878 A new and compleat Defcription Book III. 
on the South the Province of Mafanderan^ on the 
Weft the Cafpian Sea, and Part of Canary on the 
North. It is but fmall, having thirty five Leagues in 
Length from Weft to Eaft, and fifteen in Breadth from 
North to South ; for which Reafon many oi; our Geo- 
graphers include it within the great Province of Chora^ 
fan. In regard to Fertility, as well as to its Climate, 
there is not a finer Country in Pirjia. A Ridge of 
Hills that run through it furnifti abundance of fmall 
Rivulets, and fome fine Rivers, that running through 
it into the Cafpian Sea, cloath, the Country for a 
great Part of the Year, with continual Verdure^ 
The Capital of this Province has the fame Name 
with the Province itfelf, and is one of the beft built 
Cities in Perfta ; and as it is a Frontier towards 'Parta- 
ry^ it is tolerably fortified, and has commonly a good 
Garrifon. It ftands upon a Gulph of the fame Name, 
and has a very good Port for fmall Veffels that do not 
draw any great Depth of Water. There are in, it 
both Silk and Woollen Manufadlures, and the Inhabi- 
tants drive a great Trade in a Sort of Camblets, that 
are much efteemed both for Beauty and Strength. 
The Country about is well cultivated, and as for the 
Weftern Part of the Province, it is a perfedl Orchard, 
abounding with Fruits of all Kinds, as well as with fine 
Trees for Shade and for Timber ; but the fame Thing 
cannot be faid of the Eaftern Part of the Province, which 
being expofed to the Inroads of the Vsheck Tartars, is 
fo depopulated, that in Spite of the Kindnefs of Nature, 
it looks like a perfed Defart. 
II. Chorafan is efteemed the faireft, rkheft, and 
moft fertile Province of the whole Empire, and is the 
Country known to the Ancients by the Name of Bac- 
iria ; it is divided by the Mountains of Balck from Great 
Bucharia, has the Principality of Candabar on the Eaft, 
the Province of Segiftan on the South, the Provinces of 
Terack and Mafanderan to the Weft, and the Province 
of EJlerabat and the River Amu on the North. It is 
thought to be about one hundred German Leagues in 
Compafs. The Climate is very temperate, the Soil 
.extremely fruitful, abounding with rich Fruits, fine 
Pafturages, producing excellent Corn, Wine, and Silk, and 
affording befidesrich Mines of Gold, Silver, and precious 
Stones. It was formerly the beft peopled, the beft planted, 
and the beft built Province in Perfia, but of late the In- 
curfions of the Usbeek T artars have laid one half of it 
wafte •, and though for a few Years they were kept in 
Awe by the Shah Nadir, who drove them out of this 
Country, for which he had a peculiar Affedfion, yet it 
is not to be fuppofed, while the Affairs of the P erf an 
Empire are in Confufion, that they can be long reftrain- 
ed. The chief City of this Province is Mefchid, or 
Thous, of which we ftiall have Occafion to fpeak more 
hereafter; and befides this, there are many other con- 
fiderable Places, fuch as Nichabour, Herat, Tcharkez, 
uimonoye, &c. 
III. ’" Sabluflan^ bounded on the North by the Provin- 
ces of Chorafan and Candabar, which latter is fometimes 
reckoned a Part of this Province, on the Eaft by the 
Dominions of the Great Mogul, and on the South and 
Weft by the Province of Segiftan. The Climate is to- 
lerable, but the Soil is extremely mountainous and bar- 
ren ; the Inhabitants are, generally fpeaking, boorilh 
and rude, at leaft in Comparifon of the reft of the Per- 
fiaus, yet the Capital of the Province, which is the City 
”of Bof, is large, well built, well inhabited, and the 
Country about it is exceedingly well cultivated ; all 
which arifes from its lying in the diredl Road to the 
Indies. It is a Place of great Trade, abounds with Manu- 
fadfures and Strangers from all Countries, and with the 
Diftridt about it, looks fovery unlike all the reft of the 
Province, that it feems to have dropt into it from the 
Clouds. Some other Towns there are, but of no great 
Importance, only it is fit to remark, that the People of 
this Country make the hardieft Soldiers, and are the beft 
Infantry in the Perftan Empire. 
