A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, Volume 2 · Body of volume 2 · Section 3
An Account of the City of Pruſa in Bithynia, and a Continuation of the Hiſtorical Obſervations relating to Conſtantinople; by the Reverend and Learned Tho. Smith, D.D. Fellow of Magd. Coll. Oxon. and of the Royal Society.
MOntanea, formerly called Nicopolis, according to Bellonius, or rather Cios, the Bay hence called Sinus Cianus, lies in the bottom of a Bay about fourſcore miles from Conſtantinople, and is the ſcale or landing-place for Pruſa, from which it may be about twelve miles; in the middle way to which is the Village Mouſſanpoula.
Pruſa, now called by the Turks Burſia, the chief City of Bithynia, is ſeated at the foot partly, and partly upon the riſing of the Mount Olympus, which is one of the higheſt Hills of the leſſer Aſia. Its top is covered with Snow for nine or ten months of the year, ſeveral ſtreams of Water flowing down the Hill continually, accounted very unwholſome from the Snow mixed with it. In the upper part of the City to the North-weſt lies the Seraglio, which is walled round; but the Emperors not reſiding here ſince their acquiſts in Thrace, or ſcarce making viſits to this Imperial City, and none of their Sons living he…e of late, according to the former policy of the Turkiſh Emperors, who did not permit their Sons, when grown up, to be near them, but ſent them to ſome honourable Employment, accompanied with a Baſſa and Cadi, to inſtruct them in the Arts of War and Government; it lies now neglected and deſpoyled of all its Ornaments.
In this part alſo are the Sepulchres of Oſman, the Founder of the Family which now reigns, and his Son Urchan, who took the City, near a Moſch, formerly a Chriſtian Church dedicated to St. John, and where was formerly a Convent of Religious, built by Conſtantinus Iconomachus, where I ſaw the figure of a Croſs ſtill remaining upon the Wall. Here hangs up a great Drum of a vaſt bigneſs, ſuch as they carry upon the backs of Camels, and I ſuppoſe is one of thoſe which they uſed in the taking of the place.
In the lower part, near the bottom of the Hill, Norad the ſecond, the Father of Mahomet the Great, lies buried; near whereunto was formerly the Metropolitical Church of the Holy Apoſtles. The Bezeſten, or Exchange, ſeems to be much better and larger than the great one at Conſtantinople, as are the ſeveral Caravanſerais built for the uſe and accommodation of Merchants and Travellers; in one of which, the Rice Chane, I took up my quarters.
Without the City, toward the Eaſt, is the Moſch and Sepulchre of the Emperor Bajazid the firſt, whom the Turks call Jilderim, or Lightning, and the Greek Writers foreign. Not far from hence is the Moſch of Mahomet the firſt, and his Sepulchre. Toward the Weſt, upon the ſide of the Hill, is the Moſch of Morad the firſt, whom they call Gazi, or the Conqueror, near which he lies buried. There are in the whole about 124 Moſchs, ſeveral of which were formerly Chriſtian Churches, and between fifty and ſixty Chanes. The Caſtles built by Oſman, when he beſieged the City, are ſlighted and altogether unfortified, the one to the North, the other to the South-weſt.
At Checkerghe, about a mile and a half out of Town, are the hot Baths, much frequented both by Chriſtians and Turks. They are made very convenient to bath in, and are covered over, that they may be uſed in all weathers. Among others, there is a large round Baſin, where they uſually divert themſelves by ſwimming.
What Opinions the Turks have of our B. Saviour and the Chriſtian Religion, I ſhall briefly ſhew, as they lye diſperſed in ſeveral Chapters of the Alcoran, according to which they frame their Diſcourſe whenſoever either Zeal or Curioſity puts them upon this Topick; for Mahomet, upon his ſetting up to be the Author of a new Religion, finding ſuch a conſiderable part of the World profeſſing the Doctrine of Chriſt, with all the Myſteries of Faith therein contained, was caſt upon a neceſſity of ſaying ſomething both concerning him and it. By which it will appear how great the power of Truth is above Impoſture and Subtilty, and that as the Devils in the poſſeſſed confeſs'd, though againſt their wills, Chriſt to be the Son of God, ſo this Daemoniack, in the midſt of all his Forgeries and Lyes, and ridiculous and childiſh Narratives, not being able to contradict the univerſal Belief of the Chriſtians of that, and the preceeding Ages, founded on the Hiſtory of the Goſpel, hath been forced to give teſtimony to ſeveral particulars of it.
They confeſs then, that Chriſt was born of a pure ſpotleſs Virgin, the Virgin Mary, choſen by God, and ſanctified above all the Women in the World; and that the Angel Gabriel was diſpatched out of Heaven, to acquaint her with the news of it. That ſuch a kind of miraculous and ſupernatural Birth never hapned to any beſides, and that Chriſt was conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, and that he wrought mighty Miracles, for inſtance, that he cleanſed Lepers, gave Sight to the Blind, reſtored Sick perſons to their Health, and raiſed the Dead.
That he is a great Prophet, ſent by God to convert men from the vanity and error of their falſe worſhip to the knowledge of the true God, to preach Righteouſneſs, and to correct and reſtore the imperfection and miſcarriages of human Nature; that he was of a moſt holy and exemplary life; that he was the true Word of God, the Apoſtle or Ambaſſador of God; that his Goſpel was revealed to him from Heaven, and that he is in Heaven ſtanding nigh to the Throne of God. They blaſpheme indeed with a brutiſhneſs and ſtupidity only befitting Turks, the Myſteries of the Holy Trinity, and of the Divinity of our B. Saviour, and deny that he was put to death, and ſay, that another in his ſhape was crucified by the Jews, and that he himſelf was aſſumed into Heaven in his body without dying at all, and conſequently they will not own, that he ſatisfied Divine Juſtice for the Sins of the World; ſo great an affinity is there between the Hereſie of Socinus and profeſs'd Mahometaniſm.
