The next village was Heeah, still on the left; and then Sihin Caléh, to which (at the distance of about a mile) we turned off from the road on a bearing of W. All these villages are in the Mahalé of Hamzé. Grass is extremely plentiful all over this country; and, from all that I can see, the passage of a large body of men would not be impeded by the want of provisions. On these plains the King’s horses graze annually: and here every summer his troops are collected. Magazines for their supplies are formed at Sultaniéh. A strong wind from the Westward blew from two hours before sun-rise to two hours before sun-set, and brought clouds with it; in the morning it was unpleasantly cold. On the rising ground to the Southward of Sihin Caléh, are some ancient tomb-stones, some of which are carved in a curious manner; among other things, there was a lion in stone—a certain sign of antiquity. The Arabic character also appeared to me very old.
14th. From Sihin Caléh we went to Sultaniéh, a distance called five fursungs; we were five hours on the road, and, as we walked a good pace, I should place the whole at sixteen miles. Of these twelve are on a bearing of N. 40 W. to a pass (called Teng Ali Acbar) through a small rising of the plain; and the remainder to Sultaniéh, N. 80 W. On the height of the pass are the ruins of buildings, which are said to be those of the gate. From this pass Sultaniéh is immediately seen; it lies near the Southern hills, and spreads itself N. and S. over the plain to a considerable extent, containing the present village among the ruins of the ancient city. I went to a tapé on the South, before we entered the place, and took a general view of the whole.
The principal object among the remains of the ancient town is an immense structure, which is called the tomb of Sultan Mohamed Khodabendeh, and is said to be six hundred years old. A cupola rests on an octagonal base, on each angle of which arose a minaret; one only of which is now entire. At each angle also was a staircase, and in each of the sides was a door; and, as there is one wing which projects from the base, the whole probably, in its original plan, was similarly surrounded by additional buildings. The principal gate fronted the East: it is now in part remaining, but in a short time will be entirely demolished; as during our visit there were many workmen employed in pulling it down, to use the materials in some of the King’s pleasure-houses. The whole structure is of a fine brick admirably put together. The cupola and minarets were covered with a green-lacquered tile, most of which is now pealed off. The great architrave was of Moresque work of a dark-blue-lacquered tile. The arches of the gates were all enriched with curious ornaments in plaster. The interior is still admirable, though it is now converted into a magazine of straw. Nothing however intersects the beautiful symmetry of the dome. The interior diameter is thirty-five paces, and on a rough calculation, the height of the dome must be about one hundred feet. In the centre of the floor among the straw is a pillar of white marble, probably belonging to the tomb of the King, which is said indeed to be immediately in that position below the surface. The people told me that there were many fine marbles under the straw; and I saw (without being able to find any descent to them) several arches under ground, which perhaps, support the whole floor. Over each gate is a gallery, which extends along the base of the dome, and leads into smaller galleries within, and into others also on the exterior of the building. These are beautifully adorned with the neatest work that I had ever seen; all the cornices of the doors, the segments of the arches and the various niches are covered with Arabic sentences; which in some places are surmounted in a smaller character by Cufic inscriptions, all either painted in fresco, or raised in plaster. The whole structure looks more like a mosque than a tomb, compared at least with those at Constantinople; but of any description, and in any place, I do not recollect a building which could have surpassed this in its original state. I ascended to the top of one of the shattered minarets, and took the following bearings; road to Hamadan S. 50 W.; Teng Ali Acbar, S. 70. E.
This monument appears to stand in the Ark or citadel of the ancient Sultaniéh. Its area is a square (a side of which, on a rough calculation, might be three hundred yards) and is marked out by a ditch still full of water. Part also of the ancient wall is yet standing, and bears N. 40 E. from the tomb; it is about fifty feet high: the exterior surface is fine, and the stones, which however are soft and crumbling, are well fitted together. At the angle of the ditch, there is the segment of a round tower still remaining; on one of the stones of which is an Arabic inscription, stating that it was built by Sultan Mahomed Khodabendeh; and there is likewise a small rude sculpture of a combat between two horsemen. At the summit of the wall also, there appears to be some representation of lions or sphinxes’ heads. Mirza Abul Hassan told me that he remembered, when twenty years ago the greater part of this wall was standing. The Persians, to illustrate the original splendour of the city, say, that when the army of Jenghiz Khan took and plundered Sultaniéh, they found in it six hundred thousand golden cradles.
