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[Illustration: NORTH-EASTERN FACADE AND GRAND ENTRANCE OF SENNACHERIBS
PALACE KOUYUNJIK
Restored from a Sketch by J Fergusson, Esqre
G P PUTNAM & Co NEW YORK.]
DISCOVERIES AMONG THE RUINS OF NINEVEH AND BABYLON;
WITH
TRAVELS IN ARMENIA, KURDISTAN, AND THE DESERT:
BEING THE RESULT OF A SECOND EXPEDITION
UNDERTAKEN FOR
THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
BY AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.
AUTHOR OF "NINEVEH AND ITS REMAINS."
"For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city
a ruin; a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never
be built."--ISAIAH xxv. 2.
ABRIDGED FROM THE LARGER WORK.
NEW-YORK:
G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE.
1853.
ENTERED according to Act of Congress in the year 1853, by
GEORGE P. PUTNAM & CO.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern
District of New-York.
PREFATORY NOTE.
The present Abridgment of Mr. Layard's Discoveries among the ruins of
Nineveh and Babylon has been prepared with much care and attention; and a
studious effort has been made to retain, in the Author's own language, the
more interesting and important portions of the larger work. This has been
done by omitting the greater part of the minute details of the
descriptions of sculpture and monumental remains, by dispensing with
several tables of cuneiform characters, elaborate examinations of various
matters by scientific men, &c. At the same time there has been retained
every thing relating to the Bible, and illustrating and enforcing its
truth and the fulfilment of prophecy; as well as the genial and life-like
portraitures of Arab habits and customs, and the pleasant adventures of
the Author in regions that to most men seem like fairy land.
For general use it is confidently hoped and believed that the present
volume will be more widely serviceable than the larger work, from its
expensiveness and size, could possibly be.
S.
_New-York, May 2d, 1853._
PREFACE.
Since the publication of my first work on the discoveries at Nineveh much
progress has been made in deciphering the cuneiform character, and the
contents of many highly interesting and important inscriptions have been
given to the public. For these additions to our knowledge we are mainly
indebted to the sagacity and learning of two English scholars, Col.
Rawlinson and the Rev. Dr. Hincks. In making use of the results of their
researches, I have not omitted to own the sources from which my
information has been derived. I trust, also, that I have in no instance
availed myself of the labors of other writers, or of the help of friends,
without due acknowledgments. I have endeavored to assign to every one his
proper share in the discoveries recorded in these pages.
I am aware that several distinguished French scholars, amongst whom I may
mention my friends, M. Botta and M. de Saulcy, have contributed to the
successful deciphering of the Assyrian inscriptions. Unfortunately I have
been unable to consult the published results of their investigations. If,
therefore, I should have overlooked in any instance their claims to prior
discovery, I have to express my regret for an error arising from
ignorance, and not from any unworthy national prejudice.
Doubts appear to be still entertained by many eminent critics as to the
progress actually made in deciphering the cuneiform writing. These doubts
may have been confirmed by too hasty theories and conclusions, which, on
subsequent investigation, their authors have been the first to withdraw.
But the unbiased inquirer can scarcely now reject the evidence which can
be brought forward to confirm the general accuracy of the interpretations
of the inscriptions. Had they rested upon a single word, or an isolated
paragraph, their soundness might reasonably have been questioned; when,
however, several independent investigators have arrived at the same
results, and have not only detected numerous names of persons, nations,
and cities in historical and geographical series, but have found them
mentioned in proper connection with events recorded by sacred and profane
writers, scarcely any stronger evidence could be desired. The reader, I
would fain hope, will come to this conclusion when I treat of the contents
of the various records discovered in the Assyrian palaces.
To Mr. Thomas Ellis, who has added so much to the value of my work by his
translations of inscriptions on Babylonian bowls, now for the first time,
through his sagacity, deciphered; to those who have assisted me in my
labors, and especially to my friend and companion, Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, to
the Rev. Dr. Hincks, to the Rev. S. C. Malan, who has kindly allowed me
the use of his masterly sketches, to Mr. Fergusson, Mr. Scharf, and to Mr.
Hawkins, Mr. Birch, Mr. Vaux, and the other officers of the British
Museum, I beg to express my grateful thanks and acknowledgments.
London, January, 1853.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
N. E. FACADE AND ENTRANCE TO SENNACHERIB'S PALACE,
RESTORED _Frontispiece._
THE MELEK TAOUS OR COPPER BIRD OF THE YEZIDIS 46
SUBTERRANEAN EXCAVATIONS AT KOUYUNJIK 61
MOUND OF NIMROUD 84
HEAD-DRESS OF CAPTIVES EMPLOYED BY ASSYRIANS IN
MOVING BULL (KOUYUNJIK) 92
VILLAGE WITH CONICAL ROOFS NEAR ALEPPO 97
BULLS WITH HISTORICAL INSCRIPTIONS OF SENNACHERIB
(KOUYUNJIK) 113
SENNACHERIB ON HIS THRONE BEFORE LACHISH 129
FEET OF TRIPODS IN BRONZE AND IRON 151
A CAPTIVE (OF THE TOKKARI?) KOUYUNJIK 193
LION DISCOVERED AT ARBAN 231
VOLCANIC CONE OF KOUKAB 268
ENTRANCE TO SMALL TEMPLE (NIMROUD) _Facing page_ 288
FISH-GOD AT ENTRANCE TO SMALL TEMPLE (NIMROUD) 289
KURDS OF WAN 320
FIGURES OF ASSYRIAN VENUS IN BAKED CLAY 383
THE MUJELIBE OR KASR (FROM RICH) 392
PLAN OF PART OF THE RUINS OF BABYLON ON THE EASTERN
BANK OF THE EUPHRATES 396
JUG OF SOAPSTONE, FROM THE MOUND OF BABEL 409
ASSYRIAN PEDESTAL, FROM KOUYUNJIK 477
PART OF COLOSSAL HEAD, FROM KOUYUNJIK 481
PLAN OF THE INCLOSURE WALLS AND DITCHES AT KOUYUNJIK 536
MAP OF ASSYRIA, ETC. } _at the end._
GENERAL MAP OF MESOPOTAMIA }
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Trustees of the British Museum resume Excavations at
Nineveh.--Departure from Constantinople.--Description of our
Party.--Roads from Trebizond to Erzeroom.--Description of the
Country.--Armenian Churches.--Erzeroom.--Reshid Pasha.--The
Dudjook Tribes.--Shahan Bey.--Turkish Reform.--Journey through
Armenia.--An Armenian Bishop.--The Lakes of Shailu and Nazik 15
CHAPTER II.