I could never yet ſee any Turkiſh Tranſlation of the Alcoran; they cry up the elegance of the ſtyle, which being Enthuſiaſtick and high-flown, by reaſon alſo of the tinkling of the periods, is very delightful to their Ears, who ſeem to be affected with Rythme mightily. Though I ſuppoſe it is upon a more politick account, that they are ſo averſe, as to the tranſlating it into their vulgar Language, not out of reſpect to the ſacredneſs of the Original only, whoſe full commanding Expreſſions they think cannot be tranſlated without a great diminution to the ſence; but to keep it in greater veneration among the People, who might be apt to ſlight and diſeſteem it, ſhould it become thus common among them. It is enough that the Prieſts and Learned men explain the difficult paſſages of it to the people, and write Commentaries for the uſe of the more curious and inquiſitive. The Perſians on the contrary think it no diſparagement to the Arabick, or profanation of the ſence, to tranſlate this curſed Book into their own Language, and Copies are frequent among them.
The Grand Signior's Women are uſually the choiceſt Beauties of the Chriſtian Spoiles, preſented by the Baſſa's or Tartars. The preſent Sultana, the Mother of the young Prince Muſtapha, is a Candiot; the Valide or Emperors Mother, a Ruſſian, the Daughter of a poor Prieſt, who with her Relations were ſeized upon by the Tartars, in an Incurſion which they made into the Muſcovites Country. She being received into the Seraglio, by her beautiful Complexion and cunning Behaviour, gain'd the Heart and the Affection of Sultan Ibrahim, (a man wholly addicted to ſoft Pleaſures, and who ſeldom cared to be long abſent from the Womens Apartment, but choſe to ſpend his time among them.) Having the good Fortune to be the Mother of the Prince Mahomet, the eldeſt Son of his Father, who now reigns, ſhe had all the Honours that could poſſibly be done her, and was the beloved Hazaki, or chief Concubine. During this height of Splendour and Glory, the Court removing from Conſtantinople to Adrianople, diſtant about an hundred and twenty miles, as ſhe was paſſing in great ſtate attended with her Guards, through the Streets of the City, in a Coach much like our Carriage-wagons, but that they are latticed to let in the Air (for no one muſt preſume to ſtare, or ſcarce look upon the Women, much leſs muſt they themſelves ſuffer their Faces to be ſeen in this jealous Country) ſhe out of curioſity looking through the holes, ſaw a poor Chriſtian Slave in a Shop where Sugar and ſuch-like Wares were ſold. Upon her return ſhe ſent one of her Eunuchs to enquire for the perſon, and to ask him ſeveral Queſtions about his Country, Relations, Friends, and the time when and how long he had been a Slave: His Anſwers were ſo particular and ſatisfactory, that ſhe was ſoon convinc'd of the truth and certainty of her apprehenſions, when ſhe firſt caſt her Eyes upon him, that he was her Brother, and accordingly it proved ſo. Whereupon acquainting the Emperor with it, ſhe immediately redeemed him from his Patron, and having made the poor Wretch turn Turk, got him conſiderably preferred.
The Baſſa's for the moſt part are the Sons of Chriſtians, taken into the Seraglio, near the Emperor's perſon, and ſo are preferr'd to conſiderable Governments, or elſe they raiſe themſelves by their Conduct and Valour. Mahomet Baſſa, in the time of Achmet, whoſe eldeſt Daughter he married, was the firſt natural Turk that was made chief Vizier, having before been Captain Baſſa. The chief Vizier Mahomet Kupriuli, (who ſettled the Empire in the minority of this Emperor, when it was ready to be ſhaken into pieces, and diſſolved by ſeveral powerful Factions in the State, and by the Mutinies and Diſcontents of Janizaries and Spahi's, who drove different ways) was an Albaneſe by Birth, the Son of a Greek Brieſt, whom out of the height of his zeal for Mahomet, he made turn Turk in his old age, and converted the Chriſtian Church in the Village where he was born, into a Moſch. This man alſo forbad the Derviſes to dance in a ring and turn round, which before was their ſolemn practice at ſet times before the People, which they would do ſo long, till they were giddy by this ſwift circular motion, and fell down in a ſwoon, and then oftentimes upon their recovery from ſuch Trances, they pretended to revelation. The Churchmen are not very kind to his memory, looking upon him as a man of little or no Religion; and they give out, that if he had lived, he would have forbid their calling to Prayers from the Spires of their Moſchs, and hanging out Lamps; both which they look upon as ſolemn and eſſential to the exerciſe of Religion; but he as the effect of Bigottry and Superſtitition.
They have a mighty honour and eſteem for Phyſicians, for though they are of opinion, that they cannot with all their Art prolong Life, the period and term of it being fatal, and abſolutely determin'd by God, yet they often conſult them upon any violent ſickneſs or pain, in order to make the time allotted them in this World more pleaſant and eaſie. It is extraordinary rare, that a natural Turk makes Phyſick his profeſſion and ſtudy. They who practiſe it among them, when I was in Turkey, were for the moſt part Greeks and Jews, who know nothing of chymical Medicines, but follow the uſual methods, which they learnt in Italy and Spain, the former having ſtudied in Padua, and the latter in Salamanca, where they paſs'd for good Catholicks. And I remember I met with a certain Jew Phyſician, who had been a Capucine in Portugal. During the tedious Siege of Candia, the Vizier, what with Melancholy, and what with the ill air of the Camp, finding himſelf much indiſpos'd, ſent for a Chriſtian Phyſician Signior Maſſalini, a Subject of the Republick of Venice, but married to a Greek Woman, by whom he had ſeveral Children, who was our Neighbour at Pera, an experienc'd able man, to come ſpeedily to him, and made him a Preſent of about a thouſand Dollars, in order to fit himſelf for the Voyage, and bear the expence of it. By this worthy Gentleman's care he recovered his Health, and would not permit him to depart, till after the ſurrender of that City, which might be about ſeven months after his arrival there, treating him in the mean while with all imaginable reſpect. During our ſhort ſtay at Burſia, one of our Janizaries accidentally diſcourſing with a Turk about us, whom they knew to be Franks, told him that there was a Phyſician in the company, who had been lately at the Grand Signior's Court at Saloniki with the Engliſh Ambaſſador, and was now upon his return from Conſtantinople to Smyrna, where he lived. This preſently took vent, and the Turks thought that they had got a man among them that could cure all Diſeaſes infallibly; for ſeveral immediately came to find us out in behalf of themſelves or their ſick Friends, and one of the moſt conſiderable men upon the place, deſired the Doctor to go to his Houſe to viſit one of his Women ſick in Bed, who being permitted to feel her naked Pulſe (for uſually they throw a piece of fine Silk or Curle over their Womens Wriſts at ſuch times) ſoon diſcovered by that and other ſymptoms and indications of her Diſtemper, that opening a Vein would preſently give her eaſe, and recover her; which he did accordingly; for which he received an embroidered Handkerchief inſtead of a Fee, and gained the reputation of having done a mighty Cure.
