Population of Hamadan and the Qaragozlu
tribe
The plain which surrounds this town is covered with
villages, the cultivation good, and cheapness and abundance are the result. The
population of the province of Hamadan may be divided into three distinct
classes ― military, religious, and mixed. The first consists of the tribe* of
Kara-guzloo, one of the most brave and warlike in Persia, and a branch of that
of Sham-loo, which was brought from Syria, in Media, by Tamerlane ― this class
is more numerous than the other two. The second is composed of an infinity of
Syuds and Mollahs, who seem to have a marked predilection for this province,
most of the villages in which have been given to them in fief by the
government. The third class, the smallest, consists of merchants, tradesmen,
workmen, and agricultural labourers. Though quite an exceptional case in
Persia, the Shah has appointed a separate officer over each of these classes,
fearing to put too much power in the hands of one person by intrusting to him
all three. Prince Khan Lar Mirza is governor of the town, and the villages
inhabited by mixed tribes. Hadji Mirza Ibrahim, a person of considerable
influence, and a native of Hamadan, is at the head of the Syuds and Mollahs, et
hoc genus omne, and the Sertip Ferz Ullah Khan, who plundered my
countryman, is the chief of the tribe Kara-guzloo and commandant of the
military force of the province. The latter consists of three regiments of
infantry, commanded by his nephews Mahmood Khan, Ali Khan, and Reschid Khan;
the first is married to a sister, and the second to an aunt, of Mahomed Shah.
The apple of discord was thrown into the Sertip’s family with the princesses of
the blood, for these, being powerful at court, take every opportunity of
placing their husbands in opposition to their uncle, each hoping thereby that
some successful intrigue may procure for hers the command of the tribe. It was
not without design that the Shah gave these princesses in marriage to the Khans
of Kara-guzloo, that tribe being one of those whose opposition he has most
reason to fear; it has never joined in any foreign intrigue, and he showed his
judgment in connecting himself with its chiefs.
A few days sufficed to improve my health, and I
profited by this to pay a visit to my countryman M. Jacquet, who lived at the
village of Chevereen, about a parasangs from the town. On the road I met
Colonel Mahmood Khan, which annoyed me not a little, for we had been acquainted
a long time, and I thought he might inform the authorities of my whereabouts.
Deceived however by my beard and the change in my dress, he did not recognise
me, though, nevertheless, he fancied he had seen me before. The same evening on
my return I met him again, but this time the vagabond Ivan, who was in front of
me and drunk, from the potations in which he had indulged at Chevereen,
betrayed my incognito, and, when we met, the colonel reproached me for doubting
his friendship, and made me promise to breakfast with him at his house at
Chevereen on the following morning. Accordingly I went, and met there his
brother Aman Ullah Khan, whom I had known several years, and his cousins Shefi
Khan and Metel Khan. These young men are the chiefs of their tribe, agreeable
and intelligent, and as brave as Roostem. Shefi Khan especially is considered a
remarkable man amongst his countrymen. On the following day Mahmood Khan
introduced me to his uncle Ferz Ullah Khan as an European traveller on his way
to Teheran, but without mentioning my name or the object of my journey. The
Sertip was a man of from forty to forty-two years of age, sickly, morose, and
careworn-looking, but affecting great politeness and suavity of manner. Like
his nephews he has the reputation of being brave and resolute; I found him very
intelligent, and his remarks on the advantages and disadvantages of European
and Persian civilization, and the comparisons he made between the, surprised
me. But what astonished me more was to hear him the next minute saying the very
contrary to another visitor, and appearing as narrow-minded and ignorant as any
of his countrymen. When his acquaintance left, I expressed my astonishment at
so sudden a change in his sentiments. “Pigeon with pigeon, falcon with falcon,”
he replied: with you I was sincere; to hold the same language with a Persian
would be to play the dupe. It is not that we are deficient in intelligence, but
in morality. In Persia a straightforward and honest man passes for a fool,
whereas roguery is take for intelligence.” Such is the opinion which Persians
entertain of themselves, though few would avow it as frankly as Ferz Ullah Khan
― as to my own opinion I can but confirm his.
* Persia resembles the Highlands of Scotland, in being
divided among tribes, the chiefs of which command great respect. Persia is a
thoroughly aristocratic country, where high birth and polished manners are much
considered. In this point it differs much from Turkey and even Russia, where
the feeling is thoroughly democratic; that is to say, Turks and Russians cannot
feel or understand why, because the father has been distinguished, the son
should be respected.―Ed.
Ferrier J.P., Caravan journeys and wanderings in Persia, Afghanistan,
Turkistan and Beloochistan; with historical notices of the countries lying
between Russia and India, translated by William Jesse. ― London: John Murray, 2nd
edition, 1857, pp. 39―41.
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