conversion to the orthodox +faith. Thus it was that the Hazaras and Shiah inhabitants of the small +principalities on the head-waters of the Oxus were sold into Sunni +slavery, and the purchase of the Shiah Circassians in the Turkish +markets was justified on the same grounds. The bitter experience of ages +has taught all Shiahs that, once helplessly at the mercy of the Sunnis, +there must be absolute submission on all points. This conviction has +buried itself deep in the minds of the Persian people, and they now and +then are painfully reminded of the savage readiness of their Sunni +neighbours to emphasize the fact. + +In 1892 a bazaar quarrel in Herat between Sunni and Shiah traders grew +to a disturbance, and culminated in some of the latter, Persian +subjects, being slain and their goods plundered, the Moullas solemnly +pronouncing their judgment that it was 'lawful' for Sunnis to take the +lives as well as the property of the heretical Shiahs. The Shah, on the +representation of the Meshed religious authorities, addressed a +remonstrance to the Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who, being a strong and wise +ruler, made reparation. The religious antagonism is very bitter in +Afghanistan, and were it not for the warlike character and good fighting +qualities of the Shiah Kizzilbash tribe at Kabul, their presence at the +capital would not be tolerated by the bigoted Moullas. The common danger +makes the Kizzilbashes a united band and dangerous foe, and arms them to +be always ready to fight for their lives. They have become a power which +it is the policy of the rulers to conciliate, and thus secure their +support. But notwithstanding this, the fanatical hatred of the orthodox +Sunni, as representing both Church and State, cannot be suppressed. I +was with General Sir William Mansfield (the late Lord Sandhurst) when +he, being Commander-in-Chief in India, had a conversation with the Amir +Sher Ali of Kabul on general subjects, in the course of which the Amir, +in rather a captious manner, made some sharp remarks on what he called +the hostile differences in the Christian Church; Sir William rejoined by +referring to the great division in Islam between Sunni and Shiah, and +asked if there were many of the latter faith at Kabul. A look of +displeasure passed over Sher Ali's face as, half turning towards his +people who stood behind him, he said, in a severe tone, 'Yes, there are +a few of the dogs there, sons of burnt fathers.' + +The mutual hatred ever existing with Sunni and Shiah has always worked +against very cordial relations between Turkey and Persia, and once +certainly, in the sixteenth century, the fear of Persia, then actively +hostile on the south-eastern border, benefited Austria and Russia by +deterring the Turkish Power, in the days of its triumph and strength, +from extended aggressive operations north and west of Constantinople. +Accordingly, the reconciliation of Sunni and Shiah has long been a +cardinal point of policy with the Porte. While it appears that Austria +thus benefited in an indirect manner through Turkey's fear of Persia, it +is an interesting coincidence that, from the time the latter extended +her diplomatic relations beyond those with Russia and England, which, +for a considerable period, were the only Western Powers represented at +the Shah's Court, Austria has held a prominently friendly position in +Persia. Austrian officers have long been employed in her army, and the +fact of the Emperor Francis Joseph and the late Shah Nasr-ed-Din having +ascended their thrones within three months of each other in the same +year (1848) was regarded by the latter as an association with himself of +the highest honour and amity. And this brings to my recollection a +matter connected with the Austrian Legation at Tehran which occurred +after the deportation of Jemal-ed-Din in 1891. Mohamed Reza, the +murderer of the late Shah, remained in Tehran, and continued the +treasonable practices which had been originated by Jemal, even to the +extent of disseminating his revolutionary opinions by means of printed +papers. + +The press used for printing was a lithographic one, and one of the +Mirzas employed by the Austrian Legation having been drawn into Jemal's +secret society, he was induced to set it up in his own house. The usual +informer accomplice was found, or offered himself, for the purpose of +betraying his brethren, and the police became so keen on capture that +oblivious of the privilege enjoyed by the employé of a foreign Legation, +they entered the Mirza's house and arrested him in the act of printing +treasonable papers from the lithographic press. The Mirza was carried +off to prison before the Minister knew of the occurrence, but, on being +informed, he promptly made a strong remonstrance against the violation +of international privilege. The fullest satisfaction was at once given; +the Chief of Police called and apologized, and the prisoner was released +and sent to the Legation. + +The Minister conducted his own inquiry, and on undeniable proof of the +truth of what was alleged, he dismissed the Mirza from his post, and +the Persian authorities were then free to arrest him. The Mirza was kept +a prisoner for some time, and was eventually released with Mohamed Reza +and his companions. The Tehran telegram of May 4 tells us that Mohamed +Reza continued his old course of public hostility to the Government, and +was again imprisoned, but once more obtained his release, and was +granted a pension by the Shah, notwithstanding which he remained +discontented, as the 'black-mailer' generally does, greed suggesting +that the price paid for silence is inadequate. This lenient treatment of +the conspirators was quite characteristic of the later disposition of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and his averseness to judicial severity. + +From what is now known regarding the Mohammedan revival and Church union +contemplated by Jemal-ed-Din, it is obvious that the idea of any +connection between Babism and the crime at Shah Abdul Azim is out of the +question, for the Babis of Persia and Jemal-ed-Din's followers have +little or nothing in common. I have already told how the former are +averse to violent measures, practise no public preaching, and suffer in +silence, while the latter we know shout aloud and try to terrorize. + +When Nadir Shah accepted the throne, he insisted on the abandonment of +the Shiah schism and reunion with the Sunni faith, and he went to +extreme lengths in suppressing the unwillingness of the clergy to accept +the arbitrary decree which he issued in proclaiming his mandate. His +attempt to bridge the great gulf between the hostile creeds entirely +failed, and the Persians remained Shiahs. Freedom of thought and liberty +of speech are national characteristics and privileges, and with minds +never thoroughly subjected to severe Church discipline, the people have +been ever ready to indulge in free criticisms on religious and other +matters. They had no desire to study a new religion, even at the command +of their King, and, judging that any change would be irksome, they sided +with the Moullas, and without display refused to be Sunnis. Nadir's +devotion to ambition was greater than his love of religion, and his +object in trying to drive all into one creed was to remove the obstacles +to the progress of his Imperial power among the Sunnis of India, +Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Asia Minor. On issuing his mandate to +form the Shiahs into a new branch of the true faith, he intimated to the +Emperor of Constantinople his high aim at general concord among +Mohammedans. + +Islam, as it was forced on Persia, was the faith of foreign conquerors +and oppressors, so it never has had the same considerable influence on +the people as elsewhere. This, taken with their habits of freedom of +thought and love of romance and poetry, inclined them to champion the +Shiah schism, which, on the fall of the Arab power, they adopted for +their National Church. I refer to this in connection with what is now +reported of Jemal-ed-Din's relations with the chiefs of the State Church +party at Constantinople, for in his preachings in Persia there were +clear signs of movement towards a great Mohammedan revival, which was to +restore Islam to its old dominant position in the world. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar Dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, + Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah. + + +Among the great families of Tartary from whom the chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe claim descent, much importance has always been given to the +birth of the mother of a candidate for high position. Therefore, in the +choice of an heir to the throne, Persia, as now represented by the Kajar +dynasty, looks to the claims of the mother as well as the father, and +requires royal birth on both sides. For this reason Mozuffer-ed-Din +Mirza, the second son of the late Shah, his mother being a Kajar +Princess, was preferred to the first-born, Sultan Masud Mirza, known +as the Zil-es-Sultan. It has been customary with the Kajars to have the +Vali Ahd, or Heir-apparent, at a distance from the capital, and for him +to be nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, the richest and most +important province of Persia. Its capital is Tabriz, a town of +considerable commercial prosperity, through its Russian and other +foreign trade connections. The mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +maintained a dignified position of high influence at the Court of the +late Shah until her death, which took place at Tehran in May, 1892. +During the intrigues and disquieting rumours which at one time +prevailed, the strong influence of the mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +was always present to watch over his interests in the Shah's palace, and +when she died his friends feared that he had lost his only good +protector. But the Sadr Azem, then known as the Amin-es-Sultan, rightly +interpreting the true feelings of the royal father and the people, +promptly filled the vacancy himself, and has now led the nation to act +as executors of the will of the departed Shah in securing the peaceful +succession of the heir whom he appointed. + +[Illustration: H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, KAJAR] + +There has been much speculation regarding the character, abilities, and +disposition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. I think the general opinion formed +of him by those who have had opportunity of judging is favourable. He is +of kindly disposition, and has pleasing manners, and though prudence has +demanded that as Heir-apparent he should not take a very active part in +public affairs, yet there have been occasions on which he showed himself +to be a capable ruler. His position made it absolutely necessary that he +should avoid all appearance of impatience of subjection to the Central +Government, and he showed considerable tact in never giving cause for +suspicion on this point. He was most successful in keeping clear of +everything that could offend the susceptibilities of his royal father, +and was always regarded as a dutiful son and a loyal subject. His was a +most difficult position to fill, and the fact that he filled it to the +satisfaction of the Shah proves that he possesses the qualities of +prudence, patience, and good judgment. + +Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza had with him for a long time as Kaimakam, or +Vazir, the well-known Amir-i-Nizam, who was virtually Governor-General +of Azerbaijan, for the Shah held him personally responsible for the +administration of the province. He was a man of strong character, and +had great influence in Azerbaijan. His wealth also added to his +importance, and it was not surprising, perhaps, that he considered +himself qualified to hold independent opinions. The active resistance to +the tobacco monopoly was first shown in Tabriz, and he was said to have +encouraged opposition to the wishes of the Central Government. In +consequence of this the Shah summoned him to Tehran in the end of 1891, +and early in 1892 appointed him to be Governor-General of Kurdistan and +Kermanshah, a post which he still holds. On this change taking place, +Mozuffer-ed-Din was directed to assume responsible charge of the +Northern province, and has continued to exercise it till now. The +Amir-i-Nizam was succeeded as Kaimakam by Haji Mirza Abdul Rahim, who +was formerly Persian Minister at St. Petersburg, and as his predecessor +had been Minister at Paris for some years, the European experiences of +these able Vazirs no doubt aided the further education of the Vali Ahd. +The association of enlightened companions and Ministers gave him +opportunities of gaining knowledge which not only informed him on +matters of public importance and general interest, but was also +calculated to prepare him for the position of Sovereign. It has been +said of him that he is entirely Russian in his inclinations, and +considering his long residence at Tabriz, within view, as it were, of +the great power of Russia's vast empire, it would be strange if he had +not been strongly impressed with the vital necessity of securing the +goodwill of the Czar, and we may feel certain that the advice and +opinions of the two Vazirs I have mentioned were to this effect. But it +does not follow that Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah's mind is wholly bent in that +one direction. Judging from the present as well as the past, he knows +well he can believe in England's sincere desire to preserve the same +friendly relations with him as existed with his father, and that she +wishes to see Persia strong, prosperous, and independent. + +While the Amir-i-Nizam was at Tabriz, his energetic management left +nothing for the Prince to do, and as, moreover, a policy of caution +debarred him from taking a very active part in public affairs, he +occupied himself chiefly with the simple amusements of a country +gentleman. He was greatly interested in his horse-breeding farms +established on the fine pasturelands of Maragha, near Lake Urumia, and +made frequent visits there. He is a good horseman and a keen sportsman +with gun, rifle, and falcon, just as his father was, and his love of +life in the open brought him much in contact with the people in a manner +that developed the good-nature for which he is known. He possesses in a +large measure the pleasing characteristics of a nomad chief, and on the +departure of the Amir-i-Nizam, his personal qualities, added to the +sympathetic exercise of his duties, made his rule popular. + +While his prominent brothers have benefited pecuniarily to a +considerable extent by the positions which they hold, the Vali Ahd was +content to maintain a miniature Court on a modest scale, keeping up his +dignity in a fitting manner, and showing no desire to amass money. The +people were aware of this, and respected him for not taking advantage of +his opportunities to enrich himself as others might have done. More than +once lately mention has been made in the papers of the large fortune +which the Zil-es-Sultan is said to have acquired at Isfahan, and +invested in foreign securities. + +Mention may here be made of the first two sons of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. +The elder is Mohamed Ali Mirza, twenty-four years of age, whose mother +is a daughter of Mirza Taki Khan, Amir-el-Kebir and his wife, who was +the favourite sister of the late Shah. The second is Malik Mansur, about +fifteen years of age, whose mother is a daughter of Ismail Mirza, a +Prince of the reigning Kajar family. The latter is spoken of as an +engaging and bright-looking youth, and is generally believed to be the +favourite son. The other sons are not much known nor mentioned as yet, +but it may be said that the succession in the direct line appears to be +well assured. + +Naturally the health of the Heir-apparent was a matter of great +consequence to himself, in the first place in view of his future, and +secondly to those who desired to see the nomination to the succession +undisturbed, for change would have produced great uncertainty and unrest +throughout the country. When I visited Tabriz in the end of 1892, there +were three physicians attached to the Vali Ahd's Court. One was the +Hakim Bashi, Mirza Mahmud Khan, a Persian of superior education and +professional training, who was in constant attendance on the Prince, and +with him were associated the English Dr. Adcock (who had then been four +years in Tabriz, and is still with Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah), and an Italian +doctor, S. Castaldi, brother of the wife of the Russian Consul-General, +regarding whom I have no late information. + +The succession of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah so far has been peaceful, +notwithstanding the fears of many that opposition would appear in the +South. This is the first time with the present dynasty that on the death +of the Shah the Vali Ahd has found no rival in his path. Curzon stated +very decidedly in his important work on Persia that a contest for the +throne was most improbable, and his forecast has proved correct. +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah is the fifth Sovereign of the Kajar dynasty, which +was founded by Agha Mohamed Shah, and I may here remark that the reign +of the late Shah was just within one year of completing a century of +royal rule shared by only three successive sovereigns of this line, a +notable fact in an Oriental kingdom. + +Fateh Ali Shah succeeded to the throne in 1797, having been appointed +Vali Ahd by his uncle, Agha Mohamed Shah, who had no family of his own. +He was the son of Hussein Kuli Khan (full brother of the Shah), +Governor-General at Shiraz, and he was there with his father when called +to the throne at Tehran. On the death of Agha Mohamed Shah in camp with +his army on the Northern frontier, General Sadik Khan, chief of the +Shekaki tribe in Azerbaijan, seized the opportunity to gain possession +of the Crown jewels and treasure, and quitted the camp with his men; but +the rest of the troops marched at the command of the strong Prime +Minister Haji Ibrahim, to the capital, which by his orders was held by +the Kajar chief, Mirza Mohamed Khan, for the legitimate heir of the +Shah. Two competitors for the Crown appeared in the South, in the +persons of Fateh Ali Shah's own father, and a son of Zaki Khan Zend; but +both, as well as the Shekaki chief who advanced similar claims in the +North, and Nadir Mirza, grandson of the great Nadir Shah, who had +entered Khorasan from Afghanistan, and raised the standard of revolt, +were soon defeated and driven into submission. The Shakaki chief was +able from his possession of the Crown jewels and treasure to make terms +for pardon and preferment; but he afterwards broke his oath of +allegiance, and rebelled. He was captured and confined in a dungeon, +where his life soon ceased. + +Fateh Ali Shah died in 1834, and was succeeded by his grandson, Mohamed +Shah, son of the capable Abbas Mirza, who predeceased his father. He was +at Tabriz, holding the post of nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, +which was the customary position assigned to the Vali Abd, when his +grandfather died, and I have in a previous chapter told of the part +taken by British officers in defeating the Pretenders, who attempted to +dispute his right to the throne. These Pretenders were his uncles Ali +Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, and Hussein Ali Mirza, Governor-General at +Shiraz, each of whom proclaimed himself King. Fateh Ali Shah died at +Isfahan while on his way to Shiraz to compel the obedience of his son +Hussein Ali Mirza, who in expectation of his father's death from age and +infirmity had decided to withhold payment of revenue to the Crown. The +rebellious son advanced with an army, and took possession of the jewels +and treasure which his father had brought with him; and his brother, the +Zil-es-Sultan, seized what had been left at Tehran, but Mohamed Shah +afterwards regained possession of the whole. + +Nasr-ed-Din, son and heir-apparent of Mohamed Shah, was present at his +post of Governor-General of Azerbaijan when his father died in Tehran, +and there was an interval of disturbance for the six or seven weeks +which passed between the death of the one King and the coronation of the +other. During this period revolution prevailed in the towns, and robbery +and violence in the country. The son of Ali Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, +the Prince-Governor of Tehran, who had disputed the succession of +Mohamed Shah, issued forth from his retirement in Kasvin to contest the +Crown with his cousin; but the attempt came to an inglorious end. A +revolt at Meshed with a similar object also failed, and then Mirza Taki +Khan, Amir-i-Nizam, proceeded successfully to consolidate the power of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, whose long reign, and on the whole good rule, have so +accustomed the people to peace that the old ways of revolution and +revolt on the death of a Shah have been forgotten and changed. + +The regalia and Crown jewels of Persia mentioned in these changes of +royal rule have, by inexplicable good fortune, been preserved from +plunder while in the hands of rebels. The Crown jewels are in great part +a portion of the splendid spoil which Nadir Shah obtained in the sack of +Delhi, when it was the capital of the richest empire in the East. On his +assassination near Meshed, the treasury was seized by the troops, and +while a considerable share, including the famous Koh-i-Nur diamond, +which now adorns the English crown, fell to the Afghans with Nadir's +army, the greater part, with the Koh-i-Nur companion diamond, known as +the Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light), was secured by Persian soldiers, who hid +it all away in Khorasan and the adjoining districts. + +When Agha Mohamed Shah found leisure from his wars and work of firmly +establishing his authority, he turned his attention to the recovery of +Nadirs jewels, and proceeded to Meshed, where, by means of cunning and +cruelty, he succeeded in wresting from the plunderers of Nadir's camp, +and others, the rare collection of gems and ornaments now in the royal +treasury at Tehran. The value of the collection is believed to be very +great. + +The singular preservation of the regalia and Crown jewels of Persia from +plunder while they were in the hands of rebels after the death of Agha +Mohamed Shah, and again on the death of Fatch Ali Shah, is most +remarkable. A superstitious feeling of fear and respect appears to have +kept them from being lost from the Crown, or it may be that, on the +principle of 'safety in numbers,' every one, with a prospective share of +the plunder in view, was a check on his neighbour against theft of that +which they thought belonged to all. + +Sultan Masud Mirza, better known as the Zil-es-Sultan, the eldest son of +the late Shah, has generally been regarded as likely to challenge the +right of his younger brother to the throne. His ambition and overweening +self-confidence combined to make him imprudent in permitting his +partisans to speak aloud of his superior qualifications as a successor +to his father. The late Shah's considerate treatment of him on all +occasions also led him to make ill-judged requests for such extended +rule in the South that his father said Persia was not large enough for +two Shahs. I think his idea of a viceroyalty in the South came from +foolish vanity, and not from any serious thought of semi-independence, +as some who heard him speak on this subject supposed. + +His father always wrote to him as 'my well-beloved first-born,' and up +to 1888 he allowed him great power and freedom of action. He was fond of +'playing at soldiers,' and he went to work at this amusement with such +energy and will that he formed a numerous and very efficient army under +well-trained officers, too good, the Shah thought, to be quite safe. +Nasr-ed-Din sent an officer whom he could trust to Isfahan to bring back +a true report on the army there; and such was the Zil's self-assurance, +that he went out of his way to show him everything, and to make the most +of his force. + +The Shah, on learning all, became jealous or suspicious, and ordered the +reduction of the troops to the moderate limits really required for +provincial purposes. As affairs then stood, the Zil, with his +well-appointed army, was master of the situation, but he was constrained +to submit. He singled out the Amin-es-Sultan (now the Sadr Azem) as his +enemy at Court, and regarded him as the strong adviser who influenced +the Shah. His relations with Tehran then became so strained that the +Shah summoned him to his presence to have his wishes clearly explained +to him. The meeting of father and son did not tend to smooth matters, +and the latter, allowing his temper to carry him to extreme lengths, +tendered his resignation of the various governments he held, asking only +to retain the governorship of Isfahan. His request was granted, and from +that time he made no secret of his enmity to the Prime Minister. + +Two or three years later the Shah restored to him some of the provinces +which he had resigned in 1888, and this enabled, him to carry out more +successfully the task which he had set himself, viz., that of amassing +money, after his army was broken up. The warlike Bakhtiari tribe form +the most important part of the military strength under the nominal +command of the Zil-es-Sultan, but he alienated them entirely by his +cruel and treacherous murder of their popular chief, Hussein Kuli Khan, +in 1882, and the long imprisonment of his son, the equally popular +Isfendiar Khan. Now that he has promised allegiance to his brother, +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah, we may regard the peace of the South as assured. + +The Naib-es-Sultaneh, Kamran Mirza, as Minister of War, +Commander-in-Chief, and Governor of Tehran, who was in constant +attendance on his father, was also regarded by foolish partisans as a +likely successor to the throne, but he himself never entertained the +idea. His position as head of the army gives him no real power--in fact, +it rather takes from his influence as Governor of Tehran; for the +soldiers look upon him as a costly appendage, for whose pleasures and +palaces their pay is clipped. + +There is really no standing army, in Persia as we understand such, +except the royal guard and the weak Persian Cossack brigade at Tehran. +The artillery and infantry which do all the garrison work are militia +regiments, embodied for two years at a time. The conditions are one +year's service to two years' leave, and that they serve under their own +local chiefs and officers. The administration of regiments is given to +Ministers, high officials, and others for purposes of emolument or +distinction, as the case may be. This system gives the influence over +the troops to those who deal with their pay, and not to the +Commander-in-Chief, who is regarded merely as the keeper of the great +gate through which the pay passes after toll is taken. The +Naib-es-Sultaneh, equally with his brother, the Zil-es-Sultan, appears +to have a great dislike to the Prime Minister, whose loyalty to the +Sovereign and his heir could not fail to create strong jealousy in high +places. + +I shall now finish with a few remarks on the able and sagacious Sadr +Azem, the Prime Minister, who, by his strong character, resolute will, +and prompt action, has proved his loyalty to the Crown and his fidelity +to the Shah. He became Prime Minister at an unusually early age for such +a high position, and this preferment drew upon him the jealousy and envy +of many in such a manner as often to cause him great embarrassment. +There can be no doubt of his conspicuous energy and talent. His pleasing +manner and happy disposition attract adherents and gain for him their +best services. In addition to his personal qualities, he has an +astonishing knowledge of public affairs, which makes him a most valuable +Minister. With the people he is deservedly popular, for not only is he +liberal and kind, but he understands their feelings and can interpret +their minds. + +[Illustration: MIRZA ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR AZEM (_From a Photograph by +Messrs. W. and D. Downey_)] + +He was beside Nasr-ed-Din Shah in the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim when the +assassination took place, and at once brought his Majesty back to the +palace in Tehran. This happened about two o'clock in the afternoon, and +the Shah breathed his last within four hours afterwards. It appears that +the Sadr Azem immediately grasped the situation, and put himself in +telegraphic communication with the Vali Ahd at Tabriz, four hundred +miles distant. He then summoned all the Ministers, State officials, +military commanders, and the most influential people of the city, to the +palace, and announced the death of the Shah. Under his able guidance, +the prompt recognition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza as Shah, in accordance +with the will of his father, was effected. + +The English and Russian Legations, as representing the two strongest and +chiefly interested European Powers, were immediately informed, and the +Minister of the former, and the Charge d'Affaires of the latter, were +invited to the palace. On their arrival, the Sadr Azem wired to the Vali +Ahd in their presence the allegiance of the whole party who were there +assembled. This was done about four or five hours after the death of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and the following morning, in consequence of this +decisive action, Mozuffer-ed-Din was publicly proclaimed Shah of Persia. + +Thus the electric telegraph, which Nasr-ed-Din Shah introduced into +Persia, has been the means of helping most materially to save the +country from the uncertainty which has hitherto always produced +revolution and civil war in the interval between the death of one Shah +and the accession of his successor. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Persia Revisited, by Thomas Edward Gordon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERSIA REVISITED *** + +***** This file should be named 13064-8.txt or 13064-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/6/13064/ + +Produced by Karen Lofstrom and PG Distributed Proofreaders. 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Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/13064-8.zip b/old/13064-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a55daf3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13064-8.zip diff --git a/old/13064.txt b/old/13064.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..528717c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13064.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4452 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Persia Revisited, by Thomas Edward Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Persia Revisited + +Author: Thomas Edward Gordon + +Release Date: July 30, 2004 [EBook #13064] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERSIA REVISITED *** + + + + +Produced by Karen Lofstrom and PG Distributed Proofreaders. Produced +from images provided by the Million Book Project. + + + + + +PERSIA REVISITED + +[Illustration: H.I.M. Nasr-ed-Din, The Late Shah, +on the steps of the Peacock Throne] + + * * * * * + +PERSIA REVISITED + +(1895) + +_WITH REMARKS ON +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, +AND THE PRESENT SITUATION IN PERSIA_ + +(1896) + +BY + +GENERAL SIR THOMAS EDWARD GORDON + +K.C.I.E., C.B., C.S.I. + +_Formerly Military Attache and Oriental Secretary to +Her Majesty's Legation at Tehran._ + +Author of 'The Roof of the World' + +ILLUSTRATED + + * * * * * + + + + +PREFACE + + +On revisiting Tehran last autumn, I was struck with the evidence of +progress and improvement in Persia, and on returning home I formed the +idea of publishing a short account of my journey, with observations and +opinions which are based on my previous experiences, and have reference +also to what has been recorded by others. In carrying out this idea, I +have made use of information given in the well-known books on Persia by +Malcolm, Fraser, Watson and Curzon. + +'Persia Revisited,' as first written, comprised up to Chapter VI. of the +book; but just as I had finished it for publication, the sad news of the +assassination of the Shah, Nasr-ed-Din, was received. I then saw that my +book, to be complete, should touch on the present situation in Persia, +and accordingly I added two chapters which deal with the new Shah and +his brothers, and the Sadr Azem and the succession. + +The illustrations are from photographs by M. Sevragine of Tehran, with +the exception of the likeness of H.I.M. the Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din, and +that of H.H. Ali Asghar Khan, Sadr Azem, which latter, by Messrs. W. and +D. Downey, of Ebury Street, London, is published by their kind +permission. + +T.E. GORDON. + +_May, 1896._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Regie +--Moulla opposition + + +CHAPTER II. + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The Customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long-distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_THE SITUATION IN PERSIA_ (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar-dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah + + + * * * * * + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +H.I.M. NASR-ED-DIN, THE LATE SHAH, ON THE +STEPS OF THE PEACOCK THRONE + +FEMALE PIPE-BEARER OF THE ANDERUN + +PERSIAN LADY AT HOME + +ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN + +THE PRESENT SHAH (WHEN VALI-AHD) ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE + +PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES + +A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN + +A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN + +H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH + +H.H. ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR-AZEM + + + * * * * * + + +INSCRIPTION ON THE SEAL OF THE LATE SHAH, SHOWN ON +THE COVER. + +'_El Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan, Bin el Sultan. +El Sultan, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar_.' + +'_The King, Son of the King, Son of the King, Son of the King. +The King, Nasr-ed-Din Shah, Kajar line_.' + + + * * * * * + + +PERSIA REVISITED + +CHAPTER I. + + +--London to Baku +--Oil-wells and works +--Persians abroad +--Caspian steamers +--Caspian salmon +--Enzelli lagoon +--The Jews in Persia +--Resht trade +--'My eye' +--Russian road +--The tobacco 'strike,' 1891 +--Collapse of Tobacco Regie +--Moulla opposition. + + +The Persians, as a people still nomadic in their habits, and much given +to long pilgrimages, have good knowledge of the ways and means of making +a journey pleasant. Their saying, '_Avval rafik, baad tarik_' (First a +companion, then the road), is one which most travellers can fully +appreciate. Accordingly, when planning a trip in the autumn of 1895 to +the Land of Iran, I cast about for a companion, and was fortunate enough +to meet with two friends, both going that way, and who, moreover, like +myself, had previously journeyed in Persia. + +We decided to take the Odessa route to Batoum, and we went by Berlin, +Oderberg, and Lemberg. At Odessa we found that a less expensive, and +more comfortable, though perhaps half a day longer route, lies by +Warsaw. On that line there are fewer changes, and only one Customs +examination, whereas by, Oderberg there are two examinations, Austrian +and Russian. Moreover, through tickets are issued _via_ Warsaw, a +convenience not provided _via_ Oderberg--fresh tickets and re-booking of +luggage being necessary there, and again both at Pod Voloczyska and +Voloczyska, on the Austrian and Russian frontiers. We came in for a +crowded train of first-class passengers going from the Vienna direction +to Jalta, a favourite seaside place in the Crimea, which has two +fashionable seasons--spring and autumn. These people were making for the +accelerated mail-steamer, which leaves Odessa for Batoum every Wednesday +during the summer service, touching at Sebastopol, Jalta, and +Novorossisk. We were making for the same steamer, and found crowded +cabins. The mass of luggage to be examined at Voloczyska caused much +confusion and delay, and it was only by discreetly managed appeals to +the working staff that we were able to push our way and pass on, +without anything being left behind. There appeared to be orders for very +special examination of books and papers at Voloczyska, and these were +carried out in a foolishly perfunctory manner. In my luggage, the man +who searched passed over a bulky tourist writing-case, but carried off +to a superior a Continental Bradshaw, a blank notebook, and a packet of +useful paper, notwithstanding my open show of their innocence. The man +soon returned with another official, who smiled at the mistake, and good +naturedly helped to close up my baggage. + +We began our journey well by a rapid run to Odessa, arriving there on +the day of departure of the fast boat, and landing at Batoum in six and +a half days from London. The steamers on this service are about 2,500 +tons, 2,400 horse-power, with large accommodation for passengers. The +cabins are comfortable, and the saloons excellent and well served, and +all are lit with the electric light. These boats are, I believe, +Tyne-built. They are broad of beam, and behave well in bad weather. +Novorossisk is a growing great port, situated in a very pretty bay. It +has lately been joined by railway to the main trunk line connecting with +Moscow, and passing through Rostov. This connection enables it to +attract considerable trade from the Don and the Volga, and also to take +much from Rostov and Taganrog, when the Azov approaches are closed with +ice. A very fine sea-wall, to give effectual protection to the railway +loading-piers, and the shipping generally, is now being completed at a +total cost of L850,000. Novorossisk is said to have the biggest +'elevator' in the world. The scenery all along the coast, from the +Crimea to Batoum, is very fine, and in autumn the voyage is most +enjoyable. + +We left Batoum on the night of the day of our arrival. The departure of +the through train to Baku had been changed from morning to night, and +this allowed of travelling by day over that part of the line which +before used to be passed at night. We had previously seen Tiflis, and +therefore did not break our journey. The weather was warm, but not such +as to cause discomfort. As we approached Tiflis the carriages and +buffets became crowded to excess, with townspeople returning from +Saturday-to-Monday holiday, the fine weather having enticed them out to +various places along the line. The railway-carriages on the Batoum-Baku +line are very comfortable, and the refreshment-rooms are frequent and +well provided, so travelling there is made easy and pleasant. The +journey occupies thirty-two hours. + +We reached Baku on September 16, the ninth day from London, and arranged +to leave for Enzelli, on the Persian coast, the port for Tehran, at +midnight the next day. Through the kindness of a member of the Greek +house of Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., we were shown over the oil-wells +and refineries belonging to M. Taghioff, a millionaire of Persian origin +(the name probably was Taghi Khan). The story goes that, on becoming +wealthy through the oil industry in its early days, he presented the +young township with a church, school-house, and hospital, and, in +recognition of his generous public spirit, the Government gave him a +grant of the waste land on which his works now stand, and out of which +millions of roubles have come to him from oil-springs. Our visit had the +appearance of bringing him luck in the form of a new fountain rush. We +had seen all the works and wells; none of the latter were flowing, and +the usual steam-pumping was going on. We were about to leave, when a +commotion at the wells attracted our attention, and we saw the dark +fluid spouting up from two to three hundred feet through the open top of +the high-peaked wooden roof erected over each of the wells. On hurrying +back, we saw the great iron cap, which is swung vertically when the pump +is working, lowered and fixed at some height over the mouth of the well, +to drive the outward flow down into the hollow all round and out into +the ditch leading to the reservoirs. The force of the gush was shown by +the roar of the dash against the iron cap, and the upward rush had the +appearance of a solid quivering column. The flow was calculated at fifty +thousand gallons an hour. The business of refining is generally in the +hands of others than the producers; but some of the larger +firms--notably the Rothschilds, Nobel Brothers, and Taghioff--are both +producers and refiners. This means of course, the employment of very, +much larger capital. + +There is a great dash of the gambling element in the oil-well business +at Baku. Large sums are spent in boring operations, and success so +often stands off that all available capital is sunk in the ground and +swallowed up. Even with good signs, it is impossible to foresee the +results or the extent of production, and there is also an extraordinary +irregularity in the outcome of the separate naphtha-bearing plots. An +instance was mentioned to me of a peasant proprietor who had made enough +money on which to live sumptuously, but he hungered for more, and +engaged in further boring operations. He was on the verge of losing +everything, when oil was suddenly struck, and he made a fortune. He +laboured hard himself, and literally went to sleep a poor working man, +and awoke to find his dream of riches realized. + +Baku has been immensely improved in every way of late, and now has good +streets, hotels, and shops. Water, which was a great want before, is +well supplied from condensers which belong to the town. The rise in the +value of house property and building sites within the last ten years has +been enormous, and great part of the money thus made has gone to native +owners, Persians (or Tartars, as all Mohammedans are called here), and I +was told of a plot of building ground with a small house on it, which +had been originally bought for 600 roubles, being lately sold for +30,000. The town is growing in size, and new buildings are rising, which +give an appearance of prosperity and increasing trade. The harbour is +crowded with steamers and sailing vessels, and the wharfs present a busy +sight. The loading and unloading is quickly done by steam-cranes and +powerful porters, who come in numbers from the Persian districts of +Khalkhal and Ardabil. I watched with much interest a gang of these men +at work. They were wonderfully quick, quiet, and methodical in their +ways, and showed great capacity for handling and carrying heavy weights. + +Baku swarms with Persians, resident and migratory. They are seen +everywhere--as shopkeepers, mechanics, masons, carpenters, coachmen, +carters, and labourers, all in a bustle of business, so different from +Persians, at home. Climate or want of confidence produces indolence +there, but here and elsewhere out of Persia they show themselves to be +active, energetic, and very intelligent. They are in great numbers at +all the censes of trade in the adjoining countries--at Constantinople, +Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Tiflis, Askhabad, and other towns. Most of +the new buildings in Tiflis were built by Persians, and thousands were +engaged in the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway. The permanent +workmen now employed on it are largely Persians, and Askhabad has a +resident population of over twelve thousand. There were said to be +twenty thousand Persians, from the provinces of Azerbaijan and Hamadan, +working last summer on the new railway from Tiflis to Alexandropol and +Kars, now being built, and doubtless many of them will permanently +settle on the line. + +It is said that there are half a million thus located and working out of +Persia, but I think that this is an exaggerated estimate. Most of them +retain their nationality, for while they grumble loudly in their own +country, yet when away they swear by it, and save money steadily to +enable them to return home. Their nomadic character is the cause of this +readiness to seek employment abroad. I was told that in 1894-95 twenty +thousand Persian passports were issued from the Embassy in +Constantinople. This would include pilgrims as well as home visitors. +It is this love of country (not in the sense, however, of patriotism as +understood in the West) which makes a Persian cling to his national +representative abroad, and willingly pay for frequent registration as a +subject who is entitled to protection and permission to return home +whenever he may choose. As a rule, the Persian abroad always appears in +the distinctive national dress--the tall black lambskin cap and the coat +with ample skirt of many pleats. + +I have mentioned the Persian porters who are seen at Baku; they are also +to be found at Petrovsk and Astrachan, and are generally preferred to +the local labourers, who, in common with their class in Russia, take a +long drink once a week, often unfitting them for their work the +following day. The Persians are of sober habits, and can be relied upon +for regular attendance at the wharfs and loading-stages. They have +learnt, however, to take an occasional taste of the _rakivodka_ spirit, +and when reminded that they are Mohammedans, say that the indulgence was +prohibited when no one worked hard. These porters are men of powerful +physique, and display very great strength in bearing separate burdens; +but they cannot work together and make a joint effort to raise heavy +loads, beyond the power of one man. Singly, they are able to lift and +carry eighteen poods, Russian weight, equal to six hundred and +forty-eight pounds English. + +In the newspaper correspondence on the burning Armenian Question, I have +seen allusion made to the poor physique of the Armenian people; but as +far as my observation goes in Persia, Russian Armenia, and the Caucasus, +there is no marked difference between them and the local races, and on +the railway between Baku and Tiflis Armenian porters of powerful form +are common, where contract labour rates attract men stronger than their +fellows. + +Though much of the wealth which has come out of the Baku oil-fields has +been carried away by foreign capitalists, yet much remains with the +inhabitants, and the investment of this has promoted trade in the +Caspian provinces, and multiplied the shipping. There are now between +one hundred and eighty and two hundred steamers on the Caspian, besides +a large number of sailing craft of considerable size, in which German +and Swedish, as well as Armenian and Tartar-Persian, capital is +employed. The Volga Steam Navigation Company is divided into two +companies--one for the river, and the other for the Caspian. The latter +owns six large steamers, with cargo capacity of from sixty to eighty +thousand poods, liquid measurement, for oil-tank purposes, equalling +nine hundred to twelve hundred tons. They have German under-officers, +and Russian captains. It is likely that the German officers come from +the German colonies on the Volga, and probably some of the capital also +comes from that quarter. This Volga Steam Navigation Company was +established over fifty years ago by a Scotchman, named Anderson, and +some of the vessels first built are still used on the river as +cargo-boats. + +Many of the best steamers on the Caspian are officered by Swedes and +Finns, most of whom speak English, acquired whilst serving in English +ships sailing to all parts of the globe. The Mercury Company, which runs +the superior steamers and carries the mails on the Caspian, has Swedish +and Finn officers, but it is said that they are now to be replaced by +Russian naval officers as vacancies occur. This company's vessels are +well appointed, have good cabins, and are fitted with the electric +light. But the best of Caspian mail-boats are most uncomfortable in +rough weather for all but those whom no motion whatever can affect. +Owing to the shoal water on all the coast circumference of this sea, the +big boats are necessarily keelless, and may be described as but great +barges with engines, and when at anchor in a rolling sea their movement +is terribly disturbing. + +We embarked in the _Admiral Korneiloff_, one of the Mercury Company's +best boats, on the night of September 17, and arrived at Enzelli on the +morning of the 19th. I was amused on the voyage to hear the sailors' +version of the story how the Caspian became a Russian sea, on which no +armed Persian vessel can sail. The sovereignty of this Persian sea was +ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the sailors say +that on the Shah being pressed over and over again to consent, and +desiring to find some good excuse to do so, a courtier, seeing the royal +inclination, remarked that Persia suffered sorely from salt soil and +water, which made land barren, and that sea-water was of no use for +irrigation, nor any other good purpose. The Shah on this asked if it +were really true that the water of the Caspian was salt, and on being +assured that it was, he said the Russians might have the whole of it. + +We found an improvement at Enzelli in the form of a hotel kept by a +Greek, with accommodation good enough to be very welcome. We had +excellent fresh salmon at breakfast, which reminded me of the doubt that +has often been expressed of the true salmon being found in an inland +sea. The Caspian fish is a genuine salmon of the same habits as the +marine species known in Europe, with the one sad exception that it will +not look at nor touch fly or bait in any form or shape, and therefore +gives no sport for the rod. The trout in the upper waters of the streams +that the salmon run up, take the fly freely and give good sport, but all +attempts by keen and clever fishermen to hook a salmon have failed. The +fish are largely netted, and same are sent to Tehran packed in ice, +while a good business is done in salting what cannot be sold fresh. The +existence of salmon in this inland salt sea, which lies eighty-four feet +below the level of the ocean, is supposed to be due to its connection +with the open sea having been cut off by a great upheaval in the +prehistoric time. + +After breakfast we were confronted with a functionary new to us in +Persia, one charged with the demand for passports and their examination. +He is prepared to provide passports for those arriving without them, and +to _vise_ when this has not been previously done. Considering the +practice in force with Persia's near neighbour, and the crowd of +deck-passengers always coming and going, it was not likely that this +formality as a source of income would fail to be adopted. The linguistic +educational qualification for the post is evidently confined to Russian, +for on finding that I spoke Persian, the officer asked me for the +information he pretended to seek from the English passports. He +acknowledged the farce he was called upon to play, and we proceeded +without any farther inquiry. The day was warm, but not oppressively so; +the sea-breeze helped the boat across the lagoon and up the Pir-i-Bazaar +stream, and the weather being dry, we reached Resht in carriages By the +Mobarakabad route, without the splashing plunging through a sea of mud +which is the general disagreeable experience of the main road. + +The Enzelli Lagoon is a swarming haunt of numerous kinds of wild-fowl +and fishing birds. Conspicuous among the waders in the shallows and on +the shore are the pelican and the stork. The place is a paradise to +them, teeming with fish and frog food. One of my companions described +what he had witnessed in a struggle with a wounded stork in the shallow +water of this lagoon. He and a friend were out after wild-duck, and his +friend, desiring to bag a giant stork, which looked splendid in his +strongly contrasted pure white and deep black plumage, fired, and +wounded the bird. His Persian servant, with thoughts intent on cooking +it, ran, knife in hand, to cut its throat in the orthodox manner, so as +to make it lawful for a Mohammedan to eat. The bird, on being seized, +struggled hard with its captor, and, snapping its elongated bill widely +in wild terror, by accident got the man's head jammed between its +mandibles. The keen cutting edges of the long strong beak scarified the +man's cheeks, and made him scream with pain and with frantic fear that +it was _his_ throat which was being cut. His master went to his +assistance and released him by wrenching open the stork's bill, but he +was so occupied with supporting his swooning servant that time was given +for the wounded stork to hurry away in safety, flapping its long wings +and snapping its powerful beak, as is the habit of this voiceless bird, +with all the appearance of triumph. + +Enzelli is becoming the port of entry, for the North of Persia, of tea +from India and China. Till within a very short time most of the tea for +Persia, Trans-Caspia, and Russian Turkistan so far as Samarkand, passed +up from Bombay by the Persian Gulf ports. The late reduction in Russian +railway charges, and the low sea-freights from the East in the +oil-steamers returning to Batoum, have brought about this change. +Arrangements have been made for transit to Baku of Russian-owned tea +consigned to Persia on special terms of Customs drawback, and it is now +sold cheaper in Resht than in Baku, where it has a heavy duty added to +the price. The thin muslin-like manufactures of India, in demand in +Central Asia for wear in the hot dry summer, and which found their way +there from the Persian Gulf, are now following the same route as the +tea. Thus, steam and waterway are competing still more with the camel, +to make the longest way round the shortest one in point of time, and the +cheapest to the customers' homes. + +As with tea, so Russian beet-sugar is cheaper at Enzelli-Resht than at +Baku, owing to the State bounty on export. The consumption of tea and +sugar, already large in Persia, is certain to increase in the North +through this development of Russian trade. French beet-sugar continues +to compete by way of Trebizond to Tabriz, but if the experiment now +being tried of manufacturing sugar in the vicinity of Tehran from beet +succeeds, the Persians will benefit further by competition. + +The Russian trade in Persia is mostly in the hands of Armenians, some of +whom have amassed considerable wealth. It is only in the West that the +Jew is regarded as the sample of superior sharpness in the walks of life +that call for the exercise of the qualities most necessary in the +operation of getting the better of one's neighbour. In the East both the +Greek and the Armenian are ahead of him in this respect, and the popular +saying is, 'One Greek equals two Jews, and one Armenian equals two +Greeks.' But, to the credit of the Armenian traders, it should be said +that they are bold and enterprising in a newly-opened country, as well +as clever in an old one. It may be here mentioned that there is no +opening in Persia for the native Jew; he is there refused the facilities +which lead to wealth, and is strictly confined to the poorest +occupations. It is not unlikely that the severe treatment of the Jews in +Persia has its origin in the hatred inspired by the conduct of +Saad-u-Dowleh, a Jewish physician, who rose to the position of Supreme +Vazir under the King Arghoun Khan, in 1284. This Minister owed his +advancement to his pleasing manners and agreeable conversation, and he +gained such an ascendancy over his weak royal master as to be allowed to +remove all Mohammedans from places of trust and profit, and even to +carry his persecution to the length of commanding that no one professing +that faith should appear at Court. The Eastern Christians were then much +more prominent and numerous than they afterwards became, and +Saad-u-Dowleh sank his people's dislike of the Nazarene in his greater +hate of the Mohammedan, so that he employed the former to replace the +followers of the Arabian Prophet whom he dismissed from office and +banished from Court. The penalty of death was exacted for this +persecution, for Saad-u-Dowleh was murdered almost at the same instant +that his sovereign master expired. + +The silk trade of Resht, which has suffered so much for many years from +the disease that attacked the silkworms in the Caspian provinces, and +spread to all the Persian silk districts, is now recovering. The +introduction of cellular seed has been attended with much success, and +there is a rapidly-increasing export of cocoons. The fresh start in this +old industry has given an impetus to mulberry-tree cultivation, and +waste land is in considerable demand for planting purposes. + +An attempt is now being made to grow tea on the low hills near Batoum. +It is not yet known what may be the ultimate chances of success, but +already what is being done there is having the effect of suggesting a +similar experiment near Resht. The conditions of the soil on many of the +wooded hill-slopes in the Persian Caspian provinces, where every +gradation of climate and atmosphere can be met with, appear to be well +adapted for the tea-plant. The cart-road to Kasvin, now being +constructed by a Russian company, will pass through some of these +well-favoured parts, and this will help to draw attention to natural +resources which have hitherto been unnoticed. + +As old Persian travellers, we were at once reminded of our return to the +land of complimentary address and extravagant phrase by the frequent +reply '_Chashm_' (My eye!), the simple slang expression known in our +country, and which 'Trilby' has made better known by its introduction on +the stage. The word is an abbreviation of '_Ba sar o chashm'_ (By my +head and eyes! May my eyes be put out, and my head taken off, if I obey +not!). We also heard the similar but less formal reply _Chira_? +Why?--meaning, why not? why should I not do as you desire? i.e. you will +be obeyed. + +We travelled to Kasvin, halfway to Tehran, over the execrable road which +leads from Resht. For the first forty miles the landscape was lovely +from wooded slopes, green growth and clear running water. The +post-houses are just as they were--ill-provided, and affording the very +smallest degree of comfort that it is possible for a 'rest-house' to +give. They had been in some way improved for the reception of General +Prince Karaupatkin, and his suite, who visited Tehran to announce to the +Shah the accession of H.I.M. Nicolas II.; but no effort to maintain the +improvement had been made, except in one place--Menzil. The _on dit_ in +Tehran was, that the successful launching of the Russian cart-road +enterprise, now fairly well in hand, is entirely due to Prince +Karaupatkin's strong representation on his return to St. Petersburg. He +is said to have taken the opportunity of telling the Shah, in answer as +to his journey up, that he was greatly surprised to find the road +leading to the capital such a very bad one; whereupon his Majesty +remarked that the blame lay with his own countrymen, who, after begging +for a monopoly concession to construct a good road, had held on to it +and done nothing, and they had the right, so long as the contract time +allowed, to prevent others from making the road. The Russian press, +which interested itself in the matter, pointed out that what was wanted +to give an impetus to their trade in North Persia was good roads, not +bounties, and it may be that the interest which is believed to be +guaranteed by the Government on the road capital will take the place of +trade bounties. The money subscribed is sufficient to provide a +solidly-built road, and the idea is that it will be aligned so as to be +fit for railway purposes in the future. The existing cart-road from +Kasvin to Tehran is but a track, lined out fairly straight over a level +bit of high-lying country, with a few bridges over small streams. The +distance, ninety-five miles, is comfortably covered in fourteen to +eighteen hours in carriages drawn by three horses. The nature of the +ground makes this road a good fair-weather one, and as the Russian +company has rented it from the Persian concessionnaire, we may expect to +hear of considerable improvements, so as to encourage an increase of the +Persian waggon traffic which already exists on it. The completion of a +system of quick communication between the Russian Caspian Sea base and +the capital of Persia must attract the practical attention of all who +are interested in Persian affairs. + +Many of the Moullas, in their character as meddlers, are always ready to +step forward in opposition to all matters and measures in which they +have not been consulted and conciliated. So the Russian road from Resht +was pronounced to be a subject for public agitation by the Tabriz +Mujtahid, Mirza Javad Agha, who, since his successful contest over the +Tobacco Regie, has claimed to be one of the most important personages in +Persia. This priest is very rich, and is said to be personally +interested in trade and 'wheat corners' at Tabriz, and as he saw that +the new road was likely to draw away some of the Tabriz traffic, he set +himself the task of stirring up the Moullas of Resht to resent, on +religious grounds, the extended intrusion of Europeans into their town. +The pretence of zeal in the cause was poor, because the Resht Moullas +are themselves interested in local prosperity, and the agitation failed. + +A change is coming over the country in regard to popular feeling towards +priestly interference in personal and secular affairs. The claim to have +control of the concerns of all men may now be said to be but the first +flush of the fiery zeal of divinity students, fresh from the red-hot +teachings of bigoted Moulla masters, who regret the loss of their old +supremacy, and view with alarm the spread of Liberalism, which seems now +to be establishing itself in Persia. + +The unfortunate episode of the Tobacco Regie in 1891 gave the Moullas a +chance to assert themselves, and they promptly seized the opportunity to +champion a popular cause of discontent, and the pity of it was that the +enterprise which raised the disturbance was English. This tobacco +monopoly had been pictured as a business certain to produce great gains, +and the people were thus prepared for the reports which were spread of +high prices to be charged on what they regard as almost a necessary of +life. The conditions of the country were not fully studied before the +monopoly powers were put in force. A suggestion was made that the +company's operations should be confined at first to the foreign export, +which would have returned a good profit, and that afterwards a beginning +should be made at Tehran, to prove to the people that the monopoly would +really give them better tobacco, and not raise prices, which the company +claimed would be the result of their system. But everything was planned +on an extensive scale, and so were prospective profits. The picture of a +rapid road to fortune had been exhibited, and it was therefore decided +that the full right of monopoly should be established at once. An +imprudent beginning was made in exercising the right of search in a +manner which alarmed some people for the privacy of their homes, a +dangerous suggestion in a Mohammedan community. + +The suspicions and fears of all--buyers, sellers, and smokers--were +easily worked upon by the priests, ever ready to assert the supremacy of +the Church over the State. And then the biggest 'strike' I know of took +place. Mirza Hassan, the High-Priest of Kerbela, the most sacred shrine +of the Shiah Mohammedans, declared tobacco in Persia to be 'unlawful' to +the true believer, and everyone--man, woman, and child--was forbidden to +sell or smoke it. The 'strike' took place on a gigantic scale, a million +or two certainly being engaged in it, and steps were taken to see the +order from Kerbela carried out rigorously. 'Vigilance men,' under the +Moullas' directions, made raids on suspected tea-shops, to find and +smash the 'kalian' pipes which form part of the stock-in-trade of +these places of refreshment. The Shah was faced with the sight of silent +and forsaken tea-shops as he passed through the streets of Tehran, and +he saw the signs of the censuring strike in the rows of empty benches, +on which his subjects used to sit at their simple enjoyment of pipes and +tea. The interdiction reached the inner homes of all, and even in the +_anderuns_ and boudoirs of the highest (all of which are smoking-rooms) +it was rigidly obeyed. The priestly prohibition penetrated to the +palaces, and royalty found authority set at defiance in this matter. A +princely personage, a non-smoker, is said to have long urged and +entreated a harem favourite, too deeply devoted to tobacco, to moderate +her indulgence in it, but to no effect. On the strike being ordered, she +at once joined it, and his Highness is reported to have said, 'My +entreaties were in vain, my bribes of jewels were refused, yet the +priest prevails.' And this was at a place where not long before Moullas +had been at a discount. + +[Illustration: PIPE BEARER IN A PERSIAN ANDERUN] + +There are now signs of the people resenting the arrogant assumption or +power by the Moullas, and freeing themselves from their thraldom. There +has always been great liberty of opinion and speech in Persia, and six +hundred years ago the poets Khayyam and Hafiz took full advantage of +this in expressing their contempt for the 'meddling Moullas.' Not very +long ago the donkey-boys in one of the great towns would on occasion +reflect the popular feeling by the shout '_Br-r-r-o akhoond!