A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. II - Robert Kerr
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[1] We have already seen that it was the 16th of that month when Contarini
arrived at Kaffa. Much confusion has occurred in the dates of this
journey, which we have no means of correcting, and must, therefore, be
contented with them as they are--E.
[2] The names of places in this journal are so corrupted as to be often
quite unintelligible. Varsi may possibly be Vardon, in the district to
the northwest of Mingrelia, named Abkhas; and Caltichea may perhaps be
Sulhuali, a sea port about 30 miles to the east. Phasis probably
refers to some town on the river of that name, perhaps Subastei.--E.
[3] Probably Cutais in Imeritia, on the river Riene.--E.
[4] Perhaps Sarassan, about forty miles S. E. from Cutais.--E.
[5] Apparently the same prince named Plangion a little before.--E.
[6] Gori in Georgia, on the river Kur. The journey hitherto must have been
through Mingrelia, then apparently subject to the prince or king of
Georgia.--E.
[7] Probably Caloyers.--E.
SECTION III.
_Arrival of Contarini at Tauris or Ecbatana, the royal city of Uzun-
Hassan, and continuation of his journey through Persia to Ispahan, where
the king then resided._
On the 22d of July we began to ascend a mountain of prodigious height,
insomuch, that when night came on we had scarcely reached the top, where
we had to pass the night without water. Resuming our journey in the
morning, we descended the other side of the mountain, and entered the
province of Armenia, which is under the dominion of Uzun-Hassan[1]. In
the evening we were conducted to a fort named Reo, which stands in the
plain, between a deep river and a high mountain, and which is garrisoned
by Turks in the service of Uzun-Hassan, but the neighbouring village is
inhabited by Armenians. We rested in this place till the 25th of July,
waiting the arrival of a guide to direct us in the remainder of the
journey, and being well treated by the inhabitants, we rewarded them to
their satisfaction. The Armenian who had joined us at Kaffa, under
pretence of being an ambassador from Uzun-Hassan to the Pope, was
recognized by the inhabitants of this village as an impostor and a
notorious robber, and many were astonished how we had escaped from his
machinations: I got rid of him therefore immediately, and made him
restore me a horse which I had lent him for the journey; after which I
procured a priest of an honest character to conduct me to Tauris. Leaving
Reo with my new guide on the 26th of July, we ascended a mountain, and
came on the other side to a plain surrounded by hills, where we found a
village inhabited by Turks, near which we had to pass the night in the
open air, though the inhabitants treated us with decent civility. Next
morning we departed before day, having to pass another mountain, on the
side of which was a village inhabited by Turks, among whom we should have
run extreme hazard of our lives if they had seen us; but by using much
diligence we avoided this danger, and got down into an extensive plain,
full of fine pastures, and travelled with great expedition that we might
pass the night at a respectable distance from the lawless inhabitants of
the hills. On the 29th we passed the mountain of Noah, or _Ararat_, which
is so lofty that it is covered with snow the whole year. We were told
that many who had attempted to reach the top of this mountain had never
been more heard of, while others, on making the same attempt, said, on
their return, that it was quite inaccessible.
From this place forwards we travelled through extensive plains intermixed
with hills, and arrived on the 30th of July at a castle named _Chiagri_,
inhabited by Armenians. Finding abundance of bread, wine, and poultry in
this place, we rested here for a day, and then set out with a new guide
for Ecbatana or Tauris. Leaving Chiagri towards evening of the 1st August,
we came next day to an Armenian village at the foot of a mountain, where
we had to cross a river in boats, and were informed that Uzun-Hassan had
formerly gained a great victory near this place over the Tartars, having
hemmed them into a corner, where their army wasted away with famine and
disease. The ruler of these Tartars, named Sultan _Buzech_[2], was made
prisoner, and was afterwards put to death. We here saw, on our left hand,
eleven Armenian villages, near each other, who were Catholic Christians,
their bishop being under submission to the Roman pontiff. The country is
extremely agreeable, and is the most fertile of all the provinces of
Persia. We arrived on the 3d of August at a large village called Marerich,
near which we passed the night, and had to ride all the next day through
a plain country exposed to great heat, which was greatly aggravated, as
we could not procure a single drop of water for ourselves or our horses.
