MAYMENE
ITS POLITICAL POSITION AND IMPORTANCE
REIGNING PRINCE
RIVALRY OF BOKHARA AND KABUL
DOST MOHAMMED KHAN
ISHAN EYUB AND MOLLAH KHALMURAD
KHANAT AND FORTRESS OF MAYMENE
ESCAPED RUSSIAN OFFENDERS
MURGAB RIVER AND BALA MURGAB
DJEMSHIDI AND AFGHAN
RUINOUS TAXES ON MERCHANDISE
KALÈ NO
HEZARE
AFGHAN EXACTIONS AND MALADMINISTRATION.
_Wild warriors of the Turquoise hills, and those
Who dwell beyond the everlasting snows
Of Hindoo Kosh, in stormy freedom bred,
Their fort the rock, their camp the torrent's bed._
Moore, _Veiled Prophet_.
[Maymene; Its Political Position and Importance; Reigning Prince;
Rivalry of Bokhara and Kabul; Dost Mohammed Khan]
Before entering Maymene, let me describe the political state of that
country, for as that city plays a part of great importance, some
preliminary observations are here quite indispensable.
The whole tract of land on this side of the Oxus, as far as Hindukush
and Herat, has, from ancient times, been the field of continual
quarrels and warfare; and these have involved not only the small
predatory states in its vicinity, Kunduz, Khulum, Belkh, Aktche,
Serepul, Shiborgan, Andkhuy, Bedakshan, and Maymene, but the Emirs
themselves, both of Bokhara and Kabul. These princes, to carry out
their plans of conquest, have been ever ready to kindle the flames of
dissension; sometimes, too, they have taken an active part in these
differences. They {245} have striven to gain over to their respective
causes some one of the above-named cities, or even actually to
incorporate it, and to make use of it for the particular ends they had
in view. The Emirs were, in fact, the principal rivals in the field.
Until the commencement of this century, the influence of Bokhara had
almost always predominated; but it has been in more recent tunes
supplanted by the Afghan tribes of the Durani, Sadduzi, and Barekzi;
and at last Dost Mohammed Khan succeeded, partly by force and partly
by cunning, in bringing under his sceptre all the states I have
mentioned, with the exception of Bedakhshan and Maymene. He formed the
province Turkestan, naming for its capital Belkh. This city is made
the seat of a Serdar, who has under his command ten thousand men,
partly Paltan (regular troops), partly native militia, and three
batteries of field-pieces. The possession of the mountainous
Bedakhshan was not much coveted by the energetic Dost Mohammed Khan.
Its native prince became a vassal, and the Afghan was for the time
satisfied. The case stands differently with Maymene. It lies half-way
on the route to Bokhara, and has been several times besieged, without
success, both by Dost Mohammed Khan and by Yar Mohammed Khan. In 1862,
when the grey Barekzi prince drew the sword to punish faithless Herat,
the whole of Central Asia trembled; but Maymene again resisted, and
was again victorious. The bravery of the Özbegs there became
proverbial, and an idea may be formed of the proud spirit of this
city, when she could affirm, with truth, at the death of Dost Mohammed
Khan, that she alone, of all the neighbouring states, had refused to
do homage to the flag of the Afghans.
{246}
The death of Dost Mohammed Khan--an event of the highest importance to
the destiny of Central Asia--was thought to threaten it with great
change and political revolutions. The Emir of Bokhara was the first
who sought to profit by the occasion, and, in spite of his notorious
penuriousness, sent a subsidy of ten thousand Tilla to the little
warlike Maymene; and an agreement was made that the Emir should cross
the Oxus, and, uniting his forces with those of his ally, should make
a simultaneous attack upon their common enemy, the Afghans. The
reigning prince of Maymene, however, being a youth of fiery spirit,
[Footnote 74] was too impatient to await his ally's approach, began
the struggle with the forces at his own disposal, and succeeded in
capturing some small places from the Afghans, a success which enabled
him to ornament the gate of his fortress with three hundred
long-haired Afghan skulls. During our stay in his city, they were
making preparations to renew the contest on a larger scale.
[Footnote 74: He is in his 22nd year.]
[Ishan Eyub and Mollah Khalmurad]
When the karavan had encamped here, outside the town, I visited the
Tekkie of a certain Ishan Eyub, to whom I had letters of
recommendation from Hadji Salih. I spared no pains to gain his
favourable opinion, for I thought it would be of service to me in the
event of a _rencontre_ which I expected to make in Maymene, and which
I dreaded, as it might have the disagreeable effect of betraying my
identity, and, my disguise once discovered, I might again be exposed
to great danger. The person whom I so dreaded to meet was a certain
Mollah Khalmurad, who had been known to me in Constantinople, and had
given me lessons in the Turkish Djagatay {247} during a period of four
months. The Mollah--a very cunning fellow--had already perceived on
the Bosphorus that I was not the genuine Reshid Efendi for whom I was
taken. Having been told of my intention of travelling to Bokhara, he
had, indeed, formally tendered his services as cicerone, assuring me
at the same time that he had served the English Mollah Yusuf (Dr.
