Since Achaemenid times, a system of postal riders had existed in Iran, in one way or another, and included an infrastructure of relay stations where fresh horses, food, and fodder was available. This system was known as barid during the early Islamic period. Under the Seljuqs, the relay system was abandoned; but under the Mongols, it was re-established and named yam.Footnote 1 Then, under the Ilkhanids and their successors, the postal system with relay stations was again abandoned. The term barid was still known and used in Timurid and Aq-Qoyunlu times, but clearly referred to an earlier historical period, as a relay system for post riders no longer existed.Footnote 2
Under the Safavids, both mounted and foot messengers were used to relay administrative, military, and private messages and orders. Messengers mounted on horse or camel were express messengers, traveling chapari (galloping) and therefore referred to as chapar (چاپار).Footnote 3 Chapars were employed exclusively by the shah and his officials. Foot messengers, on the other hand, were either permanently employed by the shah, government officials, and major merchants or hired incidentally by merchants and private individuals. Two kinds of foot messengers may have existed: shater (شاطر), who appear to have been the better trained, and qased (قاصد).Footnote 4 Both were long-distance runners. Qaseds are mentioned in Aq-Qoyunlu times, but as a generic term rather than a specific type of messenger.Footnote 5
Chapar
To send orders and distribute or receive information and news, the shah and his officials exchanged messages across the country, even though the relay station system of reserve horses that had existed under the barid and yam system no longer existed in Safavid times.Footnote 6 Thus, if a message was very urgent, it was sent by chapari or chaparvar—i.e., post-haste—referring to the name of these express messengers.Footnote 7 Chapars were not only sent with oral or written messages, their regular occupation, but occasionally also with presents and goods.Footnote 8
Officials in the capital, provincial governors, and other important local officials used these chapars to inform the shah, army, and civil authorities when needed.Footnote 9 The chapars, however, were not the only messengers mounted on horseback. The royal army and governors also made use of express messengers, often Arabs, mounted on fast dromedaries or jammazeh.Footnote 10 The chapars were not specially trained messengers: any person from among the royal court or a government official's retinue could be used as such, depending on the circumstances, meaning that high-ranking persons were also used.Footnote 11 Express couriers with diplomatic messages from the shah were sometimes referred to as chapar-e ilchigari, and local governors were ordered to provide a departure escort (badraqeh) for such messengers.Footnote 12
People were obliged to obey the chapars, as they were certainly on official and urgent government business. Thus, chapars wore a special, immediately recognizable outfit: a white cloth was hung around the messenger's neck by the government official (usually a governor or court official) whose message the chapar was carrying.Footnote 13 If the messenger was accompanied by somebody else, that person would also wear the same outfit. In 1648, this outfitting was described as follows:
This white cloth was crosswise bound around the breast and back and in front a knot was made. This knot the messenger may not undo on pain of corporal punishment until he had reached his destination and has handed over the letter. This is done, partly so that the imperial post may be recognized, and partly so that messenger does not stop long to care for his body.Footnote 14
Even the most important civil servant personally performed this outfitting service, as Jürgen Andersen relates:
The royal chancellor with his own hands bound the white sash around the neck of myself, my interpreter and the [chapar] messenger; he bound it crosswise on the breast and back and made a knot in front and gave me a royal missive for the governor of Erevan.Footnote 15
One hundred years later, this outfit had still not changed. According to Hanway, “These couriers wear a white sash girded from their shoulders to their waist many times round their bodies, by which means they are enabled to ride for many days without great fatigue.”Footnote 16
For better protection, chapars often traveled in pairs and were sometimes accompanied by Qizilbash soldiers and/or other persons with a special task to perform.Footnote 17 As Jürgen Andersen, a German gunner in the military service of the Safavid army, reported: “On 8 February [1649], at the written order of the royal chancellor, I, accompanied by the royal messenger and several Qizilbash rode to Qandahar.”Footnote 18 In the Safavid period, chapar messengers carried a musket, sword, and cudgel for protection.Footnote 19 In the Afsharid period and thereafter, they “were armed with musquets, though in general they only wear sabres.”Footnote 20
