safety of the castle of Gonia, and the whole army of sixty thousand
men, then began to march along the banks of the river Jorúgh towards
Erzerúm. The army having halted on the bank of the river Jorúgh on
a large meadow surrounded with trees, a council was held, and Sídí
Ahmed Páshá, said:—“The Mingrelians, though belonging to the Province
of Trebisonde have rebelled, and I have related to the Emperor, that
we took their boats; which, together with those of the Russians, may
now wait in the port of Gonia for the Emperor’s decision. I have also
acquainted His Majesty that so many thousand Cossacks and Mingrelians
have fallen to the share of the Ottoman victors, as prisoners, and I
now intend to take vengeance on the Mingrelian infidels with this army,
ready for expedition, that it may gain some booty as compensation for
its journey.” The governor of Georgia, Sefer Páshá, who was very angry
at the Mingrelians, proposed that all the horsemen should join the foot
and undertake an inroad for booty, the Moslims of Akhiska and Georgia
leading the way, who were then also to share the spoil. The Council
broke up with this resolution, for the happy execution of which I said
a Fátihah. The cryers gave notice, that all Moslims who wished for
breeches and horses, for boys and girls, for money and booty, should be
ready in arms. This notice produced an astonishing effect, the Moslim
victors roared like lions, armed and washed themselves, and waited for
the orders of the Commander.
_Account of our Inroad into Mingrelia._
Ketgáj Páshá led the van of three hundred men, towards the Kiblah,
followed by three thousand men of Georgia and Akhaska, and by Sídí
Ahmed Páshá, at the head of nine thousand men. Bákí Páshá commanded the
rear of three hundred men; the troops of Erzerúm and Kara Hissár formed
the two wings; the sanjak Begs of Khinissin, Tekmán and Melázjerd
were deputed to provide the forage. We marched this day ten hours to
Zárchairí, a pleasant position between Mingrelia, and the sanjak of
Batúm. The next day we passed the Jorúgh, and Sefer Páshá began to
pillage the district of Darína; the twenty-two companies of Sárija
(irregular levies) of the Páshá, our gracious Lord, two thousand two
hundred brave men, pursued the fugitives in the mountains, made seven
hundred prisoners, and lost seven men as martyrs. The troops proceeded
till they arrived under the walls of castle of Merava, which was taken
by assault, with the loss of seventy Moslims, who drank the sherbet of
martyrdom; seven hundred men, five hundred women, two hundred girls,
and six hundred boys, were made prisoners. The pillage was pushed as
far as the districts of Georgia, and we arrived at the end of nine
hours, at the field of Boghdú; here a Soffa (or meadow seat) is shown,
where Sultán Selím I. was seated when Governor of Trebisonde. Two
spies sent by the Prince of Mingrelia, were taken prisoners, and they
showed the way (the necessary precautions being taken) to the district
of Tamaras Khán, whose son with a thousand horsemen and two thousand
infantry, met the Commander-in-chief, and led the Ottoman party of
pillage further against the Mingrelians, with whom he was angry.
The pillaged districts were those of Pernák, Selsel, Perkán, Penák,
Gúmle, and Samárgha; we halted before the castle of Akhár, a small
round castle on a hill, built by Hormúz the son of Núshirván; the
inhabitants are not very brave, but great thieves; two hundred and
fifty castles and villages were pillaged, and nine thousand prisoners
taken. Ketgáj Páshá, the leader of the van, alone took two thousand
beautiful girls, whom the commander-in-chief bought for a thousand
piastres, and sent them to Sultán Ibrahím with twenty other fine
maidens; they were so beautiful that the text of the Korán, “We have
created man in the finest shape,” seems to have been revealed only
for their praise. The booty was so rich, that a slave was sold for
ten piastres, an ox for half a piastre, and a sheep for five aspers.
The Beg of Báshajik sent to the Commander-in-chief a present of five
boys and five girls, and also gave me a boy and girl. We arrived
after eleven hours predatory march at a plain, in the middle of which
was a building raised by the Beg of Mingrelia, it was ruined by Uzún
Hassan, and is now contiguous to Batúm on the frontier of Mingrelia.