The Lake of Wan.--Akhlat.--Tatar Tombs.--Ancient Remains.--A
Dervish.--A Friend.--The Mudir.--Armenian Remains.--An Armenian
Convent and Bishop.--Journey to Bitlis.--Nimroud Dagh.--
Bitlis.--Journey to Kherzan.--Yezidi Village 30
CHAPTER III.
Reception by the Yezidis.--Village of Guzelder.--Triumphal
March to Redwan.--Redwan.--Armenian Church.--The Melek Taous,
or Brazen Bird.--Tilleh.--Valley of the Tigris.--Bas-reliefs.--
Journey to Dereboun.--To Semil.--Abde Agha.--Journey to
Mosul.--The Yezidi Chiefs.--Arrival at Mosul.--Xenophon's March
from the Zab to the Black Sea 42
CHAPTER IV.
State of the Excavations on my Return to Mosul.--Discoveries at
Kouyunjik.--Tunnels in the Mound.--Bas-reliefs representing
Assyrian Conquests.--A Well.--Siege of a City.--Nature of
Sculptures at Kouyunjik.--Arrangement for Renewal of
Excavations.--Description of Mound.--Kiamil Pasha.--Visit to
Sheikh Adi.--Yezidi Ceremonies.--Sheikh Jindi.--Yezidi
Meeting.--Dress of the Women.--Bavian.--Doctrines of the
Yezidi.--Jerraiyah.--Return to Mosul 61
CHAPTER V.
Renewal of Excavations at Kouyunjik.--First Visit to Nimroud.--
State of Ruins.--Renew Excavations in Mound.--Visit of Col.
Rawlinson.--Mr. H. Rassam.--The Jebour Workmen at Kouyunjik.--
Discoveries at Kouyunjik.--Sculptures representing moving of
great Stones and Winged Bulls.--Methods adopted.--Epigraphs on
Bas-reliefs of moving Bulls.--Sculptures representing Invasion
of Mountainous Country, and Sack of City.--Discovery of
Gateway.--Excavation in high conical Mound at Nimroud.--
Discovery of Wall of Stone.--Visit to Khorsabad.--Discovery of
Slab.--State of the Ruins.--Futhliyah.--Baazani.--Baasheikhah 84
CHAPTER VI.
Discovery of Grand Entrance to the Palace of Kouyunjik.--Of the
Name of Sennacherib in the Inscriptions.--The Records of that
King in the Inscriptions on the Bulls.--An Abridged Translation
of them.--Name of Hezekiah.--Account of Sennacherib's Wars with
the Jews.--Dr. Hincks and Col. Rawlinson.--The Names of Sargon
and Shalmaneser.--Discovery of Sculptures at Kouyunjik,
representing the Siege of Lachish.--Description of the
Sculptures.--Discovery of Clay Seals.--Of Signets of Egyptian
and Assyrian Kings.--Cartouche of Sabaco.--Name of
Essarhaddon.--Confirmation of Historical Records of the
Bible.--Royal Cylinder of Sennacherib 113
CHAPTER VII.
Road open for removal of Winged Lions.--Discovery of Vaulted
Drain.--Of other Arches.--Of Painted Bricks.--Attack of the Tai
on the Village of Nimroud.--Visit to the Howar.--Description of
the Encampment of the Tai.--The Plain of Shomamok.--Sheikh
Faras.--Wali Bey.--Return to Nimroud 137
CHAPTER VIII.
Contents of newly-discovered Chamber.--A Well.--Large Copper
Caldrons.--Bells, Rings, and other Objects in Metal.--
Tripods.--Caldrons and large Vessels.--Bronze Bowls, Cups, and
Dishes.--Description of the Embossings upon them.--Arms and
Armour.--Shields.--Iron Instruments.--Ivory Remains.--Bronze
Cubes inlaid with Gold.--Glass Bowls.--Lens.--The Royal Throne 150
CHAPTER IX.
Visit to the Winged Lions by Night.--The Bitumen Springs.--
Removal of the Winged Lions to the River.--Floods at Nimroud.--
Yezidi Marriage Festival.--Baazani.--Visit to Bavian.--Site of
the Battle of Arbela.--Description of Rock-Sculptures.--
Inscriptions.--The Shabbaks 167
CHAPTER X.