As horses were unable to last the entire journey, given the speed at which chapars traveled, they had to be changed regularly. Despite the need for such changes, there was still a preference for a special kind of horse. According to Bedik, writing in 1688, the preferred horse for the express messengers was one that:
looks somewhat like the horses that are called Alascia,Footnote 21 but are more solid and faster in their gallop and their outward appearance. They are called Ciab-cun,Footnote 22 i.e. ready for attack. They are able to make a journey day after day that is much longer than those that we earlier talked about, but in a less comfortable way. Among the Persians it is the messengers and couriers who use them, reason why they call these horses ciapar.Footnote 23
In the absence of chapar-khanehs, governors were obliged to supply horses for express messengers.Footnote 24 According to Tavernier, the governor or official who supplied the chapar's horse sent a mounted person with him to retrieve it.Footnote 25 Further, the express messengers had the right to take better, less fatigued horses from anyone they met along the way. However, not every chapar had the right to do so, allegedly. According to Andersen:
Some messengers also have the privilege or freedom, when they meet with a horseman in the road, even when it is a Khan or Soltan, whatever rank he may have, to take a better and fresher horse than his own, and this may not be denied to him. Thereafter one may get it back.Footnote 26
However, this claim is refuted by other contemporary sources. According to Ange de St. Joseph, the requisitioning of horses was a serious imposition: not only were the horses taken by force, but they were left wherever the chapar wanted. St. Ange considered this to be a great injustice.Footnote 27 In theory, however, the horse would be later returned to the owner.Footnote 28
The chapars indeed took riding animals wherever they could find them, i.e., mostly from villagers. Armed chapar messengers often forced unwilling peasants, who generally fled at the sight of them, to surrender their horses. If escape was not possible, villagers would offer the chapar money to keep their horse or send someone to retrieve the animal.Footnote 29 Thus, wealthy merchants traveling in caravans only used donkeys as riding animals.Footnote 30 Even though they formally had the right to do so, chapars did not dare demand riding animals from important people or, in most cases, Europeans.Footnote 31 The right to requisition a horse led to misuse. Père Philippe Avril reported that when his party met a chapar en route, the courier wanted to take their best horse. However, a present of a silver coin changed his mind, a seemingly common occurrence.Footnote 32
Although chapars had the right to use a borrowed horse only once, this happened more often on highly frequented routes. Thus, this regular horse borrowing amounted to a kind of service fee generally known as ulagh, and occasionally known as kerayeh-ye ulagh, yabu-ye chapar, and savari. Villagers might also be subject to ulum (the duty to provide road guidance), `ulufeh (the obligation to provide fodder), `alafeh (the provision of rations), and qonalgha (the fee for the upkeep of officials).Footnote 33 In the Afsharid-Zand period, the expense of supplying chapars with animals and provisions was called ekhrajat-e motaraddedin va chaparan or just chapari.Footnote 34 Such costs not only included those of horses, but also food and fodder, as royal officials had to provide these services to couriers. However, if there were no royal officials residing along the chapar's route, it appears the couriers had to pay for their own food. As Andersen reported: “Although the schappar or royal messenger, as has been mentioned, receives free food from royal servants, nevertheless there are many places and caravanserais where for money, one may neither for one self nor for one's horse obtain food.”Footnote 35 In theory, the above-mentioned service fees could be deducted from the official tax burden.Footnote 36 However, due to the imposition of providing services to chapars, some tried to receive an exemption from this duty. In 1712, after a petition from the Catholicos of Ejmiatsin, Shah Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722) explicitly “Forbade couriers [ch`ap`ars] to requisition horses from the people of Ejmiatsin.”Footnote 37
Chapars were paid by the recipient, not the sender, unless the letter was for the shah. This was the operating procedure for any messenger, whether chapar, royal shater, or any incidental servant sent with a message and/or present by his master. The level of payment depended on the nature of the service provided or the message contents, the importance of both the sender and recipient, and whether or not the recipient wanted to show respect and appreciation for the sender.Footnote 38 In the 1730s–1740s, according to EIC documents, chapars usually received between four and twenty tumans as payment for their service, depending on the above parameters.Footnote 39 In 1739, Captain Elton and Mr. Graeme received, by courier, a decree from Reza Qoli Mirza, Nader Shah's eldest son and regent, granting the Russia Company the right to trade in Iran. “We presented the courier; with a complete Persian habit, which, according to the custom of the country, he wore in honour of us, and, in return, he insisted on our servants acceptance of three gold ducats.”Footnote 40
