wrested from the hands of the Princes of Dághistán by the Persian Sháh
Kor Khodabende, and fell into those of the Ottomans, who destroyed
the castle that it might not be used as a defence against them; it is
now a large ancient town situated on the border of Mount Caucasus,
belonging to the government of Aresh. According to fabulous history it
was in this town that Solomon set up his throne, which had been carried
through the air by Genii, when he came with Balkis and an immense army
to view Mount Caucasus; this is why it was called the throne of Lán,
a Persian word signifying both a nest, and one who walks or travels.
It is situated between the towns of the gate of gates, Shamákhí,
and Niázabád, but is not much cultivated as it is on the extremity
of the frontier, its gardens are few on account of the coldness of
the climate; there are three thousand houses with terraces, and some
mosques not much frequented, seven baths, eleven caravánseraïs, and
seventy shops: as we remained here but one night, it was impossible to
see much of it. It is the seat of a Khán, Judge, Kelenter, Darogha,
and Munshí, and has a garrison of a thousand men; there are a great
number of Sunnís, who get their living by cleaning cotton. The waters
which give life to the plantations of cotton, all issue from the west
side of Mount Caucasus, and fall into the Kúr. We marched for some
hours towards the Kiblah, to the district of Khata a dependence of the
Princes of Dághistán, a woody tract comprising three hundred kents,
with mosques, kháns, and gardens. We remained here for three days as
guests, and continued our journey on the fourth to the district of
Zákhor, consisting of a hundred and fifty villages and large kents,
governed by Yússúf one of the Princes of Dághistán, who commands seven
thousand brave warlike men; the Beg, with whom we spent a night,
presented me with fifty skins of wild cats, and I gave him three
handkerchiefs embroidered by Sultána Kia.
_Tomb of Emír Sultán._
He was a great Saint. The Divines of this country, all learned Doctors,
have no enmity amongst themselves, but they shun all communication with
the Reváfes (heretic Persians). Here ends Dághistán, and the province
of Georgia begins.
The frontier castle Ur belongs to the Persians; we passed it on our
left, and skirted the boundaries of the castle of Shekí, which I
formerly saw on my way to Shamákhí, and arrived at the kent of Zakhorie
on the frontier of Tamarass-khán, belonging to the Khán of Tiflís; the
inhabitants are all Georgians, Armenians, and Gokdúlák.
_Description of the Old Town of Kákht._
This town is situated on the frontier of Georgia and now governed by
the Persians. It was built by Núshirván to keep the tribes of the
Caucasus in order. It is a pentagon castle, fourteen thousand large
paces in circumference, with one hundred and seventy bulwarks, three
gates, two thousand houses within the castle, a mosque, a bath, and a
khán. Its waters, so many springs of life, issue from the west side
of Mount Caucasus, and after irrigating the gardens fall into the Kúr
to the eastward. The climate being rather cold, its silk is not much
praised. The inhabitants are Georgians, Armenians and Gokdúlák; the
Sultán commands a thousand soldiers, all Shiís, and there are twelve
civil commanders and a judge. Sháh Ismail liked its climate so much
that he remained here three years before the battle of Cháldirán, and
built a suburb outside of it, so that it bears much likeness to the
town of Kaschau in the middle of Hungary. After the loss of the battle
of Cháldirán, the Ottoman flying troops arriving at this town destroyed
it, and since that time many thousand loads of stones have been carried
away by Ferhád Páshá for the repairs of the Castle of Aras. The Sultán
of this place accompanied me, out of kindness, to the next station, and
we passed the night in Khodraí, a kent of a thousand houses, with a
mosque, khán and bath, on the frontier of Tiflís.
_Description of Georgia or Shúshádistán, viz. Betlís._
According to the author of the Sheref-námeh, this town was first built
by Betlís the Treasurer of Alexander, who also built the castle of
the same name in the province of Ván; its name is now Tiflís, which
for a long time was a great Persian government, till in the time of
Sultán Murad III. Lala Kara Ferhád Páshá with an immense army undertook
the conquest of Georgia, and conquered Chaldír and seventy castles.