We passed the Castles, Nejákh, Merkhor, Akchekala’a, Chepek, Penkerd,
Asherd, Kúchúk Akchekala’a, the Begs of which all came with presents,
paying obeisance to Sídí Ahmed Páshá. These castles being situated on
high mountains, and in woody tracts, were passed by indulgently, but
the villages situated in the plain were all ravaged; the district of
Yúvána, overrun for the space of seven days, furnished such beautiful
boys and girls, that each of them was worth a treasure of Egypt. We
halted underneath the castle of Tekrek, the inhabitants of which
came with presents, to ward off the danger of the pillage, they were
threatened with; six districts more, the names of which I am ignorant
of, shared the common fate of havock. The Ottoman victors were now so
loaded with spoils and booty, that it became impossible to carry it
all away. Many of them returned bringing their booty to the Castle of
Gonia, and from thence to Trebisonde.
_Of the Language of the Mingrelians._
Georgia is inhabited by seventeen Christian tribes, the principal of
which are, the Achikbásh, Dadián, Shúshád, and Gúriel. The Mingrelians
are the last and most despised specimen of their language: one, _artí_;
two, _sherí_; three, _shumí_; four, _ámekh_; five, _khotí_; six,
_pishkúí_; seven, _ishkúí_; eight, _rúo_; nine, _júghúr_; ten, _wetí_.
Bread, _gúpál_; fire, _dájkhir_; shield, _púr_; sheep, _ashkhorí_;
girdle, _derkát_; head, _dúdí_; wood, _deshke_; dog, _joghúr_; ox,
_khijú_; calf, _kissin_; salt, _ajém_; swine, _gháj_; ass, _kirút_;
bear, _nút_; cheese, _kúl_; curds, _merjván_; come, _wai_; man, _chaí_;
sit down, _dakhúr_; girl, _tíne_; go, _halawlí_; come mother, _waí
diás_, &c.
Mingrelia is inhabited by a great number of different tribes, who speak
different dialects; there are seventy different products; its sheep,
goats, swine and fine breed of horses (Kohailán) are renowned; there
are neither mules nor asses in the whole of Georgia and Mingrelia,
but a great number of foxes, wild cats, and martens; corn and wheat
are scarce as hardly any thing but millet and Lazúd (?) is sown; on
the high mountains are many nut and fir-trees, box-trees and cedars.
The inhabitants, like those of Mingrelia, Abaza, and Circassia, are
settled in the mountains; they have castles with gardens and churches.
In short, during seventy-seven days, we made the tour of Mingrelia and
Georgia, after which time the Ottoman troops took the direction of
Erzerúm; on the third day we came to the district of Darátlí, which is
contiguous to the sanjak of Tortúm. Perfect security being restored,
the troops were licensed to break up by the Vezír of Akhiska, Sídí
Ahmed Páshá, and we then went with the Georgian Begs towards Chaldir.
After fourteen hours we reached the valley of Yúvána, where the
inhabitants of Isper and Tortúm met us with presents. At the public
entrance into Tortúm, the Cossack and Mingrelian prisoners were dragged
along in chains; the inhabitants of Tortúm all assembled to form the
Istikbál (solemn meeting. See Morier’s travels). Sídí Páshá himself
wore the plumes of honour (Jíghatelí) which the Governor of Erzerúm
had sent to him, put on his well caparisoned state horse, trappings of
six pieces of steel of Nakshiván, wrapped round his head a red sash
in the Mohammedan fashion, clad himself in blue steel with armour
on his thighs, and, looking of stupendous size, like a seven-headed
dragon he passed through the crowd who received his salute crying,
“Aleik awnallah eí ghází seifollah!” “God’s assistance be upon thee,
O victor, sword of God!” The guns of the castle of Tortúm saluted and
the mountains re-echoed the thundering noise. Sídí Páshá repaired to
his palace, and Ketgáj Páshá, Bákí Páshá and eight Sanjak Begs encamped
before the town for three days, and on the fourth the whole of the
troops moved towards Erzerúm, the territory of which we reached on
Kássim (St. Demetrius’ day) and passed the straight of Ghází-boghází.
