CHAP. IX.
ISPAHAN.

The great number of buildings, which stud every part of the plain of Ispahan, might lead the traveller to suppose that he was entering a district of immense population. Yet almost the whole view consists of the ruins of towns, and here and there only are spots which are enlivened by the communities of men. But whatever may be the condition of modern Persia, its former state, if the remains scattered over the whole country are sufficient evidences, must have been flourishing and highly peopled.

The village of Ispahanek is situated just at the foot of a range of hills which screen the extent of the great city from our view. It is now reduced to a small fort, in which its population is immured. The plain is well irrigated by dikes cut from the Zaiande-rood, a river which, in its course from the West, waters the whole country. It rises from the Baktyar mountains, passes through Ispahan, and finally expends itself in the deserts of sand to the S.E. The Persians indeed have an idle belief founded on a more idle tradition, that it resumes its waters from the sand, constitutes the river which we crossed at Daulakee, and discharges itself at last into the sea at Rohilla: a connection as they still assert, ascertained by one of their Kings, who threw a marked board into the place of the disappearance, and found it again in the stream at Daulakee. Two etymologies are assigned to the name; one from Zaiandé, spurting, breaking from the ground, (jaillir;) the other, from Zendé, lost, alluding to its failure in the sand; the termination rood in either case is, river. Like every other part of the kingdom, the country round Ispahan is almost destitute of timber; and the surface is a most arid field for the researches of a botanist. The vivid rock of the mountains is lost at the point where their roots intersect the plain below.

We estimated the distance from Ispahanek to Ispahan at two fursungs, or six miles. We proceeded over the hills in regular procession; the Envoy having taken every precaution that the Mission, with which he was charged from the Throne, should be received with the the fullest attention and respect. With this view it became his express object, that the Governor of the city, Abdullah Khan, (son of Mahomed Hussein Khan, the King’s Second Minister) should come out himself to meet him. As he had been led to understand that this was a point already settled, he was surprised to hear by a message which he received when he was on the road, that the Governor refused to accede to his wishes, unless he first received a letter to that effect from the Envoy himself. In consequence we made a temporary halt; and the Envoy wrote a note, stating, that although he thought himself entitled to such a mark of attention from the Khan as an office of friendship only, yet, as the bearer of a letter from his master the King of England, to his Persian Majesty, he could not for a moment doubt, that the Governor would yield to that letter, the distinction he would pay to his own Sovereign.

It will be well indeed to remark, that from the commencement of our march, Sir Harford Jones took similar precautions to ensure every honour to his Majesty’s letter. It was always placed in a takht-e-ravan or litter, which was escorted by ten Indian troopers and an officer, and was never taken out or replaced without the trumpet of the guard sounding a blast. Whenever we stopped, it was deposited in the tent of ceremony under a cloth of gold; a sentry with a drawn sword was placed over it, and no one was permitted to sit with his back to it. The correspondence of Princes is a general object of reverence in the East; and the dignity which by these observances we attached to the letter of our Sovereign, raised among the people a corresponding respect towards his representative.

At about four miles from Ispahan, we were met by an advanced part of the inhabitants. As we approached the city, the crowd increased to numbers which baffled our calculation or guess. Although the stick was administered with an unsparing hand, it was impossible to keep the road free for our passage. People of all descriptions were collected on mules, on horses, on asses; besides an immense number on foot. First came the merchants of the city, in number about three hundred, all in their separate classes. Then followed a deputation from the Armenian clergy, composed of the Bishop and chief dignitaries in their sacerdotal robes. They carried silken banners, on which was painted the Passion of our Saviour. The Bishop, a reverend old man with a white beard, presented the Evangelists bound in crimson velvet to the Envoy, and then proceeded on, with his attendant priests, chaunting their church service.

When we came into the plain, the city of Ispahan rose upon the view, and its extent was so great East and West, that my sight could not reach its bounds. The crowd now was intensely great, and at intervals quite impeded our progress. Slowly however we were approaching near towards the city, and yet the Governor had not appeared. The Envoy intimated, that he would receive no istakball, unless the Governor headed it. Two of the chief men of the place met us, as we arrived at the entrance of a fine spacious road, between two lofty walls. This was the beginning of the Ispahan gardens, yet the walls of the city itself were still a mile from us. We turned to the left through a narrow porch, which led us into a piece of ground, planted on one side by lofty chenar trees, and bounded on the other by the beautiful river Zaiande-rood. At the extremity of this spot was a tent. We were told, that it had been prepared by the Governor for the Envoy, and that he himself was there in waiting. The Envoy stopped his horse, and declared, that unless he was met by the Governor on horseback, he would take no notice of him, but proceed to his own tents, and march straight forward to Teheran. This produced the desired effect. The Governor came forth, and met us a few paces from his tent, and we then proceeded towards it and alighted. The place, where the tent was pitched, was called Sa-atabad; a pavilion had been built there by Shah Thamas. The tent itself rested on three poles; its sides were of open worked chintz, and its floor was strewed with carpets; on which were laid out fruits and sweetmeats in great profusion. Chairs of an old-fashion, like those in the sculptures at Persepolis, were prepared for us, and we were not put to the inconvenience of pulling off our boots. We were then served with kaleoons, and afterwards with sweetmeats.