Daúd Khán, who was then governor of Tiflís, garrisoned it with forty
thousand men, and fortified it in all possible ways. On the other side
the Ottoman commander summoned the town to surrender to his Emperor;
at an assembly held on this occasion it was advised to send back the
bearer of the summons, and to put themselves into a state of defence,
but the more prudent foreseeing that they would not be able to make
resistance, they all fled away one night, and left the Castle without
defence. The Ottoman commander pursued them with the greatest speed,
and came up with the Khán of Tiflís at the Castle of Zekúm, where
he had entrenched himself with all the treasures carried away from
his capital. A great battle ensued, in which no quarter was given by
the Ottoman victors, and forty thousand Persians were cut to pieces.
The booty taken by the Ottoman army was immense; the Aghá of the
janissaries with seven regiments of his corps was sent to garrison
Tiflís, and the castle of Zekúm was taken in the year 956 (1578). A
few days after, the Castle of Kerím also fell. I have not seen the
Castle of Zekúm, but I saw that of Kerím without entering it, when
passing through the plain of Kákht. Lala Ferhád pursued his victory
as though he had been on a hunting party; he took twenty-six great
and small castles, some of which he destroyed, and some he repaired,
placing a Dizdár in each, and made his entry into Tiflís amidst the
greatest demonstrations of public joy. He fortified this castle to
such an extent, that no fortress of Georgia or Azerbeiján is equal
to it, except that of Bakú and Megú. The province was given with the
rank of a Begler Beg to Mohammed Páshá the son of Ferhád Páshá, then
in possession of the sanjak of Kastemúní; its works were repaired,
and its stores completed. He sent the keys of no less than seventy
large and small castles to the Ottoman Court and then returned himself
to Constantinople. After his departure the Persians besieged the
town of Tiflís for the space of seven months. The garrison being in
the greatest distress for food, eat their dogs first, and then the
dead; the famine was so great that the dog belonging to the Súbashí
Alí sold for seven thousand aspers. At last the governor of Erzerúm,
Mustafa Páshá, arrived with a flying troop, put the Persian General to
flight and relieved the garrison. Hassan Páshá the son of the Grand
Vezír arrived with a caraván, bringing three thousand camel loads of
provisions, which were placed in the Magazines of the small castle.
In short, this fortress remained in the hands of the Ottomans from
the time of Sultán Murad III. till that of Sultán Mustafa, when the
Persians united with the Georgians took the castle by surprise, and
gave it up to the Sháh; and it has remained ever since in the hands of
the Persians. It is the capital of Georgia, to which belongs sixteen
Sultáns, seventy judges, forty districts and seven tracts called Oimák.
Three-tenths of Georgia are occupied by the province of Tiflís; the
khán commands two thousand soldiers, it has also a judge and twelve
public officers in honour of the twelve Imáms.
_Size and Figure of the Fortress._
It consists of two castles opposite to each other on the banks of
the Kúr which separates the rocks on which they stand, and which are
connected above by a bridge leading from one castle to the other.
The great castle is on the south side of the Kúr and the small one
on the north of it. This river rises in the mountains of Chaldir,
passes Erdehán, Akhiska, and Azgúra and flows into the Caspian Sea;
the Persian historiographers say, that its waters are supplied from a
thousand and sixty sources; it is the largest river in these countries
next to the Euphrates. The circumference of the largest castle is six
thousand paces, the wall sixty cubits high, with seventy bulwarks,
and three thousand battlements, but no ditch; the water-tower which
supplies water to the garrison in time of siege is situated on the Kúr.
In the castle are six hundred houses, terraced, some with and some
without gardens, the palace of the Khán, a mosque and a bath. The small
castle was built by Yezdejerd Sháh, it is of stone, in a square form
with only one gate at the head of the bridge, and has no Bezestán or
Imáret.