_' (Go on, +priest!) when they saw a Moulla pattering along on his riding donkey. +_Biro_ is Persian for 'go on,' and, rolled and rattled out long and +loud, is the cry when droves of load-carrying donkeys are driven. The +donkey-boy in Persia is as quick with bold reply as he is in Egypt and +elsewhere. There is a story that a high Persian official called out to a +boy, whose gang of burden-bearing donkeys obstructed his carriage, 'Out +of the way, ass, you driver of asses!' and was promptly answered, 'You +are an ass yourself, though a driver of men!' + +As a finish to this reference to the Tobacco Regie in Persia, I may +mention it is believed that, had the company started as ordinary +traders, they, having the command of ready money, would have succeeded +well. The commencement made in the centres of tobacco cultivation +impressed the peasant producers most favourably; they appreciated the +advantages of cash payments, and regretted the cessation of the system, +and the governors benefited by the readiness with which the taxes were +paid. But the explanation of monopoly, a word which was then unknown in +Persia, raised the fears of the people, and those who had the money to +spare laid in a supply of tobacco before the concession came into force. +This was regarded by the poor as proof of the coming rise in price, and +they therefore hailed the Moullas as their deliverers from the +threatened calamity of dear tobacco. + +The only public debt of Persia is that of a loan contracted in order to +pay the compensation for cancelment of this concession, and the expenses +which had been incurred; but the sale by the Government of the foreign +export (part of the cancelled concession) very nearly provides for the +loan. The Societe de 'Tombac' of Constantinople, which bought the +monopoly of export, has had difficulties to contend with, caused by a +Persian combination to buy from the cultivators and sell to the foreign +agents. A prominent Moulla was named as interested in this business, +which was in reality at direct variance with the principles on which the +priesthood had declared the original concession to be 'unlawful.' This +interference with the free trade conditions existing when the +Constantinople company made its contract led to a dispute, which ended +with a fresh agreement, in which there is said to be a stipulation that, +should the Persian Tobacco Regie in its original form be revived at any +time, French subjects are to have the first offer. + +After disposing of the Tobacco Regie, the triumphant Moullas desired to +extend their prohibition to all foreign enterprise in Persia, and they +pronounced against the English Bank, which was doing its work quietly, +and without detriment to the business of others. But the Shah gave them +clearly to understand that their pretensions would be permitted no +further, and that they were to cease from troubling. They then made an +attempt to establish the impression of their power in a visible sign on +all men, by commanding discontinuance of the Persian fashion of shaving +the chin, so that the beard should be worn in accordance with Mohammedan +custom. Again they talked of organizing coercion gangs, to enforce the +order on the barbers, under threat of wrecking their shops. At this time +a foreign diplomat, during an audience of the Shah, on being asked by +his Majesty, according to his wont, what news there was in the European +quarter of the town, mentioned this latest phase of Moulla agitation as +tending to unsettle men's minds. The Shah passed his hand lightly over +his shaven chin, and said, with a touch of humour and royal assurance: +'See, I shave; let them talk; they can do nothing.' + +It is wrong to suppose that the people of Persia are dead to all desire +for progress, and that their religion is a bar to such desire. It is not +so. Many of the Moullas, it is true, are opposed to education and +progress. One frankly said of the people in reference to education, +'They will read the Koran for themselves, and what will be left for us +to do?' The country is advancing in general improvement, slowly, but yet +moving forward; not standing still or sliding back, as some say. The +Moulla struggles in 1891-92 to gain the upper hand produced a feeling of +unquiet, and the most was made of all grievances, so as to fan the +flames of discontent. Pestilent priests paraded the country, and did +their utmost to excite religious fanaticism against the Government. +These agitators spoke so loudly and rashly that the ire of the old +religious leaders, the higher Moullas, men of learning and tranquil +temper, who had not joined the party of retrogression, was roused. The +knowledge of this emboldened the sober-minded to speak out against the +arrogance and conceit of the new self-elected leaders. Open expression +of opinion led to the criticism, 'These priests will next desire to rule +over us.' The Nomads, who have always declined to be priest-ridden, also +showed that they were ready to resist any attempts to establish a +religious supremacy in temporal affairs; and then, by judicious +management of rival jealousies and conflicting interests, the Shah +succeeded in his policy of complete assertion of the royal power. It may +be that the Moullas were made to understand that, just as the Chief +Priest had risen at a great assembly before Nadir Shah, and advised him +to confine himself to temporal affairs, and not to interfere in matters +of religion, so similar sound advice in the reverse order was given for +their guidance. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +--The late Shah's long reign +--His camp life +--Habits +--Appearance +--Persian Telegraph Intelligence Department +--Farming the revenues +--Condition of the people +--The shoe question +--The customs +--Importation of arms +--Martini-Henry rifles +--Indo-European telegraph + + +Nasr-ed-din Shah was the two hundred and fifty-fourth Sovereign who had +successively ascended the throne of Persia. He succeeded his father, +Mahomed Shah, on September 10, 1848, and would have entered on his +jubilee, the fiftieth year of his reign, according to the Mohammedan +calendar, on May 6, 1896, had not his life been suddenly cut short by a +dastardly assassin on Friday, May 1. This was, I think, the longest +reign of any Persian monarch that can be ascertained with historical +accuracy, except that of Shah Tamasp, who died A.D. 1576, after +occupying the throne for fifty-three years; but this credits him with +having begun his reign at the age of ten years. Nasr-ed-Din Shah +ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. Up to the last his Majesty +was remarkable as retaining all his physical and mental energies; his +health was excellent, due no doubt to his love of nomadic life and its +simple habits. He was passionately fond of the chase, and passed much of +his time in the saddle. It might well be said of him, as of the ancient +Persian monarchs, that the royal edicts were written 'at the stirrup of +the King,' for his Ministers had to follow him into the camp and the +hunting-field, and this prevented his Court becoming lapped in luxury. +Large tracts were preserved for him for ibex and moufflon on the +mountains, and antelope on the plains, and the hawking of duck or +partridge on by-days. This nomadic life, with its hunting habits, +encouraged the pleasant, easy manner which attracted his subjects and +commanded their confidence. He was an energetic worker, and had full +knowledge of all home and foreign affairs. He was superior to all palace +intrigues, if any existed, and his Ministers were rarely changed. The +long continuance in office of his councillors added to the feeling of +public security which his own strong personality had given to the +country. + +In appearance Nasr-ed-Din Shah was little changed since 1889, when his +figure was a well-known one in Europe. He showed the same alertness of +step, brightness of look and manner, and smartness of dress, which +distinguished him then. In his Court he was a striking figure, in marked +contrast to those about him, for it must be confessed that all in +attendance showed some neglect of appearance which compared unfavourably +with the _tout ensemble_ of their Sovereign. This may possibly have been +a subtle form of flattery, so that the Shah alone might catch the eye +and be the 'observed of all observers'--'le Roi-Soleil'--of the land of +the Lion and the Sun. + +No one probably saw more clearly than the Shah that the system of +farming out the administration of the provinces from year to year is +bad, both for the Treasury and the people; but he knew well that reform, +to be sure and certain, must be slow and gradual, for change in Persia, +with its ancient traditions and old memories, cannot be effected at one +stroke. He had done much to mitigate the evil of the present system by +establishing telegraphic communication with all the centres of +provincial government, thus placing himself in close touch with his +subjects, even in the most remote parts. Gradually the confidence which +began in his near neighbourhood had extended throughout the country, and +there was a firm belief in the minds of the people that the Shah could +be approached by all. But it can well be imagined that it takes a +desperate case to induce those who are oppressed in distant places to +have recourse to such a public mode of communicating grievances as the +telegraph. Yet the telegraph is so employed at times, the senders of the +telegrams giving their names openly, and confidently awaiting the +result. + +The Persian Telegraph Department has a peculiar importance in being the +secret agency by which the Shah is served with an independent and +reliable daily report of all that goes on throughout the country. The +system of direct reports of the conduct of governors, by special +resident officials, which was established in the days of Darius the +King, has developed into the present secret service daily telegrams. +Nominations to all the telegraph appointments are made by the Minister +in charge of the department, who bears the appropriate title of +Mukbir-i-Dowleh (Intelligencer of the State). + +An instance of the power exercised through this system occurred within +my personal knowledge a few years ago. A local dignitary in a distant +province fell under the frown of the Prince Governor, who, actuated by +greed, imposed on him a heavy fine for an imaginary offence. The fine +was not paid, on which a charge of contumacy was made, and this was +punished by the cruel bastinado and imprisonment. The Telegraph-master, +notwithstanding the fact of the Governor being a near relative of the +late Shah, reported the circumstance in all its details. The telegraph +enabled the Shah to make his presence felt in distant places, as well as +his power, for he was in the habit of occasionally summoning a Governor +to the office at the other end of the wire, to hear his commands spoken +on the spot. In this instance the Shah, after personal inquiry, ordered +the release of the prisoner, and on being informed some days later that +this had not been done, the Telegraph-master was directed to take the +telegraphic royal command to the prison, and see it instantly obeyed. +The official carried out his instructions, and the guards at once set +the prisoner free. + +The system of farming out the provinces gives rise to much grumbling, +which perhaps, on close examination, may be found to be without full +reason. The real cause of complaint is the absence of fair fixed +taxation demands. Every village has to pay a tithe of its annual value +to the State, and previous to collection the place is visited by one of +the provincial officials, and the fullest details of the circumstances +of each family are ascertained. The limit of the official robbery which +follows is the ability to pay, as measured by the patience of the +sufferers. The peasantry are peaceful, frugal, and easily governed, but +there is a point beyond which they cannot be pressed without risk of +making them turn on the oppressor. They have now learnt the strength of +the defence they possess in the power of making their grievances known. +No doubt the provincial levy of taxation charges doubles the State +tithe, one-half of the whole amount being taken by the Governor and the +officials; but all this does not mean more than one-fifth of the village +income, for the general assessment was made before the existing +improvement in the circumstances of the cultivators had taken place more +or less all over the country. There was then little demand for products +which are now exported and paid for in gold, thus giving a high price in +the silver currency of the country. After the provincial taxation, there +are local charges, which may possibly add a further 2 or 3 per cent, to +the total amount. Formerly insecurity and want of confidence confined +cultivation and stock-breeding to the barest limits, but it is evident +now that the inhabitants can look to enjoy the fruits of their labour, +and they are extending their fields of exertion. On the whole, it may be +said that the peasantry and labouring classes in Persia are fairly well +off, and I think their condition can bear a favourable comparison with +that of the same classes in other countries. + +In the course of my journeying in Persia, I generally found excellent +quarters in the village houses. The rather mean outer appearance of the +dwellings conveys the idea of poor accommodation within, but the reality +is a pleasing disclosure of plain but well-carpeted rooms, with dados of +matting or felt for the backs of the sitters by the wall. I always +looked out for village lodgings when travelling off the main roads, and +in wintry weather they were very comfortable from their open well-built +clay fireplaces giving out heat without the nuisance of smoke. On these +occasions I had ample opportunity to observe the every-day life of the +people, and I was struck with much which showed that their manners and +ways had been favourably touched and turned by a softening civilization +of old date. I also there saw clear evidence of the origin of the +Eastern shoe question, a matter which has often given rise to warm +discussion in Persia and India; I allude to the removal of shoes on +entering the inner rooms of a house. In India it is taken to imply +inferiority, and since the establishment of British supremacy the custom +has never been complied with by a European except in cases of personal +employment in a native State. I remember an instance in point when a +sergeant piper of a Highland regiment took service with one of the +Punjab Sikh chiefs, to instruct a bagpipe band which the Rajah had +formed in admiration of Scottish Highland music. In the contract paper +which set forth in detail the duties, pay, and allowances of the +instructor, the sergeant expressly stipulated that he should not be +required to remove his shoes on entering the Rajah's room when a +European was present. The origin of the custom of removing the shoes was +clearly to avoid soiling the carpets in the house or tent, on which the +inmates sat, ate, and slept. + +Felts and rush-mats, no doubt, formed the first floor-coverings for +tents and houses; but as arts and manufactures grew in Central Asia, the +pastoral tribes, with whom, there being little or no agricultural work +for the women and children, the woollen industries began, introduced +carpets with coloured designs, many of the patterns of which are known +to be of very old date, and still remain in the hands of certain +families as their own carefully-guarded secrets and property. These +carpets then became their pictures, framed in felt side-strips, on which +people sat, slept, and transacted business. At meals the centre is +covered with a cloth, on which the dishes are placed; and I think the +carpet is regarded similarly as a well-polished dining-table was in the +West in olden days, when the cloth was removed at the end of the +courses. At other times it may be supposed that the pretty carpets are +their pictures on the floor, just as ours are on the wall; in fact, many +carpets of old design are so lovely and delicate that they are hung on +the walls of European residents' houses in Persia as being too good to +be trodden on. In the village houses the peasants always leave their +shoes at the inner doors, and when a man arrives in riding-boots, with +no intention of staying long, he complies with the object of the custom +by sitting on the edge of the carpet, or felt, and tucking his legs +underneath him, so that the feet may not touch or soil it. In this there +is no question of inferior and superior, for all are socially equal; it +is merely a matter of good manners and friendly feeling, just as +signified in the West by removal of the hat or cap. It would appear that +in the reception of Western Envoys at the Court of Persia it was +customary to change the boots or shoes for slippers, or to cover them +with these; but the practice was generally regarded as derogatory to +the dignity of the national representative, and sometimes became the +subject of strong protest and resentment. There is reason to believe +that the custom always cropped up with every Envoy as an annoying cause +of heated discussion and disagreeable feeling. On the occasion of the +reception of Mr. Anthony Jenkinson, Queen Elizabeth's Envoy at the Court +of Persia in 1561, this shoe question assumed an acute form; and when a +pair of the Shah's slippers was sent to him to be worn at the interview +with his Majesty, it is said that what was meant as attention was taken +for insult. The interview took place without the slippers being used, +and the meeting was not of a cordial character. + +But besides this shoe difficulty at the Court of Persia, there was also +a divergence of opinion regarding the lower garments, as the tight +knee-breeches and hose of the West were considered improper in the East, +and it is believed that the roomy Turkish _shalwar_ trousers were +required to be worn as 'overalls' to hide the legs on occasions of royal +audience. In connection with this phase of Eastern idea, an incident +happened with Sir Douglas Forsyth's diplomatic mission to the Amir of +Kashgar in 1873-74, which is worth mentioning here. The camp-sergeant +with the mission was Sergeant Rhind, of the 92nd Highlanders, and on the +Envoy and staff being received at Yarkand by the Governor of that +province, the second highest dignitary in the kingdom, it was understood +that, as he was most exacting in the full observance of all formalities, +much would depend upon his report of our demeanour, appearance, and +general conduct. This Governor kept quite a little Court, and we +accordingly paid our visit in all the show of a dress parade. Sergeant +Rhind attended in kilted uniform, and his appearance attracted +considerable shy and sly notice. Mahomed Yunis, the Governor, was a man +of severe ideas, and while pretending not to see the Highlander, who +stood behind us during the interview, he was reported to say after our +departure that his costume appeared to be incomplete. Some weeks +afterwards, on our reaching Kashgar, the capital in the North, and +preparing for the formal audience of the Sovereign, the famous Ataligh +Ghazi, the Court master of the ceremonies, appeared suddenly before the +appointed time, and announced most peremptorily that the sergeant was to +accompany us fully dressed. He explained that the kilt with bare knees +was objectionable, and could not be tolerated at the Ataligh's Court; so +the trews had to be substituted for the showy garb of old Gaul. The +indoor dress worn by Persian ladies is not unlike our Highland kilt. + +The shoe question was finally settled in a clause of the Turkmanchai +treaty of 1828, which is accepted by all the foreign legations. It +provides that goloshes or shoe-coverings shall be worn, to be removed +before entering the audience-room or going into the Shah's presence, and +this practice continues at the present time. The 'dragoman' +establishments are much more attached to old ideas than Turks and +Persians, and they cling to their presumed monopoly of knowledge of all +Court and social customs in order to enhance their importance. The +Persians move with the times, and understand Western modes of showing +respect; yet I heard it said by a local light that it was a breach of +good taste to salute the Shah by lifting the hat, and that it offended +Mohammedan notions of propriety to remove the head-covering in society. +Accordingly, I once saw some European gentlemen wearing their hats in +the reception-room of one of the Shah's Ministers; but on observing +others who were known to be well acquainted with Persian feeling +entering with hat in hand, they, who were under the guidance of a +'dragoman', adopted the European custom. In Fraser's 'Persia', we are +told that when Shah Abbas the Great received Sir Dodmore Cotton, +Ambassador from James I., his Majesty, 'being desirous of pleasing his +guests, drank to the health of the King of England. At the name of his +Sovereign the Ambassador stood up and took off his hat. Abbas smiled, +and likewise raised his turban in token of respect.' + +[Illustration: PERSIAN LADY AT HOME.] + +The farming system which is applied to the Customs in Persia continues +to cause considerable loss to the State. An extension of the same direct +control as is exercised in the Telegraph Department would show most +favourable results. Under the present short-sighted system the interests +of all the contractors lie in suppressing correct information and giving +misleading statistics, so that the annual bidding may be kept low. But +notwithstanding this, the truth leaks out to indicate that trade in +Persia is increasing. There are now signs of practical advice at +Tehran, to consider the establishment of a properly constituted Persian +control Board of Customs, by which a well-organized service, under the +central authority, may be maintained, and a considerable increase of +revenue secured. It may be said that all merchants in Persia benefit by +the farming system, for under it they can arrange to have their goods +passed on payment of a lump sum, and with but the merest show of +examination of invoices. In this manner they manage to get consignments +through the Customs at less than the fixed tariff. On a late rumour of a +foreign control of the Customs being likely, the Russian Armenian +merchants engaged in trade in the North frankly represented the fact of +arrangements being made with the authorities at the ports, to take less +than the treaty 5 per cent. on exports and imports, and they urged that +the custom was of such old date and long continuance as to make it a +fully recognised right. They stated that their trade was established on +this basis, and they protested against any change. There can be no doubt +that the same custom prevails in the South, and all along the frontier. +As the farming contracts are much subdivided, competition operates to +reduce rates, so as to induce change of trade routes. Thus, I heard of a +merchant in Central Persia, whose communications are with the South, +asking a contractor in the North for a quotation of his terms, so as to +make it advantageous for him to send his goods that way. In the matter +of contraband articles, the farming system lends itself to encourage the +passing of what the State forbids, as the middlemen and their servants +are tempted to make as much money as possible during the short time of +their annual contract engagements. In a country like Persia, where pride +of arms prevails to keep up the habit of carrying them, there is a +steady demand for modern breech-loading rifles. The Government is alive +to the necessity of preventing the importation of firearms, and from +time to time seizures are made of consignments smuggled under the guise +of merchandise. With a large nomad and semi-nomad population of warlike +and predatory instincts, almost every man of whom lays by money most +diligently, bit by bit, for the purchase of a breechloader and +cartridges, it is obvious that the interests of Government call for the +strongest check to the foreign trade in arms; but it may be taken for +granted that so long as the Customs are farmed out on the present system +the supply will be passed in to meet the demand. The favourite weapon is +the Martini-Henry, and there are many thousands in the possession of the +nomads and villagers. This rifle, as the Peabody-Martini, was first +introduced into the country during the late Turko-Russian War, when, +being the Turkish army weapon, it fell by thousands into the hands of +Russian soldiers, who sold them to the Persian sutlers and pedlars +allowed to accompany the troops. The Persians had shown their usual +energy and enterprise abroad by becoming camp-traders with the Russian +forces engaged on active service in Asia Minor, and they sent the +captured arms, which they purchased in large numbers, over the border +into Persia, where they fetched good prices. A profitable trade in +cartridges followed the introduction of the new rifle, and judging by +the well-filled belts and bandoliers which I saw on the North-western +frontier (Kurdistan and Azerbaijan), the business appears to be a well +established one. In the course of time and trade this rifle found its +way South to the fighting Bakhtiaris, Lurs, and Arabs, and the general +vote in its favour brought about a supply of 'trade' Martini-Henry arms +imported by way of the Persian Gulf, so that now in Persia what is known +as the 'Marteen' has become the popular arm in private possession. The +'Remington' has its possessors and admirers among the Karun Arab tribes, +who get their arms from Baghdad and Turkish sources. There is a brisk +trade in ammunition for the breechloader, and so keen is the desire to +secure and supplement the supply that solid-drawn brass cartridge-cases, +which admit of being used over and over again, with boxes of caps and +sets of reloading apparatus, are now in brisk demand. + +At Kasvin our eyes were refreshed with the sight of the +excellently-equipped Indo-European telegraph line, which comes in there +from Tabriz and the North, and passes on to Tehran and India. This line, +with its wires carried on tall iron standard posts stretching far in a +dominating manner over the country, seems to stand forth as a strong +witness to the effectual command and control exercised by the Shah's +Government at the present time. On the first establishment of this line +there was much conjecture as to the great risk of continued interruption +from the mischief of man; and failure to complete the land working at +the outset dissatisfied commercial men in England, so that to maintain +certain communication the Red Sea cable was laid. But new land lines +were erected which worked equally well as the cable, and the firm +insistence by the Persian Government on heavy damages for all malicious +injury gradually developed the perfect security which comes from local +interests demanding the fullest protection. The service by this line is +now as certain and quick as that of the ocean cable; in fact, I think +the average speed of messages between London and Calcutta is greater +_via_ Tehran than _via_ Suez. There was an interesting race last year +between the companies to communicate to India the result of the Derby, +and it was won in a way by the cable line. The messages were +simultaneously despatched from Epsom, that by Tehran reaching Bombay +five seconds before the other, but as the name of the winning horse only +was given correctly, Karachi, six hundred miles distant, had to be +asked for a repetition of the names of the second and third horses. The +cable telegram gave the three names accurately. Had Karachi been agreed +upon as the point of arrival for India, instead of Bombay, the +Indo-European would have won this telegraph race. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +--Kasvin grapes +--Persian wine +--Vineyards in Persia +--Wine manufacture +--Mount Demavend +--Afshar volcanic region +--Quicksilver and gold +--Tehran water-supply +--Village quarrels +--Vendetta +--Tehran tramways +--Bread riots +--Mint and copper coin. + + +The grape harvest was being gathered at Kasvin as we passed through. The +place is well known for its extensive vineyards and fine fruit-gardens. +Its golden grapes have a wide reputation, and these, with the white +species, also grown there, are in steady demand for wine manufacture, +which is carried on in the town, notwithstanding the greatly +disproportionate number of Moullas among the inhabitants. Large +quantities of the grapes are also sent to Tehran for wine purposes +there. Persia keeps up the character for strong wine which it had 600 +B.C., when the Scythian invaders took to it so eagerly as to establish +the saying, 'As drunk as a Scythian.' It was said that these +hard-headed, deep-drinking, wild warriors were always thirsting for +'another skinful,' and were ever ready to declare that the last was +always the best. Eighteen hundred years later, Hafiz, the merry poet, +sang aloud the praises of Shiraz wine, which to this day bears a high +reputation in Persia, a reputation which was royally good in the +traditional bygone time long before Cyrus, when it appears to have been +highly appreciated in the festivities of Glorious Jamshed, the founder +of Persepolis. The poet Omar Khayyam, in moralizing over the ruins of +the fallen splendour of that famous place, speaks in Fitzgerald's +'Rubaiyat': + + 'They say the lion and the lizard keep + The Court where Jamshed gloried and drank deep.' + +The Persian poet-historian Firdausi ascribes to Jamshed the discovery of +wine in his leisure from kingly duties and scientific pursuits, for to +him is attributed the invention of many useful arts, and the +introduction of the solar year for measurement of time, the first day of +which, when the sun enters Aries, he ordered to be celebrated by a +splendid festival. It is called Nauroz, or New Year's Day, and is still +the greatest festival in Persia. This single institution of former days, +under a different religion and system of measuring time, has triumphed +over the introduction of Mohammedanism, and is observed with as much joy +and festivity now as it was by the ancient inhabitants of Persia. + +According to Moulla Akbar's manuscripts, quoted in Malcolm's 'History of +Persia,' Jamshed was immoderately fond of grapes, and desired to +preserve some which were placed in a large vessel and lodged in a vault +for future use. When the vessel was opened, the grapes had fermented, +and their juice in this state was so acid that the King believed it must +be poisonous. He had some other vessels filled with the juice, and +'Poison' written upon each; these were placed in his room. It happened +that one of his favourite ladies was afflicted with nervous headaches, +the pain of which distracted her so much that she desired death, and +observing a vessel with 'Poison' written on it, she took it and +swallowed its contents. The wine, for such it had become, overpowered +the lady, who fell down in a sound sleep, and awoke much refreshed. +Delighted with the remedy, she repeated the doses so often that the +King's 'poison' was all drunk. He soon discovered this, and forced the +lady to confess what she had done. A quantity of wine was then made, and +Jamshed and all his Court drank of the new beverage, which, from the +circumstance that led to its discovery, is to this day known in Persia +as _zahr-i-khush_, or the pleasing poison. After that the manufacture of +wine became a regular industry, and spread from Shiraz, where it +originated. At the present time the process of manufacture is similar to +what it was then, in that the grape-juice is collected in large +Ali-Baba-like jars and buried in the ground. Alexander the Great is said +to have followed the festive example of his royal predecessor, and to +have drunk deep in the majestic halls of Persepolis. It has been +supposed by some that he caused the splendid palaces there to be set on +fire in a drunken freak. + +As a pendant to the story of a lady's discovery, in the time of Jamshed, +of wine as an efficacious cure for nervous headache, another is told +which ascribes to a lady the withdrawal of a royal decree against the +sale and use of wine. The Shah Hussein, on his accession to the throne +in 1694, displayed his religious zeal by forbidding the sale of wine, +and he ordered the destruction of all the stock of it that was in the +royal cellars at Ispahan. But his grandmother, by feigning herself ill, +and wholly dependent upon wine for cure, not only prevailed upon him to +revoke the decree, but also persuaded him to drink some in pure regard +to herself, with the result that he fell away from priestly influence +and became a tippler. Unfortunately for the nation, this grandmother's +guidance led Shah Hussein to ruin by wine and women, and dragged him +down to the deep degradation of surrendering Persia to the cruel tyranny +of the Afghan occupation. + +Wood being scarce in Persia, and poles, stakes, and sticks for upright +and lateral support not being easily procurable, the mode of culture of +the vine has come to be by planting in deep broad trenches, with high +sloping banks, up and over which the stems and branches run and fall. +The trenches are made to lie so as to allow of the bank-slopes having +the best exposure. This is the system followed on the flat, but in hilly +ground, by means of careful trimming and the assistance of piled stones, +the plants are made to develop strong standard stems, with bunchy, +bushy tops. I was particularly struck a few years ago with the neat, +well-tended vineyards at the village of Imam-Zadeh-Ismail, in the hills +about forty miles north-west of Persepolis. Almost the whole of the +village lands were laid out in vineyards, well walled and beautifully +kept. The vines looked as if they were tended by those who understood +their culture well, and they appeared to thrive wonderfully on the light +soil of the place. Surprising energy had been shown in clearing the +ground, which was naturally stony; and there was abundant evidence of +much patient labour in the garden-like enclosures. Vineyards occupied +all the flat ground on which the village stood, and they extended up the +slopes. Hillside clearing was going on all around for further planting +of vines, which were seen to flourish there. Raisins are largely made +there, and I was told by my Kashkai conductor (for I was well off the +beaten track and required a guide), who seemed to know what he was +talking about, that the fresh grapes were used for wine, but not in the +village. The religious character of the chief inhabitants of the +village, who are sheikhs, and guardians of the Holy Shrine of the +mausoleum of the Imam-Zadeh-Ismail, which lies within its limits, +prevents the preparation there of the forbidden fermented juice of the +grape. The shrine is endowed with the village lands rent free, and all +these lands are devoted to vine cultivation. The vineyards at Shiraz +have been greatly extended of late years, and particular attention is +now paid to the cultivation of the Kholar grape, as the best suited for +wine. This grape takes its name from the village of Kholar, which is +within a few miles of the town. Tabriz, Hamadan, Isfahan, and Shiraz +produce the best wine in Persia. Red and white are made at all these +places; the white wine of Hamadan is a sort of strong sauterne, and some +of it has quite a delicate flavour; Isfahan produces a wine of a port +character, and the best shiraz is sometimes like new madeira. All these +wines resemble in strength those that are now made in Australia. +Something is wanting in the mode of manufacture to make the wine capable +of improvement with keeping, and also of bearing transport. The advent +of the Russian road will probably lead to the development of Kasvin's +large area of fruitful vines, and the success which has attended +vineyard industry at Derbend, on the Caspian, may encourage similar +enterprise there. + +As neither law nor custom forbids the manufacture of wine by +non-Mohammedans, the cultivation of the grape spreads, and the making of +wine increases. From this it may be inferred, as there is little export +of wine from Persia, that all the produce is not consumed by +non-Mohammedans. As a matter of fact, the religious law which