224 
TABREEZ. 
have been considered the stronghold of the whole valley. Pro¬ 
bably, the garrison for its military power ; the repository of the 
sovereign’s treasures ; and a last resource for his family in ex¬ 
treme cases of invasion. A Persian MS . written towards the 
close of A. D. 1400 , in speaking of the eminences which flank 
the eastern quarter of Tabreez, says, “ they were not only co¬ 
vered with towe rs and battleme nts, b ut enriched with palaces 
and mosques, and other glorious structures .” And this account 
fully accords with the remains still extant amongst the rocks 
and mounds of that quarter. The high towers of the fortress, 
from their position, look down the whole valley; which may 
easily be understood by a description of its situation. The lofty 
range of barren and broken mountains which bank the north and 
<D 
southern sides of the vale, or plain of Tabreez, enclose it to the 
eastward also, in the shape of an amphitheatre ; and there they 
split themselves into a thousand irregular ravines, intersecting 
each other in every variety of form and direction ; till, by gra¬ 
dual slopes, they fall into the plain. On one of the most com¬ 
manding heights of these ravines stands the grey pile of the 
fortres s. At what period in the Persian history this structure 
was first raised, lies in as deep obscurity as the time of the 
foundation of the city itself. That so vast a fortress was the 
product of great labour and cost, may be seen in the thickness 
of the walls, the massiness of the towers, and the splendid ma¬ 
terials discoverable in many parts of the interior buildings. No 
sun-dried bricks are to be found in any part of this structure; 
the whole having been compiled of huge masses of loose stones 
and mortar thrown together; and then, ca refully and Tfo sely, 
faced with large stones. A tower, of more than ordinary mag¬ 
nitude, flanks the south-west front of the castle, which seems in 
