Sketches of Persia

by John Malcolm

On entering Teheran, we were conducted through the streets to the house of the prime minister, Hajee Ibrahim. Here Nou Rôz Khan left us; but we were welcomed at the gate of the dwelling by several of the friends and principal members of the minister's family, and we had hardly seated ourselves, when the Hajee was announced as coming to visit his guests.

My curiosity to see this extraordinary man was very great. "There must," I thought, "be something wonderful in the appearance as well as in the mind of that human being, who, by the mere force of his character, has raised himself from the rank of an humble magistrate in the city of Shiraz, to be a 'puller-down and setter-up of kings;' who, without any pretensions to military talent, and without learning sufficient to write a note or read three lines, has overcome heroes, has established sovereigns on the throne of Persia, and by his firmness and wisdom has given a peace and tranquillity to his native land beyond what it has known for a century."

The Persians are a handsome race of men, and fond of decorating their persons. I expected therefore to see Hajee Ibrahim enter elegantly dressed, with a dignified if not an elastic step, with a commanding figure, a clear animated countenance, with features expressive of his superior character: and, above all, with two piercing eyes, distinguished perhaps by that restless wandering from object to object, which indicates the care and anxiety of a man who held power and life by so precarious a tenure as a prime minister of Persia.

We all arose as he was announced, and the Elchee went forward to meet him. Judge of my surprise when I saw, instead of the magnificent personage of my imagination, a heavy-looking man, dressed in very plain clothes, enter the room, and proceed towards his seat, with a rolling of the body that almost approached to a waddle. His features were rather coarse, and his eyes, though clear, had nothing of the piercing or searching qualities I had anticipated. As to his manners, they did not appear to have changed with his condition, but to be still those of a respectable citizen of Shiraz. I was, I must confess, quite disappointed; but before the half hour expired, which he passed in conversation with the Elchee, my mind had undergone another change, for there was in all he said a good sense, a sincerity, and a strength, that quite convinced me of the justice of the fame he had acquired.

The Hajee's brother, Abd-ool-Raheem Khan, came the day after our arrival to pay his respects to the Elchee. An attempt was made by the steward of the minister's household to obtain more deference for this person than he was from his rank entitled to. "The Hajee," said the politic major-domo, "always gives the seat of honour to Abd-ool-Raheem Khan, who is his elder brother!" "He is right in so doing," said the Elchee; "but this gentleman is not my elder brother." The reply indicated a knowledge of the relations on which precedence was to be given or refused, which terminated the discussion. In came Abd-ool-Raheem Khan, a very fat and dull man, whose merit appeared limited to that of being brother to a prime minister. He took his seat very contentedly; staid half an hour; spoke half a sentence—and retired.

The first night I passed at Hajee Ibrahim's, I was disturbed by a continued mumbling and confused noise in the next apartment, which, upon inquiry, I found proceeded from the extreme piety of its inmate, Zâl Khan of Khisht.

This remarkable man had established a great name in his native mountains, betwixt Abusheher and Shiraz; and he was long distinguished as one of the bravest and most attached followers of the Zend family. When the death of Lootf Ali Khan terminated its power, he, along with the other governors of provinces and districts in Fars, submitted to Aga Mahomed Khan. That cautious and cruel monarch, dreading the ability, and doubtful of the allegiance of this chief, ordered his eyes to be put out: an appeal for the recall of the sentence being treated with disdain, Zâl Khan loaded the tyrant with curses. "Cut out his tongue," was the second order. This mandate was imperfectly executed; and the loss of half this member deprived him of speech. Being afterwards persuaded that its being cut close to the root would enable him to speak so as to be understood, he submitted to the operation, and the effect has been, that his voice, though indistinct and thick, is yet intelligible to persons accustomed to converse with him. This I experienced from daily intercourse. He often spoke to me of his sufferings, and of the humanity of the present king, who had restored him to his situation as head of his tribe, and governor of Khisht.

I am not an anatomist, and cannot therefore give a reason why a man, who could not articulate with half a tongue, should speak when he had none at all; but the facts are as stated, and I had them from the very best authority, old Zâl Khan himself.

Some points of no small consequence underwent discussion the day after we reached Teheran. The Persian language is very copious, and has many terms which, though signifying in substance the same, have a shade of difference in the application, which enables those versed in such matters to use them so as to denote the rank and respective relations of the parties who hold intercourse with each other. For instance, the word friendship may be expressed by three or four terms, which imply superiority, equality, or inferiority. The speaker may, by the manner in which he introduces the expression "I have a regard for you"—"I esteem your friendship"—"My duty always attends you"—or, "My service is at your command," mark the respect or relation in which he holds him whom he addresses. These are in Persia, as with us, expressions of courtesy; but in that country the subject meets much more attention than we give it, and especially in all communications with a foreign envoy.

Both the Elchee and his host, Hajee Ibrahim, might have smiled inwardly at the trifling nature of such forms, but the relation in which they stood towards each made it necessary to observe them; and as the terms they used in conversation were likely to serve as a standard to others, it was judged necessary to have a congress of meerzâs or secretaries, skilled in such niceties, to settle this important point.