Of the religion of the Persians.
THEIR religion is all one with the Turkes, saving that
they differ who was the right successor of Mahumet.
The Turkes say that it was one Homer and his sonne
Usman. But the Persians say that it was one Mortus
Ali, which they would proove in this maner. They say
there was a counsell called to decide the matter who
should be the successor: and after they had called upon
Mahumet to reveale unto them his will and pleasure
therein, there came among them a litle Lizard, who
declared that it was Mahumets pleasure that Mortus All
should be his successor. This Mortus Ali was a valiant
man and slew Homer the Turkes prophet. He had a
sword that hee fought withall, with the which hee conquered all his enemies, and killed as many as he stroke.
When Mortus Ali died, there came a holy prophet, who
gave them warning that shortly there would come a white
Camell, upon the which he charged them to lay the body
and sword of Mortus Ali, and to suffer the Camel to cary
it whither he would. The which being performed, the
said white camell caried the sword & body of Mortus Ali
unto the sea side, and the camell going a good way into
the sea, was with the body & sword of Mortus Ali taken
up into heaven, for whose return they have long looked in
Persia. And for this cause the king alwayes keepeth a
horse ready sadled for him, and also of late kept for him
one of his owne daughters to be his wife, but she died in
the yere of our Lord, 1573. And they say furthermore,
yt if he come not shortly, they shalbe of our beliefe:
much like the Jewes, looking for their Messias to come
& reigne among them like a worldly king for ever, and
deliver them from the captivitie which they are now in
among the Christians, Turkes, and Gentiles.
The Shaugh or king of Persia is nothing in strength
& power comparable unto the Turke: for although he
hath a great Dominion, yet is it nothing to be compared
with the Turks: neither hath he any great Ordinance
or gunnes, or harquebusses. Notwithstanding his eldest
sonne Ismael about 25. yeeres past, fought a great battell
with the Turke, and slew of his armie about an
hundreth thousand men: who after his returne, was by
his father cast into prison, and there continueth until this
day: for his father the Shaugh had him in suspicion
that he would have put him downe, and have taken the
regiment unto himselfe.
Their opinion of Christ is, that he was an holy man
and a great Prophet, but not like unto Mahumet: saying,
that Mahumet was the last prophet by whom all things
were finished, & was therefore the greatest. To proove
that Christ was not Gods sonne, they say that God had
never wife, and therefore could have no sonne or children.
They go on pilgrimage from the furthest part of Persia
unto Mecha in Arabia
, and by the way they visite also the
sepulchre of Christ at Jerusalem, which they now call
Couch Kaly.
The most part of spices which commeth into Persia is
brought from the
Island of Ormus, situate in the gulfe
of Persia called Sinus Persicus, betweene the maine land
of Persia and Arabia
, &c. The Portingals touch at Ormus
both in their voyage to East India and homeward againe,
and from thence bring all such spices as are occupied in
Persia and the regions thereabout: for of pepper they
bring very small quantitie, and that at a very deare price.
The Turkes oftentimes bring pepper from Mecha in
Arabia
, which they sell as good cheape as that which is
brought from Ormus. Silkes are brought from no place,
but are wrought all in their owne countrey. Ormus is
within two miles of the maine land of Persia, and the
Portingals fetch their fresh water there, for the which
they pay tribute to the Shaugh or king of Persia.
Within Persia they have neither gold nor silver mines,
yet have they coined money both of gold and silver, and
also other small moneys of copper. There is brought
into Persia an incredible summe of Dutch dollars, which
for the most part are there imploied in raw silke.
They have few bookes and lesse learning, and are for
the most part very brutish in all kind of good sciences,
saving in some kind of silke works, and in such things as
pertaine to the furniture of horses, in the which they are
passing good.
Their lawes are as in their religion, wicked and detestable. And if any man offend the prince, he punisheth it
extremely, not onely in the person that offendeth, but
also in his children, and in as many as are of his kin.
Theft and murther are often punished, yet none otherwise
then pleaseth him that is ruler in the place where the
offence is committed, and as the partie offending is able to
make friends, or with money to redeeme his offence.
