A Pepys of Mongul India (1653-1708)

by Niccolao Manucci

  The ambassador demanded a favourable reply, saying that it was necessary for him to leave. 'Azamat-ud-daulah made use of many friendly expressions, but was not desirous of answering the proposition laid before him. By putting questions he feigned an eagerness to know whether England was a large kingdom, how many men it could place in the field,

  if there were a route to it by land. He appeared to be much amazed that all the kings of Europe, being themselves Christian, did not afford succour to the King of England.

  The ambassador replied to all this, but chiefly to this last question. He said if the King of Persia would pay the money that he owed, the King of England could then, without other assistance, obtain possession of his kingdom, and seize his enemies. Seeing the stiff answer of the ambassador, 'Azamat-ud-daulah succeeded in sending him away with pleasant words.

  During the time the ambassador was in Isfahan, the king decided to have a parade of his armed force, and make a display of his power. For this affair he sent an invitation to the ambassador. We repaired to the very large royal hall, containing forty pillars, which has an outlook on the great square. In this hall the king takes his seat but rarely, and only when he has a review of his cavalry. These reviews are held twice a year; each time they last three days.

  We went one day only. We saw the cavalry enter at one side of the plain and march out at the other. The soldiers, forty thousand in number, were mostly clad in mail, and bore maces; some squadrons had lances, others bows and arrows, others matchlocks. All were mounted on good and swift horses, and they carried standards bearing devices. At the end of the review we saw two Persians bound each on a camel, with their bowels protruding. Their offence was causing a disturbance, after they had drunk too much wine. These men were conducted thus through the city until they died.

  The ambassador, although somewhat doubtful of obtaining an answer such as he desired, never desisted from importuning 'Azamat-ud-daulah, reminding him that it was close upon a year that he had been in Isfahan without making the smallest advances in the

  REPLY OF 'AZAMAT-UD-DAULAH TO AMBASSADOR 17

  negotiations for which he had come so far. 'Azamat-ud-daulah put him off from day to day. At length, tired out by so many remonstrances, he made up his mind to give an answer. With this view he sent a message to the ambassador, requesting him to be good enough to come to his house, as he wanted to speak to him.

  We repaired to the house of 'A^amat-ud-daulah, who received the ambassador with many gracious words and much politeness. Seating themselves they began a long conversation to the following effect : 'Azamat-ud-daulah began a very long way off by remarking that the King of Persia was a great friend of the King of England, and cherished for him the same amity that he had felt towards the former kings, his ancestors; he greatly desired to assist that king, chiefly owing to the great necessity of the case. This was the reason that he had postponed his reply, while he searched for and considered ways in which he could give assistance. But he could find no manner of so doing. The Persian cavalry and the rest of their troops could not be sent, by reason of the great distance by the land route. On the road were many kingdoms through which they must pass. Thus it was impossible to be of any use by sending an armed force. Then he had sought for some means of helping him by way of the sea ; but to send a great fleet he saw was extremely difficult. In Persia they had no ships, and, should they attempt to construct them, they had not sufficient materials for the purpose.

  Another reason for the long delay in giving an answer was this : they had used the interval to find out from the nations of Europe—the Portuguese, the Dutch, and even the English themselves—whether they could purchase any ships in which to send reinforcements to the king. But in spite of all the offers they had made, they could not obtain what they wanted. The ambassador knew well that this was all

  a pretence, but he kept his temper, although showing signs of impatience at all this long-winded and superfluous talk.

  When 'Azamat-ud-daulah had finished this long speech, the ambassador began as follows : First of all, he expressed his thanks for the great efforts that the King of Persia and 'Azamat-ud-daulah had taken to assist the King of England. Then, half making fun of 'Azamat-ud-daulah's many words, he said to him that he himself had a much easier method of remedying all this, without giving trouble to the Persian monarch, and without fatiguing the Persian soldiers, so famous throughout Europe. This plan was that the King of Persia should pay, cash down, the money due on the bill owing to the King of England. He had not come all that long journey in search of cavalry, nor a fleet, nor ships, but of a debt in arrears. If he would excuse him, he would say a word or two frankly. To this 'Azamat-ud-daulah replied that he might speak as freely as he liked. Upon this the ambassador continued that all that had been said by him showed that his king had no intention of paying the debt. 'Azamat-ud-daulah, in a deceptive manner and smiling, said that his king wished to pay, but, seeing that the amount demanded was very large, it would require a great number of beasts of burden, that it would be necessary to pass through other kingdoms, that possibly he might be robbed on his way. Nor was the difficulty met by saying that he could carry the amount by sea, for all the world knew what risks were run at sea, both of being attacked and of being wrecked, whereby the whole amount would be lost.

  The ambassador's answer was that, if they gave him the money, he knew quite well how to take care of it and remove it in safety. If they paid over to him a sufficient sum, the King of England, his master, would have no other demand to make. He would hold himself satisfied, according to the orders he had

  received, as set forth in the letters he had presented. This he said with a certain show of emotion, for by this time he saw that their object was to pay him in words.