forbids +wine to Mohammedans is not rigidly observed; in truth, they are not all +total abstainers, and the delightful poison, as chronicled by Moulla +Akbar, is known to be a convenient remedy for all manner of moods, ills, +and complaints, nervous, imaginary, and real. They have been described +as drinking well when they do break the religious law, for they have a +saying that 'there is as much sin in a glass as in a flagon.' The +Persians have never thoroughly accommodated themselves to the creed of +their Semitic conquerors; they show profound respect for the externals +of Mohammedanism, and are sincere in their practice of piety and the +obligations of religion and charity; but they have always indulged in +the fancies and ideas of the great school of free-thinking philosopher +Sofis, whose observance of the ordinances of severe and joyless life is +notedly lax. + +The weather was lovely as we journeyed over the Kasvin plain to Tehran, +towards the end of September. Autumn in the North of Persia is a +gloriously fine season, almost spring-like in many ways, and, indeed, it +is called there the 'second spring.' The landscape then, though nearly +barren of verdure, has a beauty of its own in warm soft colours, and the +atmospheric effects on the hills and distances, evening and morning, are +of wonderfully delicate tones and tints. The prominent feature in the +landscape near Tehran is the grand cone-shaped Mount Demavend, about +forty miles to the north-east, which shoots up 19,400 feet above +ocean-level, and overtops all the surrounding heights by 6,000 feet or +more. It stood out bold, cold, and clear against the blue sky, and +looked beautifully white with a fresh covering of new snow, and it was +more than usually distinct, from being clear of the cloud-crown it +usually wears. In the evening the massive peak presented a splendid +appearance, looking as in a white heat from the shine of the setting +sun, which, though lost to view below the horizon, yet lighted up the +old volcano. + +Demavend has long been asleep, but the great earthquakes of 1891, 1893 +and 1895 in Astrabad and Kuchan to the eastward, and Khalkhal in the +north-west, show that its underground fires are still alight. The scene +of the last is about one hundred miles north-east of the old volcanic +region of Afshar, remarkable for its remains of vast 'cinter' cones, +formed by the flowing geysers of long, long ago, and which were +shattered and scattered by some mighty explosion, when the great geysers +boiled up and burst their walls. Here is seen the Takht-i-Suliman, a +ruined fort of very ancient date, which local tradition describes as one +of King Solomon's royal residences, shared by his Queen, Belgheiz (of +Sheba), whose summer throne is also shown on a mountain height above. +This ruin incloses a flowing geyser of tepid sea-green water, about 170 +feet deep, the temperature of which was 66 deg. when I visited the place in +1892. Near it is the Zindan-i-Suliman (Solomon's Dungeon), an extinct +geyser, 350 feet deep. It shows as a massive 'cinter' cone, 440 feet +high, standing prominently up in the plain. This district was visited +and fully described by the late Sir Henry Rawlinson, and a further +account of it has been given by Mr. Theodore Bent, who, with Mrs. Bent, +went there in 1889. + +The volcanic district of Afshar has long been known for its quicksilver, +which from time to time has been found in small quantities. Some seven +or eight hundred years ago Arab miners laboured long in their search for +the main cinnabar vein which undoubtedly lies hidden there, and their +wide workings in laying open a whole hillside, where signs of cinnabar +are still seen, show what great gangs of labourers they must have had at +their command. The Persian Mines Corporation in 1891-92 engaged in +operations at the same point, but, after considerable sinking of shafts +and driving of galleries into the heart of the hill, they decided to +cease work, being disappointed, like their Arab predecessors, in not +finding quickly what they had traced by clear signs up to its mountain +source. A few miles below the site of these cinnabar-mine operations +there are ancient gold-washing workings, and within thirty miles are +heavy veins of quartz. + +Tehran displays a marked advance in many of the resources of +civilization; houses of an improved style are springing up, the roadways +are better attended to, and there is a great increase in the number of +carriages. The Prime Minister's new house, near the British Legation, is +situated in beautiful gardens, set off with pretty lakelets and terraced +grounds, which give slopes for flowing waterfalls. These gardens, in +common with all in the town, are tenanted every year by nightingales of +sweet song. It is now proposed to enclose an adjoining available space +to form a people's park, which would be a great place of enjoyment in +summer to a people of poetic imagination like the Persians, who delight +in the green glade with the cool sound of flowing water. The severe +cholera epidemic of 1892 showed the absolute necessity of an improvement +in the rude sanitary system which then existed, and a beginning has been +made in the daily careful cleaning of the streets and removal of refuse. +But a better and increased water-supply is greatly needed for the town, +which is becoming larger every year. People who have money to spend +appear to be attracted more than ever to the capital. Those who before +were content with the provincial towns now build houses in Tehran. The +superior houses have garden-ground attached, and much tree-planting is +done. The demand for water increases, but the supply is not +supplemented. Years ago the utmost was made of the sources from which +water is drawn; no pains have been spared to extract every possible drop +of water from the heart of the hills within a considerable distance, and +to convey it undiminished by evaporation to the city. This is done by +underground channels called _kanats_, which are excavated with great +ingenuity and skill, and are marvels of industry. This system prevails +all over Persia, and existence as well as the fertility of the soil +mainly depends on the water-supply thus obtained. The sandy expanse +round Yezd in the desert of South-eastern Persia has been made literally +to blossom like the rose by means of these subterranean channels, some +of which are tunnelled for a distance of thirty miles. I was there in +spring-time, and was then able to see what a wonder-worker water is in +Persia. + +The pressing need of more water for Tehran has now drawn attention to +the proposals of some years ago for increasing the supply. One of these +was to divert to the south an affluent of the Upper Lar, which rises in +the Elburz range, and flows into the Caspian. It was seen that this +could be done by cutting a new channel and tunnelling from a point +sufficiently high, where the stream runs in an elevated valley between +the double ridge of the range. The work would have been similar, but +simpler, to what was completed last year in Madras, where the upper +Periyar stream was changed from a western to an eastern flow. The +execution of the Lar project would be easy, and it would not practically +affect the volume of water in the main stream, which receives many +tributaries below the proposed point of piercing the watershed. But the +Lar Valley was one of the Shah's summer retreats, and a favourite +pasture-ground for his brood mares and young stock. It is, moreover, a +popular resort of flock-owning nomads, and as the Shah's love of camp +life there led him to fear injury to the grassy plains and slopes of +his favourite highlands, the project was abandoned. + +There was another scheme to construct a series of reservoirs by means of +strong barriers at the foot of the lower ravines of the Elburz range, +eight miles north of Tehran, in which to keep the winter water which +comes from the melting snow. The whole mountain-chain is covered with +snow each year from top to bottom. In April and May the snow melts, and +the precious water flows away where it is not wanted. Were this water +stored, it would be made available in the succeeding hot months. The +sloping plain between the hills and the town is capable, with +irrigation, of great fertility, and the construction of these reservoirs +would prove a veritable gold-mine. + +The distribution of water is a most important part of village +administration in Persia. The work of cutting off and letting on water +with most exact observance of time-measurements is carried out by a +waterman called _mirab_ (lord of the water) whose office is hereditary, +subject, however, to the special judgment of popular opinion. The duties +demand a clear head and nimble foot, and the waterman, in hastening +from point to point, has to show all the alertness of a street +lamplighter. He has to keep a correct count of time, for water is +apportioned by the hour, and his memory for all the details of change, +sale, and transfer must be good and unchallenged. When he becomes too +old, or otherwise incapacitated for the performance of his work with the +necessary quickness, he avails himself of the assistance of a son or +someone whom he proposes with the village approval to bring up as his +successor. The old man is then to be seen going leisurely along the +water-courses which issue from the underground channels, accompanied by +his young deputy carrying the long-handled Persian spade, ready to run +and execute his orders. Disputes between village and village over +_kanat_ water-cuts form the subject of severe fights occasionally, and +the saying is that water and women are the main causes of village +quarrels in Persia. + +It was a hot day in June, and having been up before daylight so as to +start at earliest dawn and avoid the mid-day heat for my whole party, we +were all in the enjoyment of afternoon sleep, when the courtyard was +invaded by a shouting mob of excited villagers, calling on me to hear +their story and bear witness to their wounds. They said they were the +tenants of the landlord whose house I was occupying, and they begged me +as his guest to make a statement of their case, so that justice might be +done. There had been a dispute over an irrigation channel, and the +opposing side having mustered strong, they were overpowered by numbers +and badly beaten. Some of the hurts they had received were ugly to look +at, having been inflicted with the long-handled Persian spade, the +foot-flanges of which make it a dangerous weapon. After a patient +hearing, and getting some plaster and simple dressing for their cuts and +bruises, they went away satisfied. So much for water as a cause of +quarrel, but an instance of the other cause, woman, which had come under +my notice shortly before, was more seriously characteristic. It occurred +at Shamsabad, on the border of the Aberkoh Desert, between Yezd and +Shiraz. I halted there after the long night journey across the desert, +and immediately I was settled in my village quarters, the master of the +house in which I lodged asked me to look at the gunshot wounds of one +of his young men, and to prescribe and provide in any way I could +towards healing them. I asked if any bones were broken, saying that I +could do little or nothing in such a case. I was told that they were but +flesh wounds, and on the young man coming in, I was shown a ragged long +cut between the lower ribs, and a deepish wound in the fleshy part of +the leg, which had evidently been made by slugs or buckshot. I +prescribed careful cleansing, and the use of lint and lotion, and I gave +a supply of the necessary material. I asked how the thing had happened, +and the young fellow told me that he and his brother had been +treacherously attacked at a water-mill, whilst having the family grain +ground, by some Aberkoh youths, between whose family and his there was a +longstanding blood-feud; that they both had been shot at close quarters, +and his brother had died of his wounds two days before. + +The master of the house, who was also headman of the village, explained +that the blood-feud had been carried on for five generations, and had +originated in a 'little maid' who, being betrothed in their village, had +eloped with a young man of Aberkoh. The disappointed bridegroom had +afterwards taken his successful rival's life, and the deadly demand of a +life for a life had, in accordance with the law of revenge, been made +and exacted for the past five generations. He said the elders had hoped +the quarrel was nearly dead, as there had been long peace between the +parties, but suddenly the hot blood of youth had risen to renew it, and +now there was fear of further murder. In that remote district the +ancient first principles of natural justice had still strong hold upon +the people, and formed, in the absence of established law, the defence +of families and communities. + +The knowledge that a man is considered disgraced who allows the blood of +his father or brother to pass unrevenged makes many a murderer in +thought pause, and depart from the deed. Accordingly, in those lawless +parts, as a rule, order reigns, and disputes and differences are +discussed by the village 'gray-beards,' who generally are able to +arrange a compromise. But in the reckless rage of a lost love the deed +is done, which carries its fatal consequences to future generations, as +in the case I have mentioned. I told the old village headman, who was +really the local judge, that in some of the wild parts of Firanghistan +there were similar occurrences, and that the best form of reconciliation +in the present instance would be 'wife for wife,' the first offending +family giving a girl-love to a husband-lover on the other side, and thus +finally closing the quarrel in the happiest manner. I said that under +such circumstances intermarriages were generally the best means of +improving friendship and terminating feuds between families. + +The Tehran street tramways continue to work, though the profit return is +small. The company began with graduated fares, but I heard they were +considering a minimum general charge, which it was thought would +encourage more traffic, especially in the visits of women to one +another, as their outdoor dress is unsuited to walking in comfort. The +tramway cars have separate compartments for women. The travelling pace +is necessarily slow, in order to avoid hurt or harm to people and +animals in the crowded thoroughfares. In the East, accidents at the +hands of Europeans or their employes are not readily understood or +easily accepted as such. The Tehran Tramways Company has had its trials +in this respect. At one time it was the heavy hurt of a boy, son of a +Syud, one of the 'pure lineage', a descendant of the family of the +Prophet, on which the populace, roused by the lashing lamentations of +the father, damaged the car and tore up the line. On another occasion a +man, in obstinate disregard of warning, tried to enter at the front, and +was thrown under the wheels. Again the excitable bystanders were worked +up to fury and violence, and the Governor of the town gave judgment +against the company for 'blood-money'. The counter-claim for damage done +to the line enabled a compromise to be effected. Oriental indifference +is the chief cause of the accidents. 'It is impossible but that offences +will come, but woe unto him through whom they come.' For 'offences', the +Oriental reading is 'accidents'. + +In all large Persian towns there is a numerous class of 'roughs' known +as the _kullah-numdah_ (felt-caps; they wear a brown hard-felt low hat +without a brim), excitable and reckless, and always ready for +disturbance. They are the 'casuals', who live from hand to mouth, those +to whom an appeal can be made by the careful working class when the +price of bread is run up to famine figure, owing to the 'cornering' of +wheat, which of late years has been much practised in Persia. The baker +used to be the first victim of popular fury in a bread riot, and it is +said that one was baked alive in his own oven. But in these times of +grain speculation in Persia, the people have learnt to look in 'wheat +corners' for the real cause of dear bread, and in consequence the bread +riots have become more formidable, as was proved lately at Tabriz. On a +previous occasion the Vali Ahd (now H.I.M. the Shah), who, as +Governor-General of Azerbaijan, resided at Tabriz, found himself unable +to cope with the difficulty, and abandoned his projected visit to +Tehran, so as to apply the money he had provided for it to cheapening +bread for the people. This practical pocket-sympathy with them secured a +popularity which will bring its reward. + +Next to the 'wheat-ring' as a cause of disturbance and riot comes what +may be called the 'copper-ring' of Tehran, which is likely to produce +serious trouble throughout the country. The Royal Mint in Persia is +worked on the farming system, the evils of which have now extended to +the currency. The low price of copper allows of it being coined at an +enormous profit, and advantage has been taken of this to a dangerous +extent. The whole country is now poisoned with 'black money,' as the +coppers are called, and it is at a heavy discount. This bears cruelly on +the labouring classes and all who are paid in copper coin. Owing to +exchange with Europe keeping above silver, that metal cannot be imported +and coined, so as to give a gain to the Mint-master, who has no idea of +sacrificing any of the great profit he has made on copper. No silver has +been coined since March, 1895, and this is the Mint-master's excuse for +sending out copper in great quantities, to take the place of silver. +Twenty copper shahi go to a kran (present exchange value 4-1/2d.), and +in the absence of silver employers of labour pay wholly in copper, which +for bazaar purposes is at a discount, so much so that, when a purchase +is beyond question above a kran in amount, an agreement as to payment in +silver or copper is first made, and then the bargaining begins. In a +country where money bears a high value, as proved by the fact that +accounts are still reckoned in dinars, an imaginary coin, of which one +thousand go to a silver kran and fifty to a copper shahi, the +depreciation I have mentioned is a very serious affair, for it touches +the mass of the people sorely. When travelling off the beaten track in +Persia, I have always been amused and interested in hearing my +head-servant announce loudly in a tone of importance and satisfaction to +my village host for the night that I had ordered so many 'thousands' to +be given for house-room, fuel, barley, straw, etc. The kran was never +mentioned; it was always a 'thousand.'[A] + +[Footnote: A: Since the above was written, information has been received +that the late Shah, about three weeks before his death, promulgated a +decree directing the Mint coinage of copper to be suspended for a term +of five years, and intimating that the Customs, Post-office and +Telegraph departments would accept copper coin to a certain amount in +cash transactions, at a fixed rate. And, further, arrangements have been +made with the Imperial Bank of Persia to purchase, on account of the +Government, copper coin up to a certain sum, from small _bona-fide_ +holders who are in possession of it in the regular course of retail +business for the necessaries of life.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +--Religious tolerance in Tehran +--Katie Greenfield's case +--Babi sect +--Liberal opinions +--German enterprise in Persia +--Railways in Asia Minor +--Russian road extension +--Railways to Persian frontiers +--The Karun River +--Trade development +--The Kajar dynasty +--Life titles +--Chieftainship of tribes +--Sanctuary +--The Pearl cannon. + + +The late Shah was always liberal and conciliatory in the treatment of +his Christian subjects throughout the country, and this is a matter +which, at the present time, deserves special notice. In the history of +Persia many proofs of friendly feeling towards Christians are to be +found, and the sovereigns appear to have led the popular mind in the way +of goodwill to them. Shah Abbas the Great was an example of kind and +considerate tolerance, and it was Shah Abbas II who said of them, 'It is +for God, not for me to judge of men's consciences: and I will never +interfere with what belongs to the tribunal of the Great Creator and +Lord of the universe.' The Western Christian missionaries are fully +protected in their mission work among the Eastern Christians in Persia +on the understanding that they do not actively and directly engage in +proselytizing Mohammedans. + +[Illustration: ARMENIAN MOTHER AND CHILDREN] + +The American Presbyterian is the only mission in Tehran, and it carries +on its work so smoothly and judiciously that the sensitive +susceptibilities of the most fanatical Moullas are never roused nor +ruffled. They have succeeded well by never attempting too much. They +show their desire to benefit all classes and creeds, and during the +severe cholera outbreak In 1892 the hospital they established in the +city for the medical treatment of all comers up to the utmost extent of +their accommodation and ability was a powerful and convincing proof of +their good work and will. The disease was of a very fatal type, and its +deadly ravages called forth a display of devotion and self-sacrifice +which deserved and obtained the highest commendation from all Persians +and Europeans. + +While on this subject, the splendid example set by the Governor of the +town, the Vazir Isa Khan, should be noticed. He was very wealthy, and +did much to relieve the sufferings and wants of the poor who were +attacked by the disease. He remained in the city while the epidemic +raged, and would not seek safety in flight to the adjoining mountains, +as many had done. But, sad to say, he fell a victim at the last, and his +wife, who had remained with him throughout, died of the disease two days +before him. + +It will be remembered that in 1891 an agitation was raised regarding the +reported abduction of an Armenian girl, named Katie Greenfield, by a +Kurd in Persian Kurdistan. An attempt which was made to take the girl +back to her family caused the couple to cross the frontier into Turkish +Kurdistan, and great excitement among the Kurds on both sides of the +border was created. The contention grew, and commissioners and consuls, +with troops, Persian and Turkish, took part in it. In the end it was +made perfectly clear that the girl had gone off with Aziz, the Kurd, as +the husband of her own choice, and had embraced the Mohammedan faith by +her own wish. The Kurds in Persian Kurdistan appear to live on friendly +terms with their Armenian village neighbours, and on this occasion a +runaway love-match became the cause of some popular excitement in +England, and much trouble and tumult on the Perso-Turkish frontier. + +The Armenian Archbishop in Persia, who resides at Isfahan, is always a +Russian subject from the monastery of Etchmiadzin, near Erivan, the seat +of the Catholicus, the primate of the orthodox Armenian Church, and this +doubtless has its effect in suggesting protection and security. France +also for a longtime past has steadily asserted the right to protect the +Catholic Armenian Church in Persia, and once a year the French Minister +at Tehran, with the Legation secretaries, attends Divine service in the +chapel there in full diplomatic dress and state, to show the fact and +force of the support which the Church enjoys. France similarly takes +Catholic institutions in Turkey under her protection, and appears to be +generally the Catholic champion in the East. + +The careful observer in Tehran cannot fail to be struck with the +religious tolerance shown to non-Mohammedan Persian subjects in the +'shadow of the Shah.' Amongst these, other than Christians, may be +mentioned the Guebres (Parsees) and the Jews. Persecuted in the +provinces, they receive liberal treatment in Tehran, and it is to be +hoped that the late Shah's gracious example will in time be followed by +his Majesty's provincial governors. + +The Babi sect of Mohammedans, regarded as seceders from Islam, but who +assert their claim to be only the advocates for Mohammedan Church +reform, are at last better understood and more leniently +treated--certainly at Tehran. They have long been persecuted and +punished in the cruellest fashion, even to torture and death, under the +belief that they were a dangerous body which aimed at the subversion of +the State as well as the Church. But better counsels now prevail, to +show that the time has come to cease from persecuting these sectarians, +who, at all events in the present day, show no hostility to the +Government; and the Government has probably discovered the truth of the +Babi saying, that one martyr makes many proselytes. + +The Babis aim at attracting to their ranks the intelligent and the +learned, in preference to the ignorant and unlearned; and it is believed +that now sufficient education whereby to read and write is absolutely +necessary for membership. They wish to convince by example, and not by +force, and this accounts for the absence of active resistance to the +persecutions from which they often suffer most grievously. They say that +they desire to return to original Mohammedanism, as it first came from +the Arabian desert, pure and simple, and free from the harsh intolerance +and arrogance which killed the liberal spirit in which it was conceived. +They deplore the evil passions and fierce animosities engendered by +religious differences; they tolerate all creeds having a common end for +good, and seek to soften the hearts of those who persecute them, by +showing that they but wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. +They have a widespread organization throughout Persia, and many learned +Moullas and Syuds have secretly joined them. They have always been firm +in their faith, even unto death, rejecting the offer of life in return +for a declaration against the Bab, him whom they regard as the messenger +of good tidings. + +An acknowledged authority on the Bab, the founder of this creed, has +written that he 'directed the thoughts and hopes of his disciples to +this world, not to an unseen world.' From this it was inferred he did +not believe in a future state, nor in anything beyond this life. Of +course, among the followers of a new faith, liberal and broad in its +views, continued fresh developments of belief must be expected; and with +reference to the idea that the Babis think not of a hereafter, I was +told that they believe in the re-incarnation of the soul, the good after +death returning to life and happiness, the bad to unhappiness. A Babi, +in speaking of individual pre-existence, said to me, 'You believe in a +future state; why, then, should you not believe in a pre-existent state? +Eternity is without beginning and without end,' This idea of +re-incarnation, generally affecting all Babis, is, of course, an +extension of the original belief regarding the re-incarnation of the +Bab, and the eighteen disciple-prophets who compose the sacred college +of the sect. + +Some time ago signs began to appear of a general feeling that the +persecution of the Babis must cease. Many in high places see this, and +probably say it, and their sympathy becomes known. At one time a high +Mohammedan Church dignitary speaks regarding tolerance and progress in a +manner which seems to mean that he sees no great harm in the new sect. +Then a soldier, high in power and trust, refers to the massacres of +Babis in 1890 and 1891 as not only cruel acts, but as acts of insane +folly, 'for,' he said, 'to kill a Babi is like cutting down a +chenar-tree, from the root of which many stems spring up, and one +becomes many.' Then a Moulla, speaking of the necessity of a more humane +treatment of the Babis, and others of adverse creeds, says that he looks +for the time when all conditions of men will be equally treated, and all +creeds and classes be alike before the law. Omar Khayyam, the +astronomer-poet of Persia, who wrote about eight hundred years ago, gave +open expression to the same liberal-minded views, urging tolerance and +freedom for all religious creeds and classes. + +The last murderous mob attack led by Moullas against the Babis occurred +at Yezd in April, 1891. It was probably an outcome of the Babi massacre +which had taken place at Isfahan the previous year, and which, owing to +the fiercely hostile attitude of the priests, was allowed to pass +unnoticed by any strong public condemnation. On that occasion a party of +the sect, pursued by an excited and blood-thirsty mob, claimed the +'sanctuary' of foreign protection in the office of the Indo-European +Telegraph Company, and found asylum there. Negotiations were opened with +the Governor of the town, who arranged for a safe conduct to their homes +under military escort. Trusting to this, the refugees quitted the +telegraph-office, but had not proceeded far before they were beset by a +furious crowd, and as the escort offered no effectual resistance, the +unfortunates were murdered in an atrociously cruel manner. The Shah's +anger was great on hearing of this shameful treachery, but as the +Governor pleaded powerlessness from want of troops, and helplessness +before the fanaticism of the frenzied mob led by Moullas, the matter was +allowed to drop. + +Considering the great numbers of Babis all over Persia, and the ease +with which membership can be proved, it strikes many observers as +strange that murderous outbreaks against them are not more frequent. The +explanation is that, besides the accepted Babis, there is a vast number +of close sympathizers, between whom and the declared members of the sect +there is but one step, and a continued strong persecution would drive +them into the ranks of the oppressed. It might then be found that the +majority was with the Babis, and this fear is a fact which, irrespective +of other arguments, enables the influential and liberal-minded Moullas +to control their headstrong and over-zealous brethren. + +The isolated outbreaks that do occur are generally produced by personal +animosity and greed of gain. Just as has been known in other countries +where a proscribed religion was practised in secret, and protection +against persecution and informers secured by means of money, so in many +places the Babis have made friends in this manner out of enemies. +Individuals sometimes are troubled by the needy and unscrupulous who +affect an excess of religious zeal, but these desist on their terms +being met. Occasionally in a settlement of bazaar trading-accounts, the +debtor, who is a Mohammedan, being pressed by his creditor, whom he +knows to be a Babi, threatens to denounce him publicly in order to avoid +payment. + +I witnessed an instance of 'sanctuary' asylum being claimed in the +stable of one of the foreign legations at Tehran by a well-known +Persian merchant, a Babi, who fled for his life before the bazaar +ruffians to whom his debtor had denounced him, urging them to smite and +slay the heretic. It was believed that the practice of black-mailing the +Babis was such a well-known successful one at Yezd that some of the low +Mohammedans of the town tried to share in the profits and were +disappointed. This, it was said, led to the massacre which occurred +there in April, 1891. + +The Babis, notwithstanding divergence of opinion on many points, yet +attend the mosques and the Moulla teachings, and comply with all the +outward forms of religion, in order to avert the anger which continued +absence from the congregation would draw upon them from hostile and +bigoted neighbours. Two of them were suddenly taxed in the Musjid with +holding heterodox opinions, and were then accused of being Babis. The +discussion was carried outside and into the bazaar, the accusers loudly +reviling and threatening them. They were poor, and were thus unable to +find protectors at once. When being pressed hard by an excited mob which +had collected on the scene, an over-zealous friend came to their aid, +and said, 'Well, if they are Babis, what harm have they done to anyone?' + +On this the tumult began, and the ferocity of the fanatical crowd rose +to blood-heat. The sympathizer was seized, and as the gathering grew, +the opportunity to gratify private animosity and satisfy opposing +interests was taken advantage of, and three other Babis were added, +making six in all who were dragged before the Governor to be condemned +as members of an accursed sect. The Moullas urged them to save their +lives by cursing the Bab, but they all refused. The wives and children +of some of them were sent for so that their feelings might be worked +upon to renounce their creed and live, but this had no effect in shaking +their resolution. When told that death awaited them, they replied that +they would soon live again. When argued with on this point of their +belief, they merely said that they could not say how it was to be, but +they knew it would be so. They were then given over to the cruel mob, +and were hacked to death, firm in their faith to the last. + +The temptation to make away with others in a similar manner produced +two more victims during the night, but these the Governor tried to save +by keeping them in custody. The brutal mob, however, howled for their +blood, and made such an uproar that the weak Governor, a youth of +eighteen, surrendered them to a cruel death, as he had done the others. +These two, like their brethren, refused to curse the Bab and live. + +The Moullas have ever been defeated in their efforts to produce +recantation from a Babi, and it is this remarkable steadfastness in +their faith which has carried conviction into the hearts of many that +the sect is bound to triumph in the end. The thoughtful say admiringly +of them, as the Romans said of the Christians, whom they in vain doomed +to death under every form of terror, 'What manner of men are these, who +face a dreadful death fearlessly to hold fast to their faith?' An +instance is mentioned of a Babi who did recant in order to escape the +martyr's death, but he afterwards returned to his faith, and suffered +calmly the