Ādharbāyjān and its frontiers. Tabrīz, its foundation, many earthquakes. Inner Wall and Gates. New quarters built by Ghāzān Khān. Outer Wall and Gates. The suburb of Shām. The Great Mosque. Gardens and water- courses. Fruits. The Cemeteries and Shrines. The seven districts round Tabrīz. Ūjān or Shahr-i-Islām: its pious foundations. Ṭasūj or Ṭarūj. Ardabīl: Shaykh Ṣafī-ad-Dīn. The Rūyīn Diz Castle. Khalkhāl and Fīrūzābād. Hot and cold springs. The Shāhrūd and Pīshkīn districts. Castles and towns lying on Mount Sablān. Khoi and towns round the Urmīyah Lake. Sarāv and Miyānij. Marāghah and its districts. The Observatory. Dih Khwārqān and other towns. Marand and the Zalūbar river. The Kermes insect. Dizmār. The Khudā-Āfarīn bridge and the bridge built by Ḍiyā-al-Mulk over the Aras. Nakhchivān and Urdūbād
SECTION 3. Describing the province of Ādharbāyjān. This comprises nine tūmāns, with 27 cities. The most part thereof has a rather cold climate, but some little portion is temperate. Its frontiers extend to the provinces of Persian `Irāq, Mūghān, Gur- jistān, Armenia and Kurdistān. In length from Bākūyah to Khalkhāl it measures 95 leagues, and in breadth from Bājarvān to Mount Sīnā 55 leagues. The capital of Ādharbāyjān in former times was Marāghah: at the present day it is Tabrīz, which same is the finest and largest city in all the land of Īrān. The revenues of Ādharbāyjān in the days of the Saljūqs and Atabegs amounted to near 20,000,000 dīnārs of the money of the present time.
The (district of the) tūmān of Tabrīz comprises three cities.
Tabrīz. This city is of the Fourth Clime; and it was founded during the days of Islam, and it is as the Pole of Islam in Īrān. Its longitude is 82°, and its latitude 38°. It was founded by the Lady Zubaydah, wife of the Caliph Hārūn-ar-Rashīd, in the year 175 (791). Sixty-nine years later, namely in the year 244 (858) and during the reign of the Caliph Mutawakkil, it was destroyed by an earthquake, but the Caliph forthwith caused it to be rebuilt. Then one hundred and ninety years later, namely on the 14th of Ṣafar in the year 434 (4th October, 1042), it was again totally destroyed by an earthquake. Further the Qāḍī Rukn-ad-Dīn of Juvayn, in his Majma` Arbāb-al-Maslik*, asserts that the Astro- nomer Abū Ṭāhir of Shīrāz, being there present (in Tabrīz) at this time, had foretold that on a certain night the city would be laid in ruins by an earthquake, and he had urged that the authori- ties should by force bring the people out of the city and encamp them in the plain, in order that they might not all be destroyed by the falling walls. His prediction came true, for the city in the very night he had indicated was completely ruined, and some 40,000 men were killed in the disaster. Then the Amīr Vah- sūdhān ibn Muḥammad ibn Rawwād al-Azdī, who was governor of the province on the part of the Caliph Qāim, in the year 435 (1043) began to rebuild the city of Tabrīz under the guidance of the aforesaid Astronomer, at the time when the Sign of the Scorpion was in the ascendant. And this same Astronomer further asserted that for the future Tabrīz would not again be laid in ruins by an earthquake, but rather would be in danger by flood of water. Now this same, up to the present date, during the three hundred [<Arabic>] years that have elapsed since his pre- diction, has proved to be perfectly true; for though the city has been many times visited by earthquakes these have caused no great ruin; and the reason would appear to be that there being now numerous underground water-channels carried through the subsoil, also many wells dug down into the same, the earth’s vent-holes are so opened, that its puissant vapours no longer are dangerously compressed, and therefore violent earthquakes do not occur.