  'Azamat-ud-daulah hung his head down and affected a mild expression of countenance, then said in a low voice : " Necessity is not the most perfect of judges." He added that, as to banishing from the Persian realm the English traders, that could not be; for the king had allowed them willingly to enter his territory —the land of Persia was free to all—and the king declined to turn out any one unless he had been guilty of an offence. All the same, they would grant him (Bellomont) leave to eject them from the kingdom himself by his own forces. The king would back up neither one side nor the other.

  Finally, being wearied out, the ambassador said, with a certain amount of passion, that he had not looked for such an answer from a king of such fame in the world, especially after the Persian kingdom had received aid from the King of England, at great cost to the latter. 'Azamat-ud-daulah did not change countenance, but endeavoured to pacify the ambassador, saying that such events were sent from above, that never was all that we asked of God granted us, that in due time God would bring to mind his king. Encouraging him and consoling him with kind and soft words, he added that, if he were in any difficulty for expenses, he could send to his interpreter, who would help him. Hearing this, the ambassador said not a single word, but rose hastily, came forth, and returned home. When he had arrived there, he by-and-by gave an order for the sale of some pieces of cloth and some carpets which still remained, to provide for our road expenses.

  The above conversation was in Turkish, which I could already speak and understand sufficiently. Listening to everything with the greatest attention, I admired the way in which 'Azamat-ud-daulah was able to

  20 AMBASSADOR'S HAUGHTY BEHAVIOUR

  evade the aggressive answers of the ambassador without betraying any sign of ill-humour.

  The firm words of the ambassador were the cause of their giving him his leave to depart after a brief delay. With this intent, eight days after the above-mentioned conversation, he was sent for to court on behalf of the king, when we were given another feast like the one which I have described, and in the same place. At the end of the banquet 'Azamat-ud-daulah took the ambassador by the hand and led him in front of the royal seat at a distance of two or three paces, and with his face towards the king. The ambassador was on the left
side of 'Azamat-ud-daulah. The latter put his hand into his pocket and drew forth a bag of gold brocade, in which was a letter. Lifting this bag with both hands, he placed it on his head, making a profound reverence to the king, bowing his head most deeply. Then he handed the said bag to the ambassador, saying that his king sent that letter to the King of England. He was directed to make obeisance as he had seen the others do. During this short speech 'Azamat-ud-daulah held half the bag in his hand, while the other half was in that of the ambassador. As soon as the brief speech was ended the ambassador drew the bag from the hands of 'Azamat-ud-daulah, and quickly turned his back, and without any sort of bow held it out contemptuously to the interpreter. This man at once hastened up to receive the letter with both hands, for the motion made by the ambassador showed that, if he did not hurry near, the ambassador would throw the bag at him.

  Then, without any civility, or any sort of bow, he left 'Azamat-ud-daulah standing where he was and went out, his head high, while the king sat with cast-down eyes as if he saw nothing of what was passing. All those present remained in silent wonder at such boldness. I was quite close to the ambassador, and came out, notwithstanding with some amount of

  dread, anticipating that the king would send out some order to have us killed. But we were not interfered with.

  On arriving home we took measures to prepare ourselves without delay for continuing our journey— in fact, we did so at the end of nine days; and the ambassador, not being provided with sufficient funds for our expenses, applied to the head of the English factory at Isfahan, who was called Mestre Jhon (Mr. Young), a very short man, but most generous and liberal, as I made note of from the feasts and offerings which several times he had given to the said ambassador.

  The city of Isfahan is very large, situated in a great plain at the foot of some IOW T hills. It has four canals of water, which flow through the midst of it, and these serve for irrigating the gardens. These canals issue from a river which flows between Julpha (Zulfah) and Isfahan; its name is Senderuth (Zindah-rud); over it are four bridges somewhat distant from each other. Of the four, two are especially handsome— namely, the one on the road from Isfahan to Julpha (Zulfah). You approach it by a long and wide raised way, adorned on both sides with the great and beautiful walled gardens of the king, and with high trees, called in Persian " chenar" (chandr and in European languages " planes." In the midst thereof flows one of the aforesaid canals of water, which fills various reservoirs for the use of the said gardens, and goes on its course until it reaches again the river from which it was taken. Horses are ridden on the raised way.

  There are many seats where the Persians imbibe tobacco from crystal " guriguris," called by them " caliao " (qaliyan), which are long and narrow-necked circular flasks filled with water, having a vessel of tinned copper or of silver in the shape of an open flower of the water-lily stuck into its (the flask's) mouth, and filled with tobacco. With this they sit, 3

  telling stories until late, sometimes, without exaggeration, as many as five or six thousand of them.

  The second bridge, which is the finest of them all, is called the bridge of Xiras (Shiraz), thus named because when going from Isfahan to Shiraz you cross over it. The bridge consists of three stories besides the chief one, which is in the middle. The king goes there sometimes with his harem, and he can descend to the water without being seen. By all these stones you can cross from one side of the river to the other. The water runs over dressed stones, made artificially high or low, so as to produce waves pleasing to behold.