When this ceremony was over, we proceeded along the banks of the Zaiande-rood, on the opposite side of which were rows of firs, and ancient pinasters. We saw three bridges of singular yet beautiful construction. That, over which we crossed, was composed of thirty-three lower arches, above each of which were ranged three smaller ones. There is a covered causeway for foot passengers; the surface of the bridge is paved, and is of one level throughout the whole extent. After we had crossed it, we proceeded through a gate into the Chahar Bagh, which is a very spacious piece of ground, having two rows of chenar trees in the middle, and two other rows on each side. The garden is divided into parterres, and copiously watered by the canals of water, which run from one side of it to the other; and which at regular intervals are collected into basons square or octagonal. This fine alley is raised at separate distances into terraces, from which the water falls in cascades. Of the chenar trees, which line the walks, most can be traced to the time of Shah Abbas, and when any have fallen, others have immediately been planted. On either side of the Chahar Bagh, are the eight gardens which the Persians call Hasht-behesht, or eight paradises. They are laid out into regular walks of the chenar tree, are richly watered, and have each a pleasure-house, of which we were conducted to occupy the best, that at least, which was certainly in more perfect repair than the others. The rest indeed are in a state of decay, and corroborate only by the remains of the beautifully painted walls and gilded pannels, those lively and luxuriant descriptions of their former splendor which travellers have given.

On the right of the Maidan, and nearly in the centre of the Chahar Bagh, is a college called Medressé Shah Sultan Hossein. Its entrance is handsome; a lofty portico enriched with fantastic-twisted pillars, and intermixed with the beautiful marble of Tabriz, leads through a pair of brazen gates, of which the extremities are silver, and the whole surface highly carved and embossed with flowers and verses from the Koran. The gates pass into an elevated semi-dome, which at once opens into the square of the college. The right side of this court is occupied by the mosque, which is still a beautiful building, covered by a cupola and faced by two minarets. But the cupola is falling into decay, the lacquered tiles, on its exterior surface, are all peeling off, and the minarets can no longer be ascended, for the stairs are all destroyed. The interior of the dome is richly spread with variegated tiles, on which are invocations to the prophet, and verses of the Koran in the fullest profusion. I ascended the dome, from which I had but a partial view of the surrounding country; and that which I did see was scarcely any thing more than a series of ruined houses and palaces. The other sides of the square are occupied, one, by a lofty and beautiful portico, and the remaining two by rooms for the students, twelve in each front, arranged in two stories. These apartments are little square cells, spread with carpets, and appeared to me admirably calculated for study. Indeed, the quiet and retirement of this college, the beauty and serenity of the climate, and the shrubbery and water in the courts, would have combined to constitute it in my eyes a sanctuary for learning, and a nursery for the learned, if it had been in any other country. We had some conversation with the Director of the college Medressé Jedéh, Mirza Mahomed Cossim. He is an old man, and possesses a very high literary reputation in Persia, and appeared indeed to know much more than the greater part of those whom we had seen, and to be a perfect master of the history of Persia. He was extremely inquisitive, and his questions were acute and pertinent; he was much delighted with our drawings, and with the map of our route, which we had laid down.

The palaces of the King are enclosed in a fort of lofty walls, which may have a circumference of three miles. The palace of the Chehel Sitoon, or “forty pillars,” is situated in the middle of an immense square, which is intersected by various canals, and planted in different directions by the beautiful chenar tree. In front is an extensive square basin of water, from the farthest extremity of which the palace is beautiful beyond either the power of language or the correctness of pencil to delineate. The first saloon is open towards the garden, and is supported by eighteen pillars, all inlaid with mirrors, and (as the glass is in much greater proportion than the wood) appearing indeed at a distance to be formed of glass only. Each pillar has a marble base, which is carved into the figures of four lions placed in such attitudes, that the shaft seems to rest on their four united backs. The walls, which form its termination behind, are also covered with mirrors placed in such a variety of symmetrical positions, that the mass of the structure appears to be of glass, and when new must have glittered with most magnificent splendour. The ceiling is painted in gold flowers, which are still fresh and brilliant. Large curtains are suspended on the outside, which are occasionally lowered to lessen the heat of the sun.

