I: "In a facetious way it includes all Ulemas, but beyond this it is
a well-known fact that it is said of them: 'The flesh of the Ulema is
poisonous, their odor is sickening, and to eat them is death'; and if
in spite of this men will insult them, they must pay the penalty both
in this world and in the next."
To this he could make no reply, and I turned the conversation into
another channel.
The Shah once said to me, "Tell me, since thou hast traveled so much,
which of the cities thou hast visited pleases thee best." And I
replied: "I have indeed seen most of the cities of this world, but I
have found none to compare with Stamboul and Galata."
The Shah allowed this to pass, and continued: "At how many _Tumens_
dost thou estimate the combined income of the Beys and Beylerbeys of
Turkey?" to which I replied: "The Beys and Beylerbeys of Turkey receive
payment according to their rank, but they enjoy besides this generally
a private income. Other princes remunerate their officers in proportion
to the pay of the regiment which they command, but if the pay of the
Beys and other officers in the service of the Emperor of Turkey were
to be based upon this foundation, it would run not into _Tumens_, nor
yet Lakhs,[213] but into _Kulurs_. To give you an example: The payments
made to the Beylerbeys of Rumelia, Anatolia, Egypt, Hungary (Budin,
_i.e._, Ofen), Diarbekir, Bagdad, Yemen, and Algiers, are, each in
themselves, as much as any other prince would lay out on the whole
of his army. This proportion holds good for all the other Beylerbeys
also, and is in strict accordance with the superior standing of our
government. Quite a different system is adopted for the troops under
Khans and Sultans, for there is always an element of uncertainty there;
but in Turkey the army belongs to the Padishah. All Beylerbeys and
officers are his servants, and an Imperial command is law and can not
be trifled with."[214]
On this same occasion some of the officers asked whether the documents
which had been taken from me by Ibrahim Mirza in Meshhed had ever been
placed before the Shah. This question was answered in the affirmative,
but I did not like to pursue the subject, mindful of the saying:
"When evil slumbers, cursed be he who arouses it"—and I turned the
conversation into another channel.
I preferred to plead my cause with another gazel, which the Shah
graciously accepted, and which finally led to the desired result. We
received permission to leave. He wrote a letter expressive of his
unalterable respect and devotion to his Majesty the Padishah, gave me
more presents, and commanded Nazr Bey, a brother of Yuzbashi Hasan Bey,
to accompany me on the journey.
While in Kazvin I made a pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Shahzade
Husein, and in the beginning of Rebiul Evvel I started on my journey to
Bagdad.
Near to Sultani, we passed Abhar, and I stopped to visit the grave of
Pir Hasan, the son of Akhi Avran, then on to Kirkan, where I visited
the grave of Mohammed Demtiz[215], a son of Khodja Ahmed Jesewi, and
from there to Derghezin and Hamadan, in which latter place the graves
of Ain-ul-Kuzat and Pir Ebulalay, the armor-bearers of the Prophet,
were visited. At Saadabad, our next station, I was met by the governor,
who treated me with marked attention.
Then we took our way by Mount Elvend and Nihavend (in Suristan) to
Bisutun, where I visited the grave of Kiazim, and in the village
Weis-ul-karn, the grave of the saint of that name. We then proceeded
to Kasri-Shirin and through Kurdistan to the fortress Zendjir. While
there we were much interested in watching a _Huma_ bird[216] high up
in the sky. This is supposed to be a good omen, and we were therefore
well pleased. Some enlarged upon the good fortune presaged by his
appearance, others spoke of the curious properties of the bird, of whom
Sa'di sings:
"The _Huma_ is distinguished from all other birds,
In that he lives on bones, yet is not a bird of prey."
It is a known fact that this bird feeds exclusively on bones. The
legend says that the _Huma_, before demolishing a bone, carries it up
high in the air, and then drops it, with the result that it breaks into
many pieces. He then swoops down upon these, divides them into equal
portions, and devours them. This is the origin of the saying, when
Persian officials, through extortion, obtain more than they can well
digest: "They should follow the example of the _Huma_ bird and divide
their spoils into smaller, equal portions."
Here, at Zendjir, I dismissed Nazr Bey, whom the Shah had given me as
an escort, and after crossing the great river Tokuz Olum[217] we came
to Ban (or Sheri Ban). Toward the end of the same month of Kebiul Sani
we reached Bagdad, where we were most hospitably received by Khizr
Pasha. We did not delay, however, but hurried on to Turkey.