Wolff) in the same capacity. As I left him in doubt respecting my
intentions, he proceeded to Mecca. I knew that his design had been to
return home by Bombay and Karatchi, and was apprehensive of
encountering him, for I was firmly convinced that in spite of the
kindness with which I had loaded him, he was quite capable of
denouncing me, if he had the slightest interest in doing so.
All communication being interrupted between Maymene and Bokhara by the
Afghan campaign, I had the good fortune to escape his taking me by
surprise in the latter city; but in Maymene I hardly expected to be so
lucky, and, to foil any possible attack from this quarter, I felt it
necessary to secure for myself some firm _locus standi_, which I might
do by striving to win the good opinion and favour of Ishan Eyub, who
was generally respected. After having been three days in the city, I
took the initiative and made inquiries as to my man. 'What!
Khalmurad?' said the Ishan in astonishment, 'thou hast been acquainted
with him (peace to him, and long life to us!). He had the happiness of
dying in Mecca, and, as he was my bosom friend, I have received his
children into my house, and the little one there (pointing, as he said
that, to a boy) is one of his sons.' I gave the child a whole string
of glass beads, said three Fatihas for the {248} salvation of the soul
of the departed, [Footnote 75] and my well-grounded apprehensions
therefore at once ceased.
[Footnote 75: On my return to Teheran, I was told by my friend
Ismael Efendi, then _Chargé d'affaires_ of the Porte at the Persian
Court, that a month before my arrival a Mollah from Maymene, whose
description tallied exactly with that of my Mollah, whom we thought
in the other world, had passed through and had spoken at the Embassy
of me as of his former pupil in Djagatay. Khalmurad is consequently
not dead, and some singular chance alone prevented our coming in
contact.]
I began now to move about more at my ease. I soon opened a stall at
the corner of a street, but, to my very great disappointment, my stock
now was rapidly dwindling away. 'Hadji Reshid,' said one of my
fellow-travellers, 'thou hast already eaten up half of thy knives,
needles, and glass beads; thou wilt before long have devoured the
other half, and thy ass to boot. What wilt thou then do?' He was
right, thought I, for, in fact, what was I to do? My sombre prospects,
and particularly the approaching winter, made me a little fearful, for
I was still far from the Persian frontiers, and every attempt I made
to replenish my case I saw fail.' A Dervish or a beggar,' I said,
'never passes hungry from the door of an Özbeg. Everywhere he has a
well-founded hope of something, bread or fruits; here and there, too,
an old article of attire, and this sends him, in his own opinion,
richly provided on his way.'
That I must have suffered, and suffered much, the reader will well
understand; but habit, and the hope of returning to Europe, enabled me
to bear my burden. I slept sweetly enough in the open air, on the bare
earth, esteeming myself especially happy in having no longer to dread
constant discovery or a death by torture, for my Hadji character
excited suspicion nowhere.
{249}
[Khanat and Fortress of Maymene]
The Khanat Maymene, so far as its peopled district extends, is
eighteen miles broad and twenty miles long. Besides its capital, it
contains ten villages and cantons, of which the most considerable are
Kaisar, Khafir-kalè, Alvar, and Khodjakendu. The population, divided
into settlers and nomads, is estimated at 100,000 souls; in point of
nationality, they are for the most part Özbegs of the tribes of Min,
Atchmayli, and Daz; they can bring into the field from five to six
thousand cavalry, well mounted and well armed. They are distinguished,
as I before mentioned, for their bravery. The present ruler of Maymene
is Husein Khan, son of Hukumet Khan. The latter was, by order of his
own brother, who is still living, and is uncle of the reigning prince,
hurled down from the walls of the citadel, 'in order,' as he expressed
himself, 'that his abler son might be placed at the head of affairs.'
Now, as the latter was then still incapable of reigning, the motive of
the atrocious crime is easy to be divined. Mirza Yakoub--that is the
name of this amiable uncle--plays, indeed, the part of Vizir, but
everybody knows that Husein Khan is only his instrument. In Maymene,
at all events, the young prince was more liked than his uncle. The
latter would be regarded, even amongst Europeans, as a man of
agreeable exterior; in the eyes of the Özbegs he is, therefore, an
Adonis. He is praised for his goodness of heart by men who forget how
he enforces the tyrannical law by which the Khan, instead of
inflicting corporal punishment or imposing fines, sends off his
subjects to the slave-market of Bokhara. The Khans transmit every
month a fixed number of these {250} unfortunates to that city. It is
not considered strange, as it is an ancient custom. The city of
Maymene stands in the midst of hills, and is only visible when
approached within a distance of a quarter of a league. It is extremely
filthy and ill built, and consists of 1,500 mud huts, and a bazaar
built of brick, that seems about to fall; it has besides three mosques
and two Medresse, the former constructed of mud, the latter of bricks.