The governor expecting the troops, was in his tent at Gumishlí Kunbed
(silver vault) where Sídí Ahmed, Ketgáj, and Bákí Páshá were received
with the greatest distinction, treated with a splendid repast and
invested with pelisses of honour. Here the Páshá and Sanjak Begs laid
with great pomp their presents before the governor. The season being
now too far advanced to think of the expedition against Eriván, we
remained in this place spending our days in pleasure. The Governor, my
gracious Lord, being a little angry with me on account of my having
accompanied the expedition without leave, Sídi Ahmed Páshá interceded
in my favour, saying, “If it is a fault that I took Evliyá with me
to the siege of Gonia, it is he that proclaimed first the Mohammedan
prayer on its walls; he is a traveller of the world, a good companion
of mankind, a Háfiz (who knows the Korán by heart) and a warrior in
the ways of God.” Having asked pardon for me in this gentle manner,
the Páshá said, “His duty was to collect troops and not to assist at
the siege of Gonia, I will not pardon this fault unless he finishes in
eight hours the recital of the Korán (Khatem sheríf).” I began with the
Bismillah and finished in somewhat more than nine hours, after which I
kissed the earth before my gracious Lord, and received from him a sable
pelisse, a thorough bred horse, two fine boys, and a sinecure; so that
I now spent all my time both day and night in pleasure.
_Moral Reflections._
The end of all joy is disappointment, and the end of every day is
bitter. There is no doubt about this. So at the end of this 1075th
year we received the news by a swift messenger despatched from
Constantinople, that Sultán Ibrahím had killed without reason the Grand
Vezír Sáleh Páshá, and had appointed in his place Tezkereji Ahmed
Páshá. Though this news greatly afflicted the Páshá yet he kept it
secret not to spoil the pleasure of the company, and transacted the
rest of his business at Erzerúm. Sáleh Páshá, who had been one of the
favorite slaves of the father of our Governor, had for this reason
given him the government of Erzerúm; but the present Grand Vezír, ever
since he had been the Tezkerejí of Kara Mustafa Páshá, had become his
mortal enemy. He kept however this secret to himself and continued to
feast in his tent with his guests, Sídí, Ketgáj, Bákí and Dilaver Páshá.
(_Here follows the separate history of these four Páshás and of the
Governor, which we omit. In the chapter of Sídí Páshá it is mentioned
that playing at jeríd one day with Evliyá he broke four of his teeth._)
_Account of our return from Erzerúm to Constantinople in the month of
Zílka’deh 1057 (1647)._
We left the town by the gate of Erzenján and halted first in the
plain called the circles of Bazár-bashí, where farewell presents
were lavished on us by all the Aghás and principal men of Erzerúm,
who both by day and night formed their court around the tent of the
Páshá. The Kiaya of Sáleh Páshá, the governor of Baghdád, accompanied
by an hundred and fifty Aghás, an hundred and seventy Kapijí-bashí,
seven hundred men, Sárija, and three hundred Segbán, arrived here with
the news of Sáleh Páshá having been killed. The next day a messenger
came from Constantinople with a Khattí-sheríf conferring on governor
Mohammed Páshá, our gracious Lord, the Governorship of Karss with the
obligation to take the field against the Persians by defending the
frontier. The Governor, our gracious Lord, said, “Be it now as it
may”, and without paying attention to the Khattí-sheríf continued his
way to Constantinople. The first station, three hours to the west of
Erzerúm, was the village of Kán, an Armenian village in the midst of
the plain. Five hours further westward, the village Ilija, possessing a
hot spring, covered with high cupolas by the munificence of the Princes
of the dynasty of Akche-koyúnlí. The basin is not paved with stones,
but only strewed with white sand. The water is of a moderate heat
and smells like that of other hot springs, but is more conducive to
health than the warm spring of Zia-ud-dín. From hence we advanced five
hours to the westward to the village of Khinnis, an Armenian village
of two hundred houses, and in five hours more came to the village of
Mamakhatún, a mussulman village of two hundred houses. This Lady was a
pious Lady of the Akche-Koyúnlí family, and lies buried here with her
children beneath a high cupola; there is a mosque, an imáret, and a
college. Advancing for five hours over valleys and hills we reached the
village of Ketúr on the territory of Erzerúm, where the Euphrates is
crossed by a bridge of fir-tree. The Páshá halted here for three days,
and sent me on a mission to Mirakhor Aghá, the inspector of the salt of
Kumákh.