They have little of ingenious or ſolid Learning among them; their chief ſtudy, next to the Alcoran, being metaphyſical Niceties about the Attributes of God, or elſe the maintenance of other odd ſpeculative Notions and Tenents, derived down to them from ſome of their famed Maſters and Holy men, whom they pretend to follow. Their knowledge of the motion of the Heavens, for which the Arabians and the other Eaſtern Nations have been ſo deſervedly famous, as their Aſtronomical Tables of the Longitude and Latitude of the fixed Stars, and of the appulſe of the Moon to them, fully evince, is now very mean, and is chiefly ſtudied for the uſe of Judiciary Aſtrology. The great Inſtrument they make uſe of is an Aſtrolabe, with which they make very imperfect Obſervations, having no ſuch thing as a Quadrant or Sextant, much leſs a Teleſcope, or any mechanical Engine, to direct and aſſiſt them in their calculation. Their Skill in Geography is as inconſiderable; I remember I heard the Captain Baſſa, whom they ſtile Admiral of the black and white Seas, meaning the Euxine and the Mediterranean, ask this ſilly queſtion, Whether England were out of the Straits: And at another time the Caymacan or Governour of Conſtantinople hearing that England was an Iſland, deſired to know how many miles it was about, in order, we ſuppoſed, to make an Eſtimate of our King's greatneſs and ſtrength, by the extent and compaſs of it.
One of the great Aſtrologers of Conſtantinople, having heard that I had a pair of Globes in my Chamber, made me a viſit on purpoſe to ſee their contrivance, being introduced by a worthy Gentleman of our own Nation. After the firſt Ceremonies were over, I took my terreſtial Globe, and rectified it to the poſition of the place, and pointed to the ſeveral circles both without and upon it, and told him in ſhort the ſeveral uſes of them; then ſhewed him how Conſtantinople beared from Candia, at that time beſieged, Cair, Aleppo, Mecca, and other chief places of the Empire, with the other parts of the World: at which he was mightily ſurprized to ſee the whole Earth and Sea repreſented in that figure, and in ſo narrow a compaſs, and pleaſed himſelf with turning the Globe round ſeveral times together. Afterwards I ſet before him the celeſtial Globe, and rectified that, and ſhewed him how all the noted Conſtellations were exactly deſcribed, and how they moved regularly upon their Poles, as in the Heavens; ſome riſing, and others ſetting, ſome always above the Horizon, and others always under, in an oblique ſphere, and particularly what Stars would riſe that night with us at ſuch an hour; the man ſeemed to be raviſhed with the curioſity of it, turning this Globe alſo ſeveral times together with his Finger, and taking a mighty pleaſure in viewing the motion of it; and yet this ſilly Animal paſs'd for a Conjurer among the Turks, and was look'd upon as one that could foretell the Events of Battels, the fates of Empires, and the end of the World.
They have no Genius for Sea-voyages, and conſequently are very raw and unexperienced in the Art of Navigation, ſcarce venturing to ſail out of ſight of Land. I ſpeak of the natural Turks, who trade either in the black Sea or ſome part of the Morea, or between Conſtantinople and Alexandria; and not of the Pyrates of Barbary, who are for the moſt part Renegado's, and learnt their Skill in Chriſtendome, which they exerciſe ſo much to the terrour and damage of it. A Turkiſh Compaſs conſiſts but of eight points, the four Cardinal and four Collateral; they being at a mighty loſs how to ſail by a ſide-wind, when by hauling their Sails ſharp they might lye their courſe, and much more, when they are in the Winds eye, not knowing how to make tacks and bords, but chuſe rather to make haſte into ſome neighbouring Port, till the Wind blows fair. An Engliſh and Turkiſh Veſſel, both bound for the Bay of Saloniki, at the time of the Grand Signior's being there, paſs'd together out of the Helleſpont, but foul weather hapning, the Turks got into Lemnos; while our men kept at Sea, and purſued their Voyage, and after three weeks ſtay returned back to us, obſerving in their way, that the Turks remained in the ſame place where they left them, for want of a fore-wind to put to Sea in.
They trouble not themſelves with reading the Hiſtories of other Nations or of ancient times, much leſs with the ſtudy of Chronology, without which Hiſtory is very lame and imperfect; which is the cauſe of thoſe ridiculous and childiſh miſtakes, which paſs current and uncontradicted among them. For inſtance, they make Job one of Solomon's Judges, and (Iſcander) Alexander the Great Captain-General of his Army. They number Philip of Macedon among the Anceſtors of our B. Saviour, and believe that Sampſon, Jonas, and St. George were his Contemporaries. In this they are more excuſable than their falſe Prophet Mahomet, who in his Alcoran has perverted ſeveral Hiſtorical Notices in the Writings of the Old Teſtament, and is guilty of vile and abſurd Pſeudo-chroniſms. To remedy this defect, of which he was very conſcious, and the better to underſtand the ſtate of Chriſtendom, and the particular Kingdoms and Republicks of it, the late great and wiſe Vizier, Achamet, made his Interpreter Panagiotti, a learned Greek, at leiſure hours, even at the Siege of Candia, as well as at other times, read ſeveral ancient Hiſtories to him, and render them extempore into the Turkiſh Language, and particularly Blaeus Atlas, with which he was mightily pleaſed, and made great uſe of, and truly gained the reputation of a ſolid and judicious Stateſman, as well as Souldier among the Chriſtian Miniſters, who in the ordinary courſe of their Negotiations applied themſelves to him.