On the way we met several Turkmans, whose custom it is to encamp here and
there about the country, wherever they can find pasture for their cattle,
and to change their residence as the pastures become exhausted. These
people are abominable robbers, and look upon rapine as their highest
glory; and as we had great reason to be afraid of them, I gave orders to
all my people to tell whoever we met, that I was journeying to wait upon
their sovereign, which was the only expedient for saving us from their
violence.
We arrived on the 4th of August at the city of Ecbatana or _Tauris_[3],
which stands in a plain, and is surrounded by an earthen rampart in bad
repair. There are high mountains in its neighbourhood, which are said to
be the Taurus of the ancients. I here lodged with a very good man, who
gave us two sleeping chambers, a convenience we had been long unused to.
He was quite astonished how we should have been able to escape the
dangers of our journey, as all the roads were blocked up; and on asking
him the reason, he told us that Ogurlu Mohammed[4], the eldest son of
Uzun-Hassan, had rebelled against his father, and had taken possession of
_Sylas_[5] or Persepolis, of which he had appointed his younger brother
_Khalil_[6] as governor. Uzun-Hassan had assembled an army to reduce
Persepolis and his sons to obedience; but a certain satrap named
_Zagarli_ who commanded in the neighbouring mountains, favoured the cause
of Ogurlu, and had ravaged the whole country, to the very gates of Tauris,
with a body of 3000 horse, owing to which, all the roads were obstructed
and unsafe. He farther informed us, that the governor of Tauris had one
day issued forth to endeavour to put a stop to the marauders, but had
been defeated by Zagarli, with the loss of most of his troops, and had
even great difficulty in escaping back to the city. I inquired why the
inhabitants of Tauris did not take arms in their own defence, in a time
of so much danger; but he answered, although they were obedient to the
governor, they were quite unused to war. On learning the state of affairs
in this place, I resolved to leave it as soon as possible, that I might
get to the king; but I could neither procure a guide, nor prevail on the
governor to shew me any favour. By the advice of my landlord I kept
myself very much concealed, and employed my interpreter and Augustin of
Pavia, whom I had brought with me from Kaffa because he understood a
little Persian, to purchase our provisions, in which employment they were
exposed to much ill treatment, and were often in hazard of their lives.
Some days afterwards, one of the sons of Uzun-Hassan, named Masu-beg[7],
came to Tauris with 1000 horse, to defend the city from the incursions of
Zagarli. I waited on this prince, having great difficulty to obtain an
audience, telling him that I was sent as ambassador to his father, and had
need of guides, whom I prayed him to provide me; but it was quite
ineffectual, as he hardly deigned to answer me, and took no kind of
interest in me or my affairs, so that I was obliged to return disappointed
to my lodgings. Masu-beg endeavoured to raise money from the inhabitants
of Tauris for the purpose of levying soldiers, but they resisted his
demands, and all the shops of the city were shut up. In this emergency,
being unable to procure provisions, I was obliged to quit my lodgings,
with all my people, taking refuge in an Armenian church, where they gave
us a small place in which to keep our horses; and I ordered all my people
to keep constantly within doors, to avoid meeting with injury. My
apprehensions on this occasion may easily be conceived; but God, who had
already protected us in so many dangers, was mercifully pleased to deliver
us from that which now hung over us. On the 7th of September, _Bertonius
Liompardus_[8], whom I had before seen at Kaffa, and who had been sent by
our illustrious republic, arrived at Tauris. He was accompanied by his
nephew, named _Brancalione_, and having come by way of Trebisond was a
month later than me in reaching Tauris. I now dispatched Augustin de Pavia,
of whom I have before made mention, with letters to the republic of Venice,
in which I gave an account to the senate of all that had happened to us
hitherto. I sent this man by way of Alapia, where he at length arrived in
good health, after having escaped many dangers.
Although I remained in Tauris till the 22d of September, I was not able
to acquire any exact knowledge of the city, having been forced to conceal
myself the whole time. It is a large city, but its territory in some
places is uncultivated, and I believe nowhere very populous; it abounds,
however, in all the necessaries of life, but these are dear. Much silk is
produced in this neighbourhood, which is exported by way of Alapia. A
considerable quantity of cloth is manufactured in the place, which
likewise abounds in various merchandize, but I did not hear of any pearls
or precious stones. Fortunately for us a Cadilaskir, one of the
counsellors of Uzun-Hassan, arrived about this time at Tauris, who
returned from an embassy into Turkey, where he had unsuccessfully
endeavoured to negociate a peace between his master and the Turkish
government. Immediately on learning the arrival of this person, I used
every effort to procure an interview, in which I succeeded, and by means
of a present, I prevailed on him to admit me and my retinue into his
suite. He received me with much civility, and granted all I asked,
assuring me that, with the blessing of God, he would conduct me in safety
to the king. Among his slaves there were two Illyrian renegadoes, who
formed a strict intimacy with my people, to whom they promised to give
every assistance in their power, and to give us due notice of the
departure of their master, which they faithfully performed, and for which
I rewarded them.