The circuit of the (inner) wall of Tabrīz measures 6000 paces: and it is pierced by ten gates named as follows: the Ray Gate, the Castle Gate, the Sanjān (or Sanjārān) Gate, the Gate of the Archway (Ṭāq), the Darūb Gate, the Cold-Stream Gate, the Dar- Dastī-Shāh Gate, with the Gates of Nārmiyān, Nawbarah, and Mawkilah, which last is a suburb. In Mongol times, when this city had become the capital of the kingdom, the population here greatly increased, and they began to build many houses outside the city limits, until at length at each gate there was a suburb, as great as the city itself had originally been. These suburbs therefore Ghāzān Khān proceeded to surround by a (second) wall, which should encircle also all the gardens and their buildings, with the villages lying on Mount Valiyān and also at Sanjān: all these came to be included therein, though the wall was not completed on account of the death of Ghāzān Khān. Its circuit measured 25,000 paces, and it had six gates, namely the Gates of Ūjān, Āhar, and Shirvān, of (the river) Sard-Rūd, of Shām and of (the river) Sarāv-Rūd. Near Tabrīz, at a place below the city called Shām, which lay outside the (second) wall he had built, Ghāzān Khān founded a suburb, and here for his own burial place he constructed lofty edifices the like of which are not to be seen throughout the whole of Īrān. Then above the city, and on the flank of Mount Valiyān, but within the wall of Ghāzān Khān, the Vazīr Rashīd-ad-Dīn built another suburb, which came to be known as the Rashīdī quarter, and here he constructed many high and magnificent palaces. Later his son, the Vazīr Muḥammad Ghiyāth-ad-Dīn, enlarged his father’s build- ings here. The Vazīr Tāj-ad-Dīn `Alī Shāh Jīlānī, outside the Nārmiyān quarter in Tabrīz, built a Friday Mosque, the court of which measured 250 [<Arabic>] ells by 200 ells. A great hall was constructed for this mosque, greater even than that of the Palace of the Chosroes at Madāin, but because they had built it in too great haste, it fell to the ground. As regards this mosque every effort was made for its magnificence, marble unstinted being used in its construction, but to describe it all would take too long a time*.
At the present day in all the land of Īrān there is no city with such large and magnificent buildings as are to be seen in Ṭabrīz, and in its two suburbs. The city too has many gardens, and there is the river Mihrān-Rūd, which rises in Mount Sahand, further 900 and odd underground water-channels, that have been dug by rich folk, and all these irrigate the gardens, and yet they are not sufficient. The water of these channels, also that coming from the river, belongs to the state: all except that from the Zāhid water-channel near the Ray gate, and the Za`farānī channel, at the Nārmiyān gate; with two-sixths of the water of the Rashīdī channel which same runs in six conduits. The climate of Tabrīz is rather cold: its water is wholesome, that of the river being better than the water from the underground channels, and this last better again than the well-water. In Tabrīz itself water is found in the wells at a depth of 30 ells more or less; in the Shām suburb it occurs at 10 ells, but in the Rashīdī quarter it is only reached at 70 ells. Tabrīz grows corn with other grain crops, and beans, of the utmost excellence. Fruit here is good, plentiful and cheap, more particularly pears, of the kinds called Tukhm-Khalaf, and Payghambarī, also Salātī apples, Ḥulwānī and Tukhm-Aḥmad plums, Rāziqī and Malikī grapes, and those small in size and of the kind called Ṭabarzad (sugar-candy): further Yāqūtī, Malikī, and Majd-ad-Dīnī melons; and the yellow plums of Tabrīz are not to be matched elsewhere. The people here are fair-skinned and handsome: but proud and boastful in bearing. Most are Sunnīs of the Shāfi`ite sect: but men of other sects and religions are numerous. Also in this city men of pleasure are very elegant, witty and handsome, whereby, as the saying is, ‘The Old are more attractive than the Young.’ Rich and poor alike occupy themselves with business, wherefore most people in these parts are become opulent. In companionship and friendship, however, they are very untrustworthy. Hence the following quatrain:
The Tabrīzī is of that nature that he can never become a sincere friend,
All the world is as the kernel, while he is the (rough) husk;
He whom in friendship thou findest not to be sincere,
Though he be an (utter) stranger, be sure that he is a Tabrīzī by nature (if not by birth). [<Arabic>]
This our Master Humām-ad-Dīn answered in the following quatrain:
Tabrīz is good, and all that comes from thence is good,
It is they who are the kernel, do not imagine them to be (rough) husks;
With those of an inimical temper they are not in harmony,
For never can an angel be the friend of demons.
