PERSIA. 
junftion with the Crim Tartars. They were, however, 
finally repul fed by one of the generals of the fhah. 
Abbas then made an expedition into Georgia. Find¬ 
ing his foldiers much addicted to the ufe of tobacco, he 
prohibited it, and enforced his order by caufing the nofes 
and lips of offenders to be cut off. A merchant, igno¬ 
rant of the prohibition, coining into the camp with fome 
bags of tobacco, was, by the Utah's command, fet upon 
a pile of faggots, and confumed in the midft of his mer¬ 
chandize. 
This cruel difpofition was foon after exercifed in a very 
tragical manner on his own family. Befides a vaft num¬ 
ber of concubines, Abbas had three wives, who bore him 
as many fons. The elder, Sefi Mirza, had been inftiga- 
ted by fomfe nobles, wearied with the father’s tyranny, to 
join in a confpiracy again ft his life, and afcend the throne 
in his (lead. Sefi, with filial duty, difcovered the plot to 
liis father ; but he thereby infufed an incurable fufpi- 
cion into the mind of Abbas 5 and this was only to be 
removed by his death. The father propofed his foil’s exe¬ 
cution to a brave old general, who at the hazard of his 
own life refufed the deed. Another was not fo fcrupu- 
lous. He met the prince coming from the batli on a 
mule, attended only by a Angle page; and, feizing his 
bridle, bade him alight and die, in obedience to the royal 
pleafure. The prince exclaimed againft the injuftice of 
the fentence ; but added, “ Since it is God’s pleafure thus 
to difpofe of me, his will, and the king’s, be done.” He 
immediately received two liabs, and fell dead at the feet 
of his executioner. This aft, even in Perfia, occafioned 
a dangerous tumult of the people ; and the mother of 
the m.urdered prince ran to the fiiah’s apartments, and 
with bitter reproaches tore his face with her nails. Ab¬ 
bas bore it patiently, and was contented with vindicating 
bis conduft, from the danger of his own life. He even 
felt poignant remorfe. He fhut himfelf up ten days with 
his eyes covered, lived a month upon fpare diet, mourned 
a whole year, and never afterwards wore clothes which 
could diftinguifh him from thofe of the meaneft condi¬ 
tion. He likewife converted the place where his fon was 
killed into a fanftuary. His bloody difpofition, however, 
was rather irritated than foftened by this difafter. He in¬ 
vited all the khans whom he fufpefted to a banquet, and 
caufed them to die in his prefence by poifon; and after hav¬ 
ing, according to promife, rewarded his fon’s executioner 
by making him a khan, he obliged him to cut off his own 
Ion’s head, that he might feel the wretchednefs he had 
been inftrumental in occafioning. That his grand fon, of 
whom be was fond, might not cultivate popularity as his 
father had done, Abbas caufed opium to be adminiftered 
daily to him, in order to ftupify and weaken his facul¬ 
ties. 
Soon after the death of Sefi Mirza, the two remaining 
fons of Abbas were both deprived of fight by the cruel 
fufpicions of their unnatural parent. The late of one 
of thefe princes was (if we can credit the teftimony of a 
cotemporary writer of our own nation) attended with 
circumftances of the raoft tragical nature. This youth, 
whofe name was Khodah Bundah, was as much diftin- 
guilhed for his courage and talents as his elder brother; 
but he was more cautious to avoid that attention which 
he feared would roufe the jealoufy of his father, and he 
not only kept flatterers at a diftance, but hated to hear 
thofe juft praifes which his aftions obtained him. This 
condu6l only added to that fame which conftituted his 
danger. The firft aft by which Abbas (hawed his fufpi- 
cion was in ordering the tutor and attached friend of his 
fon to be put to death. Confcious that the only crime 
of this officer was too great a regard for his matter, the 
prince battened to court, and, in giving vent to the ho¬ 
ned indignation which the conduft of Abbas had kindled, 
be loft all confideration for his own fafety. We are told, 
that he was provoked to madnefs, and, in the prefence of 
his father and fovereign, drew his (word. The fatal fignal 
for his death was given; but Abbas relented fo far, as 
Vol. XIX. No. 1335. 