Visit to Kalah Sherghat prevented.--Visit to Shomamok.--
Keshaf.--The Howar.--A Bedouin.--His Mission.--Descent of Arab
Horses.--Their Pedigree.--Ruins of Mokhamour.--The Mound of the
Kasr.--Plain of Shomamok.--The Gla or Kalah.--Xenophon and the
Ten Thousand.--A Wolf.--Return to Nimroud and Mosul.--
Discoveries at Kouyunjik.--Description of the Bas-reliefs 182
CHAPTER XI.
Preparations for a Journey to the Khabour.--Sculptures
discovered there.--Sheikh Suttum.--His Rediff.--Departure from
Mosul.--First Encampment.--Abou Khameera.--A Storm.--Tel
Ermah.--A Stranger.--Tel Jemal.--The Chief of Tel Afer.--A
Sunset in the Desert.--A Jebour Encampment.--The Belled
Sinjar.--The Sinjar Hill.--Mirkan.--Bukra.--The dress of the
Yezidis.--The Shomal.--Ossofa.--Aldina.--Return to the
Belled.--A Snake-Charmer.--Journey continued in the Desert.--
Rishwan.--Encampment of the Boraij.--Dress of Arab Women.--
Rathaiyah.--A Deputation from the Yezidis.--Arab Encampments.--
The Khabour.--Mohammed Emin.--Arrival at Arban 195
CHAPTER XII.
Arban.--Our Encampment.--Suttum and Mohammed Emin.--Winged
Bulls discovered.--Excavations commenced.--Their Results.--
Discovery of Small Objects--of Second Pair of Winged Bulls.--of
Lion--of Chinese Bottle--of Vase--of Egyptian Scarabs--of
Tombs.--The Scene of the Captivity 225
CHAPTER XIII.
Residence at Arban.--Mohammed Emin's Tent.--The Agaydat.--our
Tents.--Bread-baking.--Food of the Bedouins.--Thin Bread.--The
Produce of their Flocks.--Diseases amongst them.--Their
Remedies.--The Deloul or Dromedary.--Bedouin Warfare.--Suttum's
First Wife.--A Storm.--Turtles.--Lions.--A Bedouin Robber.--
Beavers.--Ride to Ledjmiyat--A Plundering Expedition.--Loss of
a Hawk.--Ruins of Shemshani.--Return to Arban.--Visit to
Moghamis 237
CHAPTER XIV.
Leave Arban.--The Banks of the Khabour.--Artificial Mounds.--
Mijwell.--The Cadi of the Bedouins.--The _Thar_ or
Blood-Revenge.--Caution of Arabs.--A natural Cavern.--An
extinct volcano.--The Confluents of the Khabour.--Bedouin
Marks.--Suleiman Agha.--Encampment at Um-Jerjeh.--The Turkish
Irregular Cavalry.--Mound of Mijdel.--Ruins on the Khabour.--
Mohammed Emin leaves us.--Visit to Kurdish Tents and Harem.--
The Milli Kurds.--The Family of Rishwan.--Arab Love-making.--
The Dakheel.--Bedouin Poets and Poetry.--Turkish Cavalry Horses 252
CHAPTER XV.
Departure from the Khabour.--Arab Sagacity.--The Hol.--The Lake
of Khatouniyah.--Return of Suttum.--Encampment of the
Shammar.--Arab Horses--their Breeds--their Value--their
Speed.--Sheikh Ferhan.--Yezidi Villages.--Falcons.--An Alarm.--
Abou Maria.--Eski Mosul.--Arrival at Mosul.--Return of Suttum
to the Desert 268
CHAPTER XVI.
Discoveries at Kouyunjik.--Procession of Figures bearing Fruit
and Game.--Locusts.--Led Horses.--An Assyrian Campaign.--Dagon,
or the Fish-God.--The Chambers of Records.--Inscribed Clay
Tablets.--Return to Nimroud.--Effects of the Flood.--
Discoveries.--Small Temple under high Mound.--The Evil
Spirit.--Fish-God.--Fine Bas-relief of the King.--Extracts from
the Inscription.--Great inscribed Monolith.--Extracts from the
Inscription.--Cedar Beams.--Small Objects.--Second Temple.--
Marble Figure and other Objects 280
CHAPTER XVII.
The Summer.--Encampment at Kouyunjik.--Visitors.--Mode of
Life.--Departure for the Mountains.--Akra.--Rock-Tablets at
Gunduk.--District of Zibari.--Namet Agha.--District of
Shirwan--of Baradost--of Gherdi--of Shemdina.--Mousa Bey.--
Nestorian Bishop.--Convent of Mar Hananisho.--Dizza.--An
Albanian Friend.--Bash-Kalah.--Izzet Pasha.--A Jewish
Encampment.--High Mountain Pass.--Mahmoudiyah.--First View of
Wan 300
CHAPTER XVIII.
Mehemet Pasha.--Description of Wan.--Its History.--Improvement
in its Condition.--The Armenian Bishop.--The Cuneiform
Inscriptions.--The Caves of Khorkhor.--The Meher Kapousi.--A
Tradition.--Observations on the Inscriptions.--The Bairam.--An
American School.--The American Missions.--Protestant Movement
in Turkey.--Amikh.--The Convent of Yedi Klissia 320
CHAPTER XIX.
Leave Wan.--The Armenian Patriarch.--The Island of Akhtamar.--
An Armenian Church.--History of the Convent.--Pass into
Mukus.--The District of Mukus--of Shattak--of Nourdooz.--A
Nestorian Village.--Encampments.--Mount Ararat.--Mar Shamoun.--
Julamerik.--Valley of Diz.--Pass into Jelu.--Nestorian District
of Jelu.--An ancient Church.--The Bishop.--District of Baz--of
Tkhoma.--Return to Mosul 337
CHAPTER XX.
