Chap. II. through fever al Countries of the INDIES. "fgi 
it was the general Opinion of the Learned, that this was 
the Place where the ancient Perfepolis had flood, and that 
thefe were the Ruins of that famous Palace built by Cyrus. 
The Foundation or Ground- Work on which this vaff 
Structure was eredted, is raifed twenty-two Geometrical 
Feet, having at each of its four Comers a Pair of Stairs 
of white Marble of ninety-five Steps, fo flat and broad,, 
that twelve Horfes may go up together a-breaff, Before 
you come to the main Body of the Structure itfelf, you 
pafs through a Square, where you fee the Ruins of a Wall, 
and the Remainders of two great Gates, each of which 
have a Horfe garnifhed and faddled, after a very antique 
Mannef, carved on one Side, and on the other two Crea- 
tures refembling a Horfe, except that they have Wings on 
each Side, and the Head is crowned like that of a Lion. 
On the one Side you fee the Ruins of nineteen Pillars 
of white and black Marble, the leaff of which are eight, 
and fome ten Ells high, without the Bafes ; but whether 
they had been intended for the Support of fome large 
Hall, or were built in the open Air, is not to be diffin- 
guifhed at this Time. The Inhabitants thereabouts told 
me, that not many Years before, there were forty of thefe 
Pillars Handing. As you go on further, you meet with 
the Ruins of two Rooms indifferently large, as may be 
judged by the Doors and Windows, but every thing is 
of the fineff Marble. Several Figures of Men of an ex- 
traordinary Size are to be feen on both Sides the Doors, 
fome in a fitting, others in a Handing PoHure, their Hair 
falling down carelelly over their Shoulders, and their Gar- 
ments reaching down to their Heels, with very wide 
Sleeves, and a Girdle round their WaiHs. They had very 
long Beards, and round Caps on their Heads. Not far 
from thence are two other Chambers much of the fame 
Bignefs with the former, but fo ruined, that nothing but the 
Doors and Crofs-Bars of the Windows are left. 
This Stru&ure feems to have had this in common with 
moH of the Buildings of a modern Date in Perjia , that it 
had many Doors, which is done here to give the more free 
Paffage to the Wind to cool the Rooms. Hard by thefe 
two laH Chambers, you find unknown Characters engraved 
upon a fquare Pillar, which have no Refemblance to the 
Greek, Hebrew, Arabick, or any other Language, being 
triangular, or rather pyramidal, not unlike Obilifks. There 
are twelves Lines of them, fo well proportioned, and nice- 
ly engraven, that they have not the fmalleH Sign in them 
of Barbarifm. Some believe them to be Telefms, and to 
contain certain MyHeries ; befides thefe before-mentioned 
Rooms, there is, upon the fame Ground- Work, a large 
Court of' ninety Paces fquare, with two Gates on each 
Side, fome of which are fix, others only three Paces 
■wide. They are of the fineH Marble ; each of the Pieces 
are eight Feet long, and three in Breadth •, you fee alfo 
in another Court, very curious carved Work in Marble : 
Battles, Triumphs, Olympick Games, every thing in its 
due Proportion. 
Upon each of the Gates you find a graceful Perfon carv- 
ed fitting with a Globe in the one, and a Scepter in the 
other Hand, tho’ it is certain that the Kings of Perfia ne- 
ver fat in that PoHure. My Curiofity led me to get up 
on high, where I faw a King reprefented paying his De- 
votions to the Sun, Fire, and a Serpent. As the Inhabi- 
tants at this Day carry from thence a great Quantity of 
Marble to carry on their private Buildings thereabouts, 
this, with the Length of Time, has fo defaced, or rather 
mined this noble Strudure, that it is impoffible to deter- 
mine whether its Architedure was of the lonick, Dorick, 
or Corinthian Order*, notwithHanding which, even its 
Ruins are fo furprizing, that thefe would find Work for a 
Trery good Painter for above fix Months. 
If we trace the antient Perftan HiHory, we find, that 
according to Mian, the Grand Cyrus laid himfelf the 
Foundation, and built a moH magnificent Palace at Perfe- 
t°Hs » as Parius did at Sufa. Perhaps the Ruins belong 
to the famous Palace mentioned by Diodorus Siculus , be- 
ing encompaffed with three Walls of Marble, the firft 
whereof was 16, the fecond 32, and the third 60 Ells high; 
and all the Gates and Balconies of Brafs, all which, together 
with the ineHimabie Treafure it contained, was in a few 
Hours reduced to Allies by Alexander the Great, at the 
,5 
RequeH of a Harlot. Having fpent a whole Day in view- 
ing thefe Antiquities, I continued my Journey the- 28 tfi 
of January , and travelled that Day ten Leagues to the 
City of Schiras. . Here I met with four Carmelite Friars'; 
Italians , who were poffeffed of a goodly MonaHery, and 
had the free Exercife of their Religion allowed them. Not 
many Years before, the Portugueze had here likewife a 
Convent of AuJHn Monks, but they were forced thence, 
as well as all the other Portugueze , after the taking of the 
City of Ormuz by the Perftans. 