In 1651, the royal chapar promised the VOC ambassador Cunaeus to deliver the royal farman to Bandar Abbas in five days, over a distance of about 1,000 km, 200 km per day. This sounds incredible, but it is reported that Shah Abbas traveled from Yazd to Shiraz, a distance of about 440 km, in 28.5 hours. When, in 1645, merchant Willem Bastinck was sent from Isfahan to Bandar Abbas to deliver the shah's invitation to come to court to the Dutch admiral, he was given the same rights as chapar couriers—i.e., to demand horses, fodder, and food en route. On June 14, 1645, Bastinck left Isfahan, arriving in Shiraz on June 16, Jahrom on June 17, and Lar on June 18. In Lar, however, he noticed he had lost the pouch with the royal order and had to return to Isfahan to get a new one. As a result, he only arrived in Bandar Abbas on June 27. Still however, by traveling day and night, he covered the distance between Isfahan and Shiraz (460 kms) in 48 hours, a pace of 9.5 km per hour on average.Footnote 41 EIC data for the Afsharid period evidence these feats. Chapars were able to ride between 70 and 100 miles per day. In one instance, a chapar traveled from Bandar Abbas to Isfahan in 7 days; this was exceptional, as this distance usually took between 10 to 14 days.Footnote 42
In the case of Andersen, who rode with a chapar three times, we have his exact itinerary. From this data, it is clear they were not riding post-haste, although faster than traveling by caravan, as he pointed out several times.
Itinerary and timetable: Mashhad to IsfahanFootnote 43
The distance between Mashhad and Isfahan, about 1,150 km was covered in 32 days, not very fast. In fact, Andersen himself noted:
We had a very pleasant journey from Mashhad to here. Because when en route we came to a city or a place with royal servants we went to them and we enjoyed from them goodwill and friendship and were entertained free of charge.
From Isfahan, Andersen was sent with a chapar to Erevan, a journey that “usually needs 34, nay even 40 days travel. However, we, because wherever we found royal servants and wanted to have fresh horses, were able to do this journey much faster.” Andersen covered the distance of 1,350 km in 29 days, not much faster.
Itinerary and timetable: Isfahan to ErevanFootnote 45
After Andersen's return to Isfahan on May 19, 1648, he reported: “together with a chapar or royal messenger and my interpreter, I was dispatched to the Soltan of Bandar or Gamron to fetch some cannon pieces and similar things.” This time he traveled faster, because Andersen arrived 16 days later in Lar, a distance requiring 27–30 days by caravan. He may have tarried in Shiraz, as he reported: “Here also live four Carmelite monks, Italians, as well as two Capuchins, Frenchmen.”Footnote 48 From Lar, Andersen reached Bandar Abbas in two days, half the time it would take a caravan to cover this distance.
Itinerary and timetable: Isfahan to Bandar AbbasFootnote 49
The relative slow pace at which Andersen traveled may be due to the fact that he was not a seasoned horse rider, a fact the chapar rider must have considered. Also, Andersen's missions were not extremely time-sensitive.
It was only in the 1730s that Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747) tried to revive the old relay station system of reserve horses on certain roads.Footnote 50
Postmasters are supplied by the king's orders with 30, 40, or 50 horses, according to their appointments; but as the demand is frequently greater than they are able to supply, and the Shah's allowance very small, they are often obliged to abscond, which is a great cause of the barbarity of the couriers [choppars]. One of these postmasters being challenged upon this account by Nadir, answered in these terms: “That I have not supplied your couriers with horses, is most certain; because for every ten horses you provided, you sent me twenty couriers: a man had better die at once, than live to serve a rascal”; and immediately he stabbed himself: The Shah cried out “that is a brave fellow save him”: but it was too late.Footnote 51
In April 1739, it seems the system had partially broken down. In that same month, the Dutch reported that there was almost no news of Nader Shah, who was campaigning in India at that time, in Isfahan. This lack of news, according to the Dutch, was due to the fact that all the chapar stations had been demolished and the soldiers in them withdrawn by Nader Shah to serve in his army. The abandonment of the relay postal system seems to have concerned only the routes between Mashhad and Naderabad (Kandahar) and between Isfahan and Kerman.Footnote 52
Nader Shah's successor and murderer, his nephew, Adel Shah, continued to use the chapar system and even intended to reestablish the relay system with reserve horses.Footnote 53 In 1747, he issued an edict outlining what policy changes would be made to show that his reign would be different from that of his tyrannical uncle. The oppressive chapar system was one of the subjects addressed in this edict.
