MAHOMED CHINL 
379 
He reserved to himself only one small portion of land, which, after 
the manner of Mohamed, he called the Beit-al-mali and this he cul¬ 
tivated with his own hands. The corn it produced he not only cut 
and winnowed himself, he even ground it into flour with a hand- 
mill, and with no other addition than vinegar, made it into bread 
for food. His horse he fed himself, but the corn for it was col¬ 
lected from each house. Whatever more was necessary for his 
subsistence, he gained by the labour of his hands, either by plat¬ 
ting whips or weaving carpets. He thus acquired so great an in¬ 
fluence over the minds of the people, that whatever he said was 
a law. Every dispute was settled by his word; nothing was un¬ 
dertaken in public affairs except by his ordinance; in a word, he 
enjoyed sovereign power. The present Prince, at the death of Beg 
Jan, his father, at first threw off the saint to assume the King; 
but finding that he began to be abandoned, he thought it best to 
assume the saint again. It is said that his revenue is derived from a 
tribute paid by 500 families of Jews, resident at Bokhara, who are 
assessed according to the means of eacli, the richest paying one ashreji 
(a gold coin,) which gradually diminishes as it descends to the 
poorest. 
Of the same nature was the influence which, within these two years, 
a celebrated adventurer, by the name of Mahomed Chini, gained over 
the Turcomans, whose hostile acts at his instigation gave great umbrage 
to the King of Persia. The Turcomans are Sunnis^ and Mahomed 
Chini was a strenuous upholder of that faith. He came to Teheran, 
and for some time was the guest of Mahomed Hossein Khan Mervi, 
one of the principal noblemen of the Persian court. He affected great 
austerity, dressed meanly, and frequented the medressehs, or colleges, 
where he constantly engaged the Shiah Mollahs, or doctors, in con¬ 
troversial disputes on the orthodoxy of their faith. Whether real or 
feigned, he pretended to have claims on some property within the 
verge of Persian influence, on the confines of Khorassan, and for some 
time endeavoured to obtain the interference of the King; but finding 
that he was not heeded, he departed from Teheran, in company with 
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