On the 22d of September we departed from Tauris with the Persian
counsellor, accompanied likewise by a great many merchants and others,
who took the advantage of travelling under his protection, from fear of
being plundered by the rebels. This country in which we now travelled was
quite level, with very few hills, so dry that we saw no trees except
along the sides of rivers, and having only a few small villages, in which
we purchased what was necessary for our journey, and always rested before
mid-day in the open air, being unable to travel during the height of the
sun, on account of the great heat. Travelling in this manner, we arrived
at _Sultanie_ on the 27th of September. This city appeared to be very
handsome, surrounded by walls, and defended by a good citadel. We saw
here three most curious brazen gates, which had been made at Damascus,
the finest things I ever beheld, which must have cost a great deal of
money. The city of Sultanie stands in a plain at the foot of a range of
mountains, some of which are exceedingly steep and precipitous, and the
inhabitants of which are forced to remove into lower situations during
winter, on account of the severity of the cold. We remained there for
three days, and resumed our journey on the 30th of September, travelling
sometimes in plains, and sometimes among hills, but always taking up our
quarters for the night in the open air.
On the 6th of October we arrived at _Sena_[9], a city without walls,
situated in a plain on the banks of a river, and surrounded by trees, in
which city we passed the night in tolerably bad quarters. We departed
from thence on the 8th, and stopping, according to our usual custom, in
the fields, I was seized with a violent intermittent fever, insomuch that
I could hardly get on horseback next day, and that with infinite distress.
We arrived early next day at Kom, where I was forced to stop, all my
attendants being seized in a similar manner with myself, except our
priest Stephen Testa, who took care of us all. Our fever was so malignant
that we were all delirious during the height of the access or hot fit. I
was afterwards informed that the royal counsellor sent to visit me,
begging my excuse that he could not wait for me, because it was necessary
for him to repair without delay to the king; but that he had left one of
his attendants with me as a guide, and that I need not now be under any
apprehension, as there were none in that part of the country to do me
harm. I remained here a long time sick. The city of Sena or Sava is not
large, and has mud walls, being situated in a champaign country, which is
well peopled, and abounds in every thing necessary to life.
On the 24th of October, being much recovered, we resumed our journey,
though I was still so weak as to find much difficulty in sitting on
horseback. Next day we arrived, at the city of Cashan[10], which very
much resembles Kom, except that it is somewhat handsomer. On the
following day, we came to _Nethas_, or Nathan. This city stands likewise
in a flat country, which produces much wine. I remained here one day,
both to recruit my strength, and because I felt some return of my fever.
On the 28th of October, I prepared as well as I was able to finish my
journey, which was all on plain ground, and arrived at Ispahan, where
Uzun-Hassan then resided, on the 3d of November, having employed twenty-
four days in our journey from Tauris to this place. I immediately sought
out the dwelling of Josaphat Barbaro[11], the ambassador of Venice, and
went to him. He received, me with much joy, and many embraces were
mutually given and received, and we rejoiced together on my safe arrival.
But as I had much need of rest, I very soon went to bed. When the king
heard of my arrival, he sent some of his slaves to congratulate me, who
presented me with some refreshments sent by his majesty.
Early in the morning of the 4th November, some of the kings slaves came
to require that Josaphat Barbaro and I should come to court. On being
introduced to an audience, we found the king attended by eight of his
principal officers. Having made my obeisance after the manner of the
country, I presented the letters of the republic, and explained the
subject of my mission[12]. When I had finished speaking, he answered me
in every point, and in few words; and, among other things, he excused his
conduct in having been obliged to retire to this part of his kingdom.