What concerns the support of post-horses, those to whom this office belongs shall take proper care; and for the future double the number of horses shall be kept at each stage, as was lately ordered; and the money for maintaining of them shall be taken out of the treasury of the province. In case of any deficiency, a representation being made to us, it shall be supplied from other treasuries.Footnote 54
Despite these good intentions, Adel Shah was soon usurped and killed by his brother, setting off a long period of succession wars. The fact that 116 chapari horses were captured in 1165/1751–52 suggests that the relay system was still functional in parts of Fars at that time.Footnote 55 The relay stations only served royal messengers, while the public still suffered the demand for their horses.Footnote 56 Such horses were frequently not returned to their owners.Footnote 57
As a result of the drawn outdrawn-out succession wars, the relay station system broke down entirely in the second half of the eighteenth century, as anarchy prevailed across much of Iran at that time. This did not mean that, for example, the successor states of the DurranisFootnote 58 and Zands, alongside their governors, no longer employed courier messengers; they did. Such messengers operated just like in the Safavid period: there were no fixed relay stations with reserve horses, so messengers instead changed horses where they could find them.Footnote 59
Shater
As stated in the introduction, there are two terms to denote foot messengers: shater (شاطر) and qased (قاصد). Were these different types of messengers, as some think, or were they the same?Footnote 60 Was there a difference between the shater and the qased? Let us resolve this problem up front, to clear up any confusion or misunderstanding about the two terms.
The VOC, EIC, and major Persian, Armenian, and Banyan merchants permanently employed one or more foot messengers, or hired them when needed. It seems the shaters in the service of such merchants and trading companies were the same as those referred to as qased. Good is of the opinion that the shaters and qaseds were two different types of messengers. He argues: “Cossids … seem to have been employed on long distance routes, only used between Bandar Abbas-Kerman or on shorter trips to accompany others as protection.”Footnote 61 The problem with Good's argumentation is that this limited regional use of and scanty data about qaseds, in and of itself, does not constitute proof of different types of messengers. In Persian texts, foot messengers are almost invariably called shater, while the generic term for messenger, qased, is rarely used.Footnote 62 European sources always refer to messengers as either shater or use the various terms for “foot messenger” in their respective languages; they do not use the term qased.Footnote 63 In fact, letters from the English Factories in India, published by Foster, use the term cossid (qased) only in letters from India, not Iran. In 1651, the VOC ambassador Cunaeus sent a message from Shiraz to Bandar Abbas with the shater Jowhar.Footnote 64 It is of course possible that a royal messenger had been attached to the embassy as a courtesy, but it is unlikely, as the same Jowhar is later referred to simply as the company's looper or foot messenger.Footnote 65 Thus, it is clear that a foot messenger was called shater, rarely qased, in Safavid and Afsharid Iran.
According to Chardin, shaters were express messengers who were “the Meanest and Wretchedest of Men.”Footnote 66 Chardin was probably referring to this group of people's lower-class origins, from among the qalandar or dervish movement, which had dominated religious life in Iran for centuries. In particular, shaters seem to have originated from the `ayyars and javanmardan, and were linked with the zur-khaneh, as indicated by their dress and activities.Footnote 67 In the Abbasid and Seljuq periods, members of vigilant bands and paramilitary local defense groups were variously known as `ayyarun, ahdath, and shuttar (sing. shater).Footnote 68 For example, one official boasted that his shater did not have a peer in `ayyari or chivalrous behavior.Footnote 69 Hoseyn-e Kurd-e Shabestari, the hero of a popular Persian romance, is a late example of the traditional Persian ideal of chivalry. In the story, he is said to be a shater-e bachcheh.Footnote 70 Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the shater-e bachcheh was also the subject of a few poetic lines (qet`at) in the shahr-e ashub genre.