death he had feared before. + +The Moullas who led the Yezd massacre desired to associate the whole +town in the crime, and called for the illumination of the bazaars in +token of public joy. The order for this was given, but the Governor was +warned in time to issue a countermand. It was found by the state of +public feeling, and told to those in authority, who were able to realize +the danger, that, as one-half or more of the shopkeepers were Babis, +they would not have illuminated, for to have done so would imply +approval of the murders and denial of their faith. Their determination +to refuse to join in the demonstration of joy would have roused further +mob fury, and the whole body of Babis, impelled by the instinct of +self-preservation, would have risen to defend themselves. + +The late Shah was deeply troubled and pained on hearing of this cruel +massacre, and removed the Governor, who was his own grandson (being the +eldest son of his Royal Highness the Zil-es-Sultan), notwithstanding the +excuses urged in his favour, that the priestly power which roused the +mob was too strong for him to act and prevent the murders. It is +probable that the Government is assured of the peaceful nature of the +Babi movement as it now exists; and with the orders to put an end to +persecution, supported in some degree by popular feeling, we may hope +to hear no more of such crimes as were committed at Isfahan and Yezd in +1890 and 1891. + +The Babi reform manifests an important advance upon all previous modern +Oriental systems in its treatment of woman. Polygamy and concubinage are +forbidden, the use of the veil is discouraged, and the equality of the +sexes is so thoroughly recognised that one, at least, of the nineteen +sovereign prophets must always be a female. This is a return to the +position of woman in early Persia, of which Malcolm speaks when he says +that Quintus Curtius told of Alexander not seating himself in the +presence of Sisygambis till told to do so by that matron, because it was +not the custom in Persia for sons to sit in presence of their mother. +This anecdote is quoted to show the great respect in which the female +sex were held in Persia at the time of Alexander's invasion, and which +also was regarded as one of the principal causes of the progress the +country had made in civilization. The Parsees to this day conduct +themselves on somewhat similar lines, and though we have not the +opportunities of judging of maternal respect which were allowed to the +Greeks, yet the fact of the same custom being shown in a father's +presence at the present time seems to point to the rule of good manners +to mothers being yet observed. And we know, from what happened on the +death of Mohamed Shah in 1848, that a capable woman is allowed by public +opinion to exercise openly a powerful influence in affairs of State at a +critical time when wise counsels are required. The Queen-mother at that +time became the president of the State Council, and cleverly succeeded +in conciliating adverse parties and strengthening the Government, till +the position of the young Shah, the late Sovereign, was made secure. + +For a long time Russia and England were regarded as the only great +Powers really interested in the future of Persia; but within the last +few years it has been observed that Turkey, in showing an intention to +consolidate her power in the Baghdad and Erzeroum pashaliks, was likely +to be in a position to renew old claims on the Persian border. France +has also lately increased her interest in Persia, and Germany has now +entered the field of enterprise there in the practical manner of +improving the road from Khani Kin, on the Turkish frontier, to Tehran, +connecting it with a road from Baghdad. It will probably be found that +this road-scheme belongs to the company under German auspices who are +now constructing a railway which is ultimately to connect Baghdad with +the Bosphorus, and part of which is already working. The trunk-line +passes by Angora, Kaisarieh, Diarbekr, Mardin, and Mosul; and a +loop-line leaves it at Eski Shehr, which, going by Konia, Marasch, and +Orfa, rejoins it at Diarbekr. + +There was an idea that, as Konia is a most promising field for the +production of exports, the Smyrna lines competed so eagerly for the +concession to extend there that the Porte was enabled to make terms with +the Anatolian Railway Company (to which I have alluded) for the +extension to Baghdad, which strategically is of great importance. It was +said that the strong competition placed the Government in the position +of the man in the Eastern story who went to the bazaar to sell an old +camel, and a young cat of rare beauty. The cat was shown off sitting on +the camel, and was desired by many purchasers; but there was no bid for +the camel. The competition for the cat ran high, and then the owner +announced that the one could not be sold without the other, on which the +camel was bought with the cat. But as a matter of fact there was no +opening for competition for the Konia branch. The Anatolian Railway had +preferential rights for what is called the southern or loop line, which +I have mentioned as passing through Konia, and rejoining the main or +northern line at Diarbekr. They also have preferential rights of +extension to Baghdad, and they mean to carry the line there. + +The Smyrna Aidin railway has lately had a considerable improvement in +its traffic, from the barley of Asia Minor being in increased demand in +addition to its wheat. This means that the material for the beer as well +as the bread of the masses elsewhere is found to be abundant and cheap +there, and the extension of railway communication in those regions will +most probably increase the supply and demand. The same trade in barley +has lately sprung up in Southern Persia and Turkish Arabia, and for some +time past, while the low price of wheat discouraged the existing wheat +trade there, it has been found profitable to export barley from the +Gulf ports. Barley is the cheapest grain in Persia, where it is grown +for home consumption only, being the universal food for horses. Owing to +want of care with the seed, and the close vicinity of crops, the wheat +was often so mixed with barley as to reduce the price considerably, and +the question of mixture and reduction was always a very stormy one. When +I was at Ahwaz, on the Karun, in 1890, I saw a machine at work +separating the grains, and the Arab owners waiting to take away the +unsaleable barley, the wheat being bought for export by a European firm +there which owned the machine. The Arab sellers probably now move to the +other side of the machine to carry away the unsaleable wheat, the barley +being bought for export owing to the turn of trade. + +The German group that has obtained the Persian road concession has also +taken up the old project of an extension of the Tehran tramways to the +villages on the slopes of the Shimran range, all within a distance of +ten miles from the town. The Court, the city notables, and the foreign +legations, with everyone who desires to be fashionable, and can afford +the change, reside there during the warm months--June, July, August and +September. The whole place may be described as the summer suburb of the +capital, and there is great going to and fro. + +I have already mentioned the Russian road now under construction from +the Caspian Sea base to Kasvin, with the object of enabling Russian +trade to command more thoroughly the Tehran market. The total distance +from the coast to the capital is two hundred miles. There is an +old-established caravan track over easy country, from Kasvin to Hamadan +in the south--west, distant about one hundred and fifty miles. It has +lately been announced that the Russian Road Company has obtained a +concession to convert this track into a cart-road in continuation of +that from Resht. It is seen that with improved communication Russian +trade may be made to compete successfully at Hamadan, which is only +about fifty miles further from the Caspian Sea base than Tehran, and +there will also be the advantage of a return trade in cotton from +Central Persia, as Armenian merchants now export it to Russia from as +far South as Isfahan and Yezd. The German road from Baghdad to Tehran +will be met at Hamadan. + +Kermanshah and Hamadan, through which the German road will pass, are +both busy centres of trade in districts rich in corn, wool, and wine. +They are also meeting-points of the great and ever-flowing streams of +pilgrims to Kerbela _via_ Baghdad, said to number annually about one +hundred thousand. This has been a popular pilgrim route, as well as +trade route, for centuries, and with greater facilities on an improved +road the traffic is certain to increase. + +It is said that the alignment of the Russian road from Resht is to be +made in view of a railway in the future. The same will probably be done +in the Hamadan extension, and it is believed that the German road will +be similarly planned. All this would mean that behind the concessions +are further promises for the time when railway construction comes. +Looking into the dim distance, the eye of faith and hope may see the +fulfilment of railway communication from India to Europe by a connection +between the Quetta or Indus Valley line and Kermanshah. + +This brings us to the agreement of 1890 between Persia and Russia to +shut out railways till the end of the century. This agreement, when made +known, was regarded as proof of a somewhat barbarian policy on the part +of Russia, unwilling or unable herself to assist in opening up Persia +and improving the condition of the country. But there is some reason for +the idea that the Shah himself was ready to meet the Russian request, so +as to keep back the railway which he feared would soon connect his +capital with the Caucasus. There was much railway talk in Persia in +1890, and Russia knew that it would take quite ten years to complete her +railway system up to the Northern frontiers of Persia and Afghanistan. +The railway now being made from Tiflis to Alexandropol and Kars will +probably send out a line down the fertile valley of the Aras to Julfa, +ready for extension across the Persian frontier to Tabriz, and a branch +may be pushed forward from Doshakh, or Keribent, on the Trans-Caspian +railway, to Sarakhs, where Russia, Persia, and Afghanistan meet, to +facilitate trade with Herat as well as Meshed. In the meanwhile also the +cart-roads, ready for railway purposes if wanted, from the Caspian Sea +base to Kasvin, Tehran, and Hamadan, will be completed. + +Russia insisted on regarding the opening of the Karun to the navigation +of the world as a diplomatic victory for England, and a distinct +concession to British commerce, which is predominant in the South. She +therefore thought out well what to get from the Shah in return, to +favour her commercial policy in the North, and the ten years' +prohibition of railways was the result. Russia desires commercial +predominance in Persia just as England does, and she will use all the +influence which her dominating close neighbourhood gives to obtain the +utmost favour and facilities for her trade. + +While Russia and England were thus engaged in strong commercial rivalry, +Germany unexpectedly made her appearance in the Western region of +Central Persia, where their competition meets. Nor has Persia been idle +in trading enterprise; her merchants are not only aiming at getting more +exclusively into their own hands the interior commerce of the country, +but they have established direct relations with firms in foreign +countries, and now work in active competition with the European houses +which in old days had almost all the export and import trade in their +own hands. The introduction of the Imperial Bank of Persia has given an +impetus to this new spirit of native enterprise by affording facilities +which before were not available on the same favourable terms. The Nasiri +Company, a mercantile corporation of Persians, was formed in 1889 to +trade on the Karun, and it commenced operations with two small steamers. +Later, a third steamer was added, and they are now negotiating for the +purchase of a fourth. They have a horse tramway, about one and a half +miles long, to facilitate the necessary transhipment of cargo between +the upper and lower streams, where the Ahwaz Rapids break the river +navigation. This trading corporation has strong support, and the Persian +Government is earnest in giving it every assistance, so that it may +develop into an effectual agency for the revival of the prosperity which +made the Karun Valley in old times what the Nile Valley is now. + +Messrs. Lynch Brothers also run a large steamer on the Lower Karun in +connection with a 'stern-wheeler' (Nile boat pattern) on the upper +stream, and between them and the Nasiri Company a regular and quick +communication is maintained between Bombay and Shuster. One of the +articles of import at the latter place is American kerosene-oil for lamp +purposes, to take the place of the Shuster crude petroleum, said to have +been used there for centuries. This petroleum contains an unusual amount +of benzine, and being highly explosive in lamps, the Shuster people, who +can afford to pay for the safer substance, have taken to American oil. +The Shuster petroleum-springs belong to a family of Syuds in the town, +and did not fall within the field of the Persian Mines Corporation. +These oil-springs may yet become the object of practical operations +should the Nasiri Company develop the resources of the Karun Valley. + +Belgium has also taken an active interest in Persia lately, the tramway +company, and the glass manufactory at Tehran, and the beet-sugar factory +in the vicinity, having all been established with Belgian capital; and +Holland, who is believed to be seeking an opening in Persia, may find +her opportunity in the Karun Valley irrigation works. The creation of +strong international interests in Persia should have the best effect in +strengthening her national independence, developing her natural +resources, and introducing good government. And the peaceful succession +of the lawful heir to the throne should go far to carry the country +forward in the path of progress and prosperity. It is evident that the +strong sentiment attaching to the late Shah's long and peaceful reign, +and the popular feeling of loyalty to him which influenced the people, +has had the effect of enforcing the royal will in favour of the heir +legitimately appointed by Nasr-ed-Din Shah. + +[Illustration: PRESENT SHAH WHEN ENTERING HIS CARRIAGE.] + +The reigning family of Persia are the hereditary chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe, and still preserve the customs of that position. They have +not changed the manly habits of a warlike race for the luxury and +lethargy which sapped the energies and ruined the lives of so many +monarchs of Persia. Up to the time of the present ruling dynasty the +princes of the blood were immured in the harem, where their education +was left to women and their attendants, and until the death of the King +his destined successor was not known. At that period the son of the +lowest slave in the harem was deemed equally eligible to succeed to the +throne with the offspring of the proudest princess who boasted the +honour of marriage with the Sovereign. And similarly as in the West, +up to about four hundred years ago, the Crown was generally made secure +by murder, every actual or possible rival for the throne being blinded +or removed from the scene. This was the practice of the Soffivean +dynasty, which preceded the Kajar. But with the change which then took +place, this hideous practice disappeared, and usages more congenial to +the feelings of the military tribes which support the throne were +established. Under the late Shah the princes of the blood were employed +in the chief governments of the country, and exercised all the powers +and responsibilities of office. + +Persia may be described as a theocratic democracy under an absolute +monarchy. There is no hereditary rank but that of royal birth, and that +of the chiefs of the military tribes, who may be regarded as a military +aristocracy; but there is a system of life titles which secure to the +holders certain privileges and immunities, and are much prized. The +titles are nominally descriptive of some personal quality, talent, or +trust, such as Councillor of the State, Confidant of the King, Trusted +of the Sultan; they are also bestowed upon ladies in high position. The +name of an animal is never introduced into the title; at least, I have +only heard of one instance to the contrary in modern times. An +individual of European parentage was recommended to the late Shah's +notice and favour by his Persian patrons, and they mentioned his great +wish to be honoured with a title. His Majesty, who had a keen sense of +humour, observed the suggestive appearance of the candidate for honours, +and said, 'Well, he is Hujabr-i-Mulk' (the Lion of the Country). The new +noble was ready with his grateful thanks: 'Your sacred Majesty, may I be +thy sacrifice;' but he added in a subdued tone, 'A lion requires at +least a lamb a day.' The Shah laughed at the meaning speech, and said, +'Let him have it.' The granting of a title does not give any emolument +unless specially directed. As a precedent for this title, the Shah may +have had in his mind the story of Ali Kuli Khan, one of the favourites +of Shah Suliman. During the reign of Shah Abbas this chief was generally +in prison, except when his services were required against the enemies of +his country. This had gained for him the name of the Lion of Persia, as +men said that he was always chained except when wanted to fight. + +The Shah can raise whomsoever he chooses from the lowest to the highest +position or post, except in the most powerful of the nomad tribes, where +the nomination to chieftainship is confined to the elders of the leading +families, who generally represent two lines from one head, one being in +the opposition when the other is in power. The chieftain of a clan +considers himself superior in real rank to the most favoured Court +title-holder, and the chiefs of the military tribes may be termed the +hereditary nobility of Persia. The monarch may, by his influence or +direct power, alter the succession, and place an uncle in the situation +of a nephew, and sometimes a younger brother in the condition of an +elder, but the leader of the tribe must be of the family of their chief. +The younger sons and nephews are enrolled in the royal guard, and the +Shah is thus enabled by judicious change and selection to keep his hold +upon the tribe. Change of chiefs is not always effected peacefully. The +wild tribesmen who, in feudal fashion, attach themselves as idle +men-at-arms to a popular leader are sometimes disinclined to accept his +fall from favour without an appeal to arms. But the royal authority +prevails in the end, and the new chiefs rule begins, and lasts just so +long as Fortune smiles and the Shah wills. + +A marked instance of this was shown in July, 1892, when Jehan Shah +Khan-Ilbegi was deprived of the chieftaincy of the Afshar section of the +powerful Shahsevend tribe, who range from Ardebil to Tehran. The famous +Nadir Shah was originally a simple trooper of this tribe, and belonged +to the colony of it which was planted at Deregez on the Turkoman border. +The ostensible cause of the chiefs removal from power was that with his +own hands he had killed his wife, the sister of his cousin, +Rahmat-ulla-Khan, who was known to be his rival in the tribe for place +and power. Jehan Shah had unjustly accused her of being unfaithful to +him, and going to her house, he called her out, and, notwithstanding her +appearing with a copy of the Sacred Koran in her hand, shot her dead +while in the act of swearing on the holy book that she was innocent of +all guilt. Jehan Shah than went in search of the tribesman whom he +suspected of being her paramour, and killed him also. The matter was +reported to the Shah, then in camp in Irak, who ordered Jebam Shah to +be deprived of the chieftainship, and Rahmat-ulla-Khan to be appointed +Ilbegi in his place. It was further ordered that Jehan Shah should be +arrested and sent as a prisoner to Tehran. The Ihtisham-e-Dowleh-Kajar, +cousin of the late Shah and Governor of Khamseh, in which province Jehan +Shah was then located with his clan, was directed to carry out the royal +commands. + +Much telegraphing had taken place on the subject, and as cipher was not +used, Jehan Shah, by means of money and influence, was able to obtain +the fullest information of all that passed, and as he was known to have +a numerous personal following armed with Peabody-Martini rifles, the +Governor was instructed to act with caution. He accordingly had recourse +to stratagem, and gave out that the object of his journey to the tribal +quarters was to coerce a section of the tribe which had been giving +trouble. He therefore asked Jehan Shah to assist him, and this gave the +chief a good excuse for assembling his men. The Prince Governor took +with him one hundred cavalry and four hundred infantry, but no attention +was paid to the ammunition, and they started without a proper supply. + +Rahmat-ulla-Khan was fully aware of the Governor's real intentions, but +the influence and power of the popular chief prevented any partisan +gathering against him. He therefore could only depend upon the Persian +troops to enforce the order of the Shah, and was unable to do more than +prepare a reception tent and provide a luncheon for the Prince and his +people, about eight miles in advance of their camp, at a place appointed +for the meeting with himself and Jehan Shah. On approaching this place, +these two, with the elders and the tribesmen, went forward for the +customary ceremonial reception of the Governor. Jehan Shah dismounted +and saluted with the utmost show of respect; but on reaching the tent +which had been prepared for them by his rival, he declined to enter and +partake of his hospitality, declaring that he preferred to pass on to +his own tents, some distance off, his mounted following of fifteen +hundred men accompanying him. The Governor knew that Jehan Shah had +become dangerous from the devotion of his well-armed followers, and the +readiness of the main body of the fierce fighting tribesmen to support +him. He had evidently contemplated his arrest and seizure at the place +of meeting, but the show of force and feeling in Jehan Shah's favour was +too strong to admit of any such attempt. He therefore decided to declare +openly the object of his coming, and after lunch he assembled the elders +of the tribe, and summoned Jehan Shah to his presence, who, however, +declined to obey. The Prince on this announced his deposition, and the +appointment of Rahmat-ulla-Khan in his place, showing at the same time +the Shah's written commands. He then appears to have indulged in some +violent abuse of Jehan Shah, and again sent an order to secure his +presence. + +In the meanwhile, that chief had taken counsel with his tribal +following, numbering about fifteen hundred, armed with breechloaders, +and finding them entirely on his side, and determined to dispute the +rule of his rival, he served out cartridges freely, and decided to +discuss the matter with the Governor. He left most of his men at some +distance, and presented himself attended by only a few. The Prince +informed him of the Shah's orders, and after some contentious talk, he +held out the royal firman for him or any of those with him to read. On +one of the elders moving forward to take the paper, Jehan Shah suddenly +motioned them all back with his hands, and the Prince, taking alarm at +this appearance of a signal, called out to his guards to seize Jehan +Shah. There was a shout and a rush, and some of Jehan Shah's men from +behind fired over the heads of the soldiers, who, however, returned the +fire point-blank, killing and wounding several of the Shahsevends. The +tribesmen then opened fire in earnest, and the Prince with his troops +promptly fled. All ran and rode for their lives, pursued by the furious +enemy. Some of the servants kept with their master, and remounted him +twice when the horses he rode were wounded and disabled. The tribesmen +are said to have made him a special target, for he was most conspicuous +in rich dress, and a third time he and his horse were rolled over +together, he receiving two bullet-wounds. He was then seized, partially +stripped, and treated with great indignity. The pursuit was kept up to +his camp, which was captured and plundered; thirty-five of his men were +killed, and fifty wounded. One of the Prince's officials, also +wounded, was taken with him, and both were kept prisoners for three +days. + +[Illustration: PERSIAN TURK OF THE MILITARY TRIBES] + +In the meantime Jehan Shah, having recovered from his mad fury, trembled +at the recollection of his crime, and dreading the vengeance which he +saw was certain to follow, he packed up his valuables and fled with a +few followers to the Caspian coast. He had the intention to escape by +steamer to Baku, but failing in this, owing to all communication with +Russian territory having been suspended during the outbreak of cholera +then prevailing, he determined to make his way by land across the +Northern frontier. Being closely pursued by a party of Persian cavalry, +he abandoned all his baggage, and with great difficulty reached Tabriz, +where he was constrained to take sanctuary in the house of the chief +Moulla. He died there after enduring existence for about six months +under circumstances and with surroundings which must have been supremely +hateful to him. I was at Tabriz in the end of 1892, while he was there, +and I was told by one who had seen him that he was a sad sight then, the +hereditary head of the Afshar Shahsevends, a section of a royal tribe, +herding in misery with a crowd of criminals seeking sanctuary in order +to avoid the avenger of blood. On the first news of the occurrence the +Shah ordered the immediate mobilization of the infantry regiments of +Khamseh and Kasvin, and this had the effect of dispersing the tribe, +facilitating the work of retribution, and establishing the power of the +new chief. This incident had the best political result in aiding the +Kajar policy of breaking up the ruling families and the cohesion of the +dangerous tribes, and asserting fully the authority of the Tehran +Central Government. Jehan Shah had gradually improved and strengthened +his position by increasing the superior armament of his tribesmen (who +were said to have three thousand breechloaders) and laying in a large +supply of cartridges, so that, with his wealth, influence, and +popularity, he must have been regarded as dangerously powerful. No doubt +the conceited confidence thus produced led him to indulge in the +ungovernable rage which wrecked his freedom and ended his life. The +tribesmen said that the wife whom he killed was truly innocent; but +being themselves men of wild ways and tempestuous temper, they thought +he had been harshly judged, and they therefore stood by him to resist +his seizure and deportation. + +As in England four hundred years ago, every place of worship is a sacred +refuge; and the dwelling-house of the Chief Priest gives similar +protection. This right of sanctuary continues in force throughout +Persia; but to benefit by it for any length of time, money is very +necessary, for without such aid, or when the supplies fail, starvation +steps in to drive the refugee out. While in sanctuary, compromise and +arrangement may be effected, so that the fugitive may be allowed to go +unmolested, the relatives paying, or becoming 'bail' for, the +blood-money or compensation agreed upon. A fugitive from justice, +oppression, or revenge often claims the privilege of sanctuary in the +house or premises of a local dignitary of influence, whose house would +not be unceremoniously entered by pursuers, and this affords time either +to meet the demands or accusations made, or to escape to a safer place. + +At Tehran there is a big gun, said to have been brought by Nadir Shah +from Delhi, and known as the Pearl Cannon. It is said to be so called +from having had a string of pearls hung on it near the muzzle when it +was on show in Imperial Delhi. This was probably the case, for we know +that heavy guns in India were regarded with a degree of respect and +reverence almost approaching worship. The gunners of the Maharajah +Runjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, used to 'salaam' to their guns, +and to hang garlands of the sweet-scented _champak_ flower, which is +used in temples and at festivals, round the muzzles. The Pearl Cannon +occupies a prominent position close to the Shah's palace, and has always +been recognised as possessing a semi-sacred character, and giving the +right of sanctuary to those who touch it and remain by it. + +I remember a regiment of infantry, represented by three hundred men who +were 'off duty' and available for the demonstration, claiming the +privilege of this great gun sanctuary after they had assailed the house +of their Colonel in order to wreak their vengeance on him, as he was +suspected of withholding their pay. The officer's servants were warned +in time, and closed the courtyard door, so that the rioters were unable +to enter; but they relieved their feelings by battering the door with +stones and damaging the Colonel's carriage, which they found outside. +Having thus created a great disturbance and excited considerable rumour, +they proceeded to the Pearl Cannon, and gave vent to their grievances in +loud cries, which reached the royal palace, on which the Shah, +Nasr-ed-Din, was made acquainted with all the facts, and caused the +soldiers' wrongs to be redressed. One of the charges against the Colonel +was that he had managed, by lending money to the men, to gain possession +of their village lands by unfair means--for he was a landlord in the +same district, and desired to add to his holding. The corps was the +Larajani territorial infantry battalion, and an English resident at +Tehran, who caught the name as Larry-Johnny, said the whole incident was +'quite Irish, you know.' + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +--The military tribes and the royal guard +--Men of the people as great monarchs +--Persian sense of humour +--Nightingales and poetry +--Legendary origin of the royal emblem +--Lion and Sun +--Ancient Golden Eagle emblem +--The Blacksmith's Apron the royal standard. + + +The warlike nomads form a most important part of the military strength +of Persia, and it has always been the policy of the Sovereign to secure +their personal attachment to him as the direct paramount chief of each +martial clan. In pursuance of this policy, the royal guard, known as +Gholam-i-Shah, or Slaves of the King, which protects and escorts the +Shah in camp and quarters, is mainly composed of bodies of horse +furnished from the best and most powerful of the military tribes. These +come from all quarters of the empire, and are headed and officered by +members of the most influential families, so that they may be regarded +as hostages for the loyalty and fidelity of the chiefs. All are changed +from time to time, and thus a system of short service prevails, to give +as many as possible a term of duty with the royal guard. + +The term _gholam_, or slave, has always been given as a title to the +personal guards, and everyone who is admitted to the corps claims the +envied distinction of Gholam-i-Shah. This guard has a very ancient +origin, and service in it is highly prized as giving opportunities of +attracting the attention and gaining the favour of the King. The great +Sovereign Sabuktagin, who reigned in the tenth century, was said to have +risen from the ranks of the royal guard. All the couriers of the foreign +legations at Tehran are styled Gholam, and the title is accepted as an +honourable one, meaning a mounted servant of courage and trust, who is +ready to defend to the death all interests committed to his charge. + +The total strength of 'the guard' is twelve hundred and fifty, of whom +two hundred are the elite, called _gholam peshkhidmet_ (personal +attendants) and mostly belong to the Kajar, the Shah's own tribe, with +which his Majesty always identified himself in the most public manner, +and thus made every man proud of his clanship with the King. I here +allude to the royal signature, 'Nasr-ed-Din, Shah, Kajar.' These +superior guardsmen have all the rank of gentleman, and may be called the +mounted 'gentlemen at arms' of the guard. They have the customary right +of appointment to Court and palace posts, such as door-keeper, usher, +messenger, etc. Their service is for life, and is hereditary, a son +succeeding his father, and taking his place in the guard when promotion, +age, illness, or death creates a vacancy. They have distinctive +horse-trappings with silver neck-straps, breastplates, and headstalls, +which pass from father to son, and have become highly prized heirlooms. +The Shah was most partial to the representative tribesmen of his guard, +and his happy characteristics as a King of nomadic taste and camp-like +ways, in familiar acquaintance with all about him, were well shown at a +military review which I witnessed at Tehran some years ago. The review +was a special one, held in honour of the Swedish officers deputed by +King Oscar II. of Norway and Sweden to convey the high order of the +Seraphin to his Majesty the Shah, and as many troops as possible were +called in from the surrounding districts to take part in it. The royal +guard mustered strong, and when they marched past, the Shah stepped +forward to the saluting line, so as to be closer to them, and called out +to each troop, and named each commander in terms of praise and pleasure. +This display of personal knowledge of the men, and acquaintance with +their leaders, drew from them a perfect buzz of delight. + +On this occasion the smart appearance of the Bakhtiari horse attracted +particular attention. The Persian bystanders showed their pride in these +popular mounted