Tho' their year be according to the courſe of the Moon, and ſo the Turkiſh months run round the civil year in a circle of thirty three years and a few odd days, yet they celebrate the Neuruz, which ſignifies in the Perſian Tongue the New year, the twenty firſt day of March, (on which day the Vernal Equinox was fixed by the Greeks and other Oriental Chriſtians, in the time of the Emperor Conſtantine, who made no proviſion for the foreign, or Proceſſion, which in proceſs of time the inequality between the civil and aſtronomical year muſt neceſſarily produce) at which time the Cadyes and other annual Magiſtrates, and Farmers of the Cuſtoms take place, and reckon to that day twelve month again.
In their civil deportment and behaviour one towards another, the left hand is the more worthy and honourable place, except among their Eccleſiaſticks; and the reaſon they alledge is, becauſe they write from the right hand, and the Sword is worn on the left ſide, and ſo is more at his diſpoſal, who walks on that hand. The chief Vizier accordingly in the Divan ſits at the left hand of the Mufti, each maintaining their Right of Precedence, according to this way of deciſion.
In their Moſchs they ſit without any diſtinction of degrees.
Some of the more zealous Turks cauſe to be engraven on their Cymeters and Bucklers a Sentence out of the ſixty firſt Surat, which is concerning Fighting or Battle-array, and contains Encouragements to fight in the way and path of God, as the Impoſtor words it; for which he aſſures them, beſides aſſiſtance from Heaven, to help them to get the Victory over their Enemies, and that God will pardon their Sins, and bring them to Paradice. Thus ſpirited with zeal, a Turk lays about him with fury, when he is a fighting, and ſeems ambitious of dying to gain the delights of Paradiſe, at leaſt indifferent whether he dyes or lives.
The Turks are, as to their temper, ſerious, or rather enclining to moroſity, ſeldom laughing, which is accounted an Argument of great vanity and lightneſs. They perform the Exerciſes which they uſe in the way of diverſion, as Shooting and Hunting, with a great deal of gravity, as if they deſigned them more for Health than for Pleaſure; and this too but ſeldome. The better and richer ſort, who have nothing to do, ſitting all day at home, dolling upon a Sofa, or rais'd place in their Rooms, and taking Tobacco, which their Slaves fill and light for them: And if they retire in the Summer or Autumn for a week or fortnight, to ſome convenient▪ Fountain in a Wood, with their Women, it is chiefly to enjoy the Refreſhments of the cool Air. In the times of Triumph indeed for ſome great Succeſs obtained againſt the Chriſtians, when the Shops are open for three nights together, and hung with Lights, as well as the Spires of the Moſchs in curious Figures, they are guilty of extravagant Mirth, running up and down the Streets in companies, and ſometimes ſinging and dancing after their rude way; but this fit being over, they ſoon return to their former melancholy. In the Coffee-houſes where they uſe to reſort to tipple, there is uſually one hired by the Owners to read either an idle Book of Tales, which they admire as Wit, or filthy obſcene Stories, with which they ſeem wonderfully affected and pleaſed, few of them being able to read. Theſe are the Schools which they frequent for their Information, tho' in times of War when things went ill with them, their Diſcourſes would be of the ill Government; and the Grand Signior himſelf, and his chief Miniſters, could not eſcape their Cenſures, which manifeſtly tending to Sedition, and to the heightning of their Diſcontents by their mutual Complaints, and by this free venting of their Grievances during the War at Candia, the wiſe Vizier ſeeing the evil conſequences that would follow, if ſuch Meetings and Diſcourſes were any longer tolerated, commanded that all the publick Coffee-houſes ſhould be ſhut up in Constantinople, and ſeveral other great Cities of the Empire, where the Malecontents uſed to rendevouz themſelves, and find fault upon every ill ſucceſs and miſcarriage, with the adminiſtration of Affairs.
The Cuſtom of the Turks to ſalute the Emperor, or the Vizier Baſſa's, with loud acclamations and wiſhes of Health and Long-life, when they appear firſt in their Houſes or any publick place, is derived from the Greeks, who took it from the Romans. This was done by them in a kind of ſinging tone; whence Luitprandus Biſhop of Cremona tells us, that in a certain Proceſſion (foreign) at which he was preſent, they ſang to the Emperor Nicephorus foreign, that is, many years, (which Codinus, who lived juſt about the taking of Conſtantinople by the Turks, expreſſes by foreign, or by foreign, and to wiſh or ſalute by foreign) and at Dinner the Greeks then preſent wiſh'd with a loud voice to the Emperor and Burdas, Ut Deus annos multiplicet, as he tranſlates the Greek.
The Turkiſh Coyn in it ſelf is pitiful and inconſiderable, which I aſcribe not only to their want of Bullion, but to their little Skill in matters relating to the Mint. Hence it comes to paſs, that Zecchines and Hungars for Gold, and Spaniſh Dollars and Zalotts for Silver ſtamp'd in Chriſtendom paſs current among them, moſt of the great Payments being made in them, they not caring either through Ignorance or Sloth, to follow the example of the Indian or Perſian Emperors, who uſually melt down the Chriſtian Mony imported by the Merchants into their ſeveral Countries, and give it a new ſtamp. The moſt uſual pieces are the Sheriphi of Gold, ſomewhat leſs in value than a Venetian Zecchine, and Aſpers, ten of which are equal to Sixpence Engliſh, and ſome few three Aſper pieces. A Mangur is an ugly old Copper piece, eight of which make but one Aſper, and is not I think a Turkiſh Coyn, but rather Greek. They have no Arms upon their Coyn, only Letters emboſſed on both ſides, containing the Emperor's Name, or ſome ſhort Sentence out of the Alcoran.
The Turks look upon Earthquakes as ominous, as the Vulgar do upon Eclipſes, not underſtanding the Philoſophy of them. During my ſtay in Conſtantinople, which was above two years, there hapned but one, which was October 26. 1669. about ſix a Clock in the morning, a ſtark Calm preceding. It laſted very near a minute, and we at Pera and Galata were as ſenſible of it as thoſe who were on the other ſide of the Water; but, praiſed be God, nothing fell, and we were ſoon rid of the Fears in which this frightful Accident had caſt us, being in our Beds, and not able, by reaſon of the ſurprize, in ſo little a ſpace to have paſt through a Gallery down a pair of Stairs into the Court, if we had attempted it. The Turks made direful Reflections on it, as if ſome Calamity would inevitably fall upon the Empire, quickly forgetting the great Triumphings and Rejoycings which they expreſt but a few days before for the Surrender of Candia. In the year 1668, in Auguſt, the Earth ſhook more or leſs for forty ſeven days together in the leſſer Aſia at Anguri (Ancyra) and for fifteen at Bacbaſar, as we heard from a Scotch Merchant, who liv'd there: and particularly, that at this latter place, on the ſecond of Auguſt, between three and four of the clock in the Afternoon it laſted for a quarter of an hour; ſeveral Houſes were overthrown, and ſome hundreds of Chimneys fell (it being a very populous Town) and yet there were but ſeven kill'd. The Trembling being ſo violent, both Turks and Chriſtians forſook their Houſes, and betook themſelves to the Fields, Vineyards, and Gardens, where they made their abode for ſeveral days.
