Futteh Ali Shah.
King of Persia.
PERSIA;
CONTAINING
A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY,
WITH
AN ACCOUNT OF ITS
GOVERNMENT, LAWS, AND RELIGION,
AND OF THE
CHARACTER, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, ARTS, AMUSEMENTS, &c. OF ITS INHABITANTS.
BY FREDERICK SHOBERL.
ILLUSTRATED WITH TWELVE COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.
Philadelphia.
PUBLISHED BY JOHN GRIGG, No. 9, N. FOURTH ST.
.......
1828
INTRODUCTION. | |
| CHAP. | PAGE |
| I.—Antiquity of the kingdom of Persia—Its recent Losses—Situation and Provinces of which it is composed, | 13 |
| II.—Aspect and Nature of the Soil and Climate, | 15 |
| III.—Population—Names, Manners, and Customs, of some of the Tribes of Persia, | 19 |
|
PART I. OF THE GOVERNMENT. | |
| I.—Of the King— | |
| Sect I.—His Family—His Household—His Revenues, | 23 |
| Sect II.—Feth Ali Shah, | 25 |
| Sect III.—Of the Royal Family, | 29 |
| Sect. IV.—Of the King’s Titles, | 33 |
| Sect. V.—Of the King’s Household, | 34 |
| Sect. VI.—Of the King’s Seraglio, | 36 |
| Sect. VII.—Of the Coorook, | 39 |
| Sect. VIII.—Splendour of the Court—Royal Audiences, | 40 |
| Sect. IX.—Of the King's Guards, | 42 |
| Sect.X.—Of the King's Power, | 43 |
| II.—Of the Great Officers of the Empire— | |
| Sect. I.—Of the Itimad-ad-Dowlah, or Prime Minister, | 44 |
| Sect. II.—Of the Ameen-ad-Dowlah, or Second Minister, | 47 |
| Sect. III.—Of the Vaca Neviz, or Secretary of State, | 49 |
| Sect. IV.—Of the Meer-Aub, or Prince of the Waters, | 50 |
| Sect. V.—Of the Beylerbeys, or Governors of Provinces, | 50 |
| Sect. VI.—Of the Titles of Mirza and Khan, | 52 |
| III.—Of the Government of the Provinces and Cities, | 53 |
| IV.—Of the Nature of Landed Property, | 56 |
| V.—Of the Sources of the Revenue of the State, | 57 |
| VI.—Of the Military Force— | |
| Sect. I.—General Observations, | 59 |
| Sect. II.—Of the Arms of the Persian Troops, | 61 |
| Sect. III.—Of the Military Art among the Persians, | 62 |
| VII.—Of the Mode of Investiture with Offices, and of the Khilaut, or Robe of Honour, | 67 |
| VIII.—Of Presents, | 69 |
|
PART II. LEGISLATION. | |
| I.—General Character of the Persian Legislation, | 70 |
| II.—Of the Administration of Justice, | 72 |
| III.—Of the Law of Marriage, | 73 |
| IV.—Of Civil and Criminal Justice, | 75 |
| V.—Of the different kinds of Punishments, | 78 |
PART III. RELIGION. | |
| I.—Religion of the Persians—Difference between their Creed and the of the Turks, | 81 |
| II.—Doctrines— | |
| Sect. I—Of God, the Resurrection, and a Future State, | 83 |
| Sect. II—Of Ali—Of the Title of Imam—Of Mehdy, | 84 |
| III.—Religious Ceremonies— | |
| Sect. I.—Purifications, | 85 |
| Sect, II.—Prayers, | 87 |
| Sect. III.—Alms and Fasts, | 88 |
| Sect. IV.—Pilgrimage, | 90 |
| IV.—Religious Festivals, | 90 |
| V.—Of the Sofis, | 94 |
| VI.—Religious Toleration, | 95 |
|
PART IV. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. | |
| I.—Character of the Persians, | 99 |
| II.—Nomination and Circumcision of Infants, | 104 |
| III.—Education of the Persians, | 107 |
| IV.—Marriage, | 108 |
| V.—Funerals and Tombs, | 109 |
| VI.—Costume of the Persians, | 111 |
| VII.—Of the Women of Persia— | |
| Sect. I.—Of their Education, | 114 |
| Sect. II.—Of the Condition of the Female Sex in Persia, | 116 |
| Sect. III.—Occupations and way of Life of the Women of Persia, | 120 |
| Sect. IV.—Characters of Beauty among the Persians, | 120 |
| Sect. V—Costume of the Persian Women, | 123 |
| VIII.—Of certain habits of the Persians, | 124 |
| IX.—Superstition of the Persians, | 126 |
| X.—Of the Manner in which the Persians calculate and spend their Time, | 129 |
| XI.—Visits and Entertainments of the Persians, | 130 |
| XII.—Amusements and Exercises— | |
| Sect. I.—Amusements, | 136 |
| Sect. II.—Exercises, | 137 |
| Sect. III.—Hunting—Field-Sports, and Horse-Racing, | 140 |
| Sect. IV.—Games, | 142 |
| XIII.—Of the Houses of the Persians, | 143 |
| XIV.—Baths, | 147 |
| XV.—Manner of Travelling-Caravanserais, | 149 |
| XVI.—Of the Festival of Nowroose, or New-Year's Day, | 154 |
| XVII.—Manners and Customs of the Guebres, Armenians, Courds, and Gypsies— | |
| Sect. I.—The Guebres, | 156 |
| Sect. II.—The Armenians, | 158 |
| Sect. III.—The Banians, | 161 |
| Sect. IV.—The Courds, | 161 |
| Sect. V.—The Gypsies, | 163 |
|
PART V. ARTS AND SCIENCES. | |
| I.—Agriculture, | 164 |
| II.—Commerce, | 167 |
| III.—Medicine and Surgery, | 168 |
| IV.—Music, | 170 |
| V.—Dancing, | 173 |
| VI.—Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture, | 174 |
PLATES.
| 1. | King of Persia, (frontispiece.) | Page |
| 2. | Master of Ceremonies, to face | 34 |
| 3. | Woman of the Harem, | 36 |
| 4. | Attendants on the Queen of Persia, | 39 |
| 5. | Officer of the Guards, | 43 |
| 6. | Camel Artillery Man, | 61 |
| 7. | High Priest, | 72 |
| 8. | Persian of High Rank, | 113 |
| 9. | Ambassador, | 114 |
| 10. | Persian Smoking, | 124 |
| 11. | Grandee Smoking on Horseback, | 125 |
| 12. | Armenian Lady, | 160 |
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