mountaineers by the admiring exclamation, 'Here come the +Bakhtiaris!' They were very noticeable by their white felt, round, +brimless hats, and the good line they preserved when passing. The +Bakhtiaris (Lurs) are the most numerous and powerful of all the military +tribes, and are noted for their superior martial qualities both as horse +and foot. They are of the most ancient Persian descent, and have held +the hills and valleys of Luristan from time immemorial; while all the +other military tribes may be said to be of much later date, and of +foreign origin--Arab, Syrian, Turk, and Tartar. Competent authorities, +who have had full opportunity of judging, agree in saying that they are +as good material for soldiers as can be found anywhere. I was greatly +interested in hearing the Shah's Prime Minister speak in glowing terms +of the gallantry of the Bakhtiari infantry at the capture of Kandahar +under Nadir Shah, who, after subduing them in their own mountains, won +them over to serve him loyally and well in his conquering campaigns +against Afghanistan and India. The Grand Vizier mentioned the +circumstance of the Bakhtiari contingent, after one of the many repulses +met in the repeated attempts to carry Kandahar by storm, having in the +evening, when all was quiet on both sides, assaulted without orders and +captured a commanding, position in the defences, which they had failed +to take during the day. The shouts of the victors roused the resting +besiegers, and Nadir at once took advantage of the success to carry the +citadel and gain possession of the town. As a closing remark concerning +these nomad tribes, I may mention that they regard themselves as in +every way superior to the settled inhabitants, and express this conceit +in their saying, 'One man of the tents is equal to two of the town.' + +I have mentioned the prerogative of the Shah to raise whomsoever he +chooses from the lowest to the highest position, except under +restrictions in the military tribes. This quite falls in with the +democratic spirit which lies dormant among the people, ready to be +displayed in willingness to accept a Sovereign of signal power who +springs from the lower ranks of life. The social equality which Islam +grants to all men was nothing new to Persia in forming ideas regarding a +popular leader and elected King. The descent of such a man is deemed of +little consequence in the minds of a people who look to personification +of power as the right to rule. In fact, with them it is said that the +fame of such a man is in proportion to the lowness of his origin. They +know of notable instances of the nation being delivered from terrible +tyranny and degrading foreign subjection, and being made gloriously +great, by men of the people. They point to Kawah, the blacksmith, who +headed a revolt against the monstrously cruel usurper King Zohak, using +his apron as a banner, and finally overthrew and slew him, and placed +Faridun, a Prince of the Peshdadian dynasty, on the throne which he +might have occupied himself. This blacksmith's apron continued for ages +to be the royal standard of Persia. In the ninth century, +Yacub-bin-Leis, called the Pewterer, as he had worked when young at that +(his father's) trade, made his way to the throne by sheer force of +strong character and stout courage. He remained the people's hero to the +last, was noted for his simple habits, for keeping with his name his +trade appellation (Suffari, the Pewterer), and for never having been +wantonly cruel or oppressive. In the tenth century, when the great +Sabuktagin rose from soldier to Sovereign, we see the principle of +selection in preference to hereditary succession practised and accepted +by the nation. And the choice was justified by the glory he gave to the +Persian arms in extending the empire to India, and in the further +conquests of his soldier-son, Mahmud, who succeeded to his father's +throne, and added still more to the greatness of the kingdom, till it +reached from Baghdad to Kashgar, from Georgia to Bengal, from the Oxus +to the Ganges. + +When the country was groaning under the Afghan yoke, it was the daring +spirit of one from the ranks of the people, Nadir Kuli (Shah), who +conceived the overthrow of the oppressor and the recovery of Persian +independence. Originally a simple trooper of the Afshar tribe, he +advanced himself by valour, boldness, and enterprise, and crowned his +successes by winning the admiration of the royal leaders and adherents, +who on the death of the infant King, Abbas III., son of Shah Tamasp, +elected him to be their King. As such he carried the war into the +country of the evicted oppressors, and established the power of the +empire from the Oxus to Delhi, whence he returned with the splendid +spoil which yet enriches and adorns the Crown of Persia. It speaks much +for Nadir Shah's strong character that, having gained such distinction, +he did not allow flatterers to find amid the obscurity of his birth the +lost traces of great ancestors. He never boasted a proud genealogy; on +the contrary, he often spoke of his low birth, and we are told that even +his flattering historian had to content himself with saying that the +diamond has its value from its own lustre, and not from the rock in +which it grows. A characteristic story of this remarkable man is that +on demanding a daughter of his vanquished enemy, Mahmud Shah, the +Emperor of Delhi, in marriage for his son, Nasr-ullah, he was met with +the answer that for alliance with a Princess of the Imperial house of +Timor a genealogy of seven generations was required. 'Tell him,' said +Nadir, 'that Nasr-ullah is the son of Nadir Shah, the son of the sword, +the grandson of the sword, and so on till they have a descent of +seventy, instead of seven generations.' Nadir, the man of action and +blood and iron, had the greatest contempt for the weak, dissolute Mahmud +Shah, who, according to the native historian of the time, was 'never +without a mistress in his arms and a glass in his hand,' a debauchee of +the lowest type, as well as a mere puppet King. In the end the demon of +suspicion poisoned the mind of Nadir to such an extent that he became +madly murderous, and assassination ended his life. The Persians say that +he began as a deliverer and ended as a destroyer. + +As a people, the Persians are of a happy disposition and bright +imagination, doubtless produced by the dry, clear air of their high +tableland, which relieves from dullness and depression. They enjoy a +joke and laugh heartily, and they are able to see that most things have +their comic side. The late Shah was quick to show the merry look of +appreciation when something amusing was said. At the Nauroz Court +reception of the Corps Diplomatique all the Legations, headed by the +Turkish Embassy, were ranged in a semicircle in front of the Shah, and +after the congratulatory address was delivered by the Sultan's +Ambassador, his Majesty advanced and walked round slowly, pausing to say +a few words to each Minister. His face lit up with animation when he +spoke to one whom he knew to be able to reply in the Persian tongue. On +one occasion, after speaking with the Ottoman Ambassador, who is always +a Persian linguist (Persian being an obligatory subject of qualification +for the Tehran post), he passed on to a Minister who was a good Persian +scholar. Further on he found an equally well--qualified colloquial +proficient in another; and on finding himself before a well-known very +clever diplomatist for whom he had a great personal liking, he smiled +and said pleasantly, 'Have you learnt any Persian yet?' The Minister +bowed, and, looking duly serious, said in Persian, 'I know something.' +The Minister meant to say that he knew a little, but the word +'something,' as used, could be taken, as in English, to signify 'a thing +or two.' Such a meaning from the diplomatist who spoke was quite +appropriate, and the Shah laughed softly and looked much amused. + +As another instance (but in this case of grim humour) of seeing the +comic side, a Prince Governor of a province, sitting in judgment, +ordered a merchant to pay a fine of fifty tomans, but, though well known +to be rich, he protested his utter inability to pay, saying he had never +seen such a sum of money, and begged for some other punishment which the +Prince in his wisdom and mercy would command. His Highness then +suggested a choice of eating fifty raw onions, or eating fifty sticks +(the Oriental mode of expression when speaking of bastinado strokes), or +paying the fifty tomans. Persians are fond of raw onions, those they eat +being small, and the merchant enjoyed the prospect of thus saving his +money. He thought that the punishment had been ordered in ignorance, so, +concealing his feeling of happy surprise, and affecting fear, he +elected for onions. He struggled hard with them, but could not swallow +more than half the number. He was then asked to pay the fine, but he +claimed his further choice of the fifty sticks. Triced up, he underwent +the pain of twenty-five well laid on to the soles of his feet, and then +called out that he would willingly pay the fifty tomans to have no more. +On this he was cast loose, and the Prince said, 'You fool! you had a +choice of one of three punishments, and you took all three.' + +Persian servants regard their fixed pay as but a retaining fee, and look +for their real wages in perquisites. They show considerable ingenuity +and brightness of idea in reasons for purchasing this, that, and the +other thing, not really required, but affording opportunities for +'pickings.' A new head-servant, on looking round his master's premises, +and seeing no opening for a fresh purchase, at last cast his eye on the +fowls, kept to secure a supply of fresh eggs, instead of the doubtful +ones bought in the bazaar. He introduced stale eggs into the fowl-house, +and on their condition being remarked at breakfast, he gravely explained +that he had noticed the hens were old, and it sometimes happened that +old hens laid stale eggs, whereas young hens always laid fresh eggs; so +he suggested clearing out the fowl-house and restocking it with young +poultry. + +The leisure time the servants have is not always well spent, it is true, +but they have ideas of imagination and sentiment, which in some degree +is suggestive of refinement. I have seen this shown in their love of +singing birds, and their dandy ways of dress; for some of them are very +particular as to the cut of a coat and the fit of a hat. I have +sometimes been interested in seeing them carefully tending their pet +nightingales, cleaning the cages, and decking them out with bits of +coloured cloth and any flowers in season. In November I saw quite a +dozen cages thus brightened, each with its brisk-looking nightingale +occupant, put out in the sunshine in the courtyard; and on asking about +such a collection of cages, was told rather shyly, as if fearing a smile +at their sentimental ways, that there was an afternoon tea that day in +the neighbourhood, to which the nightingales and their owners were +going. These singing-bird-parties are held in the underground rooms of +houses, which are cool in summer and warm in winter, and I imagine the +company and rivalry of a number of birds in the semi-darkness, with +glimmering light from the 'kalian' pipes, and the bubbling of water in +the pipe-bowls, and the boiling samovar tea-urns, all combine to cheat +the birds pleasantly into believing that it is night-time in the spring +song-season. + +The Persian poets brought the nightingale much into their songs of +praise of earthly joys. The bulbul, of which they wrote and sang, was +the European nightingale, which visits Persia in spring to sing and love +and nest. They pass as far South as Shiraz, where they meet the plump +little Indian bulbul, which is often mistaken for the Shiraz poets' +singing-bird. The word is applied to both species in India and Persia, +but the birds are quite different in shape, plumage, and voice. They +meet at Shiraz, a place which possesses a climate so temperate and +equable as to bring together the birds and fruits of the East and West, +North and South; for there I saw and heard the Indian bulbul and the +hoopoe, the European nightingale, the cuckoo, and the magpie, and I know +that the fruits range from apples to dates. + +The nightingale is the favourite pet singing-bird of the Persians. I had +good information regarding the manner of obtaining them for cage +purposes from some small boys who were engaged picking roses in a +rose-garden at Ujjatabod, near Yezd. There are two large rose-gardens in +that oasis in the Yezd Desert, where the manufacture of rose-water and +the attar essence is carried on. The gardens are appropriately favourite +haunts of the nightingales on their return with the season of gladness +from their winter resorts in the woods of the Caspian coast. The Persian +poets tell of the passionate love of the nightingale for the scented +rose, and in fanciful figure of speech make the full-blossomed flower +complain of too much kissing from its bird-lover, so that its sweetness +goes, and its beauty fades far too sadly soon. The boys told me of the +number of family pairs, their nests and eggs, and said that they took +the young male birds when fully fledged and about to leave the nest, and +brought them up by hand at first, till able to feed themselves. There is +a great demand in the towns for the young nightingales, which in Persia +sing well in captivity, so rarely the case with the bird in Europe. The +shopkeepers like to have their pet birds by them, and in the nesting +season they may be heard all over the bazaars, singing sweetly and +longingly for the partners they know of by instinct, but never meet. + +There is much pleasing romance and sentiment in the popular idea +regarding the origin of the national emblem, Sher o Khurshed (the Lion +and the Sun). The following legend concerning it was told to me by the +Malik-ut-Tujjar, or Master of the Merchants of Tehran, a gentleman well +versed in Persian history, literature, and lore, and who spoke with all +the enthusiasm of national pride. When the first monarchy of Ajam +(Persia) was founded by Kai Uramas, some five thousand years ago, the +sun was in the sign of Asad (Leo), the highest tower in the heavens, and +the lion was therefore taken as the Persian emblem, and it so remained +without the sun over it, as now shown, till about six hundred years ago. +Ghazan Khan, who then reigned as King, was so attached to his wife, the +Queen Khurshed (the Sun), that he desired to perpetuate her name by +putting it on the coins he struck; but the Ulema objected to a woman's +name on the King's coin, whereupon he decided to put her face on a +rising sun above the national emblem of the lion, as now seen in the +well-known royal arms of Persia. The story is that King Ghazan's +affection for his Queen, Khurshed, was such that he styled her Sham'bu +Ghazan (the Light of Ghazan). + +This may have been the origin of the expression Khurshed Kullah, or +Sun-crowned, which I have seen stated is a term that was used to denote +the Sovereign of an empire, but from the fact of the features and style +of dressing the hair shown in the sun-picture being those of a woman, I +think the title may be regarded as applied only to queens. Catherine II. +of Russia, from the magnificence of her Court, her beauty and ambition, +and her fame in love and war, was known in Persia during her lifetime as +Khurshed Kullah, and she is still designated by that title. + +I would here mention another instance of a Mohammedan monarch desiring +to publish to his people in the most sovereign manner his high regard +for a wife by putting her name on the current coin. The reign of the +Emperor Jehangir, son of Akbar the Great, the founder of the Moghul +Empire in India and the builder of Agra, was chiefly remarkable for the +influence exercised over him by his favourite wife, Nur Mahal, the Light +of the Harem, immortalized by Moore in 'Lalla Rookh.' The currency was +struck in her name, and we are also told that in her hands centred all +the intrigues that make up the work of Oriental administration. She lies +buried by the side of her husband at Lahore, the capital of the Punjab. + +The subject of Ghazan Khan's succession to the throne of Persia is an +unusually interesting one. He was a Moghul chief of the line of Chengiz +Khan, and, holding Persia in tributary dependence for his sovereign +master the Khakan, was at the head of one hundred thousand tried Tartar +warriors. Persia was then Mohammedan, and the proposal was made to him +to join the new faith, and become the King-elect of an independent Iran. +He consulted his commanders, and then decided to enter Islam and become +King. His apostasy was followed by the instant conversion of his hundred +thousand men, who, with the true spirit of Tartar soldiers, followed +their leader into the pale of Islam, and soon became the active +supporters of the faith which they had so suddenly embraced. We can +imagine the triumphant joy of the proselytizing priests as they passed +down the crowded ranks of the time-hardened, weather-proof warrior sons +of the bow and spear, who on June 17, 1265, paraded at Firozkoh, where +the Tartar host was then encamped, to repeat the Mohammedan confession +of faith. To them the learning of the Arabic words must have been the +severest exercise they had ever been called upon to practise, and it is +easy to think of the muttered swearing among the puzzled veterans that +what was good enough for their leader was good enough for them, and that +they were ready to do as he had done, without further talk or ceremony. +Islam was then most actively aggressive, extending by the argument of +smooth speech or sharp sword, as occasion demanded, and the Moullas must +have regarded with enthusiastic pride the glorious reinforcement they +had brought to its armies by the consecration of such a splendid warrior +host to the service of their Church. + +Ghazan Khan was the first of this race of kings from the line of Chengiz +who threw off all allegiance to Tartary by directing that the name of +the monarch of that empire should not in future be put on the Persian +coins. On the coins which he struck, the Mohammedan creed, 'There is no +God but God, and Mohammed is His Prophet,' was inscribed instead of the +name and titles of the Khakan. He had not the courage of his heart's +desire to strike his wife's name on the coins, as Jehangir did, but he +was differently placed, in that, as a fresh convert and a new King by +the favour of Islam, he felt himself unable to put aside the priests who +had bribed him with a crown. Malcolm, in remarking on Ghazan Khan's +accession to the throne of Persia, says that Henry IV. of France +similarly changed his creed to secure the crown. + +Ghazan Khan reigned about the middle of the thirteenth century, and was +known in Europe for his supposed readiness to assist in re-establishing +the Christians in the Holy Land. He was deemed a wise and just Prince, +and it is believed that his policy led him to seek the aid of the States +of Europe in order to improve the position and condition of himself and +his kingdom. It is said that Pope Boniface VIII endeavoured by a display +of his connection with Ghazan Khan to excite the Christian princes to +another Crusade, and it was probably this connection with the head of +the Christian Church which led to a general impression among Western +writers that Ghazan Khan was not sincere in his conversion to +Mohammedanism, and was at heart a Christian. There is reason to think +that the secret spring of his action was to weaken the Egyptian Empire, +which he regarded as hostile and dangerous to himself and Persia. It is +not clear whether Ghazan Khan apostatized from the religion of his +ancestors or that of the Christians, but he is believed to have been +attached all his life to the latter faith, though he does not appear to +have made a public declaration of his belief in its doctrines. He +professed Mohammedanism in order to obtain the crown, but his life had +been passed in friendship with Christians, and in wars with the +followers of the faith he adopted. + +Xenophon mentions that the royal emblem of Persia from early times was a +golden eagle with outstretched wings, resting on a spearhead like the +Roman eagle, but he makes no allusion to a standard. Persian historians +tell of a famous standard carried from the mythical time of Zohak to +that of the last of the Pehlevi kings. Their story is that Kawah, a +blacksmith, raised a successful revolt against the implacably cruel King +Zohak in the earliest time of Persian sovereignty, and relieved the +country from his terrible tyranny by putting him to death. The +victorious blacksmith then placed on the throne Faridun, a Prince of the +Peshdadian dynasty, who adopted his apron, which had been the standard +of revolt, as the royal banner of Persia. As such it was said to be +richly ornamented with jewels, to which every king, from Faridun +to the last of the Pehlevi monarchs, added. It was called the +Durafsh-i-Kawah[1] (the Standard of Kawah), and continued to be the +royal standard of Persia till the Mohammedan conquest, when it was taken +in battle by Saad-e-Wakass, and sent to the Khalif Omar. Malcolm said +that the causes which led to the sign of Sol in Leo becoming the arms of +Persia could not be distinctly traced, but thought there was reason to +believe that the use of this symbol was not of very great antiquity. He +said, with reference to it being upon the coins of one of the Seljukian +dynasty of Iconium, that when this family was destroyed by Halaku, +the grandson of Chengiz, it was far from improbable that that Prince or +his successor adopted this emblematical representation as a trophy of +his conquest, and that it has remained ever since among the most +remarkable of the royal insignia of Persia. He also mentioned the +opinion that this representation of Sol in Leo was first adopted by +Ghiat-u-din-Kai-Khusru-bin-Kai-Kobad, 1236 A.D., and that the emblem is +supposed to have reference either to his own horoscope or that of his +Queen, who was a Princess of Georgia. This approaches the legend told by +the Malik-ut-Tujjar of Tehran, for the face depicted on Sol is that of a +woman. + +[Transcriber's note 1: The original text has Durnfsh-i-Kawah. The original +Farsi is Derafsh-i-Kaviani. The typesetter must have read an +'a' as an 'n'. Durnfsh is otherwise unpronounceable.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +--The Order of the Lion and the Sun +--Rex and Dido +--Dervishes +--Endurance of Persian horses +--The Shah's stables +--The sanctuary of the stable +--Long distance races +--A country of horses +--The _gymkhana_ in Tehran +--Olive industry near Resht +--Return journey +--Grosnoje oil-field +--Russian railway travelling +--Improved communication with Tehran. + + +The distinguished Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted +by Fateh Ali Shah, in honour of Sir John Malcolm, on his second mission +to the Court of Persia in 1810, in company with Pottinger, Christie, +Macdonald-Kinneir, Monteith, and other British officers, who rendered +excellent service to Persia in organizing a body of her troops. These +officers were followed by others, who in 1834, under Sir Henry Lyndsay +Bethune, led the troops they had trained against the Pretenders who, on +the death of Fateh Ali Shah, opposed the succession of the Vali Ahd +(heir-apparent), Mohamed Shah, father of the late Sovereign. The +Pretenders were defeated by Sir Lyndsay Bethune, and thus England +established the stability of the throne of the Kajars in the direct +line, and carried out the will of the great Fateh Ali Shah, who had +appointed his grandson to succeed him after the death of his son, Abbas +Mirza. During all the changes since Mohamed Shah's accession, Persia has +always had reason to regard England as a friendly neighbour who has no +aggressive designs against her. This feeling must have become conviction +on finding that the defeat she suffered in 1856 caused her no loss of +territory in the South, and the Order of the Lion and the Sun continues +to be a signal sign of strong friendship between the two nations. + +There are two great St. Bernard dogs belonging to the British Minister +at Tehran, which, by their leonine appearance and tawny red colour, +massive forms and large limbs, have made a remarkable impression on the +imaginative Persian mind. They are dogs of long pedigree, being son and +daughter of two famous class champions. Never being tied up, but +allowed full freedom, they are perfectly quiet and good-natured, though +at first sight, to the nervous, they may look doubtful, if not +dangerous. These powerful giant dogs accompany the Minister's wife in +her walks, and seem to know that they are to guard and protect; showy, +gay Rex precedes, with his head up and eyes all about, while Dido +follows, with head down, lioness-like, watchful and suspicious. Painful +experience has taught the street-scavenger curs, which dash savagely at +strange dogs, to slink away at the sight of this pair of champions, and +the passers-by, who, as Mohammedans, are merciless to dogs, treat them +as quite different from the dog they despise, so that they walk along +feared and respected by all, man and dog alike. A Persian gentleman, +riding past with his mounted followers, drew up at the sight of these +St. Bernards, and said, 'I would give the finest Kerman shawl, or the +very best Persian horse, for a puppy dog of that breed.' + +[Illustration: A MENDICANT DERVISH OF TEHRAN] + +Some of the mendicant dervishes of Tehran are of wild look, with matted +locks, and with howling voice go about demanding, not begging, alms. +They regard a giver as under some obligation to them, for affording him +the means of observance of a duty imposed by religion. These stalk along +defiantly, carrying club or axe, and often present a disagreeable +appearance. One of them came suddenly by a side-path behind the +Minister's wife, and followed, yelling out his cry of 'Hakk, hakk!' It +was almost dark, and he did not see the great dogs, which had gone +ahead. His cry and continued close-following steps were disturbing, so I +turned and asked him either to go on at once or keep farther back. He +frowned at what no doubt he considered my bad taste in objecting to his +pleasing and superior presence, and hastened his pace a little to pass, +but stopped suddenly on seeing the 'lion-dogs' belonging to the +Janab-i-Khanum-i-Sifarat (the Lady Excellency of the Legation), and +asked to be allowed to follow us, saying he would be perfectly quiet. On +reaching the Legation gate, and seeing his way clear, the dogs having +entered, he left, saying gently, 'Goodnight; God be with you.' + +Formerly a lady could hardly walk about without some little fear of look +or laugh calculated to annoy. This is often the case in a Mohammedan +country, the meaning being that the figure and face should be shrouded +and veiled. But in presence of Rex and Dido there is no sign of the +light look or laugh; on the contrary, there is rather the respectful +gesture of, 'The road is free to thee.' The vivid imagination of the +Persian pictures the group as personifying the Imperial arms, the Lady +with the Royal guard, the Lion of Iran. + +Before the warriors of the Mehdi made the term 'dervish' better known, +it was commonly understood to signify a beggar. But though the +derivation is 'before the door,' yet this does not mean begging from +door to door. The dervish originally was a disciple who freed himself +from all family ties, and set forth without purse or scrip to tell of a +new faith among a friendly people, and to tarry here or there as a +welcome guest. In due course he developed into a regular soldier of the +Church, and as schisms arose and the fires of religious animosities were +kindled, various orders of fighting fanatics, calling themselves +dervishes, sprang into existence. Such were the Ismailis, first known as +the Hassanis, in Persia, in the eleventh century, similar in character +to the present dervishes of the Soudan. In the more favourable sense of +the word, the true dervishes of to-day in Persia represent the spiritual +and mystic side of Islam, and there are several orders of such, with +members who belong to the highest and wealthiest ranks. + +In the time of Fateh Ali Shah, the mendicant dervishes, who were then as +numerous and profligate in Persia as vagrant monks used to be in Spain +and Italy, became such a pest that one of the first acts of his +successor, Mahomed Shah, was to direct that no beggars should be +tolerated except the lame, the sick, and the blind, and that all +able-bodied men appearing in dervish garb were to be seized for military +service. The profession fell out of fashion then, and there are now +comparatively few mendicant dervishes to be seen. Those that still wear +the 'ragged robe' do not all appear to follow the rules of poverty, +self-denial, abstinence, and celibacy. One there was, a negro from +'darkest Africa,' who attached himself as a charity-pensioner to the +British Legation in Tehran, and was to be seen in all weathers, snow and +sunshine, fantastically dressed, chattering and chuckling in real Sambo +style. He knew that his religious cry of 'Ya Hoo' was characteristic of +him, and he was always ready to shout it out to the 'Ingleez,' whose +generosity he had reason to appreciate. He had a story of being a prince +of fallen fortune, who was kidnapped in Central Africa, traded and +bartered across Arabia, and abandoned in North Persia. He was known as +the Black Prince. During the cholera epidemic of 1892, he took up his +residence under some shady chenar-trees of great age, a recognised +resting-place for dervishes, close to the summer-quarters of the English +Legation at Gulhek, in the vicinity of Tehran. One day he sat outside +the gate and poured forth a pitiable tale of the death of his wife from +cholera during the night, and begged for money to pay for her burial. +Having made his collection, he disappeared at nightfall, leaving his +dead partner under the chenar-trees, and it was then discovered that he +had possessed two wives, who called him _agha_, or master, and he had +departed with the survivor, leaving the other to be buried by strangers. +After that he was known as the Prince of Darkness. + +The privileged beggars or mendicant dervishes of Tehran are not all of +the stained, soiled, dust-and-ashes description; some are occasionally +seen presenting a pleasing contrast in washed white garments, and of +neat appearance. There was one such in Tehran, a well-known cheerful old +man, who looked as if he could, in quiet company, tell entertaining +stones, for recitation is adopted by some of these wandering dervishes +as a pleasant means of livelihood, and many of them in the storytelling +art show considerable talent, cultivated taste, and retentive memory. +But, to be successful, they must be able to indulge in variations of +their old stories by the introduction of new incidents which they have +heard or invented. One who is known for good style is always welcomed at +the many tea-shops and gardens in village and town. + +[Illustration: A DERVISH STORY-TELLER OF TEHRAN] + +In a most unlikely spot, on a long stretch of sand in the Yezd Desert, I +met a well-dressed dervish in clean, cool white clothes, who stopped on +perceiving that I was a 'Firanghi,' and, gently swaying his neat +dervish-dole dish, said quietly, 'Charity; alms are as dew-drops from +the heavens,' a most appropriate speech in the sandy waterless waste. +Membership with the higher dervish orders appears to signify and +convey something of the character of Freemasonry. I know of one +highly-placed Persian gentleman who is a dervish, and also of a European +gentleman of Oriental light and learning who has been admitted to the +same order. A famous Prime Minister of Persia in past time, Haji Mirza +Aghasi, was a well-known but rather eccentric dervish. My knowledge of +this was the means, on one occasion, of averting a disagreeable display +of violence by a gay sort of madcap, the relative of a post-house +master, who had attached himself as groom to the stable establishment. +My smart Armenian servant, who was equally good as groom or table +attendant, had taken off his warm pea-jacket to help in bracing up the +loads on my baggage post-horses, which were to be driven loose at a +canter, the usual practice when riding post with extra baggage. A +powerful, merry-talking groom, who came forward with the horses, picked +up the jacket and put it on, saying that the morning was cold. And so it +was, for the month was November. When all was ready for a start, my +servant asked him for the jacket, but the laughing _diwana_, or +eccentric fellow, said it was a gift to him, and refused to part with +it. Warm words passed, and I intervened and told him to drop his +dervish ways and give back the jacket. The _diwana_ became excited, and +shouted to all who were standing by that I had called him a dervish, and +had hurt his feelings badly. I then told him he was hard to please, as +surely a High Vazir was good enough to be compared with, for was it not +true that the famous Haji Mirza Aghasi was of the noble order of +dervishes. He took in slowly what I said, then smiled, and gave back the +jacket with a good grace. The Persians have a proverb similar to our own +regarding giving to beggars, '_Avval khesh, baad darvesh_' (First our +own, then the beggar. Charity begins at home). + +The ordinary Persian horses are small, but very wiry and enduring. In +harness they are also capable of very long journeys in light draught, as +proved in the carriage service between Tehran and Kasvin. The distance +is about ninety-seven miles, divided into six stages. On arriving at one +of these, I found that all the posting horses had been taken by a +Russian Mohammedan merchant who was travelling ahead of me in great +style, with five carriages. I had two vehicles, one a carriage for +myself, and the other a _tarantass_ for my servant and luggage, each +drawn by three horses. There was considerable traffic on the