After this we were ordered to be seated, and his courtiers gave us an
entertainment according to the Persian fashion, which consisted of many
dishes tolerably well dressed. After the repast, we took leave of the
king, and retired to our quarters. Two days afterwards, we were again
sent for to court, when most of the royal apartments were shewn me. The
king then resided in a very pleasant country palace, situated on the
banks of a river. In one of the rooms, there was a painting of Ogurlu-
Mohammed, the kings eldest son, leading the sultan _Busech_, or Abu Said,
tied with a rope; and in another picture the decapitation of _Busech_ was
represented. We were again invited to an entertainment, at which many
different kinds of confections were served up. We remained at Ispahan
till the 25th of November, during which period we were frequently invited
to court. The city of Ispahan, like the rest of the Persian cities, is
surrounded by earthen-ramparts. It stands in a plain, and is abundantly
supplied with all the necessaries of life. Having rebelled against the
king, it was besieged and suffered much injury; for, being obstinately
defended, it was subjected to the resentment of the conqueror and the
fury of the soldiers.
Persia is a very flat and arid country, in many parts of which there are
salt lakes. In such parts as can be supplied with water, grain and other
fruits of the earth are produced in abundance, and there are plenty of
beasts of all kinds, as it is everywhere intersected and surrounded by
fertile mountains, but every thing is very dear. The Venetian quart of
wine is sold for three or four ducats; but bread is not so dear in
proportion. A camels load of wood costs a ducat. Flesh is dearer than
with us, and seven hens cost a ducat; but other articles of provisions
are cheaper. The Persians are a civil and humane people; and though
Mahometans, they do not hate the Christians. The women are very modestly
dressed, and ride on horseback with even more grace than the men; and,
judging from the good appearance of the men, the women are probably
handsome.
[1] Uzun-Hassan in the Turkish language signifies Hassan the long, which
prince was likewise named Hassan-beg, or Lord Hassan, and Ozun-Azembeg,
or the long lord Azem or Hassan. By different European writers his
name has been corrupted into Unsun Cassan, Uxun-Cassan, and Usum-
Chasan. He was a Turkman emir of the Ak-koyunla dynasty, or white
sheep tribe, whose ancestor, the governor of a province under the
descendants of Timor, had rendered himself independent in the north
and west of Persia.--E.
[2] This prince, whose real name was probably Abu Said, was the emir of
the Kara-koyunla dynasty, or black sheep tribe of the Turkmans, who
had risen to independence after the death of Timor, and who had long
contended with the prince of the white sheep tribe for ascendancy.
These two tribes derived their distinctive appellations of the black
and white weathers, from some peculiarity in their ensigns or dress,
equivalent to the distinguishing uniforms and banners of our European
armies.--E.
[3] Called Tebriz in modern times.--E.
[4] In the original this name is corrupted to Gurlumamech; but we learn
from the Modern Universal History, that his real name was that
expressed in the text of our translation.--E.
[5] The ruins supposed to be those of Persepolis are situated near Istakar,
about forty miles north from the modern city of Shiraz, in the
province of Fars or Persia proper; but the names in the original are
often so corrupted as to defy even conjecture. Sylas is probably meant
for Shiras.--E.
[6] Named Chali in the original; but it is to be noted that the _ch_ of
the Italian is pronounced as _k_ in English.--E.
[7] It is difficult to determine whether Contarini here means Maksud-beg
or Masih-beg, as Uzun-Hassan had two sons of these names; Maksad was
the elder, and may have been the person named in the text Masu. Bec or
Beg signifies Lord or Prince.--E.
[8] The person mentioned before by Contarini as a messenger from Venice,
and whom he met with at Kaffa, was named on that occasion Paulus
Omnibamus, totally dissimilar from the name in this part of the text.
--E.
[9] Assuredly the Sava of modern maps, a city of Irac-agemi, which stands
upon one of these extraordinary rivers, so numerous in Persia, which
lose themselves in the sands, after a short but useful run.--E.
[10] About sixty miles S. S. E. from Kom. I am disposed to think that
Contarini has slumpt his journey on the present occasion; as it is
hardly to be believed a person in the weak state he describes himself
could have travelled with so much rapidity. Besides, so far as we can
learn from his journal, he travelled always with the same set of
horses. Indeed the sequel immediately justifies this suspicion, as
the subsequent dates are more distant than the travelling days of the
text would warrant.--E.