From this saloon an arched recess (in the same manner studded with glass, and embellished here and there with portraits of favourites) leads into an extensive and princely hall. Here the ceiling is arranged in a variety of domes and figures, and is painted and gilded with a taste and elegance worthy of the first and most civilized of nations. Its finely proportioned walls are embellished by six large paintings: three on one side and three on the other. In the centre of that opposite to the entrance is painted Shah Ismael, in an exploit much renowned in Persian story; when in the great battle with Soliman, Emperor of the Turks, he cuts the Janisary Aga in two before the Sultan. On the right of this, surrounded by his dancing women, musicians, and grandees, is Shah Abbas the Great, seated at a banquet, and offering a cup of wine to another King, whom he is entertaining at his side. The wine, indeed, seems to have flowed in plenty, for one of the party is stretched on the floor in the last stage of drunkenness. The painting to the left is Shah Thamas, in another banquet scene. Opposite to the battle between Shah Ismael and Sultan Soliman, is that of Nadir Shah and Sultan Mahmoud of India. On the left of this is Shah Abbas the Younger, who also is occupied with the pleasures of the table; and on the right is Shah Ismael again, in an engagement with the Usbeck Tartars. These paintings, though designed without the smallest knowledge of perspective, though the figures are in general ill-proportioned, and in attitudes awkward and unnatural, are yet enlivened by a spirit and character so truly illustrative of the manners and habits of the nations which are represented, that I should have thought them an invaluable addition to my collection, if I could have had time to have made copies of them. When it is remembered, that the artist neither could have had the advantages of academical studies, nor the opportunities of improving his taste and knowledge by the galleries of the great in Europe, or conversed with masters in the art, his works would be allowed to possess a very considerable share of merit, and to be strong instances of the genius of the people. The colours with which they are executed retain their original freshness; at least if they have faded they must have been such in their first state, as we have not seen in Europe. The gilding, which is every where intermixed, either to explain the richness of the dress, or the quality of the utensils, is of a brilliancy perhaps never surpassed.

They possess less questionably an excellence, to which the merit of colouring is at any rate very subordinate. They mark strongly and faithfully the manners of their subject, and combine in a series of pleasing and accurate records a variety of details, of feature, attitude, dress, dancing, musical instruments, table furniture, arms, and horse accoutrements of the country. Shah Abbas, in the painting to the right, has no beard. The fashions have altered with the times, and the present King cherishes a beard which descends lower than his girdle, and touches the ground when he sits. The notoriety of Shah Abbas in the revels of the table, and particularly his love of wine, are here displayed in characters so strong, that they cannot be mistaken: and so little did he endeavour to conceal his propensities, that he is here painted in the very act of drinking. The faces of the women are very pleasing, but their wanton looks and lascivious attitudes easily explain their professions.

The furniture of the Chehel Sitoon, which consists indeed of carpets only, is still kept there. The carpets of the time of Abbas are of a large pattern, more regular and infinitely superior in texture to those of the present day. Although the outer part of the fabric is suffered to fall to ruin, the interior is still preserved in repair, as it forms the Dewan Khonéh, or Hall of Audience to the Palace; and is, therefore, kept in readiness for the King’s reception.