The inhabitants are Özbegs, with some Tadjiks, Heratis, about fifty
families of Jews, a few Hindoos, and Afghans. These enjoy equal
rights, and are not disturbed for reasons of religion or nationality.
With respect to Maymene considered as a fortress, I was far from being
able to discover in the simple city walls and fosses in the citadel,
situated on its west side, the imposing stronghold said to be capable
of resisting the Afghan artillery, mounted in English fashion, and of
bidding defiance to all the power of Dost Mohammed Khan. The walls,
made of earth, are twelve feet high, and about five broad; the fosse
is neither broad nor particularly deep; the citadel is elevated and
situated upon a conspicuous hill of steep ascent, but in the
neighbourhood there are still higher hills, whence a battery could in
a few hours reduce it to ashes. It is therefore probable that the
renowned strength of Maymene consists rather in the bravery of its
defenders than in its walls or ditches. One distinguishes at the first
glance in the inhabitant the bold and fearless rider, and it is only
the Özbeg of Shehri Sebz who can contest with him the palm. The
resolute warlike character of the inhabitants of this little Khanat,
and the possession, besides, of the mountainous pass at Murgab
(river), will ever find enough to do for the Afghans, or any {251}
other conquerors pressing forward from the south towards the Oxus; the
fortifications of Kerki can offer but a weak resistance, and he who
would wish to take Bokhara must destroy Maymene, or be sure of its
friendly feeling.
In Maymene, the Kervanbashi and the principal merchants of our karavan
were no longer detained by difficulties about the customs, but by
arrangements affecting their private interests. They wanted to attend
at least two or three horse-markets, for in these parts fine horses
are to be purchased cheap, which the Özbegs and the Turkomans of the
places around bring to the market. These are exported, for the most
part, to Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul, and very frequently to India.
Horses that I saw sold in Persia for thirty or forty ducats, fetch
here from a hundred to a hundred and sixty Tenghe (from fourteen to
fifteen ducats), and never did I behold in Bokhara, Khiva, or Karshi,
horses so fine sold at prices so low; but it is not only with respect
to these animals that the market of Maymene affords a rich choice; the
natural produce of the country and home manufactures, such as carpets
and other stuffs, made partly of wool and partly of camel's hair, are
abundantly supplied by the Turkoman and Djemshidi women. It deserves
notice that a considerable export trade is carried on to Persia and
Bagdad in raisins (Kishmish), aniseed, and pistachio nuts: a
hundred-weight of the aniseed costs here from thirty to forty Tenghe.
[Escaped Russian Offenders]
After a stay of eight days I returned to the karavan, that remained
outside of the city, in order to inform myself as to the day when it
would resume its journey. I heard here, to my astonishment, that they
had been {252} searching for me the whole day to give my evidence to
get four Roumi liberated, who had been arrested by order of the uncle
of the Khan. According to the decree of the judge, nothing could free
them from the suspicion of being run-away slaves, but the production
of some credible witness to the genuineness of their Turkish origin.
Before going to the Khan let me introduce my countrymen to the reader,
as I had very nearly forgotten these highly interesting members of our
karavan.
These people were nothing more or less than Russian criminals. They
had been banished to Siberia, where they had for eight years been kept
at hard labour in the Government of Tobolsk, and had escaped across
the immense steppes of the Kirghis to Bokhara, and thence were
striving to return to their own country by Herat, Meshed, Teheran,
&c., to Gümrii (Elizabethpol). The history of their flight and other
adventures is very long. I will only give a slight sketch of it.
In the last campaign between Russia and Turkey, they were engaged with
a _razzia_ (Tchapao), in the Caucasus, by command of Government, or as
is more probable, on their own account. During this time they had
fallen into the hands of a Russian patrol; and, as they well merited,
were transported to Siberia. Here they were daily employed in the
woods of Tobolsk with felling trees; but were kept at night in a
prison, and not ill-treated, for they were fed with bread and soup,
and often also with meat. Years elapsed before they learnt to speak
Russian; but they did at last learn it from the soldiers that guarded
them. Conversation being now rendered possible, confidence was
inspired; bottles of brandy (Vodki) were tendered {253} reciprocally,
and as, during last spring, one day, more than usual of the warming
liquor had been handed to the two soldiers on guard, the captives
seized the opportunity, and, instead of oaks, felled the robust
Russians; exchanged their axes for the arms of those whom they had
slaughtered, and after wandering up and down for a long time, and
under perilous circumstances--in which they were obliged to feed even
upon grass and upon roots--they finally reached some Kirghis tents, to
them a haven of security; for the nomads regard it as a benevolent act
to aid fugitives of that description. From the steppes of the Kirghis
they passed by Tashkend to Bokhara, where the Emir gave them some
money for journey expenses. Although on their way it had often been
suspected that they were run-away slaves, it was not until they
reached Maymene that they really incurred any serious danger.