Further I too have composed the following two quatrains:
Tabrīz is like paradise, and its people pure
Like the mirror that is clear of all stain of rust,
Thou sayest that they are not sincere in their friendship,
But the mirror only can give back what it reflects.
And again:
Tabrīz is paradise and its people are like Houris,
Houris by inclination are averse from evil-doers:
They do not mingle with nobodies and nonentities,
For a stink and perfume will not combine.
In Tabrīz wine-bibbers go about with shameless effrontery, and this condition is an evil state that infames the good name of the city. The cemeteries lie dispersed in various directions: namely in the Surkhāb, Jarāndāb, Kajīl, Shām, Mount Valiyān, Siyārān and other quarters; and in these cemeteries may be found many blessed graves, as for example that of the Faqīh (Jurisconsult) Zāhid, of Imām Ja`dah, of Ibrāhīm Kuwāhān, of Bābā Faraj and of Bābā Ḥasan, of Khwājah Ḍiyā-ad-Dīn, of Kamālīnī and Bālīnī of Tabrīz, of Ḥasan Bulghārī, and of the Shaykh Nūr-ad-Dīn Samāristāni*. Then in the Poets’ Grave- yard, at Surkhāb, lie buried Anvarī and Khāqānī, Ẓahīr-ad-Dīn of Fāryāb and Shams-ad-Dīn of Sujās, Falakī of Shīrvān and other poets. In the village of Dih Kajūjān is the tomb of Khwājah Muḥammad Kajūjānī, and in Dih Shādābād lies Pīr- i-Shīrvān, and many other saints. Of the Companions of the Prophet there is on Mount Sahand the tomb of the Arab general Usāmah ibn Shurayk, while on the bank of the river Sarāv-Rūd is the grave of Abū-l-Muḥjan the Kurd, and in the cemetery by the river Sard-Rūd is the shrine of Qays. In the Bāvīl-Rūd cemetery is the shrine of `Ajal the brother of Ḥamzah (the Prophet’s Uncle), in the Surkhāb cemetery the tomb of Umayyah ibn `Amr ibn Umayyah, and besides there are many other graves of holy men, throughout the city, and its neighbourhood, the full recital of which would be wearisome.
The revenues of the city go to the Treasury, and in the year 40 of the Khānī Era (A.D. 1341) these amounted to 8,705,000 dīnārs, as inscribed in the registers. Tabrīz has seven districts. The first [<Arabic>] is that on the river Mihrān-Rūd, and it lies to the east- ward of the city, at a distance of 5 leagues from the town gates. Kand-Rūd, Isfanj and Sa`dābād are its largest villages. The second is the Sard-Rūd district, occupying a plain lying to the south-west of the city and one league distant. Here the villages of the Sard-Rūd and the gardens of the city are con- tinuous, most of the lands being so intermingled that it is impossible to distinguish what gardens belong to which village. Excellent fruit is grown here; and its chief villages are Sardast, Dūsht, Jūlāndaraq, Alghānbadar, Kajābād and Lākdaraj. The plain here grows corn, and the water of the Sarāv-Rūd inundates its arable lands. The third district is that of the famous Bāvīl- Rūd, lying in the angle to the south-west, 4 leagues distant from the city, and a most delightful land. It is indeed all one garden, that cancels all mention of Sughd (Sogdiana) round Samar- qand, or of the Ghawṭah round Damascus, emulating the Shi`b Bavvān Valley (in Fārs) and the Māshān-Rūd district of Hamadān. It comprises 25 villages of which the largest are Bāvīl, Khūrshāh, Mīlān and Askūnah. The fourth district is that of Arūnaq lying to the westward of the city: beginning at 3 leagues distant, and extending for a space of 15 leagues, its breadth being 5 leagues. It gives excellent crops, and for their corn, grapes and fruit all the districts round Tabrīz depend on its harvests. It comprises 30 villages, for the most part so large as to be each like a provin- cial town, amongst which are Sanar and Sanast, Salsūrūd, Dābi- ghān, Kūzah-Kunān (the Potteries), Sūfiyān with some others. The fifth district is that of Rūdqāb, lying at the back of the Surkhāb mountain, one league to the north of the city, and extending thence for 4 leagues. It is extremely fertile in corn growing, and there 10 Mann-weight of meal produces 16 Mann- weight of bread. There are here near 40 villages, of which Rūd- Hind, Sārū, Alanjiq and Ūfarīd are the largest. The sixth district is that of Khānum-Rūd. The seventh is called Badūstān, which lies also to the north of the city, behind the Rūdqāb [<Arabic>] district. It comprises 30 villages, of which the largest are Mādargāv and Ūrīshāq.
