The castle of Wálá, conquered by Lala Páshá 987 (1579); the castle of
Kermek, conquered by Lala Páshá in the year 982 (1574); the castle of
Akhársin, conquered by Lala Páshá in the year 982 (1574); the castles
of Mamerván and Nazarbán, the latter built by Ghází Sefer Páshá in the
year 1053 (1643); the castle Kense Dusál in the district of Erdehán
on a hill; its water flows to Erdehán. The houses all have terraces;
there is no college, but a school for boys. No gardens on account
of the temperature, which is rather cold. Its fruits come from the
castle of Tortúm and Acháras; the inhabitants are all Sunnís, and
live by agriculture. This castle is five journeys to the east of
Erzerúm; and Karss is one journey’s distance from Erzerúm by the way of
Kargha-bazár. We then passed westward sometimes on a stony and woody
ground, sometimes in rich meadows, and arrived at the castle of Gúle.
It was built by Levend-Khán, a Georgian Prince, and is the seat of a
Sanjak Beg, the khass of which is three hundred thousand aspers; it has
a Colonel, Captain, Dizdár and garrison; it is an elegant castle on a
chalk hill. Eight hours further to the west, we reached the castle of
Penek also named after its Georgian builder, it is the seat of a sanjak
Beg subordinate to Chaldir; its khass is four hundred thousand aspers.
Its feudatory militia with the troops of the Beg are a thousand men;
there is a judge with a hundred and fifty aspers, no market nor garden.
The water of the river is very good, its subjects are Armenians,
Gokdulak, and Georgians. Seven hours further is the Castle of Uliní,
built by a Georgian king, and conquered by Sultán Selím; it is the seat
of a Sanjak Beg, whose Khass is two hundred thousand and seventeen
aspers. And has a Colonel, a Captain, a Judge with a hundred and fifty
aspers, a Dizdár, and garrison; the castle stands on a chalk hill with
two gates, one opening to the east, and the other to the west. At the
foot of the castle flows the river Oltí, which waters the gardens of
the town, and enters the Aras on the Kiblah side. The houses are all
inhabited and covered with terraces. There are a number of mosques, a
khán, a bath, garden, and school for boys; its beauties are celebrated.
The inhabitants are good moslims. From hence we travelled direct north,
and came at the end of two hours to the castle of Maverván built by
the Georgian Kings, and conquered by Lala Kara Mustafa Páshá; it is
the seat of a Sanjak Beg subordinate to Erzerúm, whose khass amounts
to two hundred and three thousand aspers; the officers are a Colonel
and Captain of the feudal militia. The militia of the Beg amounts to
fifteen hundred men; the judge is appointed with a hundred and fifty
aspers. The castle is of a square form and gigantic size, standing
upon a hill; its gate looks to the Kibláh, there are eight hundred
houses, a mosque, a bath, and a khán, the inhabitants are almost
all poor people. Three hours further on to the west, is the village
Aide Mamerván, a village inhabited by Armenians and Moslims. Further
on among bleak mountains is the village Karakunk, it belongs to the
district of Erzerúm; we passed the straight of Georgia and arrived at
the village of Osmúdúm Sultán, a fine kent of a hundred houses on the
border of a high mountain; it is situated at the very source of the
Euphrates, which issues from a cavern in the mountain of Dúmlí Sultán,
a delightful, refreshing water, which seems to be alluded to in the
Korán by the verse: “I gave thee the Keuther.” Trouts of a cubit’s
length sport in it; their bodies are ruby-coloured and interspersed
with smaragdine spots. Umúdúm Sultán the Saint, who is buried here,
protects these fish, so that it is impossible to catch them; but a
farsang below they are taken by fishermen, and fill the brains of those
who eat them with ambergris; however much a man may eat, he is never
incommoded by them. The Pilgrimage to Rúmlí Sultán is much frequented.
We marched five hours to the south, on the plain of Erzerúm and entered
it, God be thanked! in perfect health. Before I changed my dress, I
laid the letters and presents of the khán of Eriván at the feet of my
gracious Lord the Páshá, and gave him a detailed account of all the
castles, towns, kents and villages, which I had seen on my journey. He
gave me a splendid dress and three hundred piastres bath-money, besides
two purses, which he assigned to me on the extraordinary revenues of
the custom-houses. I had remained scarcely a week, when a message
arrived from the Khán of Eriván complaining that some of the soldiers
of Karss had molested one of his caravans, and requesting that an Aghá
might be sent to convey the caraván safe to Erzerúm. In consequence of
this letter I was sent back into Persia on the tenth day.
