1 38
2 influence with Hosruff Khan, to procure from him some genuine
3 Persian mumiai , for the wounded Russians. In Turkey and
4 Arabia they highly praised the wonderful effects of this medi-
5 cine, and I was therefore eager to convince myself of its efficacy.
6 But as the cases I had to treat rather required the use of instru-
7 ments, I postponed the trial.
8 Our return to Bagdad was via Urugurd and Kermansha. At
9 Urugurd we were detained for several days by the Shazadah
10 (the reigning prince), who requested us to attend to a few
11 patients belonging to his household, the healing of whom
12 brought us a tolerable little sum of money, and a few handsome
13 presents. Here again we had an opportunity of witnessing the
14 manners and customs of the Persians. It was then Muharem
15 (time of mourning), and the tenor of the Shazadah’s order ran
16 thus, “ during the time of the mourning, all merchants are
17 summoned to appear in the Meidan (a square in front of his
18 palace) at three in the afternoon, in order to shed their tears for
19 the martyrs, Hassan and Hussain.” On one occasion we saw the
20 Faratshes (Shazadah’s servants) dragging a tradesman by force
21 out of his shop, which was at the caravansary where we lived,
22 and driving him to the Meidan. The plea of necessity was
23 urged, to make those people weep by blows, whose feelings did
24 not afford them tears freely. But we witnessed other atrocities,
25 on the last days of the Muharem. We saw fakirs and dervishes,
26 with tiger-skins round their bodies, their long black hair hanging
27 down and covering their faces and backs, beating themselves
28 with iron-headed clubs, till the blood flowed down their bodies.
29 They ran like savage beasts, or maniacs, through the streets and
30 bazaars, howling, 44 Ya Ali ! ” One of our friends, a native of
31 Bagdad, told us, that if any of the Sunits, to which sect he
32 belonged, should venture that day to acknowledge his religion,
33 he would run the risk of being immolated by the fanatical
34 Persians; so inveterate is the hatred between these two sects,
35 though they are both Mahomedan ; and this is not the case in
36 Persia alone, but in every place where Shias and Sunits are
37 living together. Great animosity prevails between these two