road then, +and the horses had only a few hours in the stable between 'turns.' It +was night when I arrived at the post-house, and though anxious to go on, +I had no option but to remain there till the horses should come back +from the next stage. On their return, after three hours' rest and a feed +of barley, six took my carriage and waggon to the next post-house, +sixteen miles, where again I found an empty stable, the horses which had +gone with the party ahead of me not having come back. On inquiring +judiciously from the post-house master if the horses which had brought +me from the last stage were able to do another, I was told that with an +hour's rest and an extra feed they would be ready to go on. And they +travelled the second stage well, showing no signs of distress. These +horses had done sixteen miles in draught, and sixteen miles in cantering +back to their stable during the evening and night; then thirty-two miles +in draught with me in the morning, and after a short rest were to return +the same distance to their own stable, all in double-quick time. + +I had the privilege of again seeing what I consider one of the most +interesting sights in Persia, the stables of his Majesty the Shah. They +contain the very best blood in Asia, and comprise the pick of the finest +horses in Arabia, Persia, Kurdistan, Karadagh, Khorasan, and the +Turkoman country, also the choicest home-breds from the horse-farms +belonging to the late Shah and his sons, the present Shah and the +Zil-es-Sultan, all of them great horse fanciers and breeders. The late +Shah had three breeding establishments: one in the vicinity of Tehran, +another near Hamadan, and the third at Maragha, in Azerbaijan, where the +pasture is good. In each of these there are said to be about one +thousand mares and foals. There is no part of the establishment of a +monarch of Persia to which more attention is paid than his horses. They +are always placed under the care of an officer of high rank, who is +styled Mir Akhor. + +The Mir Akhor (Master of the Horse), Mohamed Hussein Mirza, a Prince of +royal blood, shows by his intimate knowledge of the history of each +horse, and the good condition of all and everything under his care, that +he loves his charge well. We were first shown the racing-stud, called +_mal-i-shart_ (race-horses), thirteen in number, all in hard condition +(the Persian expression is, 'as hard as marble'), and showing good bone +and much muscle. They were Arabs, but not all imported from Arabia, some +being bred from pure stock in the late Shah's establishments. The royal +races are held at Doshan Tepe, six miles from Tehran, where there is a +soft sand-soil course, said to be a two-mile one, but the correct +measurement is one and a half miles. The Persians breed and train for +long-distance speed and endurance, and the races at Doshan Tepe are from +three to nine miles. The Prince pointed out the last winner of the +nine-mile race, saying that he ran it in twenty-five minutes. This horse +was a well-shaped, warm gray Arab, with black points. He, with a darker +gray and a chestnut, all Arabs of pure breed from Nejd, none of which it +is said can be obtained except by free gift, or rare capture in war, +took the eye most with their make and shape. All were ridden slowly +round the yard by their 'feather-weight' jockey-boys, dressed in red +racing-jackets and blue breeches, with long, soft leather boots, and +coloured handkerchiefs bound tightly round their heads in place of +caps. I think these _shart_ horses in the royal stables, which are +always kept in galloping-condition, are the outcome of the old days of +flight or fight, when it was necessary to be always prepared for raid, +attack, or treachery, and so often man's best friend in pressing need +was his horse. + + 'A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!' + + +After the racing stud came the riding-horses, sixty-two in all: +deer-like Arabs of the best desert blood of Nejd and Anizah, and others +of a stouter build from the country of the Jaf Kurds; selected +cross-breeds from Persian and Turkish Kurdistan, and bigger-boned +animals from the Karadagh, the result of a strong strain of good +Northern blood. There were some long, low, powerful Yamut and other +breeds from the Turkoman country, and some good-looking active small +horses from Khorasan. From the Kashkai breeding-grounds near Shiraz were +shown some fine big horses of high quality, also neat, stout mixed +breeds from the hills and plains of Luristan and Persian Arabistan; and +Arabs of the best type, bred from 'blood stock' by the Shah's sons, +also choice specimens from the royal home farms. + +Three gray Arabs, favourites of the late Shah, were brought out, set off +with gold collars, and their points were gone over to show how +powerfully safe they were as riding-horses on the hillside and the +plain. One of them was said to be getting too old for good work, but he +was bursting so with flesh and spirits that he threw out before and let +out behind in such vigorous wide-circling style as to scatter the crowd +of spectators, _gholams_, guards, and grooms. The most powerful and +best-shaped among the riding-horses, in my opinion, were a Jaf (Kurd) +dappled gray, and two big gray Turkomans, the latter very deep in the +girth, and distinguished by the long, fine neck so common to their +class, and rather large but lean heads, showing blood and breeding. The +Turkomans say that the superior size and strength of their horses over +others are due to the rich grass of their pasturelands, I may conclude +this short account of the royal stud by mentioning that, as Persia is +essentially a country of horses and horsemen, every foreign Minister on +first arrival and presentation to the Shah receives the gift of a horse +from his Majesty's stables. All these horses had their tails plaited or +tied up. The Persians never cut a horse's tail, but tie it up, which not +only improves the animal's appearance, but prevents the tail trailing on +the ground, or being whisked about when wet or dirty, to the annoyance +of the rider. The tail is only knotted up when the horse is made ready +for riding, otherwise it remains loose, to be used for flipping off +flies. + +The stable of the King is deemed one of the most sacred of sanctuaries, +and this usage continues in force to the present time. The stables of +the foreign Legations are also regarded, by reason of the Ilchi-Envoy +representative sovereign character, as affording a similar asylum, and +in 1890 I was witness to protection being thus claimed in the stable of +the British Minister. The military tribes of Persia have always regarded +this sanctuary of the stable with the most superstitious reverence. 'A +horse,' they say, 'will never bear him to victory by whom it is +violated.' In a Persian MS. referred to by Malcolm, all the misfortunes +of Nadir Mirza, the grandson of Nadir Shah, are attributed to his having +violated the honour of the stable by putting to death a person who had +taken refuge there. The same writer says that the fleeing criminal finds +a place of safety at the head of the horse even when tied up in the open +air; the fugitive touches the headstall, and is safe so long as he +remains there. Malcolm again tells us of what is still observed, that it +is not unusual for those of the military tribes who desire to show their +respect at the funerals of chiefs and soldiers of high reputation to +send a horse without a rider, but with arms upon the saddle, to swell +the train of the mourning cavalcade. The favourite charger of the +departed warrior, carrying his arms and clothes, accompanies the +procession; the sheepskin cap he wore is placed on the pommel of his +saddle; his scarf sash, or _kumarbund,_ is bound round the horse's neck, +and his boots are laid across the saddle. In all this may be seen the +origin of similar customs now followed by the most civilized nations, +and of the regard in which the horse is held as 'the noble animal.' + +The late Shah had not a single English or European riding-horse in his +stables, nor are any such seen in the country except some from +Russia--heavy, coarse animals, bred in the Don districts, and used for +carriage purposes. The artillery with the Persian Cossack brigade at +Tehran also have a few Russian horses. Nasr-ed-Din had such a high +appreciation of Arab and Eastern horses, of which he was in a position +to get the very best, that he found it difficult to understand what he +considered the fancy prices paid in England for racing stock. The story +is told that when he was shown Ormonde at Eaton Hall, in 1889, and was +informed that L14,000 had been offered for him, he tapped the ground +briskly with his cane, and said in a vivacious manner: 'What! L14,000 +offered for him? Sell him, sell him now to-day. Why, he may be dead +to-morrow.' He would have been astonished to hear that Ormonde +afterwards changed owners at the advanced price of about L30,000. + +In speaking to two friends, competent judges of such matters, about the +breeding and training for long-distance races in Persia, and the time in +which it was said the nine miles had been run, I found that, while one +thought the time might be reasonably correct, the other was more than +doubtful. I have since then seen in the _Journal of the United Service +Institution of India_, 1886, a paper on 'Horse-breeding in Central Asia, +translated from the Russian of Kostenko by W.E.G.,' in which the +following details regarding the Kirghiz race-meetings and the pace and +staying powers of their horses are given. M. Kostenko mentions that the +details are taken from an article by M. Garder in the _Voyenni Sbornik_ +for 1875. He says that among the Inner Kirghiz Horde, races for prizes +were instituted by the Minister of State Domains, beginning with the +year 1851. On October 4 of the same year a circular course measuring +four miles was made, and the horses ran five times round it. The winner +did the 20 miles in 48 minutes and 45 seconds. Commencing with 1853, the +races were run over a distance of 13-1/3 miles on a circular course, and +of these races detailed information from 1869 was obtained. + +The greatest speed was recorded on October 2, 1853, when the distance +(13-1/3 miles) was done in 27 minutes and 30 seconds. The longest time, +on the other hand, was 39 minutes 30 seconds. + +The Chief Administration of the State Studs did not credit the +information sent from the Horde, so that in 1856 there was sent to the +sitting committee a second metre, for the speed to be followed on it, +the circumference of the circle having been previously measured. The +president of the committee repotted that the measurement of the course +was correct, except that in every 4 versts (2-2/3 miles) it was out +17-1/2 feet. The deficiency was then made good. Accordingly, on October +2 a trial was held, at which the speed was checked with the aid of the +second metre that had been forwarded, and several watches with +seconds-hands. These showed the 13-1/3 miles run in 31 minutes. Of +nineteen races run over this course, the average time was 33 minutes 40 +seconds. + +In 1861 a race was run over another circular course, measuring about +3-1/2 miles, five times round. The mare that won performed the +distance--about 17 miles--in 48 minutes 45 seconds. In the Kalmak +_uluses_ (groups of nomad tents) of the Astrachan Government, races of +10 miles have been held. The greatest speed recorded was in 1864, viz., +23 minutes 56 seconds; the longest time was in the same year, viz., 27 +minutes. The average time between 1862 and 1865, and 1867 and 1869, was +25 minutes 15 seconds. + +The riders in these races are lads of not more than ten or twelve years +of age. They are in no way specially trained, as from early age they are +always riding, and grow up in good condition for hard exercise. Their +weights range from four to six stone. + +The Persians are a nation of horsemen still, and most of them can ride +well. All the migratory tribes breed horses, and such is the habit of +observation of horses in the country, that, as a rule, a man is known by +his horse, just as in some parts of England a man is known by his dog. +Owing to the notice thus taken of a man's horse, a party of nomad +brigands who carried off all my baggage-train in 1890 were discovered +and hunted down. There is a road guard service for all the King's +highways in Persia, and an annual fixed sum is allowed for its +maintenance. Officials with influence among the neighbouring nomads farm +this service on the main roads, and entertain a certain number of +'black-mail' men for each stage from the various tribal sections to keep +watch and ward. The official who farms the road guard service is held +liable to pay compensation for losses by robbery, and this stimulates +the energies of all to recover stolen property and to keep the highways +safe and secure. Incidents of robbery occasionally happen, but, all +things considered, the system may be said to work fairly well, as +instanced in the recovery of my baggage. + +I had taken a short-cut over the hills to avoid some miles of circuit by +the highroad, and on the way I met the relieved Governor of Luristan +returning to Tehran, with a long train of well-guarded laden mules. Some +little distance behind them came three mounted nomads, armed with +Martini-Henry rifles (the common arm now in Persia), and showing +well-filled cartridge belts. They rode up to me and my party, consisting +of a _gholam_ courier and two servants, all mounted. One of the nomads, +riding a chestnut mare, while examining me intently, dropped a short +stick which he carried, alongside of me, and on dismounting to pick it +up, his mare wheeled round towards me, and I saw that she had lost her +right eye. We passed on, and shortly rejoined the highroad, and when +close to the next halting stage, a post-boy, driving three loose +post-horses before him, galloped up to say that he had seen my baggage +mules driven off the highroad by five armed nomads. The road guards were +called, and on hearing my description of the three men we had met, and +that one of them was riding a one-eyed chestnut mare, they at once said, +'Kara Beg and his sons are in this,' and rode off to follow the trail. +Almost all my luggage was recovered that night, and Kara Beg was hunted +hard, and disappeared. He had been suspected of several robberies +carefully carried out, so that detection was difficult; but in my case +it appeared that he had hung on to the rear of the Luristan Governor's +baggage without being able to steal anything, and when disappointment +had made his men sore and reckless, they followed up my mules, which had +no guard, and carried them off. The tribal road guards knew where to +find him and his men, and soon had most of the plundered property back. +The recovery was due to identification of his mare. + +The English national love of sport has lately introduced into Tehran the +popular _gymkhana_, an institution which hails from India, where it is +English enterprise under an Indian name. The British Legation has +started this amusement, and it seems to provide energy for many who had +longed for some fresh outdoor exercise, but could not organize it. Now, +when weather permits, there are weekly gatherings for variety races, +tent-pegging, and paper-chases. A very amusing and effective novelty, +which I saw there for the first time, was a donkey tug-of-war. This new +'gym' was imported by a sporting young diplomatic secretary, who had +lately arrived from Cairo, where he had seen it in full exercise. Tehran +has excellent riding-donkeys for hire, well turned out, and attended by +the usual smart-tongued youth. Eight donkeys, four a side, heading +outwards, all ridden by Europeans, mostly English, were engaged in this +sport. Neither whip nor spur was allowed. The rope was passed along +under the right arm, and held as each rider thought best. At the word +'_Off!'_ heels were brought into fast play on the donkeys' ribs to make +them move forward, and the scenes that followed were ludicrous and +exciting. Riders were pulled off backward, and, still hanging on to the +rope, they managed to remount and get again into the pulling line in +time to drag off someone on the opposite side, who had lost his balance +on the sudden 'go' forward from the lessened strain. This amusement was +a highly popular one with the laughing spectators. + +Our travelling-party on the outward journey had separated at Tehran, and +I travelled back homeward alone. I left Tehran in the middle of +November, and as there had been a heavy fall of snow some days before, I +quite expected to have a cold crossing of the Kharzan Pass over the +Elburz range. I did the journey to Kasvin comfortably in a carriage, and +rode thence to Resht in three days. I was unexpectedly fortunate in +finding that the bright weather had freed the road over the pass from +snow, and I had a perfect day, with still air, for that part of my ride. + +About halfway between Kasvin and Resht the road passes through the +extensive olive-groves of Rudbar, which for many centuries has been the +centre of a flourishing olive-oil and soap business. There are about +sixty villages in the district engaged in this industry; they possess +from eighty to one hundred thousand trees, each yielding on an average +from six to nine pounds' weight of fruit a year. The olive as a +fruit-tree has been known in Persia from a comparatively early period, +and it is not surprising to hear the villagers ascribe quite a fabulous +age to some of the old trees, just as in Italy some olives are credited +with an equally astonishing antiquity. + +To me it has appeared that the habit the olive has of sending up new +stems from the root of an old trunk--just as the chenar sycamore does in +Persia--may have made the old trees become young again, and thus +present, to succeeding generations in the villages, the look of the same +old trunks. Messrs. Kousis, Theophylactos and Co., of Baku, have +obtained a concession for pressing and refining olive-oil in this +district, and I observed the buildings which they are erecting for their +business rising on the right bank of the river there. + +Near Rudbar commences the thick growth of various hard-wood trees, which +flourish well in the damp soil of the Caspian slopes and lowlands, and +in November their foliage was surpassingly lovely, with many warm tints, +from delicate red to deep russet and shades of shot-green and brown. On +some of the high, thickly-wooded hills, the different colours ran in +well-defined belts, showing where particular kinds of trees had found +most favourable soil, and had grasped it to the exclusion of all others. + +About forty miles from the Caspian coast I fell in with rain and +mud--such mud as cannot be realized without being seen. I embarked at +Enzelli on board a small Russian steamer, the _Tehran_, which had taken +the place of one of the usual large vessels employed on the +mail-service. The sea was rising as I embarked, and I was lucky in +getting on board before the surf on the bar at the mouth of the lagoon +became impassable. The steamer had five hundred tons of iron cargo on +board, machinery for electric light and other purposes, intended for +Tehran, but which could not be landed owing to the rolling sea. It was +therefore carried back to Baku, a second time within a fortnight, for +accident had prevented it being landed on the previous voyage. + +There is always this risk of wind and weather preventing landing at +Enzelli. Proposals have been made to remove the bar sufficiently to +allow steamers of eight hundred tons to pass into the lagoon harbour; +but the expense of doing this, and keeping up dredgers, would be +great--too great, it is thought, to allow of any profitable return. The +same landing difficulties are experienced at Astara and Lenkoran, the +places of call between Enzelli and Baku. Should there be any intention +of eventually making a railway from the coast to Kasvin and Hamadan, +there to meet a line to Baghdad, then it would be the best course in +every way to connect Resht with Baku by a railway along the coast, +passing through Astara and Lenkoran. + +The coast country is famous for its rice, which could be extensively +cultivated, and the resources in forest and fishery produce are great. +There would be considerable local traffic as the country opened up, and +the through trade in oil from Baku would be a paying one. I believe the +Russians know that it would be cheaper to build a railway along this +coast-line of about three hundred miles, with such trade capabilities, +than, in the absence of harbours, to erect breakwaters, make sheltered +anchorages, and dredge navigation channels. For two-thirds of the +distance the line would lie in Russian territory. + +I met at Enzelli a foreign artist, whose acquaintance I had formed in +Tehran, where he made some good pictures of local life and scenery. He +was loud in his complaints of the elements--the heavy rain and the awful +mud. He had come down the road with a minimum of travelling comforts, +and had been rather miserable. On going off to the mail-boat in the +steam-launch, he vented his feelings of disgust with Persia by spitting +over the side towards the land, and saying, 'Ach! ach! what a country! +'May I never see it again!' When I reminded him of Tehran and its club, +he acknowledged that he had enjoyed his stay there, and appreciated the +place; but the rain and sea of mud at Resht had drowned and smothered +all his pleasant memories of Persia. + +The voyage to Baku was uneventful. There are two Astaras, one Persian, +the other Russian, with the frontier stream between them. The steamer +remained part of the night at the former place, and moved in the morning +three miles to the anchorage opposite the latter. There the Russian +Customs officers came on board to examine luggage. The first mate of the +steamer, a Swedish Finn, attended the search proceedings, and became +much interested In a rusty pistol which was found in the luggage of one +of the deck passengers. The question arose, Was the pistol loaded? and +he undertook to find out. He raised the hammer to full cock, and, +placing the muzzle in his mouth, he blew down the barrel, with his +finger on the cap nipple, to feel if the air passed through. He naively +explained to me the certainty of this mode of discovering whether a +percussion arm is loaded or not. In this instance the pistol was thought +to be loaded, but it was found to be only choked with rust. + +I had intended to return _via_ Constantinople, but on arrival at Baku I +learnt that the damage done to the railway between Tiflis and Batoum by +a storm of unprecedented fury and unusually heavy floods was so extended +and bad as to stop all traffic for a long time. I went to Oujari, a +station one hundred and sixty miles from Baku, where I was hospitably +entertained by Mr. Andrew Urquhart, a Scotch gentleman, established +there with a factory and hydraulic presses for the liquorice-root +industry, and from there I entered into telegraphic communication with +Tiflis to ascertain if I could get a carriage to Vladikavkas, so as to +join the railway and proceed home through Russia. There was such a +number of passengers detained at Tiflis, _en route_ to Batoum, and all +anxious to go to Vladikavkas by road, that I found I should have to wait +long for my turn. Accordingly, after six days' stay with my hospitable +friend, I went back to Baku and took steamer to Petrovsk, whence I +travelled by rail to Moscow and St. Petersburg on my way to England +_via_ Berlin. + +A great petroleum field is now being developed near Grosnoje, a station +on the Petrovsk Vladikavkas railway, north of the main Caucasus range; +and an English company has had the good fortune, after venturing much, +to find the fountain for which they and others have long looked. After +carrying on 'sounding' operations for some time, and sinking several +wells, oil was at length 'struck' towards the end of August at a depth +of three hundred and fifty feet, and it came up with such force as to +reach a height of five hundred feet above ground. The well was on a +hillside, and the valley below had been dammed up previously to form a +reservoir capable of holding a large supply of oil. But such was the +flow from the fountain, that after a few days it rose above the dam, +and, although every effort was made to raise and strengthen it, the oil +overflowed, and the top of the dyke was carried away. Millions of +gallons were lost, though on its course down the valley the oil +completely filled another reservoir, which had been prepared for the oil +of a rival company, but which never came from their own wells. +Eventually the main flow of oil found its own level in a low-lying piece +of ground, about four miles below the broken dam. + +As the fountain continued to flow with almost undiminished vigour, the +Governor of Grosnoje began to be alarmed at the damage which was being +done by this deluge of oil, and he therefore placed four hundred +soldiers at the disposal of the English engineer in charge, and by their +organized labour he was able to repair the dam, so that the flow of oil +was checked. A friend, from whom I received this account, visited the +place on November 27, and saw the fountain still playing to a height of +twenty feet, and also the lake of oil which had been formed. The lake +was about three hundred and fifty yards long, one hundred and twenty +yards wide, and from fifty to sixty feet deep. The fountain was still +playing on January 10, but it shortly afterwards ceased to flow. The +same company had another stroke of luck in again 'striking oil' last +month at another spot, some little distance from the original fountain, +while, strange to say, none of the other companies engaged in +prospecting for oil there have as yet succeeded in getting so much as a +gallon. All this flow of fortune to the one firm reads very like the +luck of Gilead Beck in the 'Golden Butterfly.' + +Mr. Stevens, H.B.M.'s Consul for the consular district of Batoum, shows +in his report for 1894 that the demand for naphtha fuel is increasing in +Russia at such a rate, owing to it being more and more widely adopted +for railways, steamers, factories, and other undertakings using +steam-power, that the time appears by no means far distant when the +Russian home market may be in a position to consume in the shape of fuel +almost the entire output of the wells of the Caspian, and he adds that +probably the supply will even be insufficient to meet the demand. With +all this in view, the value of the Grosnoje wells, situated as they are +on the main line of railway through the heart of Russia, is likely to +prove very great. + +I landed in a heavy snowstorm at Petrovsk on November 30, and found the +whole country under its winter sheet. Since October 1 all railway fares +and charges in Russia have been greatly reduced, and the policy now +appears to be to encourage travelling and traffic, which must result in +a general improvement of the minds and condition of the people. + +Railway travelling in Russia is now much cheaper than in any other +country; a through first-class ticket from the Caspian to St. +Petersburg, seventeen hundred miles, is but L4 10s., and the other +classes are low in proportion. The carriages are comfortable, and the +refreshment-rooms excellent. + +With accurate information as to the sailings from Petrovsk to Baku and +Enzelli, one can now go from London to Tehran in fourteen days. This, of +course, means steady travelling, frequent changes, a saddle-seat for +about one hundred miles (which can now be reduced to seventy-five), and +some previous experience of rough life, so as to reconcile the +traveller to the poor accommodation afforded in a Persian post-house. +But the Russian road, now under construction, will soon change the rough +ride into a fairly comfortable carriage-drive, with well-provided +post-houses for food and rest. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +I. + +--Shrine of Shah Abdul Azim +--Death of Nasr-ed-Din Shah +--Jemal-ed-Din in Tehran +--Shiahs and Sunnis +--Islam in Persia. + + +The famous shrine and sanctuary of Shah Abdul Azim, about five miles +from Tehran, is a very popular place of pilgrimage with the inhabitants +of the town, and its close neighbourhood to the crowded capital makes it +a great holiday, as well as religious, resort. This shrine has been +specially favoured by many sovereigns, and particularly by those of the +present dynasty. On the Mohammedan special weekly day of prayer and +mosque services, Friday, called Juma, or the day of the congregation, +Shah Abdul Azim is visited by great numbers of people. + +On Friday, May 1, this sanctuary was the scene of one of the saddest +events which has ever happened in Persia--the murder within its sacred +precincts of Nasr-ed-Din Shah, a monarch who was about to celebrate the +jubilee of a reign which will always be remembered, not only for its +remarkable length, but also for its peaceful character and general +popularity. The proof of this popularity is that Nasr-ed-Din Shah was +able to leave his country on three occasions for visits to Europe, and +returned each time to receive a welcome from his subjects. This in +itself is unprecedented in Eastern history. + +I little thought when I had the honour of conversing with him in October +last that it was possible that a King so admired and loved by his +people, and then looking forward with pride and pleasure to the +celebration of his approaching jubilee, should perish in their midst by +the hand of an assassin within five days of the event. + +Passing over what in the early years of his reign, through the +exigencies of the times and the pitfalls of intrigue, led to the +shedding of blood, we see in his later years a reluctance to inflict +capital or severe punishment which almost amounted to a serious fault. +I remember an instance of this in the case of a notorious highway +robber, guilty of many murders, who was spared so long, that it was only +on the bad effect of leniency becoming prominently dangerous to traders +and travellers that the extreme penalty was sanctioned. I have already +mentioned how the people had learnt to put their trust in the late +Shah's desire to protect them against oppressive government in the +provinces, and how he had made himself popular with the military and +nomad tribes. The crime which has caused his death will undoubtedly be +regarded as sacrilege, both with reference to the life which was taken +and the sanctuary which it violated. And the abhorrence of the crime +will strengthen what it was intended to end or weaken, viz., the +influence and power of the Kajar dynasty. With the impressionable +Persians there will be but one feeling, of shuddering horror that such a +thing could be done by one of their own faith, who was a subject of +their Sovereign. + +A criminal of the deepest dye can abide with perfect impunity in the +Mohammedan sanctuary, and the tranquillity of this sacred safety, we are +told, brings reflection and repentance to work the redemption of many +from evil ways. Thus we can understand how horror-struck the nation must +be at the thought of the Shah being mortally wounded while in the pious +act of kneeling in reverence on passing the chain which marks the actual +line where the 'bast' or sanctuary begins. + +The murder is said to have been prompted by the well-known agitator, +Jemal-ed-Din, who, though called an Afghan, is really a native of +Hamadan, in Western Persia; but having travelled and resided a short +time in Afghanistan, the term 'Afghani' was added to his name. He was +well known in Tehran in 1891 for his vehement and violent public +speaking against all Western innovations. I have seen it stated that it +was owing to him the tobacco monopoly was withdrawn, as he had roused +the Moullas throughout Persia, and wellnigh brought about a revolution. +Jemal-ed-Din no doubt took a strong part at Tehran in the agitation, but +he was in no way such a prominent leader of it as has been represented. +The sudden introduction of systematic labour and Excise regulations +under foreign direction, by which it was said a few depots were to +displace the numerous retail shops and stalls, at once created a +hostile army of unemployed small owners of hereditary businesses, who +worked on the fears and feelings of the mass of the people. The Moullas +and guild-masters then took the lead, and brought about the cancelment +of the concession. All this I have previously described. It suited well +the nature of a stormy petrel like Jemal-ed-Din to find himself in +Tehran at that time, and he became an inflammatory public orator of the +hottest kind. At first he confined himself to speaking against the +tobacco monopoly and all European enterprise, and on his violent +speeches being made the subject of some remonstrance, the Shah said that +the Persians had long enjoyed great liberty of speech, and with them +words generally took the place of deeds. But this freedom was +misunderstood by Jemal, who gradually grew bolder, until his +revolutionary utterances went beyond all endurance. He scarcely veiled +his contempt for the Crown, and his opinion that all should combine to +rid Persia of the rule of the Shah and the continuance of the Kajar +dynasty. He was warned, but would not listen to reason; he was then +arrested, and informed of the decision to deport him from Persia. On the +day of his departure from Tehran under escort, he managed to make his +escape, and took sanctuary in the same shrine of Shah Abdul Azim where +the Shah was mortally wounded on May 1 by his follower, Mirza Mohamed +Reza. Jemal opened negotiations with the Government from his asylum, and +was finally persuaded to leave Persia quietly. It was said that he +received generous treatment in the matter of his leaving, but I am aware +that he stated he had cause for complaint on this head. We must bear in +mind, however, that he was a hot hater of the Shah, and a thorough +'irreconcilable.' On quitting Persia he went to Constantinople, where he +appeared to be allowed such free expression of disrespect to his +Sovereign