There is oftentimes great mutinie among the people
in great Townes which of Mortus Ali his sonnes was
greatest: insomuch that sometimes in the towne two or
three thousand people are together by the eares for the
same, as I have seene in the towne of Shamaky and
Ardouil, and also in the great
City of Teveris, where I
have seene a man comming from fighting, in a braverie
bringing in his hand foure or five mens heads, carying
them by the haire of the head: for although they shave
their heads most commonly twise a weeke, yet leave they
a tuft of haire upon their heads about 2. foote long. I
have enquired why they leave the tuft of haire upon their
heads. They answer, that thereby they may easiler be
caried up into heaven when they are dead.
For their religion they have certaine priests who are
apparelled like unto other men. They use every morning
and afternoone to go up to the tops of their churches,
and tell there a great tale of Mahumet and Mortus Ali:
and other preaching have they none. Their Lent is after
Christmas, not in abstinence from flesh onely, but from
all meats and drinks, untill the day be off the skie, but
then they eate somtimes the whole night. And although
it be against their religion to drinke wine, yet at night
they will take great excesse thereof and be drunken.
Their Lent beginneth at the new Moone, and they do not
enter into it untill they have seene the same: neither yet
doeth their Lent end, untill they have seen the next new
Moone, although the same (through close weather) should
not be seen in long time.
They have among them certaine holy men whom they
call Setes, counted holy for that they or any of their
ancestors have bene on pilgrimage at
Mecha in Arabia
,
for whosoever goeth thither on pilgrimage to visite the
sepulchre of Mahumet, both he and all his posteritie are
ever after called Setes, and counted for holy men, and
have no lesse opinion of themselves. And if a man contrary one of these, he will say that he is a Saint, and
therefore ought to be beleeved, and that hee cannot lie,
although he lie never so shamefully. Thus a man may be
too holy, and no pride is greater then spirituall pride
of a mind puffed up with his owne opinion of holinesse.
These Setes do use to shave their heads all over, saving
on the sides a litle above the temples, the which they
leave unshaven, and use to braid the same as women do
their haire, and to weare it as long as it will grow.
Every morning they use to worship God, Mahumet,
and Mortus Ali, & in praying turne themselves toward
the South, because Mecha lieth that way from them.
When they be in travell on the way, many of them will
(as soone as the Sunne riseth) light from their horses,
turning themselves to the South, and will lay their gownes
before them, with their swords and beads, and so standing
upright worship to the South: and many times in their
prayers kneele downe and kisse their beads, or somwhat
els that lieth before them.
The men or women doe never goe to make water, but
they use to take with them a pot with a spout, and after
they have made water, they flash some water upon their
privy parts, and thus doe the women as well as the men:
and this is a matter of great religion among them, and in
making of water the men do cowre downe as well as the
women.
When they earnestly affirme a matter, they will sweare
by God, Mahumet, or Mortus Ali, and sometimes by all
at ones: as thus in their owne language, saying, Olla,
Mahumet, Ali. But if he will sweare by the Shaughs
head, in saying Shaugham basshe, you may then beleeve
him if you will.
The Shaugh keepeth a great magnificence in his court:
and although sometimes in a moneth or six weekes none
of his nobilitie or counsaile can see him, yet goe they
daily to the court, and tary there a certaine time untill
they have knowen his pleasure whether hee will commaund
them any thing or not. Hee is watched every night with
a thousand of his men, which are called his Curshes, who
are they that hee useth to send into the Countreis about
his greatest affaires. When he sendeth any of them (if
it be to the greatest of any of his nobilitie) he will obey
them, although the messenger should beat any of them to
death.
The Shaugh occupieth himselfe alwayes two dayes in
the weeke in his Bathstove, and when he is disposed to
goe thither, he taketh with him five or sixe of his concubines, more or lesse, and one day they consume in
washing, rubbing, and bathing him, and the other day in
paring his nailes, and other matters. The greatest part of
his life hee spendeth amongst his wives and concubines.
