there was a great church, in which was an image of the Virgin, which worked many miracles, and that the church was served by forty monks, whom they named Calojeriens [7]. But our anxiety to get out of this abominable country, prevented us from paying our devotions at that famous church. Georgia, indeed, is a somewhat better country than Mingrelia, but the manners of the people and their way of living is equally brutal; and such were the distresses and difficulties I encountered in travelling through both, that it would be tedious to relate them. On the 20th of July we left the abominable city of Goride, where we had suffered so many vexations, and continued, our journey through forests and over mountains, occasionally falling in with villages where we purchased provisions. We had always to pass the nights on the ground near some spring or rivulet, during most part of our journey through Mingrelia and Georgia.
[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.
[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.
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.
[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.
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.
[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
