1834.] Georgia, Persia, and Mesopotamia. 577 



dow to enliven them ; the inelegantly shaped domes, without a single 

 Turkish minaret to relieve them ; all exhibit a most monotonous effect, 

 and combine in a general coup d'ail to impress the traveller with a very 

 mean opinion of Persian architecture. 



Tabriz, or as it is generally called by foreigners, Tauris, is the Gan- 

 zaka of antiquity. It is situated in the province of Azerbijan, which 

 in former times was called Atropatia, from Atropates the satrap, who, 

 after the death of Alexander, assumed the title of sovereign of the coun- 

 try, and transmitted it to his posterity, who retained the government 

 for several centuries. It is asserted by some, that in the fourth cen- 

 tury of our a?ra, a treaty was concluded between Narsus king of Persia, 

 and the Emperor Galerius ; by which contract Tiridates became its 

 governor, and enlarged the city in emulation of the magnificence of Ecba- 

 tana. Yet we find that subsequent to this, it suffered various revolu- 

 tions; for when Heracmus entered its gates, there were only three hun- 

 dred houses standing. On the accession of the Sefi race however, 

 Tabriz regained its old importance. Sir John Chardin mentions, that 

 in his time the city contained half a million of souls. " J'ai fait beau- 

 coup de diligence pour apprendre a combien se monte le nombre des 

 habitans de Tauris ; je ne pouvais pourtant pas le savoirau juste : mais 

 je pense qu'on peut dire surement qu'il va a 550 mille personnes." 

 (Chardin, Voyage de Paris <X Ispahan, p. 184.) But the earthquake of 

 1727, so greatly diminished its population, that only seventy thousand 

 remained, and after the succeeding shock in 1787, there were only 

 forty thousand inhabitants. If Chardin be correct, how dreadfully 

 scourged this province must have been in the short space of forty-one 

 years. Such were the awful changes of power and population, during 

 the last century. 



Tabriz is surrounded with a wall, and protected by a deep ditch 

 which embraces a circumference of three miles and a half. The suburbs 

 which have been built from ruins dug on the spot, occupy the ground 

 which once composed the old city. To the north and east they ex- 

 tend for several miles, and so great is the mass of ruin about the plain 

 in this direction, that I am convinced, the most violent shocks were 

 experienced at some distance from the new city. Two hundred and fifty 

 mosques are mentioned by Chardin, out of which the remains of three 

 only are to be traced. The finest of these is, that of All Koja, erected 

 by him six hundred years ago. It is still nearly one hundred feet in 

 height, and commands a fine view of the surrounding country. Some 

 time ago, a woman was thrown from its summit, for having murdered 

 her husband. About two miles to the south-west of the city, the ruins 

 of Sultan Kazan's sepulchre are to be seen. The remains of decayed 

 3 K 