JOURNEY TO ERIVAN IN THE YEAR, 1057, (1647).
From Erzerúm twelve hours to the east, is the castle of Hassan Kala’a
which has already been described; and further on to the east, through
the plain of Pássin, the village Bádil Jovánlí, an Armenian village.
We passed it, and reached in nine hours the station of Meidánjik;
the inhabitants are all Armenians. Ten hours further is the castle
of Mishingerd in the province of Erzerúm, a square castle on a chalk
cliff; which has a Dizdár and a hundred and fifty men, two hundred
houses, but no market; a mosque of Sultán Súleimán Khán, without a
garden. We passed to the east, through the valley of Khándere, by the
ruined convent called the seven churches, through a narrow straight,
and then to the west by a flowery meadow for six hours to the castle
Bardúz, in the territory of Karss, built by Lady Kerím-ud-din, the
daughter of King Azz-ud-din of the dynasty of the Auk-koyúnlí. The
chronograph is written on the gate; there is a Dizdár and a hundred and
fifty men in garrison, a small bath, but no garden. From hence we went
southward to the castle of Gejkerán built by Núshirván; this is the old
town of Dúdemán Gejkerán which is mentioned in the ancient histories
of the wars of Pízen and Efrasiáb. It was ruined by Holagú at the same
time as Baghdád, but flourished again under the government of Kara
Yússúf Sháh of the family of the Kara Koyúnlí. Timúr again destroyed
it. It was conquered by Lala Kara Mustafa Páshá, and now belongs to
the government of Karss, it is a square castle. The karss of the Beg
amounts to fifteen thousand three hundred and fifty aspers. According
to the canon of Sultán Súleimán there are two thousand two hundred men
including the troops of the Beg; a Dizdár, an Aghá of the Azábs and
Gonullí, with three hundred men in garrison, a judge of a hundred and
fifty aspers, twelve hundred houses covered with earth, three small
mosques, and from forty to fifty shops. Eight hours further to the
east we reached the frontier fortress of the Ottomans, the castle of
Karss. There are three towns of that name; one is in Silefka, the
Karss of Karatáshlik; the second, the Karss of Mera’ash, and the last
that of Dúdemán, which is the present one. In the time of Murad III.
it was conquered by Lala Kara Mustafa Páshá. The repairing this town
after it was ruined by the Persians, was undertaken by the Ottoman
generals, and on this occasion a large square marble stone was found,
which they placed on the gate looking to the south-east, and which had
the following inscription:—“This Castle was built under Vezír Fírúz
Akaí in the time of Sultán Azz-ud-dín; and repaired by his daughter
Sultana Karím-ud-dín. May God illuminate her tomb!” Lala Páshá who is
the last builder of Karss, placed this stone on the wall, however,
out of reverence for its ancient builders. Lala Páshá repaired it in
seventy days, within which time he completed its munition. A soldier
came to relate to him a dream which he had, and which was as follows.
An old man appeared to him, saying, his name was Abúl Hassan Kharkaní,
that he was buried here, and that if a well at his feet was to be dug,
marvellous things would be seen. Some hundred workmen were instantly
set to dig the well, when they found a red granite tomb, on which was
written “I am the martyr, Saíd Kharkání.” He was found quite fresh,
and the blood yet flowing from his right arm. The tomb was re-covered
amidst prayers, and Lala Páshá raised a convent upon it. The government
of Karss has been given at different times to Vezírs of three tails as
barley-money (Arpalik); the karss is sixty thousand aspers. It belonged
formerly to the government of Erzerúm, but is now a distinct province
with the addition of Pássin. There are seven sanjaks, a Kiaya, and Emín
of the Defter, a Defterdár of the treasury and of the timárs, but no
Kiatib Kiaya and Emín of the Chaúshes, Its sanjaks are; Little Erdehán;
Khojúján; Zárshád; Gejewán; Kaghzmán; Werishán, and Karss the seat of
the Páshá, there are seven ziámets and a hundred and two timárs, with
the Jebellis and troops of the Páshá, three thousand exquisite troops;
a Colonel, a Captain, a judge with three hundred aspers, a Dizdár,
an Aghá of seven companies of Azábs, and an Aghá of the Janissaries,
armourers, and gunners; the Colonels reside for the most part at
Erzerúm: the garrison consists of fifteen hundred excellent men; the
garrisons of Wán, Karss, and Akhachka are decidedly brave men. Their
pay is collected from the produce of the ferry-boats at Bírejik on the
Euphrates, and from the villages Súrúj and Bombúj at Haleb, amounting
annually to seventy thousand aspers. The government of Karss is divided
into ten jurisdictions, and eight districts; there is a Sheikh-ul-Islám
(Muftí); Nakíb-ul-ishráf (head of the Emírs), and other distinguished
men.