[11] See Travels of Josaphat Barbaro to Asof in 1436, in our Collection,
Vol I. p. 501, in the introduction to which article, it will be seen
that he had been sent on an embassy from Venice to Uzun-Hassan in 1572,
two years before Contarini; and appears to have remained in the east
for fourteen years in that capacity, after the departure of Contarini
on his return to Venice.--E.
[12] This nowhere distinctly appears; but we may easily understand
incidentally, and from the history of the period, that the Venetian
republic endeavoured to stir up enemies to the Turkish empire in the
east, being unable to resist its power, now exerted against them in
the Morea and the Greek islands; and we may even surmise that Uzun-
Hassan was subsidized by the Venetians to make war upon the Turks.--E.
SECTION IV.
_Contarini accompanies Uzun-Hassan from Ispahan to Tauris, where he finds
Ambassadors from the Duke of Burgundy and the Prince of Muscovy, and gets
leave to return to Venice._
The king left Ispahan with all his court on the 25th of November for
Tauris, and we travelled along with him, passing through most of the
places which we had seen in going to Ispahan. In this journey we always
slept in tents in the fields, and the camp was well supplied with
provisions, as many merchants had received orders to provide grain,
victuals of all kinds, and all sorts of necessaries. On the 14th of
November we arrived at Kom, where we remained two days under tents,
exposed to extremely cold weather, and experienced much difficulty to
procure a small house in which to shelter ourselves. We continued at this
place till the 21st of March 1474, during which interval we went
frequently to court, to pay our respects to the king, on which occasions
we were generally invited to dinner. The Persian court is very magnificent,
being attended by many high officers of state, and every day 400 persons
dine along with the king. These are all seated on the ground, and are
served in copper basons with boiled rice, or some other mess made of flesh
and grain boiled together; but the king is served in great magnificence at
a separate table, with a great variety of dishes of different kinds of
meat. During his meals, the king is often served with wine, and then the
musicians sing and play upon flutes such songs and tunes as the king
pleases to order. The king is of a good size, with a thin visage and
agreeable countenance, having somewhat of the Tartar appearance, and
seemed to be about seventy years old. His manners were very affable, and
he conversed familiarly with every one around him; but I noticed that his
hands trembled when he raised the cup to his lips. It is not needful that
I should enumerate all the audiences which I had on the subject of my
mission, of which I shall make occasional mention hereafter.
On the 21st of March the king and all the court left Kom, on their
journey towards Tauris, the baggage being carried by camels and mules.
Each day we hardly exceeded ten or twelve, or at the most twenty Italian
miles, and always stopt at each encampment till the forage in the
neighbourhood was consumed. The Persian mode of travelling is thus: The
women always arrive first at the new camp, where they set up the tents
and cook provisions for their husbands. They are well clothed and ride
upon good horses, which they manage with much dexterity. The Persian
nation is very magnificent, and exceedingly fond of pomp, and shew, and
it is very agreeable to see their march at some distance. They are very
careful of their camels, of which they have great numbers, even the
poorest seldom travelling with less than seven of these animals; by this
means, the prodigious train which attends the court appears to consist of
many more persons than it actually contains. When the king entered
Ecbatana, his suite consisted of about 2000 persons, but many left the
camp on the march, as it suited their fancy or convenience, and the king
never had above 500 horse along with him. The royal tents were
exceedingly beautiful and magnificent, and his bed was ornamented with
scarlet hangings. The merchants who attended the camp sold every thing at
a high price. All of our party were accommodated with tents, as we
belonged to the suite of the king, who often honoured us with an
invitation to supper, and at other times frequently sent us refreshments.
We were always treated with much civility, and never received any
injuries or affronts.
On the 31st of May the king encamped about fifteen miles from Tauris,
when a certain monk of the Boulonnois named Louis, who called himself
patriarch of Antioch, and envoy from the Duke of Burgundy, arrived at the
camp, attended by five horsemen. The king asked if we knew him, and we
accordingly told what we knew without dissimulation. Next day the king
gave him an audience, at which we were present by command. This patriarch
presented to the king three robes of gold tissue, three others of scarlet
silk, and some of fine cloth, and opened his commission, making many
great offers of service from his prince, and many fine promises in very
magnificent terms, which do not appear proper for me to repeat, and which
the king did not seem to care much about. We were all invited to dinner,
during which the king started many questions, to which he gave very
pertinent answers himself. After dinner we returned to our tents.