_Our journey to the Castle of Kumákh._
The Castle of Kumákh was built by the Greek Emperors and then came
into the hands of the Akche-koyúnlí. When in the possession of Uzún
Hassan, the king of Azerbeiján, it was besieged by Timúr for seven
months, during which the besieged disdained to fire a single shot or
throw a single stone on the besiegers. After the defeat of Uzún Hassan
it was also besieged by Mohammed III., during three months without
success. Selím I. when governor of Trebisonde, availed himself of a
good opportunity and conquered it. He then crossed from Trebisonde
with three hundred ships to Caffa and Crimea on the opposite shore with
the intention of wresting the sovereign power from the hands of his
father, Báyazíd II. assisted by the Tatars of the Crimea. The Father
and Son met near Hájí Oghlí-bazárí in the valley of Oghrásh, and Selím
being defeated left his son Súleimán, Governor of Trebisonde, and went
himself into Persia, where he visited the tombs of great Saints like
Imán Mússa and played at chess with the Sháh, who at this time had
taken possession of Kumákh. Selím then defeated his father at Chorlí,
who exiled to Demitoca died at Hássa. Selím I received at Yení-bághje
the obeisance of the inhabitants of Constantinople, and instantly
fixed the tails at Scutari as the signal of a Persian expedition.
The castle of Kumákh was conquered by Bíklí Mohammed Páshá. It is
one of the strongest fortresses of the Ottoman Empire, like those
of Diárbekr, Márdín, Ván, Sín Kara-hissár, Afiún Kara-hissár, Megú,
Eremnák, Merkáb, Hassan, Karak in Asia, and in Rúm Mengesha, Napoli,
Misistra, Rodos, &c. It is loftier than all these and is invisible till
noon, from clouds which pour frequent showers upon it. At the time of
the description of the country by Sultán Súleimán it was set down as
the seat of a Voivode, subordinate to Erzerúm. Three districts belong
to it; that of the town, of Gerjánis, and of Kúrúchaí, from which the
Judge gathers an annual revenue of three thousand piastres. The Castle
has a Dizdár and a garrison of five hundred men, an officer of the
Janissaries (Serdár), of the Sipahís (Kiayayerí), and a Nakíb; another
officer rules the village of Gomúr on the other side of the Euphrates,
which consists of seven hundred houses: this officer is the Inspector
of the salt, which is sweeter than the salt of Hají-begtásh.
The inhabitants of Turkistán and Turcomania get all their salt from
Kumákh. A linen which is no where else to be found in such perfection,
is made here for tents. There is a proverb in praise of the linen of
Kúmákh, the sheep of Erzenján and the girls of Baiburd. The river
Komúr, which passes through the gardens of the village that bears its
name, comes from the mountains of Jerjánish and joins the Euphrates
near the convent of Melek Ghází Effendí. Near, and opposite to it, is
Mobarek, an armenian village, the khass of the garrison of Erzerúm.
The water, which distils in the caverns of the mountain freezes in
the summer time and in the winter is as warm as a hot spring. The
inhabitants keep in these caverns their cheese called Katik-peinirí. In
coming hither from Erzerúm you cross the Euphrates over a large single
arched bridge, ascend a height of five hundred paces and pass along the
rocky tract called Kebán. There towering rocks are on the right, as
you ascend the castle and on the left are deep precipices. The small
river Ain Manzar here flows into the Euphrates. This river issues from
Mount Manzar, unites with the Sáterdereh, a torrent which supplies
water to the gardens of the town and joins the Euphrates below the
rocks of Kepán. The water is clear and fresh. Near it is a rock called
Alí’s rock, where people believe they are cured of pains in the limbs,
because Alí is said to have rested here his weary limbs; it is a stone
like a magnet, and the inhabitants call it Kullikia; above is the
suburb of the Infidels. The houses, with and without gardens, are all
covered with earth. The subjects are all Armenians; there are three
hundred shops, but no bezestán of stone, two kháns, two baths, and a
great mosque: the bath near it is called Chorbájí-hamám. The suburb has
no fortification (Robát) round it, but above it is a great castle.
