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CHAPTER VII.

MARAGHA TO MIYANDOB.

MARAGHA to-day boasts little of the appearance it must have borne when it formed one of the residences of the Mongol Emperor Hulaku; for now, in spite of the fact that the place is a flourishing one for its size, it presents but few architectural features beyond the ordinary type of modern Persian architecture. Yet there are still to be seen a few remains of its once famous antiquities; for at one time, during the residence of Hulaku, it was a centre of learning and art, and here that prince built for Nasr ed-Din, the astronomer, the famous observatory in which the Alkhani Tables were compiled. I was unable in my visit to discover any remains of the observatory, though buildings dating from the period of Hulaku undoubtedly do remain, -such, for instance, as the beautiful octagonal tower of delicate and intricate brickwork, with its half

ruined dome and its inlaid work of exquisite faïence. I was told that tradition states this tower to have been the tomb of Hulaku himself, who died in 1265 A.D.; but it appears that the famous Mongol general and emperor was interred on the Shahi promontory, overlooking Lake Urmiyah. That the tower was a tomb at all cannot be stated for certain, for it contains three storeys of domed chambers lit with windows, and the ground-floor, built of wellcut stone, is entered by an arched doorway, and bears within no traces or appearance of ever having served the purpose that tradition has accredited to it. From its situation, on the slope of a hill, and the absence of any signs of surrounding tombs, and from the beautiful views to be obtained from its windows, it does not seem improbable that the place was once one of those summer - houses in which the oriental all the world over loves to recline during the heat of the day, fanned by every breeze that may blow. No doubt the question could be easily solved by the deciphering of the inscription of blue faïence that surrounds the building just below the dome; but unfortunately the fact that my visit was made late in the afternoon, and the height of the tower, prevented my being able to spell out the intricate and decorative Arabic inscription.

I entered the lower chamber of the tower and found it to be a vaulted and arched room, well built and faced of square blocks of stone. The present heir-apparent of Persia, the Vali-Aht, Viceroy of the province of Azerbaijan, in which district Maragha is situated, had on his visit here a few years ago done his best to destroy the building by attempting to remove the stones of the walls and foundations in a search for treasure; but so effete is the Persian of to-day that he failed to more than move the solidly placed stones. He desired, I was told, to resort to powder in order to continue his search, but the owners of the neighbouring houses clamoured out so loudly that he was persuaded to desist. From the stories current about his Royal Highness, this is the only energetic work I ever heard of his engaging upon

to destroy one of the few beautiful buildings in his province; but even here his weak character won the day and, happily, he failed.

The one other building of importance in Maragha is the bridge over the river by which we had entered the town. This structure, however, does not boast of any great antiquity, having been built in 1809. It is a handsome piece of work with six arches, and possesses the same peculiarity that the bridge over the Aji-chai at Tabriz does, that it is not straight. The northern part of the bridge points up the stream,

and when half has been crossed the rest takes a turn to the right, forming an obtuse angle in the centre. Whether this is supposed to be a means of defence, or merely a strengthening of the structure against floods, I was unable to discover.

Nor do the bazaars at Maragha present any feature of difference from those of other small Persian towns. They appear to be well supplied with the necessities of life which are here very cheap-and a quantity of imported manufactures, principally printed cottons. The only native manufacture seems to be that of glass, and this only for the flat, narrow, circular bottles in common use in the country for oil and wine. Of the latter the Armenian, Nestorian, and Jewish population make considerable quantities, and seem to be one and all addicted to the use of the juice of the grape.

It is impossible to give any valuable or reliable statement as to the population of Maragha. Probably the town contains in all some 15,000 souls, of which a third are Jews, Armenians, and Nestorians. Of the latter there are very few, but the Christian quarter seems the richest and best populated. It is needless to say there are no European inhabitants, though now and again the members of the American Mission pay a visit to the charming little town, where, under a certain converted Nestorian, a Protes

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tant school for native Christians has been instituted, and seems doing good work.

To this Nestorian gentleman I owe a debt of gratitude, for he not only entertained me at a sumptuous tea in his picturesque house, but kindly volunteered to show me such sights as Maragha possesses, and it was under his guidance that I visited the bazaars and the tower of which I have spoken above.

This may not be an unsuitable spot to introduce a few words regarding the Nestorians, or Chaldæans, as another division of their sect is called. Personally I came but very little into contact with these people, for their strongholds lie to the west and north of Lake Urmiyah, and my journey led me to the east and south, but nevertheless some mention must be made of this curious people.

In the fifth century A.D. Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was excommunicated for heresy. His doctrine, it appears, was with regard to the incarnation of Christ, who, he asserted, possessed two separate natures and a dual personality. Banished by the third General Council of the Church of Ephesus, he fled with a following to Persia. Here the new religion prospered, converts were made far and near throughout the surrounding countries, missionaries full of zeal carried the faith into distant regions, and the followers of Nestorius found them