Male animals do not pay tribute in Persia.
Income and expenditure of the King of Persia.
This king, unlike other states, gets none of his revenues from duties, as they do not exist in this kingdom, but has a sixth part of the produce of the land, of corn and other plants; on vines and grass land, for one thousand archi of ground an annual payment of sixty-six pieces of gold, which is rather more than four sequins of gold. Archi are a measure, of which ten go to an ordinary field; so that one pays less than half a ducat for a field, and houses pay five per cent. on their rent. Christians in some regions pay five, in others seven and eight ducats, per house, according to the goodness and wealth of the country they inhabit. And on animals, for every herd of forty sheep he receives a tribute of fifteen bisti a year, which make three ducats of our money, but which male animals do not pay; for every cow they paid the sum of two ducats a year of our money, and so on; these make up the income of the king, which is said to amount to three millions of gold. The expenditure, which really comes from the treasury, is very small, as he is under obligation to pay only five thousand soldiers, called Curzi, who act as his body-guard, and are selected from the best and finest men in the realm; nor these even does he pay in money, but gives them uniforms and horses, putting on them whatever value he thinks fit in advance for their salaries.
Soldiery of the King of Persia easily brought together.
Persian arms.
He has eleven sons, and each of them has a sumptuous and separate court, but no one knows what he gives them. There are fifty sultans, by whom all the soldiery of the kingdom is made up, as it is divided into fifty parts, except that which he and his sons keep, which is not subject to governors. These same commanders have the charge of from five hundred to three thousand horsemen each, and from the regions assigned to them get as large an income as will support their retainers and cavalry, and enable them to muster them frequently; so that the king, in case of war, has nothing else to do but to send messengers to the sultans a month or two before, who, as they are always prepared, come without difficulty to the rendezvous. In all, they may amount to sixty thousand cavalry, notwithstanding that on paper the muster is much higher. They are generally men of fine aspect, robust, well-made, of great courage, and very warlike. They use for arms swords, lances, arquebuses, which all the soldiers can use; their arms also are superior and better tempered than those of any other nation. The barrels of the arquebuses are generally six spans long, and carry a ball a little less than three ounces in weight. They use them with such facility, that it does not hinder them drawing their bows nor handling their swords, keeping the latter hung at their saddle-bows till occasion requires them. The arquebus then is put away behind the back, so that one weapon does not impede the use of another.
Persian horses and how they were introduced.
The horses are so well trained and are so good and handsome that there is now no need to have them brought from other countries; this has happened since the arrival of Sultan Bayazeth,[716] who fled into Persia with some magnificent Caramanian and Arab horses, which were given away throughout the country, and afterwards when he was executed by order of the king, there were a thousand horses and mares in existence. On this account there has never been so fine a breed, and the Ottomans even have not got one like it. This Bayazeth also brought thirty pieces of artillery, which were taken to San Marco, towards the Caspian Sea; but not so the money and other spoils.
Strength of the King of Persia.
The strength of the king lies in his having caused them to lay waste the country on the frontiers of the Turk on every side for six days’ journey in distance, and to pull down every castle in the district, in order to strengthen himself by the Turks having no inclination to seize and hold it. I shall now speak of the relations and understandings between him and the neighbouring princes.