_Size of the castle of Karss._
At a gun-shot distance on the north side is a high mountain, at the
foot of which this fortress rises on a separate hill; the lower castle
is situated in the plain, and has five strong walls. The gate of the
outer or lower castle looks to the east, and that of the inner or
upper castle to the west. There is only the house of the commander,
and barracks for the garrison of two hundred men; no bath, market, or
any remarkable building. The lower town or suburb is surrounded by
two strong walls, and has three iron gates which are adorned with all
kinds of armour. One of these gates on the west is the water-gate, also
called the gate of the troops, looking towards Erzerúm; the second or
middle gate opens to Kaghzmún; the third to the east is the gate of
Behrám-páshá, opening towards Eriván. Watchmen keep watch the whole
night, lighting torches and lamps. The lower castle is surrounded by a
lake instead of a ditch, which encircles it from the middle gate to the
gate of Behrám-páshá, and hence it is impossible to get possession of
the fortress. There are two hundred and twenty strong towers, and two
thousand and eighty battlements; the circumference of the whole is five
thousand seven hundred paces. The buildings consist of three thousand
houses, forty-seven mosques, in eight of which prayer is performed on
Fridays; the most remarkable is that of Sheikh Hassan Kharkání, built
by Lala Páshá; the mosque of Waíz Efendí at the water-gate; the great
mosque of Súleimán Efendí, which was formerly a church; the mosque of
Hossein Kiaya called the red church; the mosque of Omar Efendí, which
was destroyed when the Persians got possession of the castle, solely
on account of being named after Omar, and turned into a stable; the
mosque of Káltákjí-zadeh, at the gate of Behrám-páshá; the mosque of
Beirám Chelebi-zadeh; and on the south side of the town across the
bridge, the mosque of Emír Yússúf Páshá, all covered with terraces.
There are eighteen schools for boys, but no colleges for lectures on
the sciences, which are all held in the mosques. Within the water-gate
is the bath of Emír Yússúf Páshá; within the middle gate is the old
bath. There are no houses for reading of the Korán or tradition, or
for dining the poor, who are, however, well taken care of by private
generosity; there is no stone Bezestán, but two hundred shops in which
Indian and Persian wares are found. No gardens and vineyards on account
of the cold temperature of the climate. The inhabitants are a lively
set of people who gain their living by agriculture and commerce.
We travelled from Karss twelve hours to the north, passed the village
of Arjúk and the valley of Bághirsak, and the summer quarter (Yaila)
of Olghár twelve hours long. It is three journies from hence to the
castle of Akhiska (otherwise Akhaska, Akhachka). From Karss to Erdehán
is one journey by the way of Korgha-bazár. I arrived at last at the
object of my journey, the castle of Gúle, and on the same day I entered
it, read the letters of our gracious Lord, the Páshá of Erzerúm, to
the Aghás of Gúle, who excused themselves, saying: “that they never
had disturbed the Persian caraván, and that it was a calumny of the
inhabitants of Kaghzemán.” Next day we mounted our horses, proceeded
for a whole day to the south, and arrived at the castle of Kaghzemán.
The towns and castles on the Kiblah side of the Aras are all reckoned
to be on the frontier of Azerbeiján. The river Aras rises on the west
from the mountains of Bíngol (thousand lakes) flows to the east, joins
the barley river (Arpachayí), and the Zenghí. The castle of Kaghzemán
being situated on the Kiblah side of the Aras is reckoned to be on
the frontier of Azerbeiján, but belongs to the Ottoman government
of Karss. It is named after its builder, one of the daughters of
Núshirván. It was taken out of the hands of Uzún Hassan by Sháh Ismail,
and then submitted to Sultán Súleimán. It is the seat of a Sanjak Beg
whose khass amounts to two hundred thousand aspers, nine ziámets,
a hundred and seventy-eight timárs; nine hundred feudal militia, a
judge appointed with a hundred and fifty aspers, and a garrison of
three hundred men, who are paid by the impost on salt; the salt mines,
and a quarry of mill stones, are on the west side of the castle. The
mill-stones of Persia and Rúm come from Kaghzemán; the borax of the
goldsmiths, barbers, whetting-stones, and the common whetting-stones
are extracted from the mines of Kaghzemán; in two places gold and
silver are found, but as the product was exceeded by the expenses,
they were abandoned; there are altogether eleven mines. The castle is
a square strong building standing on a hill on the bank of the Aras,
there are seven hundred small houses; it is not a commercial town
(Bender), but a frontier town (Serhadd). Mount Aghrí which appears to
the west, is one of the most praiseworthy mountains in the world, it is
near the town, and is the summer abode (Yaila) of Turcomans. The air is
temperate and allows of the cultivation of gardens on some spots; the
inhabitants are mild and some of them fair.