  I noticed that the houses of Isfahan, and those throughout Persia, seen from the front, are not pleasing, being all made of clay; but they are lovely inside, and highly decorated. They have both large and small gardens, with good fruit trees—that is to say, pears, apples, peaches, apricots, mulberries, sweet and sour quinces, like the apples of Europe, vines of Boas Vuas, and vineyards of Vuas, grapes without stones, which are called "quiximis " (kishmish), many kinds of plums—and all the varieties of flowers that grow in Europe, for the Armenians are very fond of growing European flowers, and present them to the Persian nobles. The Persians, as also the Moguls, are fond of flowers and perfumes.

  In front of the royal palace is a large plain, where throughout the year stand fruit-sellers' booths, and a large quantity of exquisite melons. Here they drink coffee and smoke tobacco; the place is always full of people going and coming. Here are to be seen dancers, wrestlers, and other performers. In one corner of this open square is a palace where musical instruments are played; and there stands the clock found by them in the fortress of Ormuz, which they preserve as a memorial of their victory over the Portuguese. The city is always clean, due to the energy of the gardeners, because with what is removed from

  the streets they manure their gardens. They collect most industriously the sewage from the houses for the same purpose. This is a great help to keeping the air pure by not allowing dirt to accumulate in the city. There are also many baths, where the body may be washed. The soul also profits (as they believe), for when they wash themselves they imagine themselves to be absolved from their sins. Ablution serves among the Mahomedans—and speaking always with due reverence—like confession and absolution among us Catholics. In the city are two factories—one of the English, the other of the Dutch. There are also four churches—one of the Portuguese Augustinians, which the present king caused to be entirely gilded at his own expense, and he went there several times to see our ceremonial. Another church belongs to the barefooted Carmelites, another to the Jesuits, another to the Capuchins.

  There are also in the city many mosques, among them a dome with two tombs, which are much venerated. The door of this dome is only opened once a year, on the occasion of a great festival, to which flock people from different provinces on the appointed day. One tomb they assert to be that of 'Alt, the other they state to be that of his sons Assen (Hasan) and Ossen (Husain), who are revered as martyrs. Others declare they are tombs of the companions of Muhammad, although he had no court or courtiers.

  We were now to continue our journey, wherefore we begged the help of Mestre Jonh (Henry Young), who gave to the ambassador the assistance he required. We wished to leave Isfahan in company with the said Mestre Jonh (Henry Young), but we could not conclude our business in time. He left several days before we did, and we left at the end of September, of one thousand six hundred and fifty-two (1652).

  During our journey to the town of Xiras (Shiraz)

  we obtained good supplies of food, but the road is somewhat difficult, owing to the mountain ranges which must be crossed, where horses are fatigued not a little in trying to keep their feet. But I must allow there is also some fine open country, notwithstanding there are some very difficult swamps. The mountains are like all those in Persia—that is to say, generally bare of trees, though not wanting in fodder for sheep and goats, which in some places produce the stone called ftazar (bezoar). Of these stones I will speak when I come to write of the kingdom of Gulkhandah, where there is an abundance of them.

  The sheep of Persia are very prolific; they bring forth young twice a year, by the help of a grain called chicharos, on which they are fed at a certain time of the year; and their wool is of the sort already described (p. 8).

  Finally, at the end of fifteen days' travel, we arrived at the town of Xiras (Shiraz), where we stayed for thirty days, the ambassador having fallen ill. He received many visits from a barefooted Carmelite friar, a missionary to the Armenians who dwell here. The air of this town is very fresh ; there are many gardens with good fruit, and the country round produces a quantity of grapes; consequently they make a great deal of wine, which is exported to all parts of India. Although the law of the Mahomedans forbids the drinking of wine, still the King of Persia permits the English to make it; but they only produce enough for the company and not to sell to others. In this region there is no deficiency of food produced, of oranges, of lemons, nor, above all, of roses, which they distil, and the rose-water is forwarded i
n boxes to all parts.

  One of the wonderful things round Shiraz is a famous building standing at a distance approximately of two leagues, where dwelt, as they declare, the great Darius, King of Persia, who was defeated in battle by

  Alexander the Great. There is also a mountain in which is a cave where drips a liquid called by the Persians mumihay (mumiyai). This liquid belongs to the king exclusively, and thus the cave is closed by doors and guarded by vigilant sentinels. It is the business of these men to collect the liquid (which drips in minute quantities) and then forward it to the king. When he wishes to make a gift to anyone, he gives them a little of this liquid. This is on account of the admirable results it produces—that is, for all bruises, fractures of bones, and sores.

  If what they say is true, though I have not made the experiment, should the leg of a cock or other animal be broken and you take of the above liquid ten to fifteen drops and give it to the animal to drink, at the same time anointing the wounded place with it, then, if it is a true story, in twenty-four hours the bones will unite. I possessed a little, given me by one of the king's eunuchs. He had effected wonderful cures with it. The principal case was the recovery of a stonemason who fell from a great height, and lay with his bones broken, blood pouring from his mouth, nostrils, and ears, the man having entirely lost his senses and being without hope of life. In two days he was perfectly well. There is also a pond (pauso) where on the top of the water floats a ready-made gum which is sold by the natives as the royal liquid, thus cheating a few simpletons. It is not devoid of virtues, but they are nothing like so great as those of the royal liquid.