The revenues of these districts amount to 100,000 dīnārs and a fraction: and the places called Ahjūm (or Injūham), that are situated in these districts, and which are pious foundations, de- pendent on the private property of Ghāzān Khān, these are assessed at 185,000 dīnārs. The total revenue of the province amounts to 275,000 dīnārs, and including revenue due to the Treasury from the city, the amount is 1,150,000 dīnārs. The distances from Tabrīz to the various places in Ādharbāyjān are as follows; to Ūjān 8 leagues; to Ardabīl 30; to Ushnūyah 30; to Urmīyah 24; to Āhar 14; to Pīshkīn 18; to Khoi 20; to Salmās 18, but going round by Marāghah it is 26 leagues; to Sarāv 20; to Marāghah 20; to Dih-Khwārqān 8; to Marand 15; and lastly to Nakhchivān 24 leagues.
Ūjān (Awjān). Of the Fourth Clime. In the old registers it is counted as of the Mihrān-Rūd district (of Tabrīz), but this is incorrect. It was founded by Bīzhan son of Gīv son of Gūdarz (in the time of king Kay Khusraw. (Of late years) Ghāzān Khān rebuilt it, and surrounded it with a wall constructed of mortared stone, renaming it Shahr-i-Islām (Islam City), and making it temporarily his capital. The circuit of this wall was 3000 paces. Its climate is cold: water comes from the Sahand mountain, and its lands produce corn and beans, but fruit and cotton are not grown. The population, who are fair-skinned, are of the Shāfi`ite sect, and there is here a community of Christians. Its revenues, which belong to the Treasury, amount to 10,000 dīnārs. Its farms, many of which lie in the tract called Ḥukām, are very fertile, giving excellent corn crops. Their harvests, together with the produce (of the lands round) the town, all belong to the foundation for charitable bequests, which Ghāzān Khān instituted; and these lands include several other great villages of parts ad- jacent, as for instance Sarmān and Janqān.
Ṭasūj (or Ṭarūj). A provincial town lying two marches to the west of Tabrīz, and situated on the north side of the Chīchast (Urmīyah) Lake. It has many gardens, and fruit there is good and plentiful: it is warmer than Tabrīz, and by reason of its nearness to the Lake it is damp. Its water is from a stream [<Arabic>] coming down from the mountains there: also from wells. The people are of a mixed race, being Turks and Tājīks (Persians). Its revenues amount to about 5000 dīnārs as on the registers: and this sum has been made over to the charitable foundations instituted by the Īl-Khān Abū Sa`īd.
In the Ardabīl tūmān there are two cities: Ardabīl and Khalkhāl.