_Description of the Castle of Kumákh._
This castle is a pentagon of stone situate on a chalk cliff; it may
be compared to the castle of Sín-hissár on the frontiers of Erzerúm.
On the opposite side of the Euphrates is a height by which it is
commanded, but the distance is too great to make it of consequence.
It has three strong gates one behind the other; on the right and left
of the first gate are two brass guns, well worthy to be seen, of
such dimensions that a cobbler might very well work in them without
complaining of the narrowness of the place. They are of the time of
Sultán Súleimán; their length twenty-seven spans and their balls of
three quintals weight. The greatest wonder is how they succeeded in
bringing such large guns to so high a place. At the innermost or third
gate is suspended the mace of a Pehliván, and a bow of Alí. The number
of the houses great and small is six hundred, but they want gardens and
water. Five magazines have been filled with rice and millet ever since
the time of Sultán Selím I., which seem as though they had been laid
up but to-day. There are eleven mosques; the Beg’s is a large mosque
with a minareh of stone; though this castle is built on a rock, yet
the houses are paved with flat stones. On the tower called the Martyrs
towards the north are thirty-two large and small guns; from the gate
of the Martyrs, a water-way cut in the rock leads down to the foot of
it, by which they fetch the water at the time of a siege. There are
three cisterns here near one another, the first is full of good water,
the second smells of saltpetre and the third is very salt. Though this
town is a town of Turkistán, situated on the territory of Erzerúm, yet
its inhabitants are goodnatured, sound people. The linen for tents, the
white salt and the cheese called Katik-peinirí, which is better and
sweeter than that of Mytilene and of Koreisha at Damascus, are famous
all over Asia. The quails, which in summer come in great numbers, the
inhabitants preserve in vinegar for the winter.
Near the magazines are the pilgrimage of Kend Effendí and at the head
of the bridge, that of Melek Ghazí. As this town is not situated on
the great road, caraváns do not pass here. The Euphrates on the east
comes from the mountains of Rúmlí Sultán and flows round the rock
towards the west to the Izúlí Kurds. From the Alps of a thousand lakes
(Bíngol) comes the Murad river, which joins the Euphrates. Whoever
travels from Malatia, Kharpút, Ekín, Pálava, or Diárbekr can only cross
it in a boat. I viewed this town for three whole days, collected what
was due by the Voivode to the Páshá, and received from him an hundred
piastres as a present of arrival (Kúdúmie). I returned in five days to
Kumákh and set out next day northward along the Euphrates to Shúrím,
which has two hundred houses; ten hours further, to the station of
Jebjeh-khání; then leaving the Euphrates to the right, to the village
of Jemen, an Armenian village on the plain of Erzenján; from whence we
arrived at Erzenján.
_Description of the Castle of Erzenján._
This castle belongs to Erzerúm and not to Azerbeiján. There are
four towns, which bear the name of Erzen, viz: Erzen in Mesopotamia
(Jezíre), Erzen Akhlát, Erzenrúm commonly called Erzerúm, and Erzenján.
It is a delightful spot, the possession of which occasioned many
wars, till in the year 855 Sultán Bayazíd I. received it from its
prince, Záhir-ud-dín, who, the very same day he heard of the conquest
of Amasia, repaired to this town and delivered to Sultán Bayazíd the
keys. Bayazíd out of generosity returned the keys to Záhir-ud-dín
on condition that Khutbeh be performed, and the coinage struck in
his name. Záhir-ud-dín died three years afterwards and the town was
taken possession of by Kara Yússúf, the Prince of the dynasty of
Kara-koyúnlí, who held it for seven years, until Timúr overrun Asia.