At the urgent request of my fellow-travellers, and of the Kervanbashi,
I went, accompanied by the Ishan Eyub, the very same day, to the
citadel. Instead of seeing the Khan, we were received by his uncle; he
admitted my testimony as competent, and the four fugitives were
liberated. They thanked me with tears in their eyes; the whole karavan
was rejoiced, and two days afterwards we resumed our journey to Herat.
The route passed continuously through a mountainous country. The first
station, which was in a south-westerly direction, was reached in six
hours. It is called Almar. This is the designation common to those
villages, which lie there scattered at a little distance from each
other. Hardly had the karavan taken up its quarters here, when the
officers of the {254} customs at Maymene appeared, escorted by a few
horsemen, and claimed to make a second examination. This led to
shouting, quarrelling, and negotiations which lasted a few hours; but
at last we were obliged to submit, and after the poor Kervanbashi and
merchants had been once more fleeced for dues in respect of wares,
cattle, and slaves, the march was resumed towards evening. After
having passed the important place called Kaisar, we reached a little
after midnight the station Narin. We had travelled five miles through
valleys, small, fruitful, but abandoned; indeed, the whole of this
fine district has been rendered unsafe by the thieving Turkomans,
Djemshidi, and Firuzkuhi.
In Narin only a few hours' rest was taken, as we had before us a stage
of seven hours. After having marched without cessation the whole day,
we reached in the evening the village and station of Tchitchektoo, in
the neighbourhood of which is a second village called Fehmguzar. As
the Kervanbashi and some of the other travellers had business at the
village Khodjakendu, which lies to the south east, at a distance of
three leagues, amongst the hills, we halted here the whole day. The
place itself is regarded as the frontier of Maymene, and at the same
time of all Turkestan. A Yüzbashi named Devletmurad, who acts here as
watcher of the frontiers, levied in this Khanat of Maymene a third
custom-tax, by right of the Kamtchin pulu (whip-money [Footnote 76]).
{255} On my expressing my astonishment to a Herat merchant about this
unjust proceeding, he replied, 'We thank God that they only tax us.
Some time ago we could not pass Maymene and Andkhuy without risk, for
the karavans were plundered by order of the Khan himself, and we lost
everything.' Here in Tchitchektoo I saw the last of Özbeg nomads, and
I will not deny that I parted from this open-hearted, honest people
with great regret, for the nomads of their race whom I met in the
Khanats of Khiva and Bokhara have left in my mind the most pleasing
recollections of any natives of Central Asia.
[Footnote 76: It is the practice in Central Asia to give to the
escort that accompanies you a sum of money; in Germany it is called
drink-money, but in the East whip-money. This Yüzbashi had the right
to exact payment from every passer-by, even although he had rendered
no service as escort or guard.]
[Murgab River and Bala Murgab; Djemshidi and Afghan]
The karavan was here taken under the protection of an escort of
Djemshidi, sent to meet us by their Khan from Bala Murgab, because the
route henceforth lay through a tolerably broad valley, having the
habitations of the Sarik Turkomans on the right side, and of the
mountaineer robbers, the Firuzkuhi, on the left. The land is
exceedingly fertile, but it lies there, unhappily, fallow and without
an owner. As I heard, the karavan during its whole journey from
Bokhara had not incurred such peril as it did here. Our guard
consisted of thirty Djemshidi, well armed and well mounted, with the
addition of about double the number of able-bodied men from the
karavan; nevertheless, at every step in advance, vedettes were thrown
out to our right hand and to our left upon the hills, and all were in
the greatest anxiety. It can readily be imagined in what a state of
mind were the poor emancipated slaves, who at great trouble and
expense had escaped thus far, and who now saw themselves menaced with
a new captivity.
The size of the karavan and the precautions taken happily saved us
from surprise. We passed the whole day through magnificent meadows,
which in {256} spite of the advanced season of the year, were covered
with flowers and grass that came up to our knees: and after having
reposed during the night we arrived the following morning at the ruins
of the fortress Kalè Veli: it was peopled only two years ago, but had
been surprised and plundered by a great Alaman of the Sarik-Turkomans.