679 
only to deprive him of fight. Shut out from the light of 
day, the prince became gloomy and defperate; nothing 
could give him pleafure, and his life patted in venting 
curies and brooding over plans of vengeance againft the 
author of his being and of his mifery. He had two chil¬ 
dren ; of whom the eldeft, Fatima, a lovely girl, was a 
great favourite of her grandfather, over whole mind (lie 
had acquired the moft aftoniftiing influence. Abbas ap¬ 
peared miferable when little Fatima was not near him, 
and her voice alone could foot he him when ruffled by 
thofe violent paffions to which he everyday became more 
fubjeft. The prince learnt, with favage delight, how ef- 
fential his daughter had become to the happinefs of his 
father; and feizing her, as (he one day came to fondle 
upon his bofom, he in an inftant deprived her of life. 
The aftoniftied mother (hrieked, and told him it was his 
darling daughter that he was deftroying. Inftead of at¬ 
tending to her, his next effort was to feize his infant fon, 
that he might vent his fury upon him. The child was 
borne from him by the diftrafted princefs, who fent im¬ 
mediately to inform Abbas of what had occurred. The 
rage and defpair into which the fovereign was thrown 
gave a momentary joy to his fon; who, glutted with his 
terrible vengeance, concluded the fcene by fwallowing a 
dole of poifon, which in a moment terminated his mile- 
rable life. 
Such were the domeftic fcenes which marked the latter 
days of Abbas; who, however, ftill proceeding in the ca¬ 
reer of conqueft, took from the Curds the kingdom of 
Lar, compriling a confiderable part of Fars, or Perfia Pro¬ 
per. He alfo, in 1613, invaded Georgia, then (hared be¬ 
tween two princes, whom, by his deceitful policy, he de¬ 
tached from their mutual defen five alliance, and then, by 
means of various afts of perfidy, drove from their king¬ 
doms and ruined. He fecured the country by building 
numerous fortreffes and filling them with Perfians, and 
by tranfporting above 80,000 families of Georgians into 
different provinces of his own dominions, filling their 
places with Armenians and Perfians. About the fame 
time he took the city of Bagdat from the Turks, and 
next year repulfed the general who came to recover it. 
Two years afterwards, the (hall’s general gave a fignal de¬ 
feat to another Turkifli army which advanced for the 
fame purpofe. This viftory was fo welcome to Abbas, 
that, going to meet his general, he difmounted, and com- 
elled him to ride his horfe, while he himfelf and his 
bans followed fome paces on foot. 
One of the moft remarkable fuccefles of Shah Abbas 
was the taking of Ormuz, in the Perfian gulf, from the 
Portuguefe; in which exploit he received great afliftance 
from an Englifh fleet, which thus retaliated on the Portu¬ 
guefe the moleftation they hadgiven to their trade. The 
place furrendered to the Englifh, who delivered up the 
military (lores and all the Mahometans to the fliah’s ge¬ 
neral, and in return obtained a very advantageous com¬ 
mercial treaty for their nation. This happened in 162a. 
See Ormus, voi. xvii. 
About the end of 1628, Shah Abbas, being at his fa¬ 
vourite palace of Ferebad in Mazanderan, fell lick; and, 
perceiving the difeafe to be dangerous, he fent for four 
of the chief men of his council, and declared his grand- 
fon Sain Mirza, the fon of Sefi, his fucceffor. He com¬ 
manded his death to be kept concealed till the fucceflion 
was fecured ; and for this purpofe direfted that his body 
(hould be daily expofed in the hall of juftice in a chair of 
date f’6r fix Weeks, with the eyes open, and the back to 
the hangings, behind which an aga was to (land, who 
with a firing (hould make a motion with the arm by way 
of anfwer to queftions propofed from the other end of 
the hall. By this ridiculous farce.his death was kept a 
fecret for fix weeks. In order to conceal the real place 
of his funeral from his fubjefts, probably through fear of 
violation of his remains, he ordered his obfequies to be 
celebrated in three places at the fame time. It is proba¬ 
ble that he was buried at none of them ; but at Cufa, 
8 L near 