Kara Yússúf fled from his residence and sought shelter at the throne
of Sultán Bayazíd, together with Ahmed Jelair, the Commander of
Baghdád. Timúr required Bayazíd to deliver them up to him, but Bayazíd
refused, and this refusal was the chief cause of the war between them.
Kara Yússúf and Jelair afterwards fled into Egypt to Sultán Berkúk.
Erzenján fell into the hands of Uzún Hassan, who being already Prince
of Azerbeiján became also Prince of Erzenján. His mint is still extant
near the convent of the Mevlevís. After the defeat and death of
Bayazíd, the Empire was disputed by the Princes Issa, Mússa, Súleimán
and Mohammed, the latter obtained it and became absolute Lord, but was
unable to conquer Erzenján, which remained in the hands of Uzún Hassan
until the time of Mohammed II., who took possession of it after the
defeat of Uzún Hassan on the plain of Terján. He repaired the castle of
Sultán Záhir-ud-dín and garrisoned it with Ottoman troops. In the reign
of Bayazíd II., when Sultán Selím was governor of Trebisonde, Sháh
Ismail took possession of Azerbeijan, which returned to its first Lord
after the battle of Chaldirán in the year 921 (1515); Erzenján was then
made a part of the revenues of the Páshá of Erzerúm. Its magistrates
are a Súbashi and a judge with one hundred and fifty aspers, who may
collect annually six purses. The other officers are the Muftí, Nakíb,
Serdár, Kiayayerí, a Mohtessib (judge of the market) and a Shehr-naibí
(inspector of the town.)
The castle is situated in a delightful plain in the midst of woods, its
gates and walls are very low and its fortifications very old. At the
time of the rebellion of Abaza at Erzerúm, the ditch was cleared and
the walls repaired, but Abaza Páshá became nevertheless master of it.
It has an iron gate, and the communication from the fortress to the
suburb is by a bridge; in the castle are three hundred houses with and
without gardens, a mosque, a khán and a bath.
The great suburb consists of eighteen hundred houses with and without
gardens, all covered with neat terraces and but few of them having
upper stories; seventy-six mosques great and small without cupolas, and
seven convents, the most renowned of which is that of the Mevlevís;
Chelebí Effendí, the son of the great Mevlana Jelál-ud-dín, is buried
here. This convent built in the olden style is situated in the midst
of a delightful Persian garden, the nightingales of which with their
delicious songs feed the brains of the poor Dervishes, and intoxicate
them with divine love, while they themselves are singing mystic hymns
in the tunes of love. Round the music-room (Ima’á-kháneh) are the cells
of the Dervishes, and the convent is endowed with a good kitchen and
cellar (Kílár). They preserve here Jelál-ud-dín’s habit, a Korán, and a
Mesneví written by his own hand. The second convent is that of Chádirjí
Sheikh Abd-ul-kádir Gíláni. There are various excellent baths, eleven
great kháns, forty abecedarian schools, no houses for reading the Korán
(Dár-ul-kirayet), tradition (Dár-ul-hadíth) nor for dining the poor
(Dár-ul-ita’ám), but there are a great number of students (Talebe);
and lectures are read in all the mosques. Amongst the inhabitants are
found many clever, goodnatured, learned, pious, well-bred men, who wear
short dresses, but no silk with the exception of the soldiers, who
dress in cloth of various colours and also in silk. The youth of both
sexes are pretty, and the ladies are chaste as Adúyeh Rábia, and wear
when walking boots and a pointed cap (Arakjín); they are prohibited
from walking in the market-place, which contains six hundred houses.
Precious articles are kept in a small bezestán. From hence to Erzerúm
situated beyond the mountains is two journies. The climate of Erzerúm
is rough and very cold, while that of Erzenján on the contrary is mild,
and favourable to roses and flowers. Snow falls sometimes, but remains
no longer than three days. Its gardens are productive of the finest
flowers and the sweetest fruits.
_Praise of the Eatables and Beverages._