Discoveries at Kouyunjik during the Summer.--Description of the
Sculptures.--Capture of Cities on a great River.--Pomp of
Assyrian King.--Alabaster Pavement.--Conquest of Tribes
inhabiting a Marsh.--Their Wealth.--Chambers with Sculptures
belonging to a new King.--Description of the Sculptures.--
Conquest of the People of Susiana.--Portrait of the King.--His
guards and Attendants.--The City of Shushan.--Captive Prince.--
Musicians.--Captives put to the Torture.--Artistic Character of
the Sculptures.--An Inclined Passage.--Two small Chambers.--
Colossal Figures.--More Sculptures 356
CHAPTER XXI.
Preparations for leaving Nineveh.--Departure for Babylon.--
Descent of the River.--Tekrit.--The State of the Rivers of
Mesopotamia.--Commerce upon them.--Turkish Roads.--The Plain of
Dura.--The Naharwan.--Samarrah.--Kadesia.--Palm Groves.--
Kathimain.--Approach to Baghdad.--The City.--Arrival.--Dr.
Ross.--A British Steamer.--Modern Baghdad.--Tel Mohammed.--
Departure for Babylon.--A Persian Prince.--Abde Pasha's
Camp.--Eastern Falconry.--Hawking the Gazelle.--Approach to
Babylon.--The Ruins.--Arrival at Hillah 372
CHAPTER XXII.
The Chiefs of Hillah.--Present of Lions.--The Son of the
Governor.--Description of the Town.--Zaid.--The Ruins of
Babylon.--Changes in the Course of the Euphrates.--The Walls.--
Visit to the Birs Nimroud.--Description of the Ruin.--View from
it.--Excavations and Discoveries in the Mound of Babel.--In the
Mujelibe or Kasr.--The Tree Athele.--Excavations in the Ruin of
Amran.--Bowls, with Inscriptions in Hebrew and Syriac
Characters.--The Jews of Babylonia 392
CHAPTER XXIII.
State of the Ruins of Babylon.--Cause of the Disappearance of
Buildings.--Nature of original Edifices.--Babylonian Bricks.--
The History of Babylon.--Its Fall.--Its Remarkable Position.--
Commerce.--Canals and Roads.--Skill of Babylonians in the
Arts.--Engraved Gems.--Corruption of Manners, and consequent
Fall of the City.--The Mecca Pilgrimage.--Sheikh Ibn Reshid.--
The Gebel Shammar.--The Mounds of El Hymer--of Anana 419
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ruins in Southern Mesopotamia.--Departure from Hillah.--
Sand-Hills.--Villages in the Jezireh.--Sheikh Karboul.--
Ruins.--First View of Niffer.--The Marshes.--Arab Boats.--
Arrive at Souk-el-Afaij.--Sheikh Agab.--Town of the Afaij.--
Description of the Ruins of Niffer.--Excavations in the
Mounds.--Discovery of Coffins--of various Relics.--Mr. Loftus'
Discoveries at Wurka.--The Arab Tribes.--Wild Beasts.--Lions.--
Customs of the Afaij.--Leave the Marshes.--Return to Baghdad.--
A Mirage 437
CHAPTER XXV.
Preparations for Departure.--Sahiman.--Plunder of his Camels.--
Leave Baghdad.--Journey through Mesopotamia.--Early Arab
Remains.--The Median Wall.--Tekrit.--Horses stolen.--Instances
of Bedouin Honesty.--Excavations at Kalah Sherghat.--Reach
Mosul.--Discoveries during Absence.--New Chambers at
Kouyunjik.--Description of Bas-reliefs.--Extent of the Ruins
explored.--Bases of Pillars.--Small objects.--Roman Coins
struck at Nineveh.--Hoard of Denarii.--Greek Relics.--Absence
of Assyrian Tombs.--Fragment with Egyptian Characters.--
Assyrian Relics.--Remains beneath the Tomb of Jonah.--
Discoveries at Shereef-Khan--at Nimroud.--Assyrian Weights.--
Engraved Cylinders 463
CHAPTER XXVI.
Results of the Discoveries to Chronology and History.--Names of
Assyrian Kings in the Inscriptions.--A Date fixed.--The Name of
Jehu.--The Obelisk King.--The earlier Kings--Sardanapalus.--His
Successors.--Pul, or Tiglath Pileser.--Sargon.--Sennacherib.--
Essarhaddon.--The last Assyrian Kings.--Tables of proper Names
in the Assyrian Inscriptions.--Antiquity of Nineveh.--Of the
Name of Assyria.--Illustrations of Scripture.--State of Judaea
and Assyria compared.--Political Condition of the Empire.--
Assyrian Colonies.--Prosperity of the Country.--Religion.--
Extent of Nineveh.--Assyrian Architecture--Compared with
Jewish.--Palace of Kouyunjik restored.--Platform at Nimroud
restored.--The Assyrian fortified Inclosures.--Description of
Kouyunjik.--Conclusion 491
NINEVEH AND BABYLON.
CHAPTER I.
THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM RESUME EXCAVATIONS AT
NINEVEH.--DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE.--DESCRIPTION OF OUR
PARTY.--ROADS FROM TREBIZOND TO ERZEROOM.--DESCRIPTION OF THE
COUNTRY.--ARMENIAN CHURCHES.--ERZEROOM.--RESHID PASHA.--THE DUDJOOK
TRIBES.--SHAHAN BEY.--TURKISH REFORM.--JOURNEY THROUGH ARMENIA.--AN
ARMENIAN BISHOP.--THE LAKES OF SHAILU AND NAZIK.
After a few months' residence in England during the year 1848, to recruit
a constitution worn by long exposure to the extremes of an Eastern
climate, I received orders to proceed to my post at Her Majesty's Embassy
in Turkey. The Trustees of the British Museum did not, at that time,
contemplate further excavations on the site of ancient Nineveh. Ill health
and limited time had prevented me from placing before the public, previous
to my return from the East, the results of my first researches, with the
illustrations of the monuments and copies of the inscriptions recovered
from the ruins of Assyria. They were not published until some time after
my departure, and did not consequently receive that careful
superintendence and revision necessary to works of this nature. It was at
Constantinople that I first learnt the general interest felt in England
in the discoveries, and that they had been universally received as fresh
illustrations of Scripture and prophecy, as well as of ancient history
sacred and profane.
And let me here, at the very outset, gratefully acknowledge that generous
spirit of English criticism which overlooks the incapacity and
shortcomings of the laborer when his object is worthy of praise, and that
object is sought with sincerity and singleness of purpose. The gratitude,
which I deeply felt for encouragement rarely equalled, could be best shown
by cheerfully consenting, without hesitation, to the request made to me by
the Trustees of the British Museum, urged by public opinion, to undertake
the superintendence of a second expedition into Assyria. Being asked to
furnish a plan of operations, I stated what appeared to me to be the
course best calculated to produce interesting and important results, and
to enable us to obtain the most accurate information on the ancient
history, language, and arts, not only of Assyria, but of its sister
kingdom, Babylonia. Perhaps my plan was too vast and general to admit of
performance or warrant adoption. I was merely directed to return to the
site of Nineveh, and to continue the researches commenced amongst its
ruins.
Arrangements were hastily, and of course inadequately, made in England.
The assistance of a competent artist was most desirable, to portray with
fidelity those monuments which injury and decay had rendered unfit for
removal. Mr. F. Cooper was selected by the Trustees of the British Museum
to accompany the expedition in this capacity. Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, already
well known to many of my readers for the share he had taken in my first
discoveries, quitted England with him. They both joined me at
Constantinople. Dr. Sandwith, an English physician on a visit to the
East, was induced to form one of our party. One Abd-el-Messiah, a Catholic
Syrian of Mardin, an active and trustworthy servant during my former
residence in Assyria, was fortunately at this time in the capital, and
again entered my service: my other attendants were Mohammed Agha, a
cawass, and an Armenian named Serkis. The faithful Bairakdar, who had so
well served me during my previous journey, had accompanied the English
commission for the settlement of the boundaries between Turkey and Persia;
with the understanding, however, that he was to meet me at Mosul, in case
I should return. Cawal Yusuf, the head of the Preachers of the Yezidis,
with four chiefs of the districts in the neighbourhood of Diarbekir, who
had been for some months in Constantinople, completed my party.
In consequence of the severe and unjust treatment of the Yezidis, in
compelling them to serve in the Turkish army, Hussein Bey and Sheikh Nasr,
the chiefs of the whole community, hearing that I was at Constantinople,
sent a deputation to the Sultan. Through Sir Stratford Canning's friendly
interference, a firman was obtained, and they were freed from all illegal
impositions for the future.
Our arrangements were complete by the 28th of August (1849), and on that
day we left the Bosphorus by an English steamer bound for Trebizond. The
size of my party and its consequent incumbrances rendering a caravan
journey absolutely necessary, I determined to avoid the usual tracks, and
to cross eastern Armenia and Kurdistan, both on account of the novelty of
part of the country in a geographical point of view, and its political
interest as having only recently been brought under the immediate control
of the Turkish government.
We disembarked at Trebizond on the 31st, and on the following day
commenced our land journey. The country between this port and Erzeroom has
been frequently traversed and described. Through it pass the caravan
routes connecting Persia with the Black Sea, the great lines of
intercourse and commerce between Europe and central Asia. The roads
usually frequented are three in number. The summer, or upper, road is the
shortest, but is most precipitous, and, crossing very lofty mountains, is
closed after the snows commence; it is called _Tchairler_, from its fine
upland pastures, on which the horses are usually fed when caravans take
this route. The middle road has few advantages over the upper, and is
rarely followed by merchants, who prefer the lower, although making a
considerable detour by Gumish Khaneh, or the Silver Mines. The three unite
at the town of Baiburt, midway between the sea and Erzeroom. Although an
active and daily increasing trade is carried on by these roads, no means
whatever have until recently been taken to improve them. They consist of
mere mountain tracks, deep in mud or dust according to the season of the
year. The bridges have been long permitted to fall into decay, and
commerce is frequently stopped for days by the swollen torrent or fordless
stream. This has been one of the many evil results of the system of
centralization so vigorously commenced by Sultan Mahmoud, and so steadily
carried out during the present reign.
