he largely increafed the numbers and hopes of his army. Elvan Beg had now expelled Morad, and was bufied in punishing fome of the principal citizens of Tauris, the capital of the kingdom, for having taken up arms in favor of his brother, when Ifmael fuddenly approaching the city, took it without oppofition. Elvan deprived of other fupport, formed an alliance with his brother, but in his progrefs to form a junction with the army of Morad, he was vigorously attacked by Ifmael, and flain in battle; the conqueror marched without delay against Morad, who was emcamped at Babylon, and compelled him to fly into the Arabian defert:* he rose without a competitor to the throne of Persia.† ISMAEL is perhaps the first prince, who at once conquered a fpacious kingdom and the religious prejudices of its people. Nor does it appear that any of those violent commotions were excited, which ufually mark the progress of ecclefiaftical reformation. The fyftem of Hyder and Ifmael, was founded on the position that Mahomet had given his daughter Fatima to Ali, as a mark of the greatest affection, and bequeathed to him the fucceffion of the khaliphat. But, that in defiance of this facred teftament, Abubucker, one of the affociated friends of Mahomet, setting afide the claims of Ali, had affumed the powers of government, * Where he was cut off by domestic treachery. which at his death, were also forcibly held in a confequent administration by Omar and Ofman. But, that the injuries of Ali, having ultimately roused the divine interpofition, he became the ruler of the Muffulmans.* This doctrine being unanimously received, Ifmael ordained, that as the three first khaliphs were ufurpers and facrilegious violators of the laft mandate of their prophet, their memory fhould, at the five stated times of prayer, be reprobated with every expreffion of contumely, and the feverest vengeance of God denounced against them. He also inferted at the conclufion of the Mahometan creed, that Ali is the friend or the beloved of God, and directed that he and his pofterity should be distinguished by appellation of imaums, or holy men.+ In contradiftinction to the Soonis, who in their prayers crofs the hands on the lower part of the breast, the Schiahs drop their arms in straight lines; and as the Soonis at * In commemoration of the four firft fucceffors of Mahomet, who were also his confidential affociates, and by their enthufiaftic courage, had been his grand inftruments in aggrandizing the khaliphat, the general body of Mahometans, except the Perfians, are often termed Char Yaree, or those of the four friends. They are likewise called Soonis, an Arabic word, fignifying the followers of the right path. + The real number confifts of eleven perfons, to which a twelfth, supposed yet to come, has been added; their names are Ali, Huffin and Huffeyn, his fons, Zyne-ulAbedein, Mahomet Baukur, Jaffier Sadue, Mousa Kazim, Ali Moufa Befa, Mahomet Tuckee, Ali Nughee, Huffin Anfcary and Mahomet Mhedy. The titles bestowed usually on Ali are, Ameer-ul-Momenein, Mortiz Ali and Hyder. This last denominations fignifying a lion, is particularly given to Ali, when his military exploits are rehearfed. But when the profoundest refpect is expreffed for his memory, he is entitled Ameer-ul-Momenein, or lord of the faithful. VOL. II. R certain certain periods of the prayer, prefs their forehead on the ground or a carpet, the fectaries of Ali lay on the spot which the head reaches, a small tile of white clay, impressed with characters facred to the memory of Ali. SOME claffes of the Schiahs believe that Ali was an incarnation of the deity, who perceiving they fay, the miffion which had been delegated on Mahomet to be incomplete, affumed the perfon of this khaliph, for the purpose of fixing the Moflem faith and power on a firmer basis. The Schiahs have imbibed strong religious prejudices, are more inflamed with the zeal of devotion, and confequently less tolerant to the other fects than the Soonis. In Perfia, they do not permit a Sooni to eat at their board, and in common language, without provocation or heat of temper, they call him an infidel. But in what light, dear Sir, will you view a numerous and a civilized people, who have produced writings that would exalt the name of the most polished nations, yet in folemn deliberate expreffion, imprecate God's wrath five times a day, on the fouls and ashes of three men who never did them an injury, and who in their day, advanced the empire of Mahomet to a high pitch of glory and power. Not appeased with uttering the keenest reproaches against the memory of these khaliphs, they pour a torrent of abuse on every branch of their families, male and female, lower even than the seventh generation. I have seen their imagination tortured with inventing terms of reproach on these men and their pofterity, and commit verbally every act of lewdness with their wives, daughters, and the progeny down to the present day. The Soonis, though aware of this unvaried ceremony of execrating the memory of men, whom they have been long taught to hold in reverence, and that they themselves are ftigmatized as infidels, do not even, when fully empowered, intemperately refent this perfecuting fpirit of the Perfians. In the divifion of Khorafan, fubject to the Afghan empire, the Perfians enjoy a fair portion of civil and religious liberty, and are rarely treated with infults. In noticing the more liberal opinions of the Soonis, in the practice of their religion, I am brought to the recollection of an occurrence, which places this fact in a conspicuous point of view. AN Armenian merchant from Ifpahan, accompanying an adventure of fome value, came to the karavanfera in Kabul, where I lodged; and though five of his countrymen were on the spot, the other refidents being Jews, Mahometans and Hindoos, not one of them advanced to give him welcome or an offer of affistance; and to augment his embarrassment, all the apartments of the ferauce were occupied. In this predicament stood the Armenian, and he must have lain in the street, had not a Turk invited this forlorn Chriftian into his own apartment ; and he fed him alfo at his own board. One of the Armenian tribe, after fome days, taking shame, perhaps from the Mahometan example, or expecting fome advantage from the cargoe of his countryman, tendered him a part of his habitation, which the ftranger at first refused; nor did he accept the invitation, until seriously admonished of the crime of forming fo clofe a connection with an infidel. It is now time to revert to my own ftory, and inform you, that it had been my first intention to have proceeded from Herat to Refhd, the principal town of the Ghilan province, which lies a few miles inland from Inzellee, a Russian factory on the border of the Caspian fea. It is a computed journey of feventy days, of about twenty miles each, from this city to Refhd,* but the road which leads through the leffer Irak,+ has a deviating courfe from the direct line. BEING informed by the Armenians of Herat, that Russian veffels navigate along the coaft of Mazanderan, to which a ftraight track lay from hence, though not much frequented from being fubject to the depredation of the Turcoman Tartars, I was refolved to purfue this route, at once direct and wholly unknown to European travellers. A KAFILAH being about to proceed to Turfhifh, a town lying in the direction of Mazanderan, I made an agreement with the director for a conveyance; but with a confidential * From Herat to the town of Jubbus, a route of fifteen days, thence to Yerd twenty-five, to Cashan ten, and a fifteen days journey to Refhd. + There are two provinces of Irak, the leffer and greater; the latter, termed Irak Azeem, of which Bagdat is the capital, chiefly depends on Turkish and Arabian emirs. ftipulation, |