Their Puniſhments are very ſevere, this being judg'd the moſt effectual way to prevent all publick Diſorders and Miſchiefs. They uſe no great formality in their proceſſes: If the Criminal be taken in the Fact, and the Witneſſes ready and preſent to atteſt it, and ſometimes if there be but probable circumſtances, without full conviction, condemn him; and ſoon after Sentence, ſometimes an hour or leſs, hurry him away to execution. For an ordinary Crime, Hanging is the uſual Death; but for Robbery and Murder committed upon the High-way, by ſuch as rob in Parties and alarm whole Provinces, or for Sacrilege, or for any hainous Crime againſt the Government, either Gaunching or Excoriation, or cutting off the Legs and Arms, and leaving the Trunk of the Body in the High-way, or empaling, that is, thruſting an Iron ſtake thro' the Body out under the Neck, or at the Mouth; in which extreme torment the miſerable wretch may live two or three days, if the Guts or the Heart happen not to be wounded by the pointed Spike in its paſſage. This Puniſhment ſeems to have been in uſe among the Romans, Seneca's Epiſt. 14. Cogita hoc loco carcerem, & cruces, & eculeos, & uncum, & adactum medium hominem, qui per os emergat, ſtipitem: And ſo in his Book De Conſolatione ad Marciam, cap. 20. Alii capite converſos in terram ſuſpendere: alii per obſcena ſtipitem egerunt, alii brachia patibulo explicuerunt: Murder is ſeldom pardoned, and eſpecially if the Relations of the murder'd perſon demand Juſtice.
The Circumciſion, though it be a ſacred Rite, is perform'd in their private Houſes, and never in the Moſchs.
The Women colour their Eye-brows and Lids with an ugly black Powder, I ſuppoſe, to ſet off their Beauty by ſuch a ſhadow; and their Nails with the Powder of Kanna, which gives them a Tincture of faint red, like Brick, (as they do the Tails and Hoofs of Horſes) which they look upon as a great Ornament. Their great Diverſion is Bathing; ſometimes thrice, if not four times a week. They do not permit them to go to Church in time of Prayer, for fear they ſhould ſpoil their Devotion: The Turks being of ſo brutiſh a temper, that their Luſt is raiſed upon the ſight of a fair Object. They are call'd oftentimes by the Names of Flowers and Fruits, and ſometimes fantaſtick Names are given them, ſuch as Sucar Birpara, or bit of Sugar, Dil Ferib, or Raviſher of Hearts, and the like.
Their Skill in Agriculture is very mean. In their Gardens they have ſeveral little Trenches to convey Water where it may be moſt neceſſary for their Plants and Flowers. They know little or nothing of manuring their Grounds: Sometimes they burn their Fields and Vineyards after Harveſt and Vintage, partly to deſtroy the Vermin, and partly to enrich the Soil. They tread out their Corn with Oxen, drawing a ſquare Plank-board, about a foot and half or two foot over, ſtudded with Flints, and winnow it upon their Threſhing-floors in the open Air, the Wind blowing away the Chaff. They feed their Horſes with Barly and chopt Straw, for I do not remember ever to have ſeen any Oats among them; and they make but little Hay.
For draught of great weight in their Carts they make uſe of Buffalo's.
Camels will endure Travel four days together without Water, and will eat tops of Thiſtles, Shrubs, or any kind of Boughs: They are very ſure footed, and kneel when they are a loading, and live to a conſiderable number of years, ſome even to ſixty.
The chief Furniture of their Houſes are Carpets, or Matts of Grand Cairo, neatly wrought with Straw, ſpread upon the Ground; they having no occaſion of Chairs, Couches, Stools, or Tables, their Poſtures within doors being different from ours. They have no Hangings, but their Walls are whited and ſet off with Painting, only adorn'd with a kind of Porcelane; no Beds clos'd with Curtains.
They Seal not with Wax, but Ink, at the bottom of the Paper, the Emperor's Name being uſually written with flouriſhes and in perplex'd characters: Nor have they any Coats of Arms upon their Seals, there being no ſuch thing as Gentility among them.
Some of them, notwithſtanding their Zeal for Mahomet and the Religion by him eſtabliſh'd, retain not only a favourable and honourable Opinion of our Bleſſed Saviour, but even place ſome kind of confidence in the uſage of his Name, or of the words of the Goſpel, though it may ſeem to be wholly in the way of Superſtition. Thus in their Amulets, which they call Chaimaili, being little bits of Paper about two or three fingers breadth, roll'd up in pieces of Silk, containing ſeveral ſhort Prayers or Sentences out of the Alcoran, with ſeveral Circles with other Figures, they uſually inſcribe the holy and venerable Name of JESUS, or the figure of the Croſs, or the firſt words of St. John's Goſpel, and the like. They hang them about their Necks, or place them under their Arm-pits, or in their Boſom near their Hearts (being the ſame with what the Greeks call foreign) and eſpecially when they go to War, as a Preſervative againſt the dangers of it; and indeed againſt any misfortune whatſoever. Some have them ſow'd within their Caps: and I heard of a Turk who was ſo ſuperſtitious herein, that he always pluck'd it off, and was uncover'd, when he had occaſion to make Water. Some are ſuch Bigots in their Religion, and ſo furious againſt Chriſtians, that not only they treat them with all imaginable Scorn and Contempt, but take it ill to be ſalam'd or ſaluted by them, as if it were the effect of ſawcineſs or unbecoming familiarity. Their malice againſt the Chriſtians makes them envy the rich Furs they line their Veſts with, and it is a trouble to theſe hypocritical Zealots to ſee the Franks ride upon their fine Arabian Horſes.