The Levend troops (irregular levies) sing Persian songs with harmonious
voices. As soon as I entered the town, the Diván assembled, and
notwithstanding the repeated oaths of the members of it, that they had
not molested the Persian caravan, but only taken their custom duties, I
took seven Aghás of them with me to prove the truth of what they said,
by their presence at Erzerúm, whereunto I returned. The Beg and eleven
Aghás presented me with a purse of money, two horses (Mahmúdí), and two
Georgian slaves; and we travelled towards the east for nine hours, to
the castle of Moghazberd, it is a district belonging to Karss, built
by Mogház a Persian Khán; it passed into the hands of the Ak-koyúnlí
of Sháh Ismail, and then into those of Sultán Súleimán; the garrison
consists of a hundred and fifty men; the castle is built of stone in a
pentagon form on a rock, not commanded by any neighbouring height; it
has six hundred houses with gardens and vineyards; a mosque, khán, bath
and ten shops; at the foot of this castle flows the river Arpachaí,
which comes from the mountains of Georgia, and mingles with the Aras
at the Kend of Tekeltí. The castle of Mogházberd is contiguous to the
territory of the Persian castle Shúregil, which alone remained in the
power of the Persians, meanwhile all the districts of it belong to the
government of Karss; the river Arpachaí forms the limits: the eastern
tract of this town is Persian, and the western, Ottoman, belonging
to Karss. Opposite to Mogházberd, at a journey’s distance, is the
castle of Ana on a hill, a square mud castle, built by Núshirván, the
inhabitants are Armenians; between Ana and Karss are two mountains; we
passed this castle and after nine hours journey we arrived at Zárshid
on the utmost frontier, built by the Persian Sháhs, it is the seat of
a Sanjak Beg subordinate to Karss; in the time of war, twelve hundred
men bear arms, the judge has a hundred and fifty aspers; there is no
Muftí nor Nakíb; but a Dizdár (Commander of the castle) and a hundred
and fifty men. The castle is situated on a hill in a plain, at a day’s
journey from Karss to the east on the road to Eriván, there are three
hundred houses with terraces, a mosque, a convent, a bath, and a khan.
Nine hours further eastward is the kent Thálish, on the frontier of
Eriván; we passed Kara Taib, and arrived after twelve hours march
to the east at Three Churches, a great convent built by the Greek
Emperors; the convent is divided into three parts, in one are Greek, in
the others Armenian nuns; these Three Churches and the Seven Churches
on the road to Nakhshiván are the most famous convents of Persia. It
is a convent well worth seeing on account of its monuments and strange
talismans.
The balsam, called Mirún-yághí, is made here, of plants boiled in a
kettle upon a carpet, to which fire does no harm; the balsam which
is skimmed off from the kettle is put into jars, and used through
the whole of Frengistán as a panacea or universal remedy. In the
neighbourhood of this castle is an iron bar suspended in a cave without
being supported up from above below; the Infidels believe it to have
been suspended by a miracle of Simeon the Apostle: if a strong wind
blows it vibrates, and it is enclosed by iron rails to prevent it being
touched by the profane. The explanation of this matter is, that the
architect who made the vault of this cave, placed on the top of it a
great magnet, and a similar one on the floor, so that the iron bar is
kept in equilibrium between them. This is what I, shortsighted Evliyá,
found out by my own weak intellect. If it please God, there is no
blunder in our guess. The convent is inhabited by about five hundred
monks; almost every night five or six hundred horsemen, either from
Persia or Turkey arrive here, and are entertained by the monks with
milk, honey and dates. From hence we passed to the east through level
fields for nine hours, crossed the great rivers Aras and Zenghí, and
arrived for the second time at Eriván, where the Khán had just returned
from the wedding of his sister at Bakú, and lodged me at his house. The
next day I repaired to the Diván with the Aghás of Karss and Kaghzemán,
who complained, in the strongest terms, of their having been unjustly
accused of molesting the Persian caravan; a long discussion ensued,
at the end of which the Aghás appeared to be innocent, and the men
of the caraván to be calumniators. Takkí Alí Khán feasted the Aghás
three days, gave me five tománs Abássí, and a horse, and for the Páshá
a string of camels, laden with rice, also some letters. Charged with
these, I set out to return to Erzerúm.
_Journeys on our Return._