Ardabīl. Of the Fourth Clime, its longitude being 82° 20', and its latitude 38°. It was founded by Kay Kāūs son of Siyāwush the Kayānian, and it stands at the foot of Mount Sablān. Its climate is extremely cold; hence corn cannot all be ground in the same year in which it is sown, and some re- mains for the next year; and except for wheat, no other grain is grown here. Its water is from streams coming down from Mount Sablān: and it is most digestible, for which reason the people here are great eaters. Most of the population are of the Shāfi`ite sect, being followers of the Shaykh Ṣafī-ad-Dīn*. The district comprises about 100 villages, all of the cold region. On the summit of Mount Sablān was a strong castle called Diz Bahman or Rūyīn Diz: and in the Shāh Nāmah* it is related that when Kay Khusraw and Farīburz were fighting together for the sovereignty, it was agreed that it should belong to him who took this castle. Now Farīburz failed to conquer it; but Kay Khusraw did take it into his possession so the sovereignty came to him. This castle is now a ruin. (The Castle of) Diz Shīdān, where was the stronghold of Bābak-i-Khurram-Dīn, lies in the mountains near Ardabīl on the Jīlān frontier. The revenues of Ardabīl amount to 85,000 dīnārs, as inscribed on the registers.
Khalkhāl. This was formerly a fair sized town, it is now but a village, with about a hundred hamlets belonging thereto. Round and about are four districts: and these are Khāmidah- Bīl, Sajasrūd, Anjīlābād and Mīsjīn. In former days the city of Fīrūzābād, which stood at the summit of the Bardalīz pass, was the residence of the governor of the province; and the governors here have the name of Āqājariyān. [<Arabic>] After Fīrūzābād had gone to ruin, Khalkhāl became the seat of government: but now this too has become a ruin. In this district, near the village of Dih Kūyī, there is a valley, and on the sunny side of this valley there rises a spring the water of which during the whole summer is frozen over with ice; while on the shady side (of the same valley), which is called Qazhāvanah Yasār, there is another spring the water of which (is so hot that it) will boil an egg. One league distant from Khalkhāl stands a mountain, the side of which is perpendicular and like a wall, being about 200 ells in height. At its summit there projects a crag from the mountain peak, some 15 ells in height, and on this peak there is a spring that never ceases to pour forth water, sufficient to turn two mills, and the irrigation of the fields of Khalkhāl is all derived from this source. In its neighbourhood are excellent pasture lands, and indeed here the clotted-milk (called Māst) is so thick that it has to be cut with a knife, as though it were cheese. The hunting-grounds too are numerous, and well stocked with game, which same is always in fat condition. The revenues of Khalkhāl amount to 30,000 dīnārs.
Dārmarzīn. A district with a hundred villages, of which the most considerable are Qūl, Jāmkū and Zahr. Its revenues amount to 29,000 dīnārs on the registers.
Shāhrūd. A district that adjoins that of the Ṭālish districts: comprising some 30 villages, of which the largest are Shāl, Kalūr, Ḥimṣ, Darūd and Kīlvān. It has a temperate climate, rather warm, producing excellent corn, though but little fruit. The people profess to be of the Shāfi`ite sect, but in truth they have no faith, being an irreligious folk. The revenues amount to 10,000 dīnārs as given on the registers.
The tūmān of Pīshkīn (or Mīshkīn) comprises seven cities, namely: Pīshkīn, Khiyāv, Anād, Arjāq, Āhar, Takalafah and Kalanbar*.
Pīshkīn. This is of the Fourth Clime: its longitude is 82° 20', and its latitude 37° 40'. Originally it bore the name of Varāvī, but after Pīshkīn the Georgian had come to be governor there, it was called after his name. The climate is rather damp, for the reason that [<Arabic>] Mount Sablān, lying to the south of it, keeps off the sun. Its water is from that mountain’s streams. Corn and fruit grow here abundantly. The people are of the Shāfi`ite sect, some being Ḥanafites, with a few Shī`ahs. The revenues amount to 5200 dīnārs: and the district is apportioned among military fief-holds, some five tūmāns (50,000 men) being allocated here.
Anād and Arjāq. These are two provincial towns lying to the south-west of Mount Sablān. Anād was founded by Fīrūz son of Yazdagird the Sassanian. Originally it was called Shādān, or else Shād-Fīrūz. Arjāq was built by Qubād son of this Fīrūz. The climate of both towns is temperate: the water is from streams rising in Mount Sablān, and there are numerous excellent gardens, where fruits and grapes and melons and nuts in quan- tities grow. Some 20 villages lie near and about, the revenues amounting to 7000 dīnārs.