Hee hath now reigned about fiftie and foure yeeres, and
is therefore counted a very holy man, as they ever esteeme
their kings, if they have reigned fiftie yeeres or more: for
they measure the favour of God by a mans prosperitie, or
his displeasure by a mans misfortune or adversitie. The
great Turke hath this Shaugh in great reverence, because
he hath reigned king so long time.
I have sayd before that hee hath foure wives, and as
many concubines as him listeth: and if he chance to have
any children by any of his concubines, and be minded
that any of those children shall inherite after him, then
when one of his wives dieth, the concubine whom hee so
favoureth, he maketh one of his wives, and the childe
whom he so loveth best, he ordaineth to bee king after
him.
What I heard of the maner of their mariages, for
offending of honest consciences and chaste eares, I may
not commit to writing: their fasting I have declared
before. They use circumcision unto children of seven
yeeres of age, as do the Turkes.
Their houses (as I have said) are for the most part made
of bricke, not burned but only dried in the Sunne: In
their houses they have but litle furniture of houshold
stuffe, except it be their carpets and some copper worke:
for all their kettles & dishes wherein they eate, are of
copper. They eate on the ground, sitting on carpets
crosse legged as do Tailors. There is no man so simple
but he sitteth on a carpet better or worse, and the whole
house or roume wherein he sitteth is wholy covered with
carpets. Their houses are all with flat roofes covered
with earth: and in the Sommer time they lie upon them
all night.
They have many bond servaunts both men and women.
Bondmen and bondwomen, is one of the best kind of
merchandise that any man may bring. When they buy
any maydes or yong women, they use to feele them in
all partes, as with us men doe horses: when one hath
bought a yong woman, if he like her, he will keepe her
for his owne use as long as him listeth, and then selleth
her to an other, who doeth the like with her. So that one
woman is sometimes sold in the space of foure or five
yeeres, twelve, or twentie times. If a man keepe a bondwoman for his owne use, and if hee find her to be false to
him, and give her body to any other, he may kill her if he
will.
When a merchant or traveller commeth to any towne
where he entendeth to tary any time, he hireth a woman,
or somtimes 2. or 3. during his abode there. And when
he commeth to an other towne, he doeth the like in the
same also: for there they use to put out their women to
hire, as wee do here hackney horses.
There is a very great river which runneth through the
plaine of Javat, which falleth into the
Caspian sea, by a
towne called Bachu, neere unto which towne is a strange
thing to behold. For there issueth out of the ground a
marvellous quantitie of oile, which oile they fetch from
the uttermost bounds of all Persia: it serveth all the
countrey to burne in their houses.
This oyle is blacke, and is called Nefte: they use to
cary it throughout all the Countrey upon kine & asses,
of which you shall oftentimes meet with foure or five
hundred in a company. There is also by the said towne
of Bachu another kind of oyle which is white and very
precious: and is supposed to be the same that here is
called Petroleum. There is also not far from Shamaky,
a thing like unto tarre, and issueth out of the ground,
whereof we have made the proofe, that in our ships it
serveth well in the stead of tarre.
In Persia are kine of two sorts: the one like unto ours
in these partes: the other are marvellous evill favoured,
with great bones and very leane, and but litle haire upon
them: their milke is walowish sweete : they are like unto
them which are spoken of in the Scripture, which in the
dreame of Pharao signified the seven deare yeeres: for a
leaner or more evill favoured beast can no man see.
In the countrey of Shirvan (sometime called Media) if
you chance to lie in the fields neere unto any village, as
the twilight beginneth, you shall have about you two or
three hundred foxes, which make a marveilous wawling
or howling: and if you looke not well to your victuals,
it shal scape them hardly but they will have part with
you.
The
Caspian sea doeth neither ebbe nor flowe, except
sometimes by rages of wind it swelleth up very high: the
water is very salt. Howbeit, the quantitie of water that
falleth out of the great
river of Volga maketh the water
fresh at the least twentie leagues into the sea. The
Caspian sea is marveilous full of fish, but no kind of
monstrous fish, as farre as I could understand, yet hath it
sundry sortes of fishes which are not in these parts of the
world.
The mutton there is good, and the sheepe great, haying
very great rumpes with much fat upon them.
Rice and mutton is their chiefe victuall.