Since my visit to Trebizond a road for carts has been commenced, which is
to lead from that port to the Persian frontiers; but it will, probably,
like other undertakings of the kind be abandoned long before completed, or
if ever completed will be permitted at once to fall to ruin from the want
of common repair. And yet the Persian trade is one of the chief sources of
revenue of the Turkish empire, and unless conveniences are afforded for
its prosecution, will speedily pass into other hands. The southern shores
of the Black Sea, twelve years ago rarely visited by a foreign vessel, are
now coasted by steamers belonging to three companies, which touch nearly
weekly at the principal ports; and there is commerce and traffic enough
for more. The want of proper harbors is a considerable drawback in the
navigation of a sea so unstable and dangerous as the Euxine. Trebizond has
a mere roadstead, and from its position is otherwise little calculated for
a great commercial port, which, like many other places, it has become
rather from its hereditary claims as the representative of a city once
famous, than from any local advantages. The only harbour on the southern
coast is that of Batoun, nor is there any retreat for vessels on the
Circassian shores. This place is therefore probably destined to become the
emporium of trade, both from its safe and spacious port, and from the
facility it affords of internal communication with Persia, Georgia, and
Armenia.
At the back of Trebizond, as indeed along the whole of this singularly
bold and beautiful coast, the mountains rise in lofty peaks, and are
wooded with trees of enormous growth and admirable quality, furnishing an
unlimited supply of timber for commerce or war. Innumerable streams force
their way to the sea through deep and rocky ravines. The more sheltered
spots are occupied by villages and hamlets, chiefly inhabited by a hardy
and industrious race of Greeks. In spring the choicest flowers perfume the
air, and luxuriant creepers clothe the limbs of gigantic trees. In summer
the richest pastures enamel the uplands, and the inhabitants of the coasts
drive their flocks and herds to the higher regions of the hills.
Our journey to Erzeroom was performed without incident. A heavy and
uninterrupted rain for two days tried the patience and temper of those who
for the first time encountered the difficulties and incidents of Eastern
travel. The only place of any interest, passed during our ride, was a
small Armenian village, the remains of a larger, with the ruins of three
early Christian churches, or baptisteries. These remarkable buildings, of
which many examples exist, belong to an order of architecture peculiar to
the most eastern districts of Asia Minor and to the ruins of ancient
Armenian cities, on the borders of Turkey and Persia. There are many
interesting questions connected with this Armenian architecture which will
deserve elucidation. From it was probably derived much that passed into
the Gothic, whilst the Tatar conquerors of Asia Minor adopted it, as will
be hereafter seen, for their mausoleums and places of worship. It is
peculiarly elegant both in its decorations, its proportions, and the
general arrangement of the masses, and might with advantage be studied by
the modern architect. Indeed, Asia Minor contains a mine of similar
materials unexplored and almost unknown.
We reached Erzeroom on the 8th, and were most hospitably received by the
British consul, Mr. Brant, a gentleman who has long, well, and honorably
sustained our influence in this part of Turkey, and who was the first to
open an important field for our commerce in Asia Minor. With him I visited
the commander-in-chief of the Turkish forces in Anatolia, who had recently
returned from a successful expedition against the wild mountain tribes of
central Armenia. Reshid Pasha, known as the "_Guzlu_," or the "Wearer of
Spectacles," enjoyed the advantages of an European education, and had
already distinguished himself in the military career. With a knowledge of
the French language he united a taste for European literature, which,
during his numerous expeditions into districts unknown to western
travellers, had led him to examine their geographical features, and to
make inquiries into the manners and religion of their inhabitants. His
last exploit had been the subjugation of the tribes inhabiting the Dudjook
Mountains, to the south-west of Erzeroom, long in open rebellion against
the Sultan. The account he gave me of the country and its occupants,
though curious and interesting, is not perhaps to be strictly relied on,
but a district hitherto inaccessible may possibly contain the remains of
ancient races, monuments of antiquity, and natural productions of
sufficient importance to merit the attention of the traveller in Asia
Minor.
The city of Erzeroom is rapidly declining in importance, and is almost
solely supported by the Persian transit trade. It would be nearly deserted
if that traffic were to be thrown into a new channel by the construction
of the direct road from Batoun to the Persian frontiers. It contains no
buildings of any interest, with the exception of a few ruins of monuments
of early Mussulman domination; and the modern Turkish edifices, dignified
with the names of palaces and barracks, are meeting the fate of neglected
mud.
The districts of Armenia and Kurdistan, through which lay our road from
Erzeroom to Mosul, are sufficiently unknown and interesting to merit more
than a casual mention. Our route by the lake of Wan, Bitlis, and Jezirah
was nearly a direct one. It had been but recently opened to caravans. The
haunts of the last of the Kurdish rebels were on the shores of this lake.
After the fall of the most powerful of their chiefs, Beder Khan Bey, they
had one by one been subdued and carried away into captivity. Only a few
months had, however, elapsed since the Beys of Bitlis, who had longest
resisted the Turkish arms, had been captured. With them rebellion was
extinguished for the time in Kurdistan.
Our caravan consisted of my own party, with the addition of a muleteer and
his two assistants, natives of Bitlis, who furnished me with seventeen
horses and mules from Erzeroom to Mosul. The first day's ride, as is
customary in the East, where friends accompany the traveller far beyond
the city gates, and where the preparations for a journey are so numerous
that everything cannot well be remembered, scarcely exceeded nine miles.
We rested for the night in the village of Guli, whose owner, one Shahan
Bey, had been apprised of my intended visit. He had rendered his
newly-built house as comfortable as his means would permit for our
accommodation, and, after providing us with an excellent supper, passed
the evening with me. Descended from an ancient family of Dereh-Beys, he
had inherited the hospitality and polished manners of a class now almost
extinct, in consequence of the policy pursued by the Turkish sultans,
Mahmoud and Abdul-Medjid, to break down the great families and men of
middle rank, who were more or less independent, and to consolidate and
centralize the vast Ottoman empire.