IV. Segiftan, which feems to have been the Di'angiana 
of the Ancients, is bounded by SaUuJlan on the North, 
the Territories of the Great Mogul on the Eaft, by the 
Provinces of Makeran on the South, and by Part of the 
province of Kerman on the Weft. This Country is to- 
lerably fruitful, and is particularly remarkable for its 
Palm-trees and its excellent Dates, but it is greatlv ex- 
pofed to Winds, which fometimes drive the Sands in 
fuch a Manner, as to cover the Houfes, and even whole 
Villages. It was formerly famous for its Gold Mines, 
which, if we may truft the Perfian Authors, v/ere the 
richeft in the World, the Veins fometimes puftiing to 
the very Surface, in which they are countenanced by 
fome very ancient Greek Authors. This Province has 
produced both Heroes and learned Men, who have from 
thence borrowed the Sirname of Segiftani, which by the 
Way is a Pradlice very common in Perfia. The Capital 
is the City of Zereng, more commonly ftiled Segiftan, 
but a Place of no great Note. There are befides two 
other Places of fome Figure in this Country, Cobm 
and Majlich. 
V. Macran, or Macheran, fuppofed to be the ancient 
Gedrofia, is bounded by Segiftan on the North, by the 
Dominions of the Great Mogul on the Eaft, by the 
Ocean on the South, and by the Province of Kerman to- 
wards the Weft ; it is looked upon as one of the worfi 
Provinces in Perfia, the Air being very indifferent, and 
the Soil barren ; it is but indifferently peopled, and the 
Inhabitants are efteemed barbarous and faithlefs. The 
chief Towns in it Makeran, Paffir, and Geji ; the 
North-part of it is entirely a Deftrt of ten Day’s Jour- 
ney ; it has indeed a Port at Guadel, but of no great Con- 
fequence, for it is capable of receiving only fmall Vef- 
fels, and is befides not very fecure. 
VI. Kerman,sNh\Qh is without doubt the Caramania of 
the Ancients, a very large and noble Province, which 
may be well efteemed one of the moft beautiful in Per- 
fia. It is bounded by Segiftan and Makeran towards 
the Eaft, the Ocean towards the South, the Province of 
Pars towards the Weft, and by a Defart which feparates 
it from the Province of Terac Agemi, towards the North. 
Some Part of it is mountainous and barren enough, but 
the Valleys are wonderfully fertile, producing Fruits, 
Roots and Flowers in vaft Abundance ; it is in this Pro- 
vince that fuch vaft Quantities of Rofes grow, as ena- 
ble the Inhabitants to carrry on a confiderable Trade in 
Rofe-water, which is highly efteemed not only through- 
out all the Eaft, but in Europe ; they have alfb very 
rich Mines in this Country, particularly thofe of Tur^ 
quoifes, of which we fhall fpeak hereafter ; admirable 
Steel, out of which they fabricate all kind of Arms, 
and they have befides great Manufactures of Tapeftry. 
But after all, the principal Glory of this Country is its 
Sheep, the Wool of which is efteemed the fineft in the 
World, and they have a very fingular Way of coming 
at it, for at a certain Seafon of the Year they pull it 
from the Backs of the Animals with their Fingers, fo 
that the Sheep are entirely naked ; this Wool is all 
wrought in its natural Colours, and without Dye, it is of 
three Sorts, the firft brown, the fecond of a fpeckled 
grey, and the third of a Milk-white ; this laft is 
the moft efteemed ; but there is none of it that ever 
goes out of the Country, for it is intirely employed in 
making Garments for their Moulhas, or Men of the 
Law, and Priefts, who wear nothing elfe. There are 
in this Province more of the Gubers, Gaurs, or Fire- 
Worftiippers, who are the Remains of the ancient Per- 
fians, than in all the Empire befide ; and thefe frugal 
and induftrious People manufadlure from the other 
two Sorts of Wool, feveral Kinds of light Stuffs, which 
in Point of Beauty and Luftre are not at all inferior to 
Silk. The City of Kerman is the Capital of the Pro- 
vince, it is large and well peopled, Provifions are cheap 
there, and in the Neighbourhood they have a Manufac- 
ture of Earthern Ware, which comes very near Porcelain, 
The Fort of Gambroon, and the Ifland of Ormus, are by 
fome Authors reckoned dependent upon this Province, 
which has produced feveral great Heroes, learned Phy- 
ficians, excellent Poets, and in a Word, famous Men of 
every kind ; amongft the reft; the celebrated Achmet 
Kermani, who was Poet Laureat to Tamerlane, and com- 
pofed in Perfian Verfe the Ads of Alexander the Greats 
of Gingifchan, and of his Patron. 
VII. pars or Farfiftan, as the Perfians call it, is the 
ancient Perfia Proper, the Orientals fay, that it derives 
its 