Adjoining to the Chehel Sitoon is the harem; the term in Persia is applied to the establishments of the great, zenana is confined to those of the inferior people. This building was lately erected by Mahomed Hossein Khan, the second Minister, and presented by him to his Majesty, and therefore is a very good specimen of the style and workmanship of the present day; and in this view it merits description. It is indeed considered so perfect in its establishment, that if the King were to arrive at Ispahan without a moment’s notice, not one, the smallest domestic article, would be wanting for the convenience of his suite, and the whole palace would present all the comforts which could be found after a residence of many years. From the garden of the Chehel Sitoon an intricate passage leads under an octagonal tower into this new palace, and opens into an oblong square laid out into flower beds, straight walks and basins of water, and surrounded on all its sides by chambers for women of an inferior rank. Proceeding on the left side of this court, a door opens into a species of green-house called the Narangistoon, in which there are only young orange trees. From this there is but one step into the principal court of the building, one whole side of which is occupied by the King’s apartments or drawing-rooms. The front room is adorned by two portraits of his Majesty, on one side seated on his throne, and on the other in the act of killing a deer in a chase on horseback. There are also other pictures, of which the most remarkable are those representing Timoor or Tamerlane, Jenghiz Khan, and Jemsheed. The walls are very richly painted with bouquets of flowers, birds and other animals. The arch, which occupies the side facing the great window, is a beautiful composition of glass and painting, and was the neatest specimen of decorative art which I had then seen in Persia. The ceiling is highly ornamented; gilded flowers and bright looking glasses glisten on every side, and give great liveliness and gaiety to the whole. Behind this is another room equally well painted; the upper windows are here most artfully constructed of plaster, which is pierced into small holes in a great variety of figures and flowers resembling the open work of lace, and admitting a pleasing light. In this room also there are portraits, one of which, that of a European, is called the Shah Zadé Freng, or European Prince. He is represented in our dress of the sixteenth century, in which indeed all the portraits of the Europeans appear, and which is sufficiently explained by the recollection that Shah Abbas had Dutch painters in his pay. The other rooms in this department are similarly decorated and gilded; and in some hang portraits of the King, to which the natives, as they approach, all make an inclination of the head. Under the great room are summer apartments excavated in the ground, which in their season must be delightful retreats. They are all wainscoted and paved with marble slabs, and water is introduced by cascades, which fall from the ground floor, and refresh the whole range. A passage leads to the bath, which, though small, is elegant. The domes are supported by columns, taken from the Armenian churches at Julfa.

From this court, a passage leads into several others for inferior women; and then into two rooms built by Ashreff, one of the Affghan Kings. The latter are indeed much inferior to those which I have already described. They have heavy massive glasses and gildings, and coarse paintings of fruits and flowers, without any representation of the human figure. On the whole, however, we found throughout the palace much sameness, both in the arrangement of the rooms, and in the distribution of the grounds. In the love of water and running streams, a Persian taste is fully gratified at Ispahan, through which the Zaiande-rood affords for all their ornamental purposes an unceasing supply.

From the interior of the palaces we ascended the Ali Capi gate, which forms the entrance. This gate, once the scene of the magnificence of the Seffi family, the threshold of which was ever revered as sacred, is now deserted, and only now and then a solitary individual is seen to pass negligently through. The remains of that splendour, so minutely and exactly described by Chardin, are still to be traced; the fine marbles remain, and the grandeur and elevation of the dome are still undemolished. A ragged porter opened a small door to the right, by which we ascended to the pavilion where Shah Abbas was wont to see the games of the Maidan and the exercises of his troops. This also is sinking rapidly into decay, and retains nothing to attest the beauties which travellers describe, except the shafts of the wooden columns, some pieces of glass, and some decayed paintings. From this we ascended by a winding staircase, still further to the very summit. Here, as this is the highest building in the city, we enjoyed a most extensive view, and from this place we could form a tolerably just idea of its real extent. Houses, or ruins of houses, are spread all over the plain, and reach to the very roots of the surrounding mountains. From this point I took a panoramic view of the whole, which I completed undisturbed, as I had secured the door, and the porter at the bottom before I commenced.36 There is no difference in the colours of the buildings; they are universally of a light yellow, and, if it were not for an abundant intermixture of trees, which in spring and summer cheer and enliven the scene, the view would be monotonous. The trees are mostly the chenars; but, besides these, there are the Lombardy poplar, the willow, and an elm with very thick and rich foliage and a formal shape. The domes of the mosques are a field of green or sometimes blue-lacquered tiles, with ornaments in yellow, blue, and red: the inscriptions are in the same colours. They are crowned by golden balls and a crescent, with the horns bending outwardly.

The mountains, which bound the plain to the Eastward, are the most distant; and those to the West are most strongly marked; all are dark without any verdure. The general appearance of the soil in the town is light, and nearly of the same colour as the houses.

All the cannon, which in Chardin’s day were enclosed in a balustrade before the palace, are removed, and there is not left a vestige even of the balustrade itself. The Maidan Shah, the great public place, no longer presents the busy scene which it must have displayed in the better times of this kingdom. Of all the trees which surrounded it, there is not one standing. The canals, of which the stones remain, are void of water; the houses, which surrounded the Maidan, are no longer inhabited; and the very doors are all blocked up, so that there is now only a dead row of arches to be seen all round. The great market, which once spread the whole area with tents, is now confined to one corner near the Nokara Khanéh. All the rest is quite empty; scarcely a person is seen to pass along. I saw no traces of the pavilion of the clock, which in the time of Chardin so much amused the people by the mechanism of its puppets. The Mesjid Shah or Royal Mosque is still a noble building, if I might judge from its outside; although the lacquered tiles on the dome are in many places falling off. We did not go further than the iron chain, which is thrown across the entrance of its great gate leading into the Maidan. The Mesjid of Louft Ollah is exteriorly in good repair. The great bazar is entered under the Nokara Khanéh by a handsome gate, the paintings on which still exist, but the large clock (of which however the place is still seen) is no longer in existence; nor is there any trace of that also, that was once on the very summit. The other side of the gate opens into the fine bazars (formerly called the Kaiseree) now the Bazar Shah.