Schiras is the Capital City of the Province of Pars , fitu- 
ate at the Foot of a moH pleafant Mountain, upon the 
River Sendomir (heretofore called Araxes) which diff 
charges itfelf into the Perftan Gulph. This City lies in 29 0 
36k It contains about 10000 HoufeS ; but the Ruins of 
a great Wall, at two Miles diHance from the City, fhew 
its Extent to have been much larger than it is at this Time, 
It may be truly faid, that whatever Nature is able to pro- 
duce, either for Conveniency or Pleafure, is centred in 
this Place, and that in great Plenty ; as Wheat, Oranges, 
Lemons, Pomegranates, Almonds, Dates, PiHachoes, &c. 
The Wine which grows hereabouts is the bell in all Per- 
fia ; which being tranfported hence all over the Kingdom, 
and looked upon as the beH Entertainment they can give 
to their Friends : This makes it to be fold at a dear Rate 
at Ifpahan,vt\\txt you cannot have a Pottle of good Schiras 
Wine under Haif-a-Crown. Its TaHe is not unlike that 
of Canary , but is more fprightly, and has a more plea- 
fant Flavour \ this City being fo much celebrated through 
all Perfia for Wine and Women. 
The Perftans are wont to fay, that if Mohammed had 
been fenfible of the Pleafures of Schiras , he would have 
begged of God Almighty to make him immortal there. 
The Sheep hereabouts are of an aHi-grey Colour, with 
one white Eye, their Wool curled, and their Tails of fuch 
a Bignefs as to weigh fometimes eighteen or twenty Pounds. 
The Woods hereabouts afford great Store of Maffick, 
which is gathered in Difhes faffened to the Tree, and is 
green at firff, but afterwards turns brown. After a Stay 
of eight Days at Schiras , I left it the fifth of February , 
and proceeded ten Leagues that Day to a Caravanfera *, 
the fixth I travelled leven Leagues, through very bad 
Roads ; but the Profpebt I had of the many Villages, and 
a vaff Number of Date-trees, made me fome Amends for 
the Toil of the Day. 
The 7th I travelled ten Leagues to the little City of 
Sharim , feated in the Middle of a Date-wood. The 
8th we could make no more than five Leagues, the Ways 
betwixt the Heep Rocks on the one Side, and the Precipices 
on the other Side being fo rough and narrow that one can- 
not pafs them without great Danger, of which I had an 
Inffance in my Paffage, for my Horle’s Hoof (which I was 
leading by the Bridle) being filled with Snow, he flipped 
and tumbled upon me, which forcing me out of the Way; 
I had infallibly tumbled down the Precipice, had I not by 
good Luck catched hold of a wild Almond-tree which 
Hood there. I was forced to take up my Quarters that 
Night at a Caravanfera, where there was not any Provi- 
fion either for Man Or Beaff; 
The 9th, after I had travelled three Leagues, I came 
to a Caravanfera, where we had the Opportunity of re- 
frefffing our Horfes, and having gone five Leagues more 
in the Afternoon, I overtook the Armenian Caravan *, and; 
in their Company, rode two Leagues farther to the Village 
of Berry , near which I lodged in one of the beH Cara- 
vanferas I met with in my whole Journey. 
4. The 10th I travelled through very bad Ways, and 
came late at Night to the City of Laar, fituate in a fpaci- 
ous Plain at the Foot of a Mountain. There is no Wine 
hereabouts, but Dates in abundance. The Air is very un*» 
wholfome here, and the Water very muddy, which breeds in 
them that drink it certain Worms, betwixt the Skin and 
Fiefh, of which we fhail have Occafion to lpeak more at large 
hereafter. They lay that this City owns for its Founder 
Pilaes , the Son of Siroes, v hole Succeffor was Gorgicn 
Melech , the firff King of Laar , and that the thirfy-ffe- 
cond Succefior was one Abraham Khan , who was diveffed 
of the Kingdom in 1602, by Sc hah Abas , King of Per- 
fai It contains about 4000 Houfes, built of Brick baked 
in 
1 