The reſpect which they ſhew the Alcoran is wonderful; they dare not open the Leaves of it with unwaſhen hands, according to the advice or command written in Arabick upon the Cover, Let no one touch this Book, but he that is clean. They kiſs it, and bend their Heads, and touch their Eyes with it, both when they open it and ſhut it.
The Janizaries, when they attend upon Chriſtian Ambaſſadors to their Audience, ſeem to appear in their Bravery, and in a Habit far from that of a Souldier, being without either Fire-Arms or Swords, which latter are not worn, but in time of Service, or when they are upon a march, or embodied, wearing a Cap made of Camels Hair, with a broad flap dangling behind, a gilt embroider'd Wreath running round it, and an oblong piece of Braſs riſing up from the middle of their Porehead near a Foot, with a great Club in their Hand, like inferiour Officers of the Civil Government. But when they are in the Camp, they throw off their upper Veſt and Turbants, which they wear at all other uſual times, as troubleſome, and put on a Feſs, or red Cap, which ſits cloſe to their Head, and tuck up their Duliman or long Coat to their Girdle, that they may be the more quick and expedite in their Charge.
They affect ſinery and neatneſs in their Clothes and Shaſhes; not ſo much as a ſpot to be ſeen upon them, and in rainy or ſuſpicious Weather are very careful how they go abroad without their Yamurlicks, which is a kind of Coat they throw over their Heads at ſuch times.
Their Pans and Diſhes are for the moſt part of Copper, but ſo handſomely tinn'd over, that they look like Silver.
There are thouſands of Gypſies or Zinganies in Turkey, who live the ſame idle naſty kind of life as they do in Chriſtendom, and pretend to the ſame art of telling Fortunes; and are lookt upon as the offscouring of Mankind. It is accounted the extremeſt point of human miſery to be a Slave to any of this ſort of Cattel.
The Haggi or Pilgrims, that have been at Mecca and Medina, forbear to drink Wine moſt religiouſly, out of a Perſwaſion, that one drop would efface all the merits of that troubleſome and expenſive Journey; and ſome have been poſſeſt with ſuch a mad zeal, that that they have blinded themſelves after their having been bleſt with the ſight of Mahomet's Sepulchre.
After Jatzah, that is, an hour and a half in the night, throughout the whole year, there is as great a ſilence in the Streets as at midnight: The Emperor Achmet, in the year 1611, having made an Order, that no one ſhould preſume to be out of his Houſe after that time, which is to this day moſt punctually obſerved. The Boſtangi baſhi, who has the Command of all the Agiamoglans in the Seraglio, the Topgibaſhi, or ſuch great Officers, attended with a great Train of armed men, walking the Rounds, and drubbing ſuch as they find abroad at unſeaſonable hours, of what Nation or Quality ſoever, except Phyſicians, Chyrurgions, and Apothecaries, whom they allow at all times to viſit Sick.
The Turkmans, (for ſo they are peculiarly called, as if they were the true Deſcendents of the old Turks or Scythians, whoſe wandring kind of life is deſcribed by the Poet.
foreign Nulla domus, plauſtris habitant, migrare per arva
foreign Mos, at que errantes circumvectare penates.)
have no fixt reſidence any where, but travel with their Families and Cattel from place to place, carrying their Wives and Children upon Camels; they pitch their Tents uſually near Rivers and Fountains, for the convenience of Water, and according as their Neceſſities require, make a longer or ſhorter ſtay. Their whole Eſtate conſiſts in their numerous Flocks and Herds, which they ſell upon occaſion, to ſupply themſelves with what they want, at the Towns they paſs by. Their only concern is, how to enjoy the Benefits and Bleſſings of Nature, without the troubles and turmoils and diſquiets of Life, being contented and happy in one anothers Company, void of all Ambition and Envy, courteous and humane to Strangers, that may want their Help and Aſſiſtance, kindly entertaining them with ſuch Proviſion as their Folds afford. I have met with ſome Companies of theſe harmleſs Wanderers in my Travels. The Country lies open without any Encloſures, and the Propriety not being veſted in any one, they travel through the Plains unmoleſted, and find excellent Paſture every where. The Turks till no more ground than will ſerve their neceſſities, being ſupplied with Corn from Egypt, and from Moldavia and Walachia, by the way of the black Sea, letting vaſt tracts of Ground lye waſte and uncultivated; ſo that their Sloth herein ſometimes is juſtly puniſhed with Dearths.
They have nothing to ſhew for their Houſes and Poſſeſſions, but an Hogiet or piece of Paper ſubſcribed by the Cadi, if they have acquired them by their Money, or that they were their Father's before them.
The Derviſes generally are melancholy, and place the greateſt part of their Religion in Abſtinence and other Severities. Some cut their Fleſh, others vow not to ſpeak for ſix or ſeven years, or all their lives long, though never ſo much provoked or diſtreſſed. Their Garments are made of a courſe ſort of Wool, or Goats Hair: they are tyed up by the Vow of their Order ever from marrying. Several of this Sect, in the height of their Religious Phrenzy, have attempted upon the lives of the Emperors themſelves, (at whoſe Government they have taken diſguſt) as Mahomet the Second, and Achmet, as if ſuch deſperate attempts were fatal to Bigots in all Religions.
They pay a mighty Veneration to any Relick of Mahomet, his Banner is ſtill preſerved in the Treaſury of the Seraglio, and is look'd upon as the great Security of the Empire. They believe that it was ſent from Heaven, and conveyed into the hands of Mahomet, by the Angel Gabriel, as a Pledge and ſign of Succeſs and Victory in his Battels againſt the Chriſtians, and all other Enemies of the Muſulman Faith. It was ſent to Candia, to encourage the Souldiers to endure the fatigue of that long and tedious Siege; and when it was brought thence after the ſurrender of that City, to be depoſited in its uſual place, the Vizier gave ſeveral Chriſtian Slaves, that row'd in the Galley that was fraught with this holy Ware, their Liberty. They pretend to have ſome Rags of Mahomet's Veſt, to which they aſcribe great vertue. In confidence of which the Emperor Achmet, in the time of a great fire, which raged at Conſtantinople, when all other means failed, dipt part of them in Water, to be ſprinkled upon the Fire to rebate the fury of it.