Three thousand watchmen light fires every night, and continually
cry Khoda Khob (all’s well.) Though it is a Persian town, yet its
inhabitants are for the most part Sunnís and Hanefis from the time of
the Ottomans.
_Products._
The white bread of Tiflís, and the peaches are renowned; the vegetables
exquisite; there is no silk, but most excellent grapes: all these
productions prosper through the quantity of rain water which falls, and
do not require water from the Kúr, this is the case with an hundred and
fifty towns and villages, which it passes on its way.
_The Hotbath of Tiflís._
On the east side of the large castle a hot-spring boils out of the
ground without the assistance of fire; sheep’s heads and feet are
cooked therein. There are also several pilgrimages at Tiflís, as those
of Imám Hossein Efendí, Rizwán Agha, Jem Alí Efendí, &c. Tiflís
is five hours distance from Kiákht, from the Castle of Aras, four
journies, and the same from that of Genje. We took from the khán two
hundred men to accompany us, and received three tománs for the expenses
of the journey.
_Description of the Castle Kúsekht._
It stands on a chalk cliff, is of a square form, and belongs to the
district of Tiflís. The castle Lorí near Tiflís was seen on our right
side in the mountains, but we passed it at a great distance.
_Description of Súrán._
Though a small castle on a hill, yet it is extremely strong and high:
it is one of the oldest castles of Georgia built by Núshirván. Its
inhabitants are Georgians, Gokdúlák and Armenians. We proceeded four
hours to the west, and reached the old town Azgúr: according to the
author of the Sheref-námeh, it is the oldest town in Georgia, and
was built by Alexander. In the Georgian language Azgúr signifies the
King of Kings. The immense blocks of stone used in the formation of
the walls, show that it must have been built by Alexander, because
five hundred men of the present age would not be able to move one
of them; it stands on a high hill, and is of a square form; it has
one gate opening to the south, a mosque, a bath, a khán, and forty
small streets; the gardens are beautiful owing to the mildness of the
climate; the river which passes below it, issues from the mountains of
Akhiska through which it passes, and waters the gardens of the town,
falling into the Araxes. This town being on the frontier of Gurgistán
Shúshád, the inhabitants all speak Georgian.
_Specimen of the Georgian Shúshád Language._
One, _árí_; two, _úrí_; three, _sám_; four, _otkhí_; five, _khotí_;
six, _egsí_; seven, _shudi_; eight, _revaí_; nine, _khújraí_; ten,
_atí_; bread, _púrí_; water, _chígál_; meat, _kharj_; wine, _ghita_;
cherries, _bák_; pears, _bishál_; figs, _lefi_; grapes, _kúrzení_;
hazel-nuts, _inikhlí_; melon, _nesú_; &c.
_Genealogy of the Georgian Kings._
Their first kings were Jews, then Dadiáns and Shúshád, from whom
originated the people of Gúriel, Achikbásh, and Mingrelia, who are all
Christians. They speak twelve different languages, and only understand
each other by the aid of interpreters. The purest language, according
to their opinion, is that of the Shúshád and Dadián. If the dynasty
of the Moscovites should be extinguished, the Princes of Georgia
would succeed. The Aiza and Cherkessians who are an Arabic colony,
have no books at all; according to the histories of their priests they
descended from Keikavús, and then from David.
There was formerly here a Queen who pretended to reign unmarried; one
night having drank with some young men, she was violated by one of
them, and got with child, which happened to be a girl. To get rid of
the ravisher, the Queen sent him fowl-hunting on a frozen canal, when
the ice broke, and the man was swallowed up, so that all talk about the
matter was at an end. The daughter married a Prince named Begdiván,
and had three sons, who when of age, divided Georgia into three parts.
The first Prince obtained the district of Cotatis otherwise called
Básh Achik, and its inhabitants derive their descent from him. To
the second, Simon, was allotted the district of Tiflís; and to the
youngest, the province of Bághat; from the latter, the Dadiáns derive
their lineage. This Dadián Prince was a just monarch, and even now the
whole of Georgia pay homage to the Princes of Achikbásh and Dadián.
