He Afterwards
Said It Was Now Too Late To Engage In The Business Of Our Nation, And
Seemed Much Dissatisfied With The Company, And With The Merchants And
Mariners Who Brought Him Out.
But at length he said he was a
true-hearted Englishman, and promised to effect our desires.
On the
19th, the friars being absent, he carried both of us to the master of
the ceremonies, or Maimondare, and took us along with him to the Grand
Vizier, Sarek Hogea, who immediately called his scribes or
secretaries, and made draughts of what we desired: namely, three
firmauns, one of which John Crowther has to carry to Surat, one for
Richard Steel to carry to England, and the third to be sent to the
governor of Jasques, all sealed with the great seal of the king. The
same day that these firmauns were procured, being the last of September,
Sir Robert Shirley set out for Shiras in great pomp, and very honourably
attended.
[Footnote 158: Of the landing of Sir Robert Shirley, see Peyton's first
voyage before; and of the rest of his journey see the second voyage of
Peyton, in the sequel. - Purch.]
Copy of the Firmaun granted by the King of Persia.
"Firmaun or command given unto all our subjects, from the highest to the
lowest, and directed to the Souf-basha, or constable of our country,
kindly to receive and entertain the English Franks[159] or nation,
when any of their ships may arrive at Jasques, or any other of the
ports in our kingdom, to conduct them and their merchandize to what
place or places they may desire, and to see them safely defended upon
our coasts from any other Franks whomsoever. This I will and command you
to do, as you shall answer in the contrary. Given at our royal city,
this 12th of Ramassan, in the year of our Tareag, 1024. [October,
1615.]"
The chief commodities of Persia are raw silks, of which it yields,
according to the king's books, 7700 batmans yearly. Rhubarb grows in
Chorassan, where also worm-seed grows.
[Footnote 159: Frank is a name given in the East to all western
Christians, ever since the expedition to the Holy Land, because the
French were the chief nation on that occasion, and because the French
council at Clermont was the cause of that event. - Purch.]
Carpets of all sorts, some of silk and gold, silk and silver, half silk,
half cotton, &c. The silver monies of Persia are the abacee, mahamoody,
shakee, and biftee, the rest being of copper, like the tangas and
pisos of India. The abacee weighs two meticals, the mahmoody is
half an abacee, and the shahee is half a mahamoody. In the dollar or
rial of eight there are thirteen shahees.[160] In a shahee there are two
biftees and a half, or ten cashbegs, one biftee being four
cashbegs, or two tangs. The weights differ in different places; two
mahans of Tauris being only one of Ispahan, and so of the batman.
The measure of length, for silks and other stuffs, is the same with the
pike of Aleppo, which we judge to be twenty-seven English inches.
[Footnote 160: Assuming the Spanish dollar at 4s. 6d. sterling, the
shahee ought therefore to be worth about 4d. 1-6, the mahamoody,8d. 1-3,
and the abecee, 1s. 4d. 2-3. - E.]
John Crowther returned into India, and Richard Steel went to England by
way of Turkey, by the following route. Leaving Ispahan on the 2d
December, 1615, he went five p. to a serail. The 3d, eight p. to another
serail. The 4th, six p. to a village. The 5th, seven p. to Dreag. The
6th, seven p. to a serail. The 7th, eight p. to Golpigan,
[Chulpaigan.] The 8th, seven p. to Curouan. The 9th, seven p. to
Showgot. The 10th, six p. to Saro, [Sari.] The 11th, eight p. to
Dissabad. The 12th, twelve p. to a fair town called Tossarkhan,
where he rested some days, because the country was covered deep with
snow. The 15th, six p. to Kindaner. The 16th, eight p. to Sano. The
17th to Shar nuovo, where I was stopped by the daiga; but on shewing
him letters from the vizier, he bade me depart in the name of God and of
Ali. The 18th we passed a bridge where all travellers have to give an
account of themselves, and to pay a tax of two shakees for each camel.
The 19th we came to Kassam-Khan, the last place under the Persian
government, and made a present to the governor, that he might give me a
guard to protect me from the Turkomans, which he not only did, but gave
me a licence to procure provisions free at his villages without payment,
which yet I did not avail myself of.
The 21st of December I began to pass over a range of high mountains
which separate the two empires of Persia and Turkey, which are very
dangerous; and, on the 22d, at the end of eight p. I arrived at a
village. The 23d, after travelling seven p. I lay under a rock. The 24th
I came to Mando, eight p. a town belonging to the Turks. The 25th,
eight p. to Emomester. The 26th, eight p. to Boroh, passed over a
river in a boat, and came that night to Bagdat. I was here strictly
examined and searched for letters, which I hid under my saddle; but
observing one trying there also, I gave him a sign, on which he
desisted, and followed me to my lodging for his expected reward. I fared
better than an old Spaniard, only a fortnight before, who was imprisoned
in chains in the castle, and his letters read by a Maltese renegado. I
found here a Portuguese, who had arrived from Ormus only two days before
me. The pacha made us wait here twenty days for a sabandar of his.
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