Description of the fast-running young shater (shater-e bachcheh)
The young shater whose agility is the moon's envy
Yesterday, came to me perspiring
His thin and graceful body covered with sweat
Like a raw silver wire in a wet pearlFootnote 71
In the Safavid and Afsharid period, the term shater denoted a foot messenger who, when in the employ of the shah or other highly-placed officials, was always at his employer's service.Footnote 72 It seems there were two types of shaters. The first were those in royal service who, before being accepted into that rank, had to complete an endurance race.Footnote 73 The second were those employed by private persons, major merchants, and trading companies. In 1617, Spanish Ambassador Don Garcia de Silva y Figueroa reported:
In Persia, instead of footmen, the king and persons of some rank generally retain several rough [sueltos] men who are runners, called Xatales [shaters], which is the same as couriers, […] Their function is to carry a blanket, or the cover that they place on the horse after [the rider] dismounts as well as to most rapidly carry letters and any other dispatches to one place or the other.Footnote 74
All shaters were under the so-called shater-bashi, an official of the royal court.Footnote 75 According to the Dastur al-Moluk, his task was as follows:
The chief messenger (shater-bashi). He had to be in attendance of the victorious Shah with other shaters, when he traveled or was in residence. He was not expected to be negligent at anytime. Inspection of presence and absence of [his subordinates] is his responsibility. With his approval and the recommendation of H.E. the court's steward, after it was signed by H.E. the grand-vizier, a fixed salary and cash would pass from their office and an amount of [blank] was assigned to him.Footnote 76
One of the shater-bashi's tasks at court was to hold the reins of the horse the shah had selected while the uzangi qurchisi-bashi held the stirrups and helped the shah mount.Footnote 77 Another, likely incidental, task was to attend to certain ceremonial duties, such as when the shater-bashi was present during the farewell escort (badraqeh) of the VOC ambassador Johan van Leene in 1691.Footnote 78
Shaters formed a separate group of people, as the profession was passed from father to son. From the age of six or seven, they trained to be long-distance runners. First, they learned to walk lightly and, in the first year, ran a daily distance of one league of 3.25 km in a kind jog. In the second year, they ran two to three leagues and, in the following years, the distance was increased proportionally. When the aspiring shater reached the age of eighteen, they were given a messenger bag filled with flour, a plate for baking bread, and a bottle of water.Footnote 79 They then had to run carrying this load, a task training them for, when on the job as messengers, the need to take short-cuts and not use the caravan routes. Shaters would even cross waterless areas and, thus, needed to be accustomed to carrying provisions.Footnote 80
When a shater wanted to rise to the rank of master runner, and his employer agreed, he had to pass a test. In Isfahan, this meant he had to run seven times the distance between the Ala Qapi and the so-called “marker of the courier's race,” called the mil-e shater davani, on a mountain (Kuh-e Soffeh) three miles from Isfahan. He was not allowed to eat during that time, although drinking was permitted. Each time he reached the sign post, he took a small flag, which he placed near the mark. After the royal shaters approved that he passed the test, he was promoted.Footnote 81 This kind of race was also run in provincial capitals in case a shater in a governor's employ wanted to become a master of his profession. One such race took place in Shiraz on August 1, 1587, in which the runner, Shater `Ali, ran thirty farsakh (180 km) and collected five arrows.Footnote 82 For a race in Isfahan in the 1670s, the shater wore a kind of uniform particular to them:
He was in his Shirt with a single Roll of Cloth pretty thin, with a Silver Ground, which cover'd his Breech. He carried a Linnen Cloth in several Doubles folded upon his Stomach in a St. Andrew's Cross, which kept his Breasts up very close, and was tied to his Waste: And he had another Linnen Cloth that went between his Legs well bound: His Arms, Legs, and Thighs, were rubed with an Ointment of a dark Yellow Colour made up with a mixture of Oil of Roses and an Oil of Nutmegs and Cinamon: He had Footmens Shoes on upon his bare Feet, which is a Shooing peculiar to them: And though he had no Stockings on, as I have said, he had Garters. In short, he had a Cap upon his Head which came almost to the bottom of his Ears, adorn'd with three or four little Feathers, as light as Wind. Upon his Bonnet, Neck, Arms, and upon his Stomach, you see Amuletts, hung as I have been representing to you but just now.Footnote 83