When Sultán Selím I. was Governor of Trebisonde, he lived on good
terms with the Beg of Achikbásh, and spent some time in the castle of
Cotatis, and when he ascended the throne after Bayazíd II. he exempted
by a Khattí-sheríf, the inhabitants of Achikbásh from all gifts and
duties, a privilege they enjoy up to the present day; since that time
it has only been the custom to send annually falcons and fine youths as
presents to the Porte. We left the castle of Azgúr, and going westward
through woods and fields, we arrived all well at Chaldirán and Akhaskha.
_Description of the Stronghold of Akhaska, Sultan Selím’s conquest._
This strong fortress of Akhaska is also spelled Akhachka, Akhjaska,
Okhaskha, and Oksakha, according to the difference of the languages
of the surrounding people. In the Imperial register it is laid down
by the name of Chaldir. The builder was Núshirván, the great Persian
monarch who built the Ták Kesra. He used to spend six months of the
summer here, on account of its climate. It would be too long to relate
all the changes that this place underwent under different kings. The
first moslim conqueror of it was Heshám Ibn Abd-ul-Melek, of the family
of the Ommiades, who, proceeding from Syria with an immense army,
conquered Aintáb, Mera’ash, Malátia, Haleb, Diarbekr, Erzerúm, and
this castle of Akhaska, which then became the Capital of Georgia. He
also conquered Genje, Shirván, and Derbend, and returned to Damascus.
Kara Yússúf, the Prince of the dynasty of the Kara Koyúnlí, not being
able to resist the arms of Timúr, fled to Bayazíd I. for assistance,
and Sultán Uzún Hassan became the possessor of the castle of Akhaska.
Paying homage to Timúr he was put in the number of eleven tributary
princes, that marched by the side of Timúr’s horse, who conferred upon
him, the province of Azerbeiján. It afterwards came into the power
of Sháh Ismail of the Safí family, who chose Akhaska for his summer
quarters and subdued the whole of Georgia. He ravaged the Ottoman
provinces, and pushed his incursions up to Sivás, the granary of the
Ottoman capital. Selím I. was then governor of Trebisonde, and many
times pursued the Persian troops. Having himself ascended the throne,
he immediately began the Holy war, and fought the famous battle on
the plain of Chaldir, which cost the lives of one hundred thousand
Persians, and nearly that of Sháh Ismail, who had a narrow escape. He
then conquered the castle Akhaska, and subdued the whole of Georgia.
A survey of it was commanded, and it was assigned as a government to
a Páshá of three tails. As this town is the frontier of Gúrjistán
(Georgia), Turkistán, and Kurdistán, in immediate contact with Persia,
it was declared a separate Eyálet or government, of which the following
is the description in the Kanún-námeh of Sultán Súleimán. The sanjak
of Chaldir consists of thirteen sanjaks, the officers are a public
treasurer of the timárs (Timár Defterdárí); an inspector of the rolls
(Defter Emíní); a kiaya, an inspector and a secretary of the Chaúshes,
(Chaúshlar kiayassí, Emíní, and Kiátibí). The sanjaks are as follow:
(1) Oltí; (2) Khortíz; (3) Ardíkh; (4) Khajrek; (5) Erdehán; (6)
Postkhú; (7) Mákhchíl; (8) Achárpeník; (9) Akhachka, the seat of the
Páshá. There are also four hereditary sanjaks Yordlik, or Ojáklik, viz.
Portekrek, Lesána, Nussf Levána, and Shúshád; making in all thirteen.