The inhabitants had been partly sold as slaves and partly massacred,
the few empty houses still existing and the walls of the fortification
will soon be a complete ruin. The Djemshidi horsemen, who thus far had
only been our escort a single day, now demanded their whip-money;
every one who travelled mounted or on foot was to pay it once, but the
slaves twofold. The escort affirmed that their present claim was well
founded, as they would not receive any portion of the toll-money paid
to the Khan in Bala Murgab.
Towards evening, on the second day after we had left Tchitchektoo, we
reached the end of that beautiful valley, and the way, leading to the
river Murgab, traversed a rough mountainous pass, in many places very
steep, and at the same time so narrow that loaded camels advancing
singly could with difficulty wind their way through; it is said to be
the only practicable passage leading over the mountain to the bank of
the river. A body of troops that wished to cross the Murgab would have
either to pass through the desert (and for this they must be on good
terms with the Salor and the Sarik), or make their way through this
pass, for which enterprise the friendship of the Djemshidi is
essential, as their hostility might in the defiles be prejudicial even
to the strongest army.
{257}
It was midnight when we arrived on the banks of the river; worn out by
their painful mountainous journey, men and beasts all fell into a
profound sleep.
On awaking next morning I found that we were in a long valley
surrounded by lofty mountains, the central point, through which the
clear green waters of the Murgab [Footnote 77 ] cut their way,
affording a most charming picture to the eye.
[Footnote 77: The Murgab rises in the lofty mountains to the East
which bear the name of Ghur; it flows in a north-westerly direction
by Martchah and Pendjdeh until it loses itself in the sandy plain of
Merv. It is pretended that at an earlier period it joined the Oxus,
but this is an utter impossibility.]
We proceeded along the bank of the river for half an hour to find a
ford, for the current is very strong, and, although not very deep, it
cannot be crossed at all places, owing to the blocks of stone lying in
its bed.
The crossing commenced with the horses, and then followed the camels,
and our asses were to close the procession. Now, these animals, it is
well known, have a great dread of mud and water. I thought it but a
necessary measure of prudence to deposit my knapsack, containing my
MSS.--the most precious result, the _spolia opima_, of my
journey--upon the back of a camel. Then seating myself upon the empty
saddle I forced my ass into the river. When he made his first step
upon the stony bottom of the rapid stream, I felt certain that
something awful was going to happen: I strove to get down, but that
was unnecessary, for a few steps further on my charger fell, amidst
the loud laughter of our comrades standing upon the bank, and then
afterwards, in great consternation, he made for the opposite bank, as
I wished him to do. This cold morning bath in the clear waters of the
transparent crystal Murgab was only so far {258} disagreeable to me
that I had no change of clothes, so I was obliged to hide myself a few
hours amongst some carpets and sacks until my clothes, which were
entirely wet through, should dry in the sun. The karavan encamped near
the citadel; in the interior, instead of houses there are only tents,
and there the Khans or Chiefs of the Djemshidi reside.
This part of the valley of the Murgab bears the name of Bala Murgab
[Footnote 78] (Upper Murgab); it extends from the frontiers of the
lofty mountainous chain of the Hezares as far as Marchah (snake well),
where dwell the Salor Turkomans; it is said of old to have been a
possession of the Djemshidi, and that they were for a time
dispossessed, but afterwards returned. To the south-west of the
fortress the valley becomes so narrow, that it merits rather the name
of a defile. Through the midst the Murgab rolls foaming away with the
noise of thunder,--it is not until it has passed Pendjdeh, where the
river becomes deeper and more sedate, that the valley spreads itself
out and acquires a breadth of one or two miles. When Merv existed,
there must have been here, too, a tolerable amount of civilisation;
but at the present day Turkomans house themselves there, and upon
their steps follow everywhere ruin and desolation.
[Footnote 78: Some said that this name designates merely the
fortress. It may have been formerly a place of importance, for
numerous ruins in the interior and in the environs indicate a bygone
civilisation.]
The Djemshidi insist that they spring from Djemshid, the fabulous king
of the Pishdadian family--a pretension naturally subject to doubt!
They are, however, certainly of Persian descent. This is indicated not
so much by their dialect as by their pure Irani type {259} of
physiognomy; for it is retained amongst these nomads more faithfully
than anywhere else, except in the southern provinces of Persia. Cast
for centuries upon the extreme limit of Persian nationality, their
numbers have melted away in consequence of constant warfare. They
count now no more than about eight or nine thousand tents. The
inhabitants live in a state of great destitution, scattered over the
above-named valley and neighbouring mountains. As will be seen in the
history of Khiva, a great part of them were forced by Allahkuli Khan
to quit their country, and form a colony in that Khanat, where a new
place of settlement was marked out for them in a fertile district
(Köktcheg), abundantly watered by the Oxus. The change was for the
better; but their irresistible attachment to their old mountainous
homes led them to return thither. And there they still are located as
new settlers, under no very brilliant circumstances.