It is customary to regard these old Turkish lords as inexorable
tyrants--robber chiefs, who lived on the plunder of travellers and of
their subjects. That there were many who answered to this description
cannot be denied; but they were, I believe, exceptions. Amongst them were
some rich in virtues and high and noble feeling. It has been frequently my
lot to find a representative of this nearly extinct class in some remote
and almost unknown spot in Asia Minor or Albania. I have been received
with affectionate warmth at the end of a day's journey by a venerable Bey
or Agha in his spacious mansion, now fast crumbling to ruin, but still
bright with the remains of rich, yet tasteful, oriental decoration; his
long beard, white as snow, falling low on his breast; his many-folded
turban shadowing his benevolent yet manly countenance, and his limbs
enveloped in the noble garments rejected by the new generation; his hall
open to all comers, the guest neither asked from whence he came or whither
he was going, dipping his hands with him in the same dish; his servants,
standing with reverence before him, rather his children than his servants;
his revenues spent in raising fountains[1] on the wayside for the weary
traveller, or in building caravanserais on the dreary plain; not only
professing, but practising all the duties and virtues enjoined by the
Koran, which are Christian duties and virtues too; in his manners, his
appearance, his hospitality, and his faithfulness, a perfect model for a
Christian gentleman. The race is fast passing away, and I feel grateful in
being able to testify, with a few others, to its existence once, against
prejudice, intolerance, and so-called reform.
Our host at Guli, Shahan Bey, although not an old man, was a very
favorable specimen of the class I have described. He was truly, in the
noble and expressive phraseology of the East, an "Ojiak Zadeh," "a child
of the hearth," a gentleman born. His family had originally migrated from
Daghistan, and his father, a pasha, had distinguished himself in the wars
with Russia. He entertained me with animated accounts of feuds between his
ancestors and the neighbouring chiefs; and steadily refused to allow any
recompense to himself or his servants for his hospitality.
From Guli we crossed a high range of mountains, running nearly east and
west, by a pass called Ali-Baba, or Ala-Baba, enjoying from the summit an
extensive view of the plain of Pasvin, once one of the most thickly
peopled and best cultivated districts in Armenia. The Christian
inhabitants were partly induced by promises of land and protection, and
partly compelled by force, to accompany the Russian army into Georgia
after the end of the last war with Turkey. By similar means, that part of
the Pashalic of Erzeroom adjoining the Russian territories was almost
stripped of its most industrious Armenian population. To the south of us
rose the snow-capped mountains of the Bin-Ghiul, or the "Thousand Lakes,"
in which the Araxes and several confluents of the Euphrates have their
source. We descended from the pass into undulating and barren downs. The
villages, thinly scattered over the low hills, were deserted by their
inhabitants, who, at this season of the year, pitch their tents and seek
pasture for their flocks in the uplands.
Next day we continued our journey amongst undulating hills, abounding in
flocks of the great and lesser bustard. Innumerable sheep-walks branched
from the beaten path, a sign that villages were near; but, like those we
had passed the day before, they had been deserted for the _yilaks_, or
summer pastures. These villages are still such as they were when Xenophon
traversed Armenia. "Their houses," says he, "were under ground; the mouth
resembling that of a well, but spacious below: there was an entrance dug
for the cattle, but the inhabitants descended by ladders. In these houses
were goats, sheep, cows, and fowls, with their young."[2] The low hovels,
mere holes in the hill-side, and the common refuge of man, poultry, and
cattle, cannot be seen from any distance, and they are purposely built
away from the road, to escape the unwelcome visits of travelling
government officers and marching troops. It is not uncommon for a
traveller to receive the first intimation of his approach to a village by
finding his horse's fore feet down a chimney, and himself taking his place
unexpectedly in the family circle through the roof. Numerous small streams
wind among the valleys, marking by meandering lines of perpetual green
their course to the Arras, or Araxes. We crossed that river about mid-day
by a ford not more than three feet deep, but the bed of the stream is
wide, and after rains, and during the spring, is completely filled by an
impassable torrent.
During the afternoon we crossed the western spur of the Tiektab Mountains,
a high and bold range with three well defined peaks, which had been
visible from the summit of the Ala-Baba pass. From the crest we had the
first view of Subhan, or Sipan, Dagh, a magnificent conical peak, covered
with eternal snow, and rising abruptly from the plain to the north of Lake
Wan. It is a conspicuous and beautiful object from every part of the
surrounding country. We descended into the wide and fertile plain of
Hinnis. The town was just visible in the distance, but we left it to the
right, and halted for the night in the large Armenian village of Kosli,
after a ride of more than nine hours. I was received at the guesthouse (a
house reserved for travellers, and supported by joint contributions), with
great hospitality by one Misrab Agha, a Turk, to whom the village formerly
belonged as Spahilik or military tenure, and who, deprived of his
hereditary rights, had now farmed its revenues. He hurried with a long
stick among the low houses, and heaps of dry dung, piled up in every open
space for winter fuel, collecting fowls, curds, bread, and barley, abusing
at the same time the _tanzimat_, which compelled such exalted travellers
as ourselves, he said, "to pay for the provisions we condescended to
accept." The inhabitants were not, however, backward in furnishing us with
all we wanted, and the flourish of Misrab Agha's stick was only the
remains of an old habit. I invited him to supper with me, an invitation he
gladly accepted, having himself contributed a tender lamb roasted whole
towards our entertainment.