_Khass or Revenues of the Sanjak Begs._
Khass of the Beg of Oltí, two hundred thousand and seventeen aspers;
Portek, forty-six thousand two hundred and nineteen; Ardenj, two
hundred and eighty thousand; Erdehán, three hundred thousand;
Shúshád, six hundred and fifty six thousand; Lesána, three hundred
and sixty-five thousand; Khartíz, two hundred thousand five hundred;
Khajrek, three hundred and sixty-five thousand; Postkhú, two hundred
and six thousand five hundred; Makhjíl, twenty thousand three hundred
and eleven; Ajára, two hundred thousand; Penek, four hundred thousand.
_Number of Ziámets and Timárs._
The ziámets and timárs are altogether six hundred and fifty-six swords,
which with the Jebellis form eight hundred men; and with the troops of
the Páshá fifteen hundred troops. In the sanjak Oltí, three ziámets,
a hundred and thirteen timárs; Erdehán, eight ziámets, eighty-seven
timárs; Ardíkh, four ziámets, forty-two timárs; Khajrek, two ziamets,
seventy-two timárs; Khartíz, thirteen ziámets, thirty-five timárs;
Postkhú, twelve ziámets, twenty-eight timárs; Penek, eight ziámets,
fifty-four timárs; Sászín, seven ziámets, thirty-two timárs; Khatla,
nineteen ziámets, seven timárs; Isper, four ziámets, fourteen timárs.
These feudal troops are commanded by their Yúzbashí (Lieutenants),
Cheribashí (Captains), and Alaï-Beg (Colonels). They possess a thousand
and sixty villages on condition of going to war when called upon, the
annual revenue of which amounts to three hundred and twenty Ottoman
purses. In the time of Selím I. the Páshá of this province, commanded
those of Erzerúm, Sivás, Mera’ash, Adana, and Rakka. The place of a
judge with the rank of Molla was given to Ramazán Efendí with five
hundred aspers, now it has a judge with three hundred aspers; he
may however annually collect from the districts belonging to his
jurisdiction, the sum of eighty purses. The Khass of the Begler-beg
amounts to four hundred thousand aspers; the garrison consists of two
thousand men, regular troops, with an Aghá of the janissaries, of the
Jebejí and of the Topjí. In the year 1044 (1634) the Persians became
masters of Chaldirán, but after the conquest of Eriván, Canaan Páshá
was sent by Sultán Murad IV. with an immense army who conquered the
fortress of Akhachka, and put it in a good state of repair, in which it
is kept by the Ottomans, up to the present time.
_Form and size of the Castle of Akhachka._
It is a square castle built of stone, standing on a chalk cliff, with
two gates and about a thousand houses without gardens covered with
terraces. One of the two gates leads to the east, and the other to
the west, there are twenty-eight mosques. The old mosque in the upper
castle is covered with earth. There is no Imáret (religious foundation)
covered with lead in this fortress. The mosque of Kunbet-oghlí is also
covered with earth, and without a minareh. In the lower castle is the
mosque of Khalíl Aghá. Besides the five legal prayers a day, there are
certain lectures in all these mosques on the Korán and tradition, but
there are no private rooms or establishments for these lectures. The
Muderris (Professors) hold them in the mosques, the students (Thelebe)
are numerous. The suburb outside of the castle is well built, and its
baths pleasant, but the bath inside the castle is very small; the
best is that outside the eastern gate of the castle, the waiters are
fine Georgian boys; there are a great number of kháns; no vineyards
(Bágh), but in some places gardens (Bághje); a large number of gardens
of fruit trees (Mushebek-bostán) full of valuable trees, well watered
by springs. The water of this place comes from the mountains of Uda,
waters the fields of the town, goes straight to the castle of Arghán,
and falls near the Castle of Kúrehkt into the Araxes. The passage
between the castle and the suburb is established by a bridge; the
suburb is not surrounded by walls; the market consists of about three
hundred shops, but no Bezestán of stone. The temperature of this place
being fresh and invigorating its people are strong and brave also;
the Páshá Sefer Páshá, by birth a Georgian, is one of the most wise
and virtuous Vezírs of the Ottoman Court. Eriván is six journeys from
Akhashka to the east, and mid way is the Castle of Karss. From Akhaskha
to Tiflís is five journeys towards the north-east, to Genje five
journeys direct east, and seven journeys to the north is the castle of
Georgia. The fortress of Akhaska is situated between them all in the
plain of Chaldir.