There are no modern bazars, except one built by Hajee Mahomed Hossein Khan, the second Minister. He has also made a new Chahar Bagh, in that part of the city towards the bridge, called Pool Hajoo. The bazars, as I had occasion to observe at Shiraz, are all laid out on nearly the same plan as those of Constantinople; generally the different trades in separate bazars. They are on the whole more lively than those of Turkey; being painted and adorned in many places, (particularly under the domes in the centre), with portraits of the heroes of the country, or with combats, or with figures of beasts, and other subjects. In these bazars the confluence of people is certainly great, and if the crowds here were a fair measurement of the general population of the city, the whole numbers of Ispahan would swell rapidly; but as every one in the course of the day has some business in this spot, the rest of the city is comparatively deserted; and as the traders also themselves have here their shops only and return to their homes at night, the mixed multitudes which throng the bazars, again scattered over all the quarters of the town, become a very inadequate proportion for its extent. The women, indeed, except the very lower class, generally remain at home, and during the day form, with their children, all the population of some parts of the city. The N. and E. divisions are the best inhabited. In Chardin’s time the numbers were estimated by those who reckoned largely one million and one hundred thousand souls; but even by the more moderate were fixed at six hundred thousand. Considering, however, the state of ruin in which, perhaps, half of Ispahan is at present, we cannot place its actual population at more than four hundred thousand souls, a calculation which is supported by the accounts of the houses or families, of which there are eighty thousand. This information was subsequently communicated to me by Hajee Mahomed Hossein Khan, second Minister to the King, a native also of the city, and long its Governor, whose opportunities therefore of ascertaining the fact were unquestionable. Much, nevertheless, must be allowed for the exaggeration natural to a Persian.

The kabob shops (or eating-houses on the plan of those in Turkey) seemed to be also equally clean and well arranged. From one of these a complete dinner, with every necessary convenience of dishes, sherbets, &c. may be procured at a short notice, and at a moderate expence. The most frequent shops appeared to be those of sweetmeats, which (in a consumption almost incredible) form the chief ingredients of Persian food, and are here arranged for sale very neatly in large China vases, clean glass vessels, and bright brass platters. The people excel in the composition; and import their sugar from India, and their sugar-candy from China. Large quantities of sugar come from Cairo also, through Suez.

The Beglerbeg, or Governor, gave the Envoy and his suite an entertainment which, in one particular only, was more splendid than those at Shiraz. The great court and all the avenues were here illuminated by a vast number of small lamps, which threw an immense blaze of light all over the place. A China drum which the Beglerbeg had been keeping for many years till a fit opportunity for the display should occur, was now brought forwards. It was suspended on high in the middle of the court. The fire was applied to it, but it emitted thick vapour with little explosions at intervals; and though a meschal or great torch was at length tried, it only increased the smoke and stench, and proved too clearly, that the whole was a Chinese fraud, not unfrequently practised on the purchasers of their drums; a little gunpowder was placed at the ends indeed, but the centre was stuffed with old rags. The other fire-works also were generally miserable, in comparison with those at Shiraz. The dinner, (instead of being served in the usual manner on the ground) was placed on tables framed for the occasion, and was piled up in enormous heaps. The Beglerbeg had the further attention to provide us with plates, spoons, knives, and forks, which were all in like manner made for the day’s entertainment. The spoons were of silver, and that for the Envoy was of gold.

The report, which we had received on the road, that it was the intention of the government to detain the Envoy at Ispahan, did not prove without foundation. The Beglerbeg said, “that the Embassador was to stay at Ispahan to see the country at his leisure, and visit all the fine buildings of the city.” However, at a private conference which Sir Harford had with him at the Goush Khonéh, all this was changed, so that the Beglerbeg was then more anxious even than ourselves, that we should proceed to the capital with every possible expedition. He now urged on the Envoy, promising all his assistance to enable him to reach Teheran, before the commencement of the mourning of the Moharrem; engaging his own mules to convey us from Ispahan, and ordering two relays of one hundred and fifty each at Kashan and at Kom. This anxiety was again seconded by a courier, who had arrived in two days from Teheran, and had brought the answers to the letters which we had dispatched from Khonéh Korréh.

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