On The W. Side Is A Valley,
Where The Inhabitants Cultivate Wheat And Barley.
The town of Maszyad is
built between the castle and the mountain, on the declivity of the
mountain; it
Is upwards of half an hour in circumference, but the houses
are in ruins, and there is not a single well built dwelling in the town,
although stone is the only material used. The town is surrounded by a
modern wall, and has three stone gates, of more ancient construction; on
one of them I saw the following inscription:
[Arabic].
The last line, as I was told by a man of Tripoli, contains the names of
some of the deities of the Ismaylys. The mosque is now in ruins. There
are several Arabic inscriptions in different parts of the town, which
are all of the time of El Melek el Dhaher [Arabic]. The castle is
surrounded by a wall of moderate thickness; and contains a few private
habitations. Near the entrance, which is arched, stands a Corinthian
capital, of indifferent workmanship, the only remain of Grecian
architecture that I saw here. Within this gate is an arched passage,
through which the road ascends to the inner and highest parts of the
castle. Upon the vault I read the following inscription in large
characters:--[Arabic]
MASZYAD.
[p.151]"The deed (or fabric) of the Mamlouk Kosta." On the top of the
rock are some apartments belonging to the castle; which appear to have
had several floors. From a Kyosk, which the present governor has built
here, there is a beautiful view down into the western valley. Maszyad is
remarkable from being the chief seat of the religious sect called
Ismayly [Arabic]. Enquiries have often been made concerning the
religious doctrines of this sect, as well as those of the Anzeyrys and
Druses. Not only European travellers, and Europeans resident in Syria,
but many natives of influence, have endeavoured to penetrate the
mysteries of these idolaters, without success, and several causes
combine to make it probable, that their doctrines will long remain
unknown. The principal reason is, that few individuals among them become
acquainted with the most important and secret tenets of their faith; the
generality contenting themselves with the observance of some exterior
practices, while the arcana are possessed by the select few. It will be
asked, perhaps, whether their religious books would not unveil the
mystery? It is true that all the different sects possess books, which
they regard as sacred, but they are intelligible only to the initiated.
A sacred book of the Anzeyrys fell into the hands of a chief of the army
of Youssef Pasha, which plundered the castles of that sect in 1808; it
came afterwards into the possession of my friend Selym of Hamah, who had
destined it as a present to me; but he was prevailed upon to part with
it to a travelling physician, and the book is now in the possession of
M. Rousseau, the French consul at Aleppo, who has had it translated into
French, and means to publish it; but it will probably throw little light
upon the question. Another difficulty arises from the extreme caution of
the Ismaylys upon this subject whenever they are obliged to visit any
part of the country under the Turkish government, they assume the
character of Mussulmans; being
[p.152]well aware that if they should be detected in the practice of any
rite contrary to the Turkish religion, their hypocrisy, in affecting to
follow the latter, would no longer be toleraled; and their being once
clearly known to be pagans, which they are only suspected to be at
present, would expose them to the heaviest exactions, and might even be
followed by their total expulsion or extirpation. Christians and Jews
are tolerated because Mohammed and his immediate successors granted them
protection, and because the Turks acknowledge Christ and the prophets;
but there is no instance whatever of pagans being tolerated.
The Ismaylys are generally reported to adore the pudendum muliebre, and
to mix on certain days of the year in promiscuous debauchery. When they
go to Hamah they pray in the mosque, which they never do at Kalaat
Maszyad. This castle has been from ancient times their chief seat. One
of them asserted that his religion descended from Ismayl, the son of
Abraham, and that the Ismaylys had been possessed of the castle since
the time of El Melek el Dhaher, as acknowledged by the Firmahns of the
Porte. A few years since they were driven out of it by the Anzeyrys, in
consequence of a most daring act of treachery. The Anzeyrys and Ismaylys
have always been at enmity, the consequence, perhaps, of some religious
differences. In 1807, a tribe of the former having quarrelled with their
chief, quitted their abode in their mountains, and applied to the Emir
of Maszyad for an asylum. The latter, glad of an opportunity to divide
the strength of his enemies, readily granted the request, and about
three hundred, with their Sheikh Mahmoud, settled at Maszyad, the Emir
carrying his hospitality so far as to order several families to quit the
place, for the purpose of affording room for the new settlers. For
several months all was tranquil, till one day, when the greater part of
the people were at work in the fields, the Anzeyrys, at a given signal,
[p.153]killed the Emir and his son in the castle, and then fell upon the
Ismaylys who had remained in their houses, sparing no one they could
find, and plundering at the same time the whole town. On the following
day the Anzeyrys were joined by great numbers of their countrymen, which
proved that their pretended emigration had been a deep-laid plot; and
the circumstance of its being kept secret for three months by so great a
number of them, serves to shew the character of the people. About three
hundred Ismaylys perished on this occasion; the families who had escaped
in the sack of the town, fled to Hamah, Homs, and Tripoli, and their
treacherous enemies successfully attacked three other Ismayly castles in
the mountain.
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