XXV. Historical notes on Khurāsān

P. M. Sykes

doi:10.1017/S0035869X00040582

XXV. Historical notes on Khurāsān

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011

P. M. Sykes

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EIGHT years ago I had the honour of reading a paper before the Royal Asiatic Society termed “Historical Notes on South-East Persia”. In 1905 I was appointed to Khurāsān, and the following notes are the result of various tours. My thanks are due to Khan Bahadur Ahmad Din, Attaché to His Britannic Majesty's Consulate-General, for checking the various inscriptions, and, more especially, for enabling me to give the first clear and accurate account of the famous Meshed Shrine.

Type: Articles
Information: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , October 1910 , pp. 1113 - 1154

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00040582 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1910

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^{page 1113 note 1} A Literary History of Persia, vol. i, p. 35. I would take this opportunity to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor Browne's, great work.

^{page 1114 note 1} Chinnock's Anabasis of Alexander, bk. iii, chap. xxv.

^{page 1114 note 2} Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.

^{page 1115 note 1} The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, by Guy le Strange, pp. 388 et seqq. There is no single work to which I owe more than to this.

^{page 1115 note 2} Browne, op. cit., vol. ii, pp. 132 et seqq.

^{page 1116 note 1} Browne, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 138, n. 1; and article of Barbier de Meynard, which is referred to therein. Also Guy le Strange, op. cit., pp. 388–90.

^{page 1116 note 2} Browne, op. cit., vol. i, pp. 132 et seqq.

^{page 1117 note 1} Yakut gives both names of Bāz and Fāz.

^{page 1118 note 1} Rudbār and also Bār are, I have since discovered, both referred to by Yakut, who mentions that Abu Ali Husayn bin Muhammad, who died in a.h. 403 (1012), was a native of Rudbār. This is the exact period we are referring to. In 1908 I visited Bār and found that it was a large village, with an ancient fort, situated on a river which joins the Jāghark River near Gulistan.

^{page 1118 note 2} A Journey into Khorasan, pp. 517 et seqq.

^{page 1119 note 1} The word is a corruption for Kasr-i-Mahdi or “The Tower of Mehdi”.

^{page 1119 note 2} Op. cit., p. 518.

^{page 1120 note 1} Browne, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 138.

^{page 1121 note 1} Shāh Sulayman reigned from a.h. 1077 (1667) to a.h. 1105 (1694).

^{page 1121 note 2} Was guardian of the shrine and Governor of Meshed.

^{page 1121 note 3} sc. the Day of Judgment.

^{page 1122 note 1} sc. Ali.

^{page 1122 note 2} sc. a.d. 1622.

^{page 1123 note 1} Yate's, ColonelKhurasan and Sistan, pp. 338et seqqGoogle Scholar. A translation of these two inscriptions is given, and a somewhat brief description of the shrine.

^{page 1126 note 1} Zayn-ul-Abidin, i.e. “Ornament of the Worshippers”, the fourth Imām.

^{page 1126 note 2} The Plougher (in wisdom).

^{page 1127 note 1} Fraser's, Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan, p. 521Google Scholar.

^{page 1129 note 1} Suhā is an obscure star in the Lesser Bear.

^{page 1129 note 2} In Colonel Yate's Khurasan and Sistan there is a good deal of information about Meshed which this paper to some extent supplements. In the Maṭla' ash-Shams, by the Ṣanī' ad-Dawla, there is also much information; but, as the writer was a courtier, there are important omissions.

^{page 1132 note 1} Embassy to the Court of Timour, by SirMarkham, Clements, pp. 109–10Google Scholar.

^{page 1134 note 1} Vide my “Notes on Musical Instruments in Khurāsān” in Man (vol. ix, No. 11, of 11, 1909)Google Scholar.

^{page 1134 note 2} As Sultān Husayn died in a.h. 912 (1506), it would seem probable that the above date refers to the tile-work.

^{page 1136 note 1} The story runs that Khusrau Parviz, among other unique possessions, possessed a lump of gold as big as an apple which was so soft that, without melting, it could be used to make a figure, etc. This is termed i.e. gold malleable by hand. There is also a play on the word Afshar.

^{page 1136 note 2} This refers to a dream of Nādir's to the effect that he should restore the true religion.

^{page 1136 note 3} The Kizilbash, or “Red Head”, consisted of seven tribes who united to support the Safavi. Among them were the Afshar.

^{page 1137 note 1} This works out at a.h. 1145 (1733).

^{page 1139 note 1} This refers to the fact that a corpse is buried with its face towards Mecca, this position being termed Pish Ru.

^{page 1141 note 1} The dots show lacunæ in the inscription.

^{page 1143 note 1} Muḳri are reciters of prose or versified prayers, which they frequently chant an hour before dawn.

^{page 1147 note 1} Shāhrukh reigned from a.h. 807 (1404) to a.h. 850 (1447).

^{page 1148 note 1} Journal of the Royal Geographical Society for Novemher and December, 1906; also Guy le Strange, op. cit., p. 357.

^{page 1151 note 1} Vide Curzon's, Persia, vol. i, p. 1281Google Scholar.

^{page 1153 note 1} The name of the “Great Personage” is not given; it is presumably Sulayman Shāh, who reigned from a.h. 1077 (1667) to a.h. 1105 (1694).

^{page 1154 note 1} i.e. a.h. 1087 (1677).

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