Next to the Mufti or Cadaleskires are the Mollas, of which theſe four are the chiefeſt in Dignity. The Molla of Galata, Adrianople, Aleppo, Pruſa; and after them are reckoned theſe eight, Stambol Ephendi, Lariſſa, Miſir or Cairo, Sham or Damaſcus, Diarbekir or Meſopotamia, Cutaia, Sophia, Philippi.
The Prieſts have no Habit peculiar to their Profeſſion, whereby they are diſtinguiſh'd from others. If they are put from their Moſchs for Miſcarriage or Neglect of doing their Duty, or if they think fit to reſign and be Prieſts no longer, they may betake themſelves without any ſcandal to ſecular Employments, their former Character and Quality wholly ceaſing. While they remain Prieſts, they counterfeit a more than ordinary gravity in their diſcourſe and walking: and affect to wear Turbants ſwelling out, and made up with more croſs folds: which was all the difference which I could obſerve by their Head-Attire, which is various, though I could not find that this was conſtantly and ſtrictly obſerv'd.
In Byram time, which is the great Feſtival of the year, at which time every one looks cheerfully and merrily, among other ſigns of mutual Reſpect, they beſprinkle one another with ſweet Water. They indulge to ſeveral Sports; and ſome are mightily pleaſed with Swinging in the open air, the ordinary ſort of People eſpecially, paying only a few Aſpers for the diverſion.
The Government is perfectly arbitrary and deſpotical; the Will and Pleaſure of the Emperor having the force and power of a Law, and oftentimes is above it. His bare Command, without any proceſs, is enough to take off the Head of any Perſon, (though never ſo eminent in Dignity; though uſually for formality, and to ſilence the murmurings of the Souldiery and People, the Sentence is confirmed by the Mufti.) Sometimes Baſſa's, who have amaſſed great Treaſures in their Governments, are cut off in their own Houſes in the midſt of their Retinue, the Meſſengers of Death producing the Imperial Command, uſually ſent in a black Purſe, and not a Sword drawn in their defence. Others, if they are obnoxious to the leaſt Umbrage or Jealouſie, tho' diſmiſt the Seraglio with all poſſible Demonſtrations of the Grand Signior's Favour, and with rich Preſents in order to take poſſeſſion of Places of great command in the Empire, before they have got two or three days Journey from Conſtantinople, have been overtaken and ſtrangled. In the Army Commands are given according to merit, Courage and Conduct are ſure to be rewarded, the way lying open to the meaneſt Souldier to raiſe himſelf to be the Chief of his Order. But other Preferments depend upon meer Chance, and upon the Fancy of the Emperor, whether the perſon be fit or no, and they are as ſoon loſt. The leaſt ill ſucceſs or miſcarriage proves oftentimes fatal, and a more lucky man is put in his place, and he ſucceeded by a third, if unfortunate in a deſign, though managed with never ſo much Prudence and Valour. They admit of no hereditary Honours, and have no reſpect to Deſcent or Blood, except the Ottoman Family; he only is great and noble whom the Emperor favours, and while his Command laſts. According to a Tradition that paſſes current amongſt them, a Baſſa's Son by a Sultana, or a Daughter or Siſter of the Emperor, can riſe no higher than to be a Sangiacbei, or Governor of ſome little Province, much inferiour to a Baſſa, and under his Juriſdiction. Being born of Slaves for the moſt part, they do not pride themſelves in their Birth, very few among them being ſcarce able to give any account of their Grandfathers. They have no Sirnames, but are diſtinguiſhed by their poſſeſſions and places of abode, and enjoying by Law a liberty of having what Women they pleaſe, they have little or no regard to Alliance or Kindred.
Their Empire owes the continuance of its Being to the ſeverity of the Government, which oftentimes takes place without regard either to Juſtice or Equity, and to their frequent Wars, which prevent all occaſions of Mutiny and Faction among the Souldiers, which happen frequently when unemploy'd. So that tho' Ambition may put a warlike Sultan upon enlarging his Territories by new Conqueſts, yet reaſon of State forces a weak and effeminate Prince, ſuch as was Ibrahim, to make War for his own ſecurity. Their Politicks are not owing to Books and Study, and the Examples of paſt-times, but to Experience, and the plain ſuggeſtions of Nature and common Sence: They have Rules of Government, which they firmly adhere to, holding the Reins ſtreight, eſpecially being cruel and inexorable to Criminals of State, who never are to expect any Mercy or Pity. Their Councils formerly were open, and their Deſigns known, and proclaimed before-hand, as if this had been a Bravery becoming their greatneſs, and that they ſcorned to ſteal a Conqueſt. But they have learned ſince the Art of Diſſimulation, and can lye and ſwear for their Intereſt, and ſeem exceſſive in their Careſſes to the Miniſters of thoſe Countries, which they intend to invade. But their Preparations for arming are made with ſo much noiſe, that an ordinary Jealouſie is ſoon awakened by it to oppoſe them, in caſe of an attack. They ſeldom or never care to have War at both Extremes of the Empire at the ſame time, and therefore they are mighty ſollicitous to ſecure a Peace with Chriſtendom, when they intend a War upon the Perſian; and as much as is poſſible, they avoid quarrelling with two Chriſtian Princes at once, being uſually at league either with Poland and Muſcovy, when they war upon Hungary, and ſo on the contrary; dreading nothing more than a Union of the Chriſtian Princes bordering upon them, which would prove ſo fatal to their Empire, and quickly put a Period to their Greatneſs; for hereby they would be put upon a neceſſity of making a defenſive War, to their great loſs and diſadvantage, and at laſt either be forced to beg a Peace of the Chriſtians, or run the hazard of loſing all by a further proſecution of War.