The inhabitants of Kosli could scarcely be distinguished either by their
dress or by their general appearance from the Kurds. They seemed
prosperous and were on the best terms with the Mussulman farmer of their
tithes. The village stands at the foot of the hills forming the southern
boundary of the plain of Hinnis, through which flows a branch of the Murad
Su, or Lower Euphrates. We forded this river near the ruins of a bridge at
Kara Kupri. The plain is generally well cultivated, the principal produce
being corn and hemp. The villages, which are thickly scattered over it,
have the appearance of extreme wretchedness, and, with their low houses
and heaps of dried manure piled upon the roofs and in the open spaces
around, look more like gigantic dunghills than human habitations. The
Kurds and Armenian Christians, both hardy and industrious races, are
pretty equally divided in numbers, and live sociably in the same filth and
misery.
We left the plain of Hinnis by a pass through the mountain range of
Zernak. On reaching the top of the pass we had an interrupted view of the
Subhan Dagh. From the village of Karagol, where we halted for the night,
it rose abruptly before us. This magnificent peak, with the rugged
mountains of Kurdistan, the river Euphrates winding through the plain, the
peasants driving the oxen over the corn on the threshing-floor, and the
groups of Kurdish horsemen with their long spears and flowing garments,
formed one of those scenes of Eastern travel which leave an indelible
impression on the imagination, and bring back in after years indescribable
feelings of pleasure and repose.
We crossed the principal branch of the Euphrates soon after leaving
Karagol. Although the river is fordable at this time of year, during the
spring it is nearly a mile in breadth, overflowing its banks, and
converting the entire plain into one great marsh. We had now to pick our
way through a swamp, scaring, as we advanced, myriads of wild-fowl. I have
rarely seen game in such abundance and such variety in one spot; the water
swarmed with geese, duck, and teal, the marshy ground with herons and
snipe, and the stubble with bustards and cranes. After the rains the lower
road is impassable, and caravans are obliged to make a considerable
circuit along the foot of the hills.
We were not sorry to escape the fever-breeding swamp and mud of the plain,
and to enter a line of low hills, separating us from the lake of Gula
Shailu. I stopped for a few minutes at an Armenian monastery, situated on
a small platform overlooking the plain. The bishop was at his breakfast,
his fare frugal and episcopal enough, consisting of nothing more than
boiled beans and sour milk. He insisted that I should partake of his
repast, and I did so, in a small room scarcely large enough to admit the
round tray containing the dishes, into which I dipped my hand with him and
his chaplain. I found him profoundly ignorant, like the rest of his class,
grumbling about taxes, and abusing the Turkish government.
After a pleasant ride of five hours we reached a deep clear lake, embedded
in the mountains, two or three pelicans, "swan and shadow double," and
myriads of waterfowl, lazily floating on its blue waters. Piron, the
village where we halted for the night, stands at the further end of the
Gula Shailu, and is inhabited by Kurds of the tribe of Hasananlu, and by
Armenians, all living in good fellowship amidst the dirt and wretchedness
of their eternal dung-heaps. Ophthalmia had made sad havoc amongst them,
and the doctor was soon surrounded by a crowd of the blind and diseased
clamoring for relief. The villagers said that a Persian, professing to be
a Hakim, had passed through the place some time before, and had offered to
cure all bad eyes on payment of a certain sum in advance. These terms
being agreed to, he gave his patients a powder which left the sore eyes as
they were, and destroyed the good ones. He then went his way: "And with
the money in his pocket too," added a ferocious-looking Kurd, whose
appearance certainly threw considerable doubt on the assertion; "but what
can one do in these days of accursed Tanzimat (reform)?"
The lake of Shailu is separated from the larger lake of Nazik, by a range
of low hills about six miles in breadth. We reached the small village of
Khers, built on its western extremity, in about two hours and a half, and
found the chief, surrounded by the principal inhabitants, seated on a
raised platform near a well-built stone house. He assured me, stroking a
beard of spotless white to confirm his words, that he was above ninety
years of age, and had never seen an European before the day of my visit.
Half blind, he peered at me through his blear eyes until he had fully
satisfied his curiosity; then spoke contemptuously of the Franks, and
abused the Tanzimat. The old gentleman, notwithstanding his rough
exterior, was hospitable after his fashion, and would not suffer us to
depart until we had eaten of every delicacy the village could afford.
Leaving the Nazik Gul, we entered an undulating country traversed by very
deep ravines, mere channels cut into the sandstone by mountain torrents.
The villages are built at the bottom of these gulleys, amidst fruit-trees
and gardens, sheltered by perpendicular rocks and watered by running
streams. They are undiscovered until the traveller reaches the very edge
of the precipice, when a pleasant and cheerful scene opens suddenly
beneath his feet. He would have believed the upper country a mere desert
had he not spied here and there in the distance a peasant slowly driving
his plough through the rich soil. The inhabitants of this district are
more industrious and ingenious than their neighbours. They carry the
produce of their harvest not on the backs of animals, as in most parts of
Asia Minor, but in carts entirely made of wood, no iron being used even in
the wheels, which are ingeniously built of walnut, oak, and kara agatch
(literally, black tree--? thorn), the stronger woods being used for rough
spokes let into the nave. The plough also differs from that in general use
in Asia. To the share are attached two parallel boards, about four feet
long and a foot broad, which separate the soil and leave a deep and well
defined furrow.
We rode for two or three hours on these uplands, until, suddenly reaching
the edge of a ravine, a beautiful prospect of a lake, woodland, and
mountain opened before us.