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.
[Illustration:
_Mesjid Loutf Ollah & part of Maidan Shah_
_Ispahan._
_Drawn by James Morier Esq^r._
_Published by Mess^{rs}. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown,
Paternoster Row, May 1, 1811._]
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_.