Here are the remains of several mosques without the enclosure of the ditch, one of which seems to have been a fine edifice; they are all built of the same materials as the tomb. Few monuments in Persia can hope to survive many ages; for the Kings, who succeed the founders, are anxious only to be founders themselves, and instead of taking a pride to preserve the works of their predecessors, as records of the genius or greatness of their monarchy, they take pains only to destroy them, that they may build new structures with the materials, and attach their own names also to great buildings; never considering how short-lived, by their own example, will be their reputation after their decease. The principle extends to private life, and to a certain degree accounts for the numbers of ruined houses which swell the circumference of Persian cities. Every son is unwilling to repair and inhabit the house of his father, and is eager to impose his own name on some new work. The present King has undertaken to found at Sultaniéh a new city, which is to be called Sultanabad. The inhabitants are to be supplied from the neighbouring villages, and from the population of Aderbigian. The Ark or citadel is already built: it is situated close to the King’s pleasure-houses, N. 50 W. from the tomb. The King and all his troops encamp about June in the plains for many miles around.
There are an immense number of a peculiar species of rats in the plain, which dig themselves holes in the ground. Our people caught several: they have the squeaking of a musk rat, and sit on their hind legs; I caught one and took a drawing of it; it was big with young, and had four teats on each side; in colour it was an ugly dun, and in length measured fifteen inches from the head to the tail: it had five claws on both fore and hind feet, and long nails at the end. Its head was flat with a black nose, large black eyes, and an orifice for the ear without any skin to cover it; its tail was bushy, and spreading at the end.[39]
15th. On quitting Sultaniéh we stopped at the King’s pleasure-house, which is built on the tapé or hillock, about three quarters of a mile from the present village. It consists of four divisions, all enclosed within walls, and raised with materials from the demolished structures of the ancient city. The first contained a suit of apartments for women; the second was a polyangular building, as yet unfurnished (crowned at the top by a small dome) surrounded by a railing, and called like so many others, Koola-frangee. This, as we are told, was built after a drawing given to the King by one of the Gentlemen of the French Embassy. From this we went through a long arched and gloomy passage to the King’s Khalwet or private room. Here there is a picture of his Majesty killing a stag in the chase, and a portrait of each of his principal sons, painted in fresco on the walls. From this we went to the fourth, which is the Dewan Khonéh, and opens upon the whole of the plain. Here the King sits in state; and, on a terraced platform below stand his sons and nobles: the whole is on a small and trifling scale, and displays no great ingenuity in the builder or wealth in the possessor.
We proceeded to Zengan: the distance is called six fursungs, and we performed it in six hours; but from the quick pace at which our horses walked, I may reckon it at twenty-four miles. Till the last four miles our route bore N. 30 W.; we then turned to N. 80 W.
The mountains on the left diminished very much, and were green to their summits. They terminated at a bearing of W. and behind them commenced another chain, which, when the immense clouds on their summits occasionally rolled off, appeared very high.
The plain ground over which we had travelled from Casvin, now became hilly and broken; and in some places the soil, which before had been universally hard, was soft; and the road, from the rain which had fallen, was rendered swampy and muddy. In the course of the day indeed we had much rain, though only in showers; and in the morning there was a rainbow. All this part of the country is well watered by a variety of small streams, but by no one of any note. We saw the plough at work in many parts of the country on a fine rich soil. The plough here is a rude instrument indeed; it is a large piece of wood making an angle with another, which being sharpened at the end, and frequently tipt with iron, forms the plough-share. It is drawn by two oxen or sometimes by one, and sometimes only by an ass. About six miles before we reached Zengan, on the left of the road there is a well-built village with walls and towers all around, and a small Ark in the centre, called Dehsis. The vegetation all over the country is extremely rich, and certainly the most luxuriant which we had seen.