that the Shah addressed a remonstrance to the Sultan, who +stated in reply that Jemal was leaving for some remote place to employ +himself in literary work. + +As a native of Hamadan, Jemal-ed-Din is a Persian subject; he is also of +the Shiah faith, though it is believed that, in order to make things +easy for himself, he passes as a Sunni where the State religion is of +that creed. He was well received by the Shah on his visit to Tehran in +1890 as a man of learning and letters, and it is said that he accepted +and enjoyed his hospitality. This, however, did not prevent him plotting +against his royal host, and doing his utmost to compass the downfall of +the Kajar dynasty. He probably saw clearly during his stay in Persia +then that the Shah's authority rested too strongly in the minds of the +people, by reason of his long and peaceful reign and mild rule, to give +any hope of a successful revolution during his lifetime. And it may have +been in this connection that recourse was had to assassination. + +Jemal-ed-Din is credited among Orientals with a powerful energy and will +in working on the enthusiasm of others, and establishing a moral +despotism over them. His disciple, Mohamed Reza, appears to have +resembled his teacher in reckless disregard of kindness, and +determination to render evil for good. In him a willing hand was +apparently found to carry out the first part of Jemal-ed-Din's programme +for the reformation of Persia, but the possibility of madness in the act +of murder was not foreseen. For the horror of the crime has been so +intensified from being committed in the holy shrine of the sainted Shah +Abdul Azim, that its object must be defeated in the most complete +manner, and the reaction will result in stronger attachment to the +throne of the Kajars. + +Jemal-ed-Din held a brief for the union of Sunni and Shiah, an idea +which from time to time has found favour with some advanced leaders of +the former faith. He spoke of the gain to Islam in sinking their +religious differences, and joining to form one Church and one creed. He +was said to be very earnest on this point, and he succeeded in planting +his opinions in Persia, as shown by the subject being still occasionally +discussed. But the idea is entirely of foreign growth, and is generally +introduced by enthusiasts like Jemal-ed-Din, who have exchanged their +Persian national pride of Church and State for the ambition to see Islam +ruling as one power from Constantinople to Pekin. These visionaries fail +to see what thoughtful Persian politicians and Churchmen know well, that +the Shiah schism has preserved Persia as a nation, for without it the +incentive to popular cohesion would long ago have ceased. + +The annual Passion-play to commemorate the murder and martyrdom of the +progeny of Ali, and the solemn fast-days when their assassins are +cursed and reviled, which are observed all over Persia, serve to keep +alive their patriotism and pride of independence, for with the Persians, +religion and patriotism are synonymous terms. There is probably no +country where Church and State are more closely and fortunately bound +together than Persia. Had the sovereignty not been Shiah, it would long +ago have disappeared between its Sunni neighbours. With them the +persecution of the 'accursed Rafizi,' as they speak of the sect, is the +exercise of a holy duty, and their enslavement by Sunnis is a +meritorious act, giving the heretics an opportunity of benefiting by +example, and of rescue from perdition by conversion to the orthodox +faith. Thus it was that the Hazaras and Shiah inhabitants of the small +principalities on the head-waters of the Oxus were sold into Sunni +slavery, and the purchase of the Shiah Circassians in the Turkish +markets was justified on the same grounds. The bitter experience of ages +has taught all Shiahs that, once helplessly at the mercy of the Sunnis, +there must be absolute submission on all points. This conviction has +buried itself deep in the minds of the Persian people, and they now and +then are painfully reminded of the savage readiness of their Sunni +neighbours to emphasize the fact. + +In 1892 a bazaar quarrel in Herat between Sunni and Shiah traders grew +to a disturbance, and culminated in some of the latter, Persian +subjects, being slain and their goods plundered, the Moullas solemnly +pronouncing their judgment that it was 'lawful' for Sunnis to take the +lives as well as the property of the heretical Shiahs. The Shah, on the +representation of the Meshed religious authorities, addressed a +remonstrance to the Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who, being a strong and wise +ruler, made reparation. The religious antagonism is very bitter in +Afghanistan, and were it not for the warlike character and good fighting +qualities of the Shiah Kizzilbash tribe at Kabul, their presence at the +capital would not be tolerated by the bigoted Moullas. The common danger +makes the Kizzilbashes a united band and dangerous foe, and arms them to +be always ready to fight for their lives. They have become a power which +it is the policy of the rulers to conciliate, and thus secure their +support. But notwithstanding this, the fanatical hatred of the orthodox +Sunni, as representing both Church and State, cannot be suppressed. I +was with General Sir William Mansfield (the late Lord Sandhurst) when +he, being Commander-in-Chief in India, had a conversation with the Amir +Sher Ali of Kabul on general subjects, in the course of which the Amir, +in rather a captious manner, made some sharp remarks on what he called +the hostile differences in the Christian Church; Sir William rejoined by +referring to the great division in Islam between Sunni and Shiah, and +asked if there were many of the latter faith at Kabul. A look of +displeasure passed over Sher Ali's face as, half turning towards his +people who stood behind him, he said, in a severe tone, 'Yes, there are +a few of the dogs there, sons of burnt fathers.' + +The mutual hatred ever existing with Sunni and Shiah has always worked +against very cordial relations between Turkey and Persia, and once +certainly, in the sixteenth century, the fear of Persia, then actively +hostile on the south-eastern border, benefited Austria and Russia by +deterring the Turkish Power, in the days of its triumph and strength, +from extended aggressive operations north and west of Constantinople. +Accordingly, the reconciliation of Sunni and Shiah has long been a +cardinal point of policy with the Porte. While it appears that Austria +thus benefited in an indirect manner through Turkey's fear of Persia, it +is an interesting coincidence that, from the time the latter extended +her diplomatic relations beyond those with Russia and England, which, +for a considerable period, were the only Western Powers represented at +the Shah's Court, Austria has held a prominently friendly position in +Persia. Austrian officers have long been employed in her army, and the +fact of the Emperor Francis Joseph and the late Shah Nasr-ed-Din having +ascended their thrones within three months of each other in the same +year (1848) was regarded by the latter as an association with himself of +the highest honour and amity. And this brings to my recollection a +matter connected with the Austrian Legation at Tehran which occurred +after the deportation of Jemal-ed-Din in 1891. Mohamed Reza, the +murderer of the late Shah, remained in Tehran, and continued the +treasonable practices which had been originated by Jemal, even to the +extent of disseminating his revolutionary opinions by means of printed +papers. + +The press used for printing was a lithographic one, and one of the +Mirzas employed by the Austrian Legation having been drawn into Jemal's +secret society, he was induced to set it up in his own house. The usual +informer accomplice was found, or offered himself, for the purpose of +betraying his brethren, and the police became so keen on capture that +oblivious of the privilege enjoyed by the employe of a foreign Legation, +they entered the Mirza's house and arrested him in the act of printing +treasonable papers from the lithographic press. The Mirza was carried +off to prison before the Minister knew of the occurrence, but, on being +informed, he promptly made a strong remonstrance against the violation +of international privilege. The fullest satisfaction was at once given; +the Chief of Police called and apologized, and the prisoner was released +and sent to the Legation. + +The Minister conducted his own inquiry, and on undeniable proof of the +truth of what was alleged, he dismissed the Mirza from his post, and +the Persian authorities were then free to arrest him. The Mirza was kept +a prisoner for some time, and was eventually released with Mohamed Reza +and his companions. The Tehran telegram of May 4 tells us that Mohamed +Reza continued his old course of public hostility to the Government, and +was again imprisoned, but once more obtained his release, and was +granted a pension by the Shah, notwithstanding which he remained +discontented, as the 'black-mailer' generally does, greed suggesting +that the price paid for silence is inadequate. This lenient treatment of +the conspirators was quite characteristic of the later disposition of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and his averseness to judicial severity. + +From what is now known regarding the Mohammedan revival and Church union +contemplated by Jemal-ed-Din, it is obvious that the idea of any +connection between Babism and the crime at Shah Abdul Azim is out of the +question, for the Babis of Persia and Jemal-ed-Din's followers have +little or nothing in common. I have already told how the former are +averse to violent measures, practise no public preaching, and suffer in +silence, while the latter we know shout aloud and try to terrorize. + +When Nadir Shah accepted the throne, he insisted on the abandonment of +the Shiah schism and reunion with the Sunni faith, and he went to +extreme lengths in suppressing the unwillingness of the clergy to accept +the arbitrary decree which he issued in proclaiming his mandate. His +attempt to bridge the great gulf between the hostile creeds entirely +failed, and the Persians remained Shiahs. Freedom of thought and liberty +of speech are national characteristics and privileges, and with minds +never thoroughly subjected to severe Church discipline, the people have +been ever ready to indulge in free criticisms on religious and other +matters. They had no desire to study a new religion, even at the command +of their King, and, judging that any change would be irksome, they sided +with the Moullas, and without display refused to be Sunnis. Nadir's +devotion to ambition was greater than his love of religion, and his +object in trying to drive all into one creed was to remove the obstacles +to the progress of his Imperial power among the Sunnis of India, +Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Asia Minor. On issuing his mandate to +form the Shiahs into a new branch of the true faith, he intimated to the +Emperor of Constantinople his high aim at general concord among +Mohammedans. + +Islam, as it was forced on Persia, was the faith of foreign conquerors +and oppressors, so it never has had the same considerable influence on +the people as elsewhere. This, taken with their habits of freedom of +thought and love of romance and poetry, inclined them to champion the +Shiah schism, which, on the fall of the Arab power, they adopted for +their National Church. I refer to this in connection with what is now +reported of Jemal-ed-Din's relations with the chiefs of the State Church +party at Constantinople, for in his preachings in Persia there were +clear signs of movement towards a great Mohammedan revival, which was to +restore Islam to its old dominant position in the world. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE SITUATION IN PERSIA (1896). + +II. + +--The Shah Mozuffer-ed-Din +--His previous position at Tabriz +--Character and disposition +--His sons +--Accession to the throne +--Previous accessions in the Kajar Dynasty +--Regalia and crown jewels +--Position of the late Shah's two sons, + Zil-es-Sultan and Naib-es-Sultaneh +--The Sadr Azem (Grand Vazir) +--Prompt action on the death of the late Shah. + + +Among the great families of Tartary from whom the chiefs of the royal +Kajar tribe claim descent, much importance has always been given to the +birth of the mother of a candidate for high position. Therefore, in the +choice of an heir to the throne, Persia, as now represented by the Kajar +dynasty, looks to the claims of the mother as well as the father, and +requires royal birth on both sides. For this reason Mozuffer-ed-Din +Mirza, the second son of the late Shah, his mother being a Kajar +Princess, was preferred to the first-born, Sultan Masud Mirza, known +as the Zil-es-Sultan. It has been customary with the Kajars to have the +Vali Ahd, or Heir-apparent, at a distance from the capital, and for him +to be nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, the richest and most +important province of Persia. Its capital is Tabriz, a town of +considerable commercial prosperity, through its Russian and other +foreign trade connections. The mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +maintained a dignified position of high influence at the Court of the +late Shah until her death, which took place at Tehran in May, 1892. +During the intrigues and disquieting rumours which at one time +prevailed, the strong influence of the mother of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza +was always present to watch over his interests in the Shah's palace, and +when she died his friends feared that he had lost his only good +protector. But the Sadr Azem, then known as the Amin-es-Sultan, rightly +interpreting the true feelings of the royal father and the people, +promptly filled the vacancy himself, and has now led the nation to act +as executors of the will of the departed Shah in securing the peaceful +succession of the heir whom he appointed. + +[Illustration: H.I.M. MOZUFFER-ED-DIN SHAH, KAJAR] + +There has been much speculation regarding the character, abilities, and +disposition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. I think the general opinion formed +of him by those who have had opportunity of judging is favourable. He is +of kindly disposition, and has pleasing manners, and though prudence has +demanded that as Heir-apparent he should not take a very active part in +public affairs, yet there have been occasions on which he showed himself +to be a capable ruler. His position made it absolutely necessary that he +should avoid all appearance of impatience of subjection to the Central +Government, and he showed considerable tact in never giving cause for +suspicion on this point. He was most successful in keeping clear of +everything that could offend the susceptibilities of his royal father, +and was always regarded as a dutiful son and a loyal subject. His was a +most difficult position to fill, and the fact that he filled it to the +satisfaction of the Shah proves that he possesses the qualities of +prudence, patience, and good judgment. + +Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza had with him for a long time as Kaimakam, or +Vazir, the well-known Amir-i-Nizam, who was virtually Governor-General +of Azerbaijan, for the Shah held him personally responsible for the +administration of the province. He was a man of strong character, and +had great influence in Azerbaijan. His wealth also added to his +importance, and it was not surprising, perhaps, that he considered +himself qualified to hold independent opinions. The active resistance to +the tobacco monopoly was first shown in Tabriz, and he was said to have +encouraged opposition to the wishes of the Central Government. In +consequence of this the Shah summoned him to Tehran in the end of 1891, +and early in 1892 appointed him to be Governor-General of Kurdistan and +Kermanshah, a post which he still holds. On this change taking place, +Mozuffer-ed-Din was directed to assume responsible charge of the +Northern province, and has continued to exercise it till now. The +Amir-i-Nizam was succeeded as Kaimakam by Haji Mirza Abdul Rahim, who +was formerly Persian Minister at St. Petersburg, and as his predecessor +had been Minister at Paris for some years, the European experiences of +these able Vazirs no doubt aided the further education of the Vali Ahd. +The association of enlightened companions and Ministers gave him +opportunities of gaining knowledge which not only informed him on +matters of public importance and general interest, but was also +calculated to prepare him for the position of Sovereign. It has been +said of him that he is entirely Russian in his inclinations, and +considering his long residence at Tabriz, within view, as it were, of +the great power of Russia's vast empire, it would be strange if he had +not been strongly impressed with the vital necessity of securing the +goodwill of the Czar, and we may feel certain that the advice and +opinions of the two Vazirs I have mentioned were to this effect. But it +does not follow that Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah's mind is wholly bent in that +one direction. Judging from the present as well as the past, he knows +well he can believe in England's sincere desire to preserve the same +friendly relations with him as existed with his father, and that she +wishes to see Persia strong, prosperous, and independent. + +While the Amir-i-Nizam was at Tabriz, his energetic management left +nothing for the Prince to do, and as, moreover, a policy of caution +debarred him from taking a very active part in public affairs, he +occupied himself chiefly with the simple amusements of a country +gentleman. He was greatly interested in his horse-breeding farms +established on the fine pasturelands of Maragha, near Lake Urumia, and +made frequent visits there. He is a good horseman and a keen sportsman +with gun, rifle, and falcon, just as his father was, and his love of +life in the open brought him much in contact with the people in a manner +that developed the good-nature for which he is known. He possesses in a +large measure the pleasing characteristics of a nomad chief, and on the +departure of the Amir-i-Nizam, his personal qualities, added to the +sympathetic exercise of his duties, made his rule popular. + +While his prominent brothers have benefited pecuniarily to a +considerable extent by the positions which they hold, the Vali Ahd was +content to maintain a miniature Court on a modest scale, keeping up his +dignity in a fitting manner, and showing no desire to amass money. The +people were aware of this, and respected him for not taking advantage of +his opportunities to enrich himself as others might have done. More than +once lately mention has been made in the papers of the large fortune +which the Zil-es-Sultan is said to have acquired at Isfahan, and +invested in foreign securities. + +Mention may here be made of the first two sons of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah. +The elder is Mohamed Ali Mirza, twenty-four years of age, whose mother +is a daughter of Mirza Taki Khan, Amir-el-Kebir and his wife, who was +the favourite sister of the late Shah. The second is Malik Mansur, about +fifteen years of age, whose mother is a daughter of Ismail Mirza, a +Prince of the reigning Kajar family. The latter is spoken of as an +engaging and bright-looking youth, and is generally believed to be the +favourite son. The other sons are not much known nor mentioned as yet, +but it may be said that the succession in the direct line appears to be +well assured. + +Naturally the health of the Heir-apparent was a matter of great +consequence to himself, in the first place in view of his future, and +secondly to those who desired to see the nomination to the succession +undisturbed, for change would have produced great uncertainty and unrest +throughout the country. When I visited Tabriz in the end of 1892, there +were three physicians attached to the Vali Ahd's Court. One was the +Hakim Bashi, Mirza Mahmud Khan, a Persian of superior education and +professional training, who was in constant attendance on the Prince, and +with him were associated the English Dr. Adcock (who had then been four +years in Tabriz, and is still with Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah), and an Italian +doctor, S. Castaldi, brother of the wife of the Russian Consul-General, +regarding whom I have no late information. + +The succession of Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah so far has been peaceful, +notwithstanding the fears of many that opposition would appear in the +South. This is the first time with the present dynasty that on the death +of the Shah the Vali Ahd has found no rival in his path. Curzon stated +very decidedly in his important work on Persia that a contest for the +throne was most improbable, and his forecast has proved correct. +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah is the fifth Sovereign of the Kajar dynasty, which +was founded by Agha Mohamed Shah, and I may here remark that the reign +of the late Shah was just within one year of completing a century of +royal rule shared by only three successive sovereigns of this line, a +notable fact in an Oriental kingdom. + +Fateh Ali Shah succeeded to the throne in 1797, having been appointed +Vali Ahd by his uncle, Agha Mohamed Shah, who had no family of his own. +He was the son of Hussein Kuli Khan (full brother of the Shah), +Governor-General at Shiraz, and he was there with his father when called +to the throne at Tehran. On the death of Agha Mohamed Shah in camp with +his army on the Northern frontier, General Sadik Khan, chief of the +Shekaki tribe in Azerbaijan, seized the opportunity to gain possession +of the Crown jewels and treasure, and quitted the camp with his men; but +the rest of the troops marched at the command of the strong Prime +Minister Haji Ibrahim, to the capital, which by his orders was held by +the Kajar chief, Mirza Mohamed Khan, for the legitimate heir of the +Shah. Two competitors for the Crown appeared in the South, in the +persons of Fateh Ali Shah's own father, and a son of Zaki Khan Zend; but +both, as well as the Shekaki chief who advanced similar claims in the +North, and Nadir Mirza, grandson of the great Nadir Shah, who had +entered Khorasan from Afghanistan, and raised the standard of revolt, +were soon defeated and driven into submission. The Shakaki chief was +able from his possession of the Crown jewels and treasure to make terms +for pardon and preferment; but he afterwards broke his oath of +allegiance, and rebelled. He was captured and confined in a dungeon, +where his life soon ceased. + +Fateh Ali Shah died in 1834, and was succeeded by his grandson, Mohamed +Shah, son of the capable Abbas Mirza, who predeceased his father. He was +at Tabriz, holding the post of nominal Governor-General of Azerbaijan, +which was the customary position assigned to the Vali Abd, when his +grandfather died, and I have in a previous chapter told of the part +taken by British officers in defeating the Pretenders, who attempted to +dispute his right to the throne. These Pretenders were his uncles Ali +Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, and Hussein Ali Mirza, Governor-General at +Shiraz, each of whom proclaimed himself King. Fateh Ali Shah died at +Isfahan while on his way to Shiraz to compel the obedience of his son +Hussein Ali Mirza, who in expectation of his father's death from age and +infirmity had decided to withhold payment of revenue to the Crown. The +rebellious son advanced with an army, and took possession of the jewels +and treasure which his father had brought with him; and his brother, the +Zil-es-Sultan, seized what had been left at Tehran, but Mohamed Shah +afterwards regained possession of the whole. + +Nasr-ed-Din, son and heir-apparent of Mohamed Shah, was present at his +post of Governor-General of Azerbaijan when his father died in Tehran, +and there was an interval of disturbance for the six or seven weeks +which passed between the death of the one King and the coronation of the +other. During this period revolution prevailed in the towns, and robbery +and violence in the country. The son of Ali Mirza, the Zil-es-Sultan, +the Prince-Governor of Tehran, who had disputed the succession of +Mohamed Shah, issued forth from his retirement in Kasvin to contest the +Crown with his cousin; but the attempt came to an inglorious end. A +revolt at Meshed with a similar object also failed, and then Mirza Taki +Khan, Amir-i-Nizam, proceeded successfully to consolidate the power of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, whose long reign, and on the whole good rule, have so +accustomed the people to peace that the old ways of revolution and +revolt on the death of a Shah have been forgotten and changed. + +The regalia and Crown jewels of Persia mentioned in these changes of +royal rule have, by inexplicable good fortune, been preserved from +plunder while in the hands of rebels. The Crown jewels are in great part +a portion of the splendid spoil which Nadir Shah obtained in the sack of +Delhi, when it was the capital of the richest empire in the East. On his +assassination near Meshed, the treasury was seized by the troops, and +while a considerable share, including the famous Koh-i-Nur diamond, +which now adorns the English crown, fell to the Afghans with Nadir's +army, the greater part, with the Koh-i-Nur companion diamond, known as +the Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light), was secured by Persian soldiers, who hid +it all away in Khorasan and the adjoining districts. + +When Agha Mohamed Shah found leisure from his wars and work of firmly +establishing his authority, he turned his attention to the recovery of +Nadirs jewels, and proceeded to Meshed, where, by means of cunning and +cruelty, he succeeded in wresting from the plunderers of Nadir's camp, +and others, the rare collection of gems and ornaments now in the royal +treasury at Tehran. The value of the collection is believed to be very +great. + +The singular preservation of the regalia and Crown jewels of Persia from +plunder while they were in the hands of rebels after the death of Agha +Mohamed Shah, and again on the death of Fatch Ali Shah, is most +remarkable. A superstitious feeling of fear and respect appears to have +kept them from being lost from the Crown, or it may be that, on the +principle of 'safety in numbers,' every one, with a prospective share of +the plunder in view, was a check on his neighbour against theft of that +which they thought belonged to all. + +Sultan Masud Mirza, better known as the Zil-es-Sultan, the eldest son of +the late Shah, has generally been regarded as likely to challenge the +right of his younger brother to the throne. His ambition and overweening +self-confidence combined to make him imprudent in permitting his +partisans to speak aloud of his superior qualifications as a successor +to his father. The late Shah's considerate treatment of him on all +occasions also led him to make ill-judged requests for such extended +rule in the South that his father said Persia was not large enough for +two Shahs. I think his idea of a viceroyalty in the South came from +foolish vanity, and not from any serious thought of semi-independence, +as some who heard him speak on this subject supposed. + +His father always wrote to him as 'my well-beloved first-born,' and up +to 1888 he allowed him great power and freedom of action. He was fond of +'playing at soldiers,' and he went to work at this amusement with such +energy and will that he formed a numerous and very efficient army under +well-trained officers, too good, the Shah thought, to be quite safe. +Nasr-ed-Din sent an officer whom he could trust to Isfahan to bring back +a true report on the army there; and such was the Zil's self-assurance, +that he went out of his way to show him everything, and to make the most +of his force. + +The Shah, on learning all, became jealous or suspicious, and ordered the +reduction of the troops to the moderate limits really required for +provincial purposes. As affairs then stood, the Zil, with his +well-appointed army, was master of the situation, but he was constrained +to submit. He singled out the Amin-es-Sultan (now the Sadr Azem) as his +enemy at Court, and regarded him as the strong adviser who influenced +the Shah. His relations with Tehran then became so strained that the +Shah summoned him to his presence to have his wishes clearly explained +to him. The meeting of father and son did not tend to smooth matters, +and the latter, allowing his temper to carry him to extreme lengths, +tendered his resignation of the various governments he held, asking only +to retain the governorship of Isfahan. His request was granted, and from +that time he made no secret of his enmity to the Prime Minister. + +Two or three years later the Shah restored to him some of the provinces +which he had resigned in 1888, and this enabled, him to carry out more +successfully the task which he had set himself, viz., that of amassing +money, after his army was broken up. The warlike Bakhtiari tribe form +the most important part of the military strength under the nominal +command of the Zil-es-Sultan, but he alienated them entirely by his +cruel and treacherous murder of their popular chief, Hussein Kuli Khan, +in 1882, and the long imprisonment of his son, the equally popular +Isfendiar Khan. Now that he has promised allegiance to his brother, +Mozuffer-ed-Din Shah, we may regard the peace of the South as assured. + +The Naib-es-Sultaneh, Kamran Mirza, as Minister of War, +Commander-in-Chief, and Governor of Tehran, who was in constant +attendance on his father, was also regarded by foolish partisans as a +likely successor to the throne, but he himself never entertained the +idea. His position as head of the army gives him no real power--in fact, +it rather takes from his influence as Governor of Tehran; for the +soldiers look upon him as a costly appendage, for whose pleasures and +palaces their pay is clipped. + +There is really no standing army, in Persia as we understand such, +except the royal guard and the weak Persian Cossack brigade at Tehran. +The artillery and infantry which do all the garrison work are militia +regiments, embodied for two years at a time. The conditions are one +year's service to two years' leave, and that they serve under their own +local chiefs and officers. The administration of regiments is given to +Ministers, high officials, and others for purposes of emolument or +distinction, as the case may be. This system gives the influence over +the troops to those who deal with their pay, and not to the +Commander-in-Chief, who is regarded merely as the keeper of the great +gate through which the pay passes after toll is taken. The +Naib-es-Sultaneh, equally with his brother, the Zil-es-Sultan, appears +to have a great dislike to the Prime Minister, whose loyalty to the +Sovereign and his heir could not fail to create strong jealousy in high +places. + +I shall now finish with a few remarks on the able and sagacious Sadr +Azem, the Prime Minister, who, by his strong character, resolute will, +and prompt action, has proved his loyalty to the Crown and his fidelity +to the Shah. He became Prime Minister at an unusually early age for such +a high position, and this preferment drew upon him the jealousy and envy +of many in such a manner as often to cause him great embarrassment. +There can be no doubt of his conspicuous energy and talent. His pleasing +manner and happy disposition attract adherents and gain for him their +best services. In addition to his personal qualities, he has an +astonishing knowledge of public affairs, which makes him a most valuable +Minister. With the people he is deservedly popular, for not only is he +liberal and kind, but he understands their feelings and can interpret +their minds. + +[Illustration: MIRZA ALI ASGHAR KHAN, SADR AZEM (_From a Photograph by +Messrs. W. and D. Downey_)] + +He was beside Nasr-ed-Din Shah in the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim when the +assassination took place, and at once brought his Majesty back to the +palace in Tehran. This happened about two o'clock in the afternoon, and +the Shah breathed his last within four hours afterwards. It appears that +the Sadr Azem immediately grasped the situation, and put himself in +telegraphic communication with the Vali Ahd at Tabriz, four hundred +miles distant. He then summoned all the Ministers, State officials, +military commanders, and the most influential people of the city, to the +palace, and announced the death of the Shah. Under his able guidance, +the prompt recognition of Mozuffer-ed-Din Mirza as Shah, in accordance +with the will of his father, was effected. + +The English and Russian Legations, as representing the two strongest and +chiefly interested European Powers, were immediately informed, and the +Minister of the former, and the Charge d'Affaires of the latter, were +invited to the palace. On their arrival, the Sadr Azem wired to the Vali +Ahd in their presence the allegiance of the whole party who were there +assembled. This was done about four or five hours after the death of +Nasr-ed-Din Shah, and the following morning, in consequence of this +decisive action, Mozuffer-ed-Din was publicly proclaimed Shah of Persia. + +Thus the electric telegraph, which Nasr-ed-Din Shah introduced into +Persia, has been the means of helping most materially to save the +country from the uncertainty which has hitherto always produced +revolution and civil war in the interval between the death of one Shah +and the accession of his successor. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Persia Revisited, by Thomas Edward Gordon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERSIA REVISITED *** + +***** This file should be named 13064.txt or 13064.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/6/13064/ + +Produced by Karen Lofstrom and PG Distributed Proofreaders. 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