The description of the folded cloth is reminiscent of the white cloth the chapars were outfitted with when they began their messenger service (see above). The description of the shater's dress, alongside the drawing of a foot messenger by Cornelius de Bruyn, is slightly different from the one given by Chardin. De Bruyn writes, when leaving Isfahan on October 26, 1704:
We had several couriers, whose dress is very different from those who live in Ispahan.Footnote 84 The reader will find a representation of them in plate 110. The plumes which they wear on their turbans, and the ornaments that accompany them, are of various colours. Their vests are usually of scarlet, and little bells are fastened to their girdles, with tufts of black silk. The sound of these bells is heard at a considerable distance, when the couriers are in motion. Those who hire them, are obliged to furnish them with this habit, which becomes their own at the end of the journey, over and above the wages they receive. It is usual to hire as many of these couriers as are judged necessary; with a bearer of Caljan, or a bottle of tobacco, who is mounted on a mule, that likewise carries two portmantles [Jagtan], or leathern cases, filled with coffee, rose-water, tobacco, and such like accommodations. We have represented one of these persons, with his equipage, in plate 111. The Persians are always attended by some of these servants, in their travels, and are imitated by all Europeans of any rank.Footnote 85
The difference in Chardin and de Bruyn's descriptions of the shaters’ dress is clear when seeing their drawings, as well as those by others (Figs. 1 and 2). De Bruyn's drawing is the most detailed one, as is expected from a professional artist. However, he pointed out that in Isfahan and other cities, shaters wore a different dress, which is borne out by Kaempfer's depiction (Fig. 3). It would seem the dress drawn by Kaempfer was indeed what could be called the shaters’ “court dress,” as the same is also depicted in several contemporary Persian miniatures (Fig. 4). However, the miniature of Shater Abbas Sabuhi (Fig. 5) shows a dress more akin to that drawn by de Bruyn. Chardin also did a drawing of the shater, which is different and much more simple than the others. The only explanation I can offer is that Chardin's draughtsman made a simplified drawing of the shater's dress, focusing on the characteristics of shape, length, tightness, etc., because this and other drawings of people accompanied Chardin's description of male and female dress in Iran.Footnote 86
Figure 1. Shater. Le Bruyn, Travels into Muscovy, Persia and Part of the East-Indies, vol. 1, plate 110.
Figure 2. Shater. Chardin, Voyages du chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient, Atlas, plate XXII.
Figure 3. Shater. Kaempfer, Exotic Attractions in Persia, 1684–1688, 171.
Figure 4. Shater. Drawing after Nezami's Khamseh, 1560–1561, 10r, BnF (Persian Supplement 1956). Credit: Guus Floor.
Figure 5. Shater Abbas Sabuhi. Malek Museum Tehran.
There may have been differences between the outfits of shaters in royal service and those in the service of officials, in particular the number of bells they wore. Gemelli Careri met a shater en route,
who had six bells on his belt. Those in the service of princes were allowed to wear 12 bells, which served both to warn people of his approach as well as to urge him on. Some also wore long colored plumes, which were attached to one another as a palm.Footnote 87
Others had even fewer bells. For example, another shater seen by Gemelli Careri, “this time one in the service of the divan-begi, wore … three small bells at the back of his belt.”Footnote 88
Once a shater had joined the ranks of royal shaters, he had to be in attendance wherever the shah went. In fact, Membré reported in 1540:
[whenever] the King rides about 10 footmen go before him, who are called shatirs; each of them wears a white cloth skirt, cut short to the knees; and they wear trousers, and have plumes on their heads, and on the front of their belts, a little bell. And such men always go in company with Qadi Jahan, his minister, the Qurchibashi and sometimes Bahram Mirza, his [only uterine] brother.Footnote 89
The number of shaters preceding or accompanying an official was directly related to his importance. For example, although Tahmasp I was only preceded by ten shaters in 1540, he ordered that twelve accompany Emperor Homayun, each of whom wore a hat with golden bells and pheasant feathers (qarqavol), a short gold braided garment (qantureh), and golden battle-axes (najaq or najak) on their belt.Footnote 90 This higher number of shaters was likely a form of flattery and show of respect.Footnote 91