_Castles of Georgia belonging to the Province of Chaldir._
The castle of Khartíz near Chaldir was conquered in the year 886
(1481), by Lala Páshá, together with the castle of Adhil, and the
castle of Perkán near Chaldir at a journey’s distance, situated
between two high mountains on a high hill. The castle of Cotatis is
two journies distance from Chaldir, it is the capital of the district
of Ajikbásh near mount Perírat. It is the proper residence of Georgia
otherwise called Shúshád, and Selím I. when governor of Trebisonde,
sometimes came hither to divert himself. It was created by him a
hereditary province (Ojáklik), the khass of which amounts to six
thousand and six aspers. There are no ziámets and timárs. The castle
of Khajrek, situated between Akhachka and Erdehán, is the residence
of the Sanjak-Beg of Burdehán, and was conquered by Lala Páshá; the
Khass amounts to three hundred and sixty-five thousand aspers, six
ziámets and twenty-two timárs. The castle of Shatán, which by mistake
is called Sheitán Kala’am, (the Castle of Satan), was conquered by
Ferhád Páshá in the year 990 (1582); it is situated near Chaldir, on
a steep rock. The castle of Kizlar (of the maiden) near Chaldir, on
the border of the river Jágh, is a magic castle. The castle of Altún
(gold), the conquest of Lala Páshá, is three hours distance from
the latter. The castle of Odoria near Chaldir, the conquest of Lala
Páshá. The castle of Al near Akhaska. The castle of Postkhú, which is
the seat of a Sanjak Beg in the province of Akhaska, was conquered
by Lala Páshá in the year 998 (1589); a jurisdiction, the judge of
which is appointed with one hundred and fifty aspers. There is an Alaï
Beg and Cheríbashí. Shúshádistán is the name of one of the principal
provinces of Georgia, governed by a Begler-beg. Shúshád, the castle,
has no judge. Shúshádistán is a mountainous tract full of precipices.
The castle of Kharbe on the border of a valley, is a steep castle.
The castle of Ardíkh, the seat of a Sanjak-beg in the province of
Chaldir, a conquest of Lala Páshá. The castle of Akhanjí, the seat of
a Sanjak-beg. The castle of Jághirmán near Chaldir, conquered by Lala
Páshá. Besides these castles there are a great number of others seen on
the great road. Georgia is indeed a fine and well cultivated country.
After having seen all this, I took leave of Sefer Páshá, who presented
me with two Georgian boys, a horse, and a hundred piastres; I took an
escort and began my journey westward to Erzerúm.
_Stations of the Journey from Akhaska to Erzerúm._
We passed the summer quarters of Ulghár, and arrived at the end of four
hours at the castle of Kínava on the frontier of Ardehán; we passed
through a mountainous tract and at last arrived at the Castle of Kara
Ardehán, which was conquered in the time of Selím I. and made the seat
of a Sanjak Beg; the khass is three hundred thousand aspers, eight
ziámets, and eighty-seven timárs; an Alaï Beg, (Colonel); Cheribashí,
(Captain); Dizdár, (Commander of the castle); are the commanding
officers of the garrison, which consists of two hundred men; the whole
contingent in war time including the troops of the Beg amounts to one
thousand men. The judge is appointed with a hundred and fifty aspers.
There is no Nakíb-ul-ishráf (head of the Sheriffs or relations of the
prophet) and its Muftí resides at Akhaska. The castle is built on a
rock, and is five hundred paces in circumference; it is not commanded
by any neighbouring height, it has two hundred and seventy towers,
and three gates. A company of armourers (Jebejí) of the Porte, is in
garrison here. In the town, the family establishment (Khandán) of Kia
Páshá is the most renowned.