Āhar. This is a small town with a cold climate, taking its water from a river called after the town, which rises in Mount Ashkanbar. There are also wells, and underground water-chan- nels for the town. The crops are corn and a little fruit. The people are of the Shāfi`ite sect. The revenues belong to the Treasury, producing about 10,000 dīnārs assessed on the crops. The district comprises some 20 villages, and these further are assessed at about 5000 dīnārs.
Takalafah. This was a provincial town, but is now in ruins. Its lands produced corn, for they were very fertile.
Khiyāv. Also a provincial town, lying to the south-west of Mount Sablān, and as Sablān protects it from the north, its climate is warm. Its water is from that mountain’s streams: it has few gardens, and its crop is in the main corn. Its people for the most part are boot-makers and cloth-workers. The revenues amount to 2000 dīnārs.
Darāvard. This of old was a provincial town, but now it is merely (the name of) a district, where certain of the Mongols have their winter-quarters. It produces corn, cotton and rice.
Qal`ah Kahrān (Kahrān Castle). This formerly was a strong castle, but it is now in ruins. Its lands produce corn and good cotton [<Arabic>].
Kalanbar*. A provincial town, that stands in the middle of a forest and among great mountains. There is here a strong castle, at the base of which flows a river. Its climate is temperate. It takes its water from the aforesaid river, and its crops produce corn, fruits and grapes. The population are mixed Turk and Ṭālish tribes, being of the Shāfi`ite sect. Its revenues amount to the sum of 3000 dīnārs, as inscribed in the registers.
Kīlān Faṣlūn. A district that comprises some 50 villages of the Ṭālish country: but the people here are so godless in belief that, but for the name, they are scarcely human beings. Excellent crops of corn, cotton and rice are raised here.
Murdān Naqīm. A district, of which the largest villages are those of Kavānī, Kalālah and Jirm. They produce fine crops of corn, grapes and other fruit: and many of the lands lie along the bank of the river Aras. The revenues amount to 8700 dīnārs.
Naw Diz (New Fort)*. A castle that is now in ruins, stand- ing on the summit of a hill, at the foot of which flows the Āhar river. Some 20 villages are of its dependencies, of which the chief are Hūl, Būl and Hinduvān: Hūl being the residence of the governor; where too there are preserved certain relics of the Prophet Muḥammad, that are most impressive. The climate here is rather warm. Its water is from the Āhar river, also from wells: its crops are corn, cotton and rice, also there are many gardens which produce excellent fruit, such as grapes. Its revenues amount to 11,000 dīnārs. In the registers this district goes by the name of Bulūk Īnjū.
Yāft (Māft, or Bāft). A district with some 20 villages, lying in the mīdst of a forest. Its climate is warm, and it produces corn, with some fruit, its revenues amounting to 4000 dīnārs.
The Khuvī (Khoi) tūmān comprises four towns, Khoi, Salmās, Urmīyah and Ushnūyah.
Khoi. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 79° 40', and latitude 37° 40'. A medium-sized town, being 6500 paces in circuit. [<Arabic>] Its climate is rather warm, its water coming from the Salmās hills, and the streams flowing down to the Aras. It has many gardens, and the like of its grapes and Payghambarī pears, for sweetness and size and flavour, is found nowhere else. Its people are fair-skinned, being of Chinese (Khitāy) descent, and very good looking; for which reason Khoi is known as the Turk country of Īrān. There are near 80 villages of its dependencies, of which Khirs and Badhalābād are the best known: and the revenues amount to 53,000 dīnārs.