It was not only the shah who employed shaters, but also local rulers and high-ranking government officials. Khan Ahmad Khan, the local ruler of Gilan, had a shater in his employ, as did Luarsab II, the Georgian viceroy (1605–1614).Footnote 92 As Membré reported: “When a soltan [governor] goes to court, there goes before him on foot a servant whom they call shater.”Footnote 93 It seems that over time the number of shaters in employ increased and, as Gemelli Careri reported in 1690, “The magnates employed many of these shaters to show off their importance.”Footnote 94 Upon entering Isfahan in August 1732, Tahmasp Qoli Khan—the later Nader Shah—was accompanied by, in addition to many other civil and military personnel, 400 shaters wearing a golden, bejeweled dagger (khanjar) in their waistband and walking on either side of him.Footnote 95 Also, at less official occasions, Nader Shah was always accompanied by shaters.Footnote 96 Tahmasp Khan Jalayer Vakil al-Dowleh, governor of Isfahan and army commander in the 1730s, was also accompanied by 400 shaters.Footnote 97
The royal shaters did not only accompany the shah or high officials for show and pageantry; they were also used on the spot, if the need arose, to carry messages to whomever and wherever their master required.Footnote 98 These messages were not necessarily always written; they could be also transmitted orally.Footnote 99 Sometimes shaters were mounted.Footnote 100 Under Nader Shah, foot messengers were also used to keep important persons “under custody.”Footnote 101
Shaters were able to run long distances and were excellent dancers and jumpers. This aspect was strong among those in the employ of high-ranking officials, who often had shaters perform dances for their amusement. In fact, when the shah danced on one occasion, a person in attendance was asked how well the king had danced, and he replied: “By God, he is an excellent shater.”Footnote 102
It seems that some shaters had a special relationship with their employer, probably due to their particular skills.Footnote 103 `Obeyd Khan, the Uzbek ruler, had a shater in his employ named Shaneh-bin, meaning he could “foretell” by “reading” sheep scapulas, who was asked to foresee how a forthcoming battle would end.Footnote 104 The same `Obeyd Khan wanted to seize Herat in the spring of 921 A.H./1515, but his attack was repelled. Among the defenders, Shater `Abdollah figured prominently due to his bravery.Footnote 105 Some shaters were employed in important official positions. In 957 A.H./1550, Shater Beg was the darugheh or tax collector of the Yaqqa Turkmans, and a relative and confidante of the Turkman governor of Astarabad.Footnote 106 In 1615, Shater Shahi Nuri was the castellan of the citadel of Tiflis.Footnote 107 Shater Abbas Sabuhi, also known as Sag-e Lavand (سگ لوند) or the Libertine Dog, was a poet in the service of Shah `Abbas I (r. 1587–1629). On one occasion, he was supposed to have joined the shah's hunting party but arrived late, and thus was unable to participate. To apologize, he wrote a very self-deprecating poem:
Other shaters, outstanding ones, were well-known beyond the confines of the royal court. For example, Shah Soleyman (r. 1666–1694) had a large number of shaters in his service, amongst whom there was one “called Hot Hot,Footnote 109 the hoopoe, who is better than all others.”Footnote 110
While the royal shaters could only be used by the shah and his officials, this did not mean that “non-royal” shaters, so to speak, could not serve as footmen for others. In fact, affluent notables and merchants always moved around the city on horseback preceded by one or two shaters to make way.Footnote 111 Likewise, everyone's mail was delivered by shaters or foot runners either permanently employed by wealthy private persons, major merchants, and trading companies or employed incidentally. Merchants, both Iranian and foreign, were these letter carriers’ main employers, alongside missionaries. Merchants in particular needed market information and were therefore, either directly or indirectly, willing to pay for that information.Footnote 112
Private persons often made use of the services of company messengers. When shaters were hired for a letter-carrying journey, they made this known in the city so as to get letters from other people, and thus additional money, for the same destination.Footnote 113 The shaters traveled fast and were simply dressed. According to Della Valle in 1618,
Sciaters, or couriers, who deliver letters both ways, but they also go in front of the horses like footmen, with a bunch of feathers on their head and small bells on their belt that ring, so that those who are on the same road make way for them when they hear them. They have their legs and thighs partly bare, with a smart shirt, but they are always at a trot, or rather galloping, and if people would see them at Rome they would never believe how much distