This Castle Of Maszyad, With A Garrison Of Forty Men, Resisted
His Whole Army For Three Months.
In 1810, after Youssef Pasha had been exiled by the Porte, the Ismaylys
who had fled to Hamah, Homs, and Tripoli returned, and Maszyad is now
inhabited by about two hundred and fifty Ismayly families, and by thirty
of Christians.
The chief, who resides in the castle, is styled Emir; his
name is Zogheby [Arabic], of the family of Soleiman; he informed me that
his family had been possessors of the Emirship from remote times, and
that they are recognised as such by express Firmahns from the Porte;
Zogherby is a nephew of Mustafa, the Emir who was slain by the Anzeyrys.
Some of his relations command in the Ismayly castles of El Kadmous, El
Kohf, El Aleyka, and El Merkah, in the mountains towards Ladakie. After
what has lately taken place, it
[p.154]extreme: they are, apparently, at peace, but many secret murders
are committed: "Do you suppose," said a handsome young man to me, while
his eyes flashed with anger, "that these whiskers shall turn gray before
I shall have taken my revenge for a slaughtered wife and two infant
children?" But the Ismaylys are weak; I do not think that they can
muster eight hundred fire-locks, while the Anzeyrys are triple that
number.
The principal produce of the neighbourhood of Maszyad is silk. They have
large plantations of mulberry trees, which are watered by numerous
rivulets descending on all sides from the mountain into the valley; and
as few of them dry up in summer, this must be a delightful residence
during the hot season.
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