Salmās. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 79° 14', and lati- tude 37° 40': a large town. Its walls had fallen into ruin, but the Vazīr Tāj-ad-Dīn `Alī Shāh Tabrīzī* restored them and their circuit is 8000 paces. It has a rather cold climate. Its water is from streams that come down from the Kurdistān hills, and flow out to the Chīchast (Urmīyah) Lake. It has many gardens, producing excellent fruit such as grapes: and good wheat with other grain crops are grown here. The people are Sunnīs, and very religious. They are ever at war with the neighbouring Kurds, for quarrels are perpetual between the two peoples, being so to speak the natural state, and a hereditary condition, hence peace is never made between them. The revenues amount to 39,000 dīnārs.
Urmīyah. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 79° 45', and latitude 37° 45'. It is a great city, being 10,000 paces in circuit, standing on the shore of the Chīchast Lake. Its climate is warm and rather damp: its water is taken from springs that rise in the hills, and they flow down into the Lake. It has large gardens, which produce the grape of most excellent quality called Khulūqī, and the Payghambarī pear, and yellow plums. The people of Tabrīz have a saying, in their Turkish dialect, referring to the first mentioned fruit, for if they meet a handsome man in ragged clothes, they speak of him as ‘Khulūqi grapes in a torn basket.’ The inhabitants for the most part are of the Sunnī sect. Of its dependencies are 120 [<Arabic>] villages, and their farms are extremely productive. The revenues amount to 74,000 dīnārs.
Ushnūyah. A medium-sized town, standing among the hills one march to the south-west of Urmīyah. Its climate is better than that of Urmīyah; its water is taken from streams that rise in the hills round. Its lands produce corn and other cereals, also grapes. Most of the population are Sunnīs. Of its dependencies are 120 villages, the lands of which are very productive. The revenues amount to 19,300 dīnārs.
Sarāv (Sarāh, Sarāt or Sarāb), in the tūmān of the same name, is a city of medium size, situated in the Fourth Clime, and lying to the south-east of Mount Sablān. Its climate is cold, and it takes its water from the river which is called after the name of the town, and which, rising in Mount Sablān, flows out into the Chīchast Lake. Its crops of corn and other cereals are abundant, but grapes and fruits are less plentiful. The popu- lation is fair-skinned. They are of the Sunnī sect, and noted as gluttons. In the dependencies are about a hundred villages; and there are four districts, namely Ravand, Darand, Barāghūsh and Saqhar, whose farms produce excellent corn. The revenues amount to 81,000 dīnārs.
Miyānij and Garmrūd. Miyānij was formerly a considerable town, but is now of the size of a village, with a few dependencies. Its climate is warm and damp, and there are gnats in quantities. Garmrūd is the name of a district, comprising about a hundred villages, with a better climate than that of Miyānij. Corn, cotton, rice, grapes and other fruits grow here: also cereals. Its chief streams rise in the neighbouring hills, and their flood-waters flow out to the Safīd Rūd. The population is fair-skinned and of the Turk race. Its revenues amount to 25,800 dīnārs.
The Marāghah tūmān includes four cities, Marāghah, Basavā, Dih-Khwārqān and Nīlān. [<Arabic>]
Marāghah. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 82° 70', and latitude 37° 20'. It is a large town, and formerly was the capital city of Ādharbāyjān. Its climate is temperate, but rather damp, for the reason that Mount Sahand shelters it on the north side. It has many gardens, and its water is from the Sāfī river, which rises in Mount Sahand, and flows out to the Chīchast Lake. Its lands produce corn, cotton, grapes and other fruits, and for the most part the prices here are cheap. There are six districts round Marāghah, namely Sarājūn, Niyājūn, Daraj- Rūd, Hasht-Rūd and Gāvdūk: further, Bihistān, Angūrān and Valāvrān are of its dependencies. The people here are fair- skinned, and of Turk race, and for the most part are of the Ḥana- fite sect. They speak a Pahlavī (Persian dialect) mixed with Arabic. The revenues belong to the Treasury, and amount to 70,000 dīnārs, while from the aforesaid districts the amount is 185,500 dīnārs. Outside Marāghah Naṣīr-ad-Dīn of Ṭūs, the Astronomer, built an Observatory, by order of Hūlāgū Khān*, but this now is in ruins.