In dress, manner of life, and character, the Djemshidi resemble the
Turkomans. Their forays are just as much dreaded as those of the
latter; but they cannot be so frequent, on account of the inferiority
of their number. At present their Khans (they have two, Mehdi Khan and
Allahkuli Khan) are notoriously vassals of the Afghans, and well
recompensed as such by the Serdar of Herat. The Afghans, even in the
time of Dost Mohammed Khan, took every possible step to win to their
side the Djemshidi, in order, in the first place, to have in them a
constant barrier-guard on the northern boundary of the Murgab against
the incursions of the Maymenes; and, secondly, to paralyse the power
of the Turkomans, of whose friendliness the greatest sacrifices never
{260} could assure Dost Mohammed Khan. Mehdi Khan, the chief of the
Djemshidi, of whom we before spoke, is said, at the siege of Herat, to
have rendered essential service, and to have consequently gained not
only the entire favour of the late Emir, but of his successor, the
present king, Shir Ali Khan. Indeed, the latter left him guardian of
his infant son, whom he had placed at the head of affairs in Herat.
The extension, then, of the Afghan territory to the Murgab may be
styled very precarious, for the Djemshidi may, at any moment, break
out in open revolt, as they do not admit that the Serdar of Herat has
the shadow of a right to their allegiance, and, least of all, should
there be any hesitation or delay in the liquidation of their pay.
[Ruinous Taxes on Merchandise]
Here, as everywhere, our difficulties began and ended with questions
respecting the customs. It had been said, all along, that with the
left bank of the Murgab Afghanistan began, and that there the slave
tax would cease to be exacted. It was a grievous mistake. The Khan of
the Djemshidi, who treated in person with the Kervanbashi concerning
the taxes, exacted more for goods, cattle, and slaves than the former
claimants, and when the tariff was made known, the consternation, and
with many the lamentation, knew no bounds. He even forced the Hadjis
to pay two francs per ass--an extraordinary charge for all, but for me
a very grievous one. But the greatest hardship was that which befell
an Indian, who had purchased some loads of aniseed in Maymene for
thirty Tenghe. The carriage to Herat cost him twenty Tenghes per load.
He had also, up to this point, paid eleven Tenghes for customs, and
now he was to pay thirty more, making for expenses about sixty-one
Tenghes. The enormous duties imposed upon the {261} merchant, and with
the authority of a sort of law, are a positive hindrance to all
commercial transactions; and from the dreadfully tyrannical use made
of their power by the princes, the inhabitants are prevented from
profiting by the riches of nature that often ripen without any culture
in the neighbourhood, and whose produce might bring a very good
return, and satisfy the exigencies of domestic life. The mountainous
fatherland of the Djemshidi has three special kinds of produce to
which a genial Nature spontaneously gives birth, and which, belonging
to no one, may be gathered by the hand of the first comer. These
are:--(1) Pistachio nuts: (2) Buzgundj, a sort of nut used for dyeing:
it is a produce of the pistachio tree. Of the former, a batman costs
half a franc, and of the latter, from six to eight francs. (3)
Terendjebin, a sort of sugary substance collected from a shrub like
manna, having no bad flavour, and used in the making of sugar in Herat
and Persia. The mountain Badkhiz (the word means 'where the wind
rises') is rich in those three articles. The inhabitants are in the
habit of collecting them, but the merchants, on account of the
enormous subsequent charges, can only pay a small sum for them, and
they thus afford but a sorry resource for the poor inhabitants. The
Djemshidi women make several kinds of stuff of wool and goat's hair,
and particularly a sort of cloth called Shal, which fetches good
prices in Persia.
We lingered four days on the bank of the Murgab, in the vicinity of
the ruins. Many hours did I spend in wandering by the side of this
beautiful light green river, in order to visit the tents that lay
scattered about in groups, with old torn pieces of felt for coverings,
and presenting altogether a miserable dilapidated {262} appearance. In
vain did I offer my glass beads, in vain my blessing and Nefes. What
they stood in need of was not such articles of luxury, but bread.
Religion itself is here but upon a feeble footing; and as I could not
much build upon my character as Hadji and Dervish, I was obliged to
relinquish the intention of a more extensive excursion to Marchah,
where, according to report, there exist ruins of stone, with Munar
(towers and pillars) perhaps dating from the time of the Parsees. The
story did not seem to me very credible; otherwise the English, who had
adequate knowledge of Herat and its environs, would have made
researches. In the uncertainty, I did not care to expose myself to
danger.
It is reckoned a four days' journey for horses from Bala Murgab to
Herat. Camels require double the time, for the country is mountainous.
Our camels could not certainly perform it in less, for they carried
loads greater than usual.
Two high mountainous peaks, visible to the south of Murgab, were
pointed out to us, and we were told that it would take us two days to
reach them. They both bear the name Derbend (pass), and are far
loftier, narrower, and easier of defence than the pass on the right
bank of the Murgab, leading to Maymene. In proportion as one advances
nature assumes a wilder and more romantic appearance. The elevated
masses of rock, which form the first Derbend, are crowned with the
ruins of an ancient fort, the subject of the most varying fables.
Farther on, at the second Derbend, on the bank of the Murgab, there
are the remains of an old castle. It was the summer residence of the
renowned Sultan Husein Mirza, by whose order a stone bridge
(Pul-Taban) was constructed, {263} of which traces are still
distinguishable. In the time of this, the most civilised sovereign of
Central Asia, the whole of the neighbourhood was in a flourishing
state, and many pleasure-houses are said to have existed along the
course of the Murgab.
Beyond the second pass we quitted the Murgab. The route turned to the
right, in a westerly direction, towards a plateau closely adjoining a
part of the desert peopled by the Salor. Here begins the lofty
mountain Telkhguzar, which it takes three hours to pass over.
[Kalè No; Hezare]
Towards midnight we halted at a place called Mogor, whence next
morning we reached the ruins of the former town and fortress, Kalè No,
now surrounded by a few tents of the Hezare. They presented the
appearance of still greater poverty than those of the Djemshidi. Kalè
No, as I heard, had been, only fifty years ago, a flourishing town. It
had served for a depôt to the karavans betaking themselves from Persia
to Bokhara. The Hezare, the then possessors, became overbearing and
presumptuous, claimed to give laws to Herat, and finally, by engaging
in a struggle with this city, became the authors of their own
downfall. They even made enemies of the Persians by their rivalry with
the Turkomans in their predatory expeditions in Khorasan.
The Hezare here met with have, owing to their intermixture with the
Irani, no longer been able to maintain their Mongoli type as pure as
their brethren in Kabul. They are, too, for the most part Sunnites,
whereas the latter profess everywhere the principles of the rival sect
of the Shiites. If I am rightly informed, the northern Hezare first
separated themselves from the southern in the time of Nadir {264}
Shah; and the surrounding people forced them to embrace the doctrine
of the rival sect (Sunnites), at least in part. It is said that the
Hezare [Footnote 79] were brought by Djenghis Khan from Mongolia,
their ancient seat, to the southern parts of Central Asia, and Shah
Abbas was the cause of their conversion to Shiism. It is remarkable
that they have exchanged their mother-tongue for the Persian, which is
not generally spoken in the neighbourhood where they dwell. The Mongol
dialect, or rather a jargon of it, is only preserved by a small
portion of them who have remained isolated in the mountains near
Herat, where they have for centuries been occupied as burners of
charcoal. They style themselves, as well as the place they inhabit,
Gobi.
[Footnote 79: The Hezare were styled Berber in Persia, a word used
to designate the city Shehri-Berber, said to have existed on the
mountains between Kabul and Herat, and of whose ancient grandeur,
splendour, and magnificence wonders are recounted. Burnes says, in
his work upon Kabul (p. 232), that 'the remains of this imperial
city of the same name (Berber) are still to be seen.']
Baba Khan, the chief of the Hezare of Kalè No, ought at least from his
poverty and weakness to acknowledge the supremacy of Herat, which is
only at a distance of two days' journey. This was not the case; he
also assumed the air of an independent Prince. Hardly had our karavan
settled down near the ruins, when his Majesty appeared in person and
demanded his customs: this gave rise to fresh quarrels and disputes.
The Kervanbashi insisted upon sending an express to the Serdar of
Herat to complain; the threat produced its effect, and instead of
duties a famous sum was exacted for whip-money; and in levying it, the
godless Khan not even allowing the Hadjis to escape, I was obliged to
pay again for my ass the sum of two francs.
{265}
The merchants made here a large purchase of pistachio nuts and Berek,
a light cloth for the fabrication of which the Hezare women are
renowned, and is employed throughout the whole of the north of Persia
and Afghanistan as an overgarment, called Chekmen.