This they are very ſenſible of, and therefore as they take all occaſion to promote Quarrels and Diſſentions in Hungary and Tranſylvania, ſo they greatly rejoyce, when the Princes of Chriſtendom are at War one with another. This is their great time of advantage, and they know, that it is their true Intereſt to purſue it, though they do not always, by reaſon of the ill condition of their own Affairs, make uſe of it. During the Civil Wars of Germany, the Baſſa's and other Commanders of the Army were very importunate with the Grand Signior, to make a War on that ſide, and to enlarge his Conqueſts as far as Vienna, no conjuncture having been ever ſo favourable to conſummate ſuch a deſign, in which Solyman ſo unhappily miſcarried. They promiſed him an eaſie Victory, aſſuring him, that the Animoſities of the Princes of the Empire were ſo heightned, that there was no room left for a Reconciliation, that he was but to go in the Head of an Army to take poſſeſſion, and that Auſtria would ſurrender at the firſt news of his march towards it. The Emperor was not to be moved at that time by theſe Inſinuations and plauſible Diſcourſes; being continually urged, he as often denyed. One day when they came to renew their Advice about the German War, he having given order before, that ſeveral Dogs ſhould be kept for ſome days without Meat, commanded that they ſhould be brought out, being almoſt ſtarved, and Meat thrown among them; whereupon they ſnailed and bit one another: In the midſt of their noiſe and fighting he cauſed a Bear to be let looſe in the ſame Area; the Dogs forgetting their Meat and leaving off their fighting, ran all upon the Bear, ready to prey upon them ſingly, and at laſt killed him. This Diverſion the Emperor gave his Baſſa's, and left them to make the application.
A certain Prophecy, of no ſmall Authority, runs in the minds of all the People, and has gain'd great credit and belief among them, that their Empire ſhall be ruined by a Northern Nation, which has white and yellowiſh Hair. The Interpretation is as various as their Fancy. Some fix this Character on the Moſcovites; and the poor Greeks flatter themſelves with fooliſh hopes, that they are to be their Deliverers, and to reſcue them from their Slavery, chiefly becauſe they are of their Communion, and owe their Converſion to the Chriſtian Faith, to the Piety and Zeal of the Grecian Biſhops formerly. Others look upon the Sweeds, as the perſons deſcrib'd in the Prophecy, whom they are moſt to fear. The Ground and Original of his Fancy, I ſuppoſe, is owing to the great Opinion which they have of the Valour and Courage of that warlike Nation. The great Victories of the Sweeds in Germany, under Guſtavus Adolphus were loudly proclaimed at Conſtantinople, as if there were no withſtanding the ſhock and fury of their Arms: and their continued Succeſſes confirmed the Turks in their firſt Belief, and their Fears and their Jealouſies were augmented afterwards, when Charles Guſtave, a Prince of as heroick a Courage, and as great Abilities in the Art and Management of War as the juſtly admired Guſtavus, entred Poland with his Army, and carried all before him, ſeized upon Warſaw, and drove Caſimire out of his Kingdom, and had almoſt made an entire and abſolute Conqueſt, only a few places holding out. This alarmed the Grand Signior, and the Baſſa's of the Port, as if the Prophecy were then about to be fulfilled, who did not care for the company of ſuch troubleſome Neighbours, who might puſh on their Victories, and joyning with the Coſſacks, advance their Arms further, and make their Country the Seat of a War, which might draw after it fatal conſequences. To prevent which, Couriers are diſpatch'd from Conſtantinople to Ragotski, Prince of Tranſylvania, then in concert with the Sweeds, to command him to retire with his Army out of Poland, as he valued the Peace and Safety of his own Country, and the friendſhip of the Grand Signior, whoſe Tributary he was, and by whoſe Favour he had gain'd that Principality: And the Crim-Tartars, the ſworn Enemies of the Poles, who at that time lay heavy upon them, were wrought upon by the ſame Motives and Reaſons of State, to clap up a Peace with them, that being freed from theſe diſtractions, they might unite their Forces the better together, and make head againſt the Sweeds.
The Ambaſſadors of Chriſtian Princes, when they are admitted by the Grand Signior, to an Audience, (their Preſents being then of courſe made, which are look'd upon as due, not to ſay, as an homage) are diſmiſt in few words, and referred by him to his Wakil or Deputy, as he uſually ſtiles the chief Vizier: and a ſmall number of their Retinue only permitted the honour of kiſſing his Veſt, and then rudely enough ſent away.
The Grand Signiors keep up the ſtate of the old Aſiatick Princes: They do not expoſe themſelves often to the view of the People, unleſs when they ride in Triumph, or upon ſome ſuch ſolemn occaſion; when they go to the Moſchs, or divert themſelves in the Fields, either in riding or hunting, they do not love to be ſtared upon, or approached. It is highly criminal to pry into their Sports, ſuch an inſolent Curioſity being often puniſhed with Death. The Story is famous of Morad the Third, who baiting a Bear in the old Palace with a Maſtiff, and eſpying three fellows upon the Tower of Bajazid's Moſch, who had planted themſelves to ſee the Sport, commanded their Heads to be ſtruck off immediately, and be brought before him, which was done accordingly. Inſtances of ſuch Capricio's are frequent in the Turkiſh Hiſtory: This following hapned during my ſtay at Conſtantinople.
Upon the return of Vizier Achmet from Candia, after the ſurrender of that City, and a happy end put by him to that tedious and bloody War, he acquainting the preſent Emperor, then at Adrianople, with the Hiſtory of that famous Siege at large, made ſuch terrible Repreſentations of their and the Venetians mining and countermining one another, that the Emperor was reſolved out of curioſity to ſee the Experiment made of a thing that ſeemed to him almoſt incredible. A Work was ſoon raiſed and undermined, and above thirty Murderers and Robbers upon the High-way, and ſuch-like Villains were put into it, as it were to defend it. The Grand Signior ſtood upon an Eminence at ſome conſiderable diſtance, expecting the iſſue of it; upon a Signal given, the Mine was ſprung, and the Fort demoliſhed, and the poor wretches torn piecemeal, to his great ſatisfaction and amazement.
The Moon is the auſpicious Planet of the Turks; according to the courſe of which they celebrate their Feſtivals. They begin their Months from the firſt appearance of it, at which time they chuſe, except a Delay brings a great Prejudice and Inconvenience with it, to begin their great Actions. The Creſcent is the Enſign of the Empire, which they paint in their Banners, and place upon the Spires of their Moſchs. Next to the day of the appearing Moon, they pitch upon Friday, to fight upon, to begin a Journey, and eſpecially their Pilgrimmage toward Mecca, or do any thing of great conſequence, as very lucky and fortunate.