Knights and heroines of Merv
We were now in the vicinity of Merve, and several
members of the caravan, on their approach to the river, declared that they had
a view of the elevated mound of its ruined castle. I sought in vain, but the
other spectators were looking for their native city, and wished, perhaps, to
persuade themselves that they beheld it. I listened to the tales of valour
which these people related to me of one Bairam Khan and a chosen body of seven
hundred, that long resisted the arms of the Uzbeks of Bokhara, till Shah Moorad
finally subdued them by a stratagem in war, and forcibly transferred the whole
population to his capital. Nor was I less gratified to hear the patriotic tale
of the heroines of Merve, the wives and daughters of the gallant band. It is
recorded, and it is believed, that on one occasion, when the forces of Bokhara
invaded the land of Merve, during the absence of Bairam Khan and his knights,
these fair ones embodied and appeared in the field. The Uzbeks were intimidated
at the sight of troops whom they believed they had surprised, and fled with
precipitation, leaving the heroines of Merve their virtuous victors: nor is
this a solitary instance of female triumph over man. The people of Merve, in
their loss of country and liberty, retain the same reputation for valour which
characterised their ancestors; and, to this day, when they quit the country,
their valiant partners are held in Bokhara as a pledge of their fidelity, and
may on no account cross the Oxus.
Sir Alexander Burnes, Travels into Bokhara; being the account of a journey
from India to Cabool, Tartary and Persia; also, narrative of a voyage on the
Indus, from the sea to Lahore, with presents from the King of Great Britain;
performed under the orders of the supreme government of India, in the years
1831, 1832, and 1833. Vol. II. — London: John Murray, 1834. Pp. 37—38.
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