From Kalè No the way again passes over lofty mountains to Herat; the
distance is only twenty miles, but the journey is very fatiguing, and
requires four days for its accomplishment. The first day's halt was at
a village called Alvar, near the ruins of the robber-castle where Shir
Ali Hezareh housed himself. The second day we passed by the summit
Serabend, covered with everlasting snows, and where we suffered
severely from frost, in spite of the immense masses of wood which we
lighted to warm us. The third day, we descended continually: there are
some very dangerous places, the path passing close to the edge of the
precipice being only a foot broad; a false step may plunge man and
camel down into the ravine below. We reached, however, without
accident, the valley at Sertcheshme, whence, it is believed, springs a
strong stream, that after bathing Herat on the north side falls into
the Heri-Rud. On the fourth day we arrived at Kerrukh, which belongs
to Herat, and is distant from it four miles.
[Afghan Exactions and Maladministration.]
Herat was still besieged by Dost Mohammed Khan when the karavan had
set out for Bokhara in the spring. Six months had now elapsed, the
report of their native city having been taken and plundered had
reached them, and the reader may imagine the anxiety felt by every
Herati to seek his house, property, family {266} and friends!
Notwithstanding this, all were forced to wait here another day, until
the officer of the customs, whose appearance on the scene, with his
arrogant Afghan air, took us early in the morning by surprise, had got
ready an exact list of all that had come and everything they had
brought with them. I had pictured to myself Afghanistan as a land
already half organised, where, through long contact with Western
influence, at least something of order and civilisation had been
introduced. I flattered myself that I was upon the eve of getting rid
at once of my disguise and sufferings. I was cruelly deceived. The
Afghan functionary, the first whom I had yet seen of that nation,
threw into the shade all the inhumanity and barbarity of similar
officers in Central Asia; all the dreadful things I had heard about
the searches as to customs amongst the Afghans was only a painting
'couleur de rose' compared with what I here witnessed. The bales of
goods that owners would not open were sent under guard to the town;
the baggage of the travellers was examined and written down article by
article; in spite of the coldness of the weather, every one was
obliged to strip, and with the exception of shirt, drawers, and upper
garment, every object of dress was declared liable to duty. The brute
taxed the Hadjis most severely, he did not even spare their little
stock of haberdashery; and, what is unheard of, he exacted five krans
per head for the asses, animals for which so much had been already
paid for duty, and which were themselves worth from twenty to
twenty-five krans. As many were really so poor as to be unable to pay,
he caused their asses to be sold; this revolting proceeding wrung me
very hard; it left me, in fact, almost without resources.
{267}
Towards evening, when we thought that the plundering was over, the
Governor of Kerrukh, who has the rank of a Mejir, [Footnote 80] made
his appearance also to receive his whip-money. He was somewhat
exacting, too, but his genuine soldier-like bearing, and his uniform
buttoned tight over his chest (the first object that had greeted my
eyes for so long a time that recalled European associations), produced
upon me an indescribably cheering impression. Even now I laugh at the
pettiness of my feelings, but I could not regard with indifference the
end of the entire jest of which I had been the author. Bator Khan
(that was his name) had remarked my look of surprise. This made him
regard me more attentively; he was struck by my foreign features, and
questioned the Kervanbashi; directed me to seat myself near him, and
treated me with affability and consideration. In the course of the
conversation, which he continually turned upon Bokhara, he laughed in
my face, and yet so that he was not observed by others, as if to
congratulate me upon the accomplishment of my object, for he thought
that I had been sent upon a mission; and although I persisted in
supporting the character I had so long assumed, he extended to me his
hand at his departure, and wished to shake mine _à l'Anglaise_, but,
seeing his design, I anticipated him, raised my arms, and was about to
give him a Fatiha, when he withdrew laughing.
[Footnote 80: Mejir corresponds with the English 'Major,' from which
it is borrowed. I devoted much attention to the words 'Djornel' and
'Kornel' used by the Afghans in their army, until it at last
occurred to me that the former sprung from General, and the latter
from Colonel.]
{268}
Next morning our karavan was to enter Herat, having spent more than
six weeks on the way hither from Bokhara, a journey that may be easily
accomplished in from twenty to twenty-five days.
From the details already furnished, it is apparent that trade on this
route is not in a very splendid condition. We will now sum up, in
Tenghe, the amount paid altogether for slaves, goods, and cattle at
the different places:--
_Paid in Tenghe at 75 centimes each._
Name of Paid for For Horses Asses Slaves
the Place Bales of Camels
Goods
Kerki 20 5 3 1 22
Andkhuy 26 5 3 2 20
Maymene 28 5 3 1 25
Almar -- 3 2
Fehmguzar 1 3 2 1 1
Kalè Veli -- 5 3 1 5
Murgab 30 5 3 2 15
Kalè-No -- 5 3 2
Kerrukh -- 15 10 5
Total 105 51 32 15 88
When we say, besides, that the interest of money at Herat is twenty
per cent., we may form an idea of what the selling price must be to
remunerate the merchant for his trouble!
{269}