Basavā (or Pasavā). A small town, and its streams come down from the neighbouring hills, flowing out to the Chīchast Lake. Its lands produce corn, grapes and some other fruits; its revenues amounting to 25,000 dīnārs.
Dih Khwārqān. A small town, having a temperate climate. Its water is from Mount Sahand, and there are numerous gardens. The grapes here are beyond compare: corn, cotton and fruits of all kinds grow excellently. The population are fair-skinned, and follow the sect of Imām Shāfi`ī. Eight districts surround the town, and the revenues amount to 23,600 dīnārs.
Nīlān (or Laylān). A small town with many gardens. Corn, cotton, grapes and much fruit come from here; its water is from the Jaghtū river and from wells. The population is of Turk race, and they follow the Ḥanafite sect. The revenues amount to 10,000 dīnārs.
The Marand tūmān [<Arabic>] has many districts of its depend- encies.
Marand. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 81° 55', and lati- tude 37° 59'. It was a large town, the walls having been 8000 paces in circuit: but at the present time only about half of the place is standing. The climate is temperate, and its water is from the Zalūbar river*. Corn, cotton and other cereals grow here: also grapes and fruit: of which the peach and the plum are above all excellent. Of the neighbourhood are some 60 villages, having fine crops and fertile lands. In the plains to the south of Marand the Qirmiz* insect is found: this can only be obtained during a single week during the summer season, and if the insect be not taken then, it makes a hole (in its cocoon) and flies away. The revenues of Marand and its dependencies amount to 24,000 dīnārs.
Dizmār. A district to the north of Tabrīz, comprising some 50 villages, more or less, of which the largest are called Dūzāl, Kūrdasht, Qūlān, Harār, Khūr and Athaq*. The climate is tem- perate though rather warm, and for water a stream comes down from the hills, its flood-waters going to join the Aras river. The crops consist of corn, cotton and fruit of all kinds; all these will grow here in greater abundance than elsewhere, and early vege- tables for Tabrīz are brought in from this district. The revenues amount to 40,800 dīnārs.
Zangiyān. To this belong several villages, but all are now counted as part of Murdān Naqīm. In the neighbourhood is the Bridge of Khudā Āfarīn (Praise be to God) over the Aras river, which was built in the year 15 (636) by Bakr ibn `Abd-Allah, one of the Companions of the Prophet.
Rīvaz*. A market town having many gardens; its crops are corn, grapes and fruit; and especially excellent is the white apple grown here, called Qiblī. Its revenues amount to 3000 dīnārs.
Karkar*. A market town: its crops are corn, cotton [<Arabic>], grapes and other fruit. Near it stands the bridge over the Aras, built by Ḍiyā-al-Mulk Nakhchivānī, which is one of the finest buildings due to private beneficence.
The Nakhchivān tūmān comprises five towns.
Nakhchivān. Of the Fourth Clime, in longitude 80° 55' and latitude 33° 40'. The town was built by Bahrām Chūbīn, and is a fine place: and may be indeed called ‘the world picture’ (Naqsh-i-Jahān). Most of its buildings are of burnt brick: its crops are corn, cotton, grapes and some fruit. The population is fair-skinned, and they are of the sect of Shāfi`ī. In the neigh- bourhood stand many strong castles, among the rest Alanjiq, Sūrmārī, Taghmar and Faghān. Its revenues amount to 113,000 dīnārs.
Ajnān (Akhbān or Ajfān). This place is also known as Kār-khānah (the Workshop) because there is here a copper mine.
Urdūbād. A provincial town with fine gardens, growing ex- cellent grapes, corn and cotton. Its streams come down from Mount Qubān, and its flood-waters flow out to the Aras river.
Āzād. A small town. Its crops are corn, cotton and grapes in abundance, and the wine made here is famous. Its river comes down from Mount Qubān, and flows into the Aras. The popu- lation are fair-skinned; but of cruel nature. The revenues amount to 18,300 dīnārs.
Mākūyah. A castle in the cleft of a rock, and at the foot lies a village, which stands in the shade till mid-day, being under its shadow. In this place lives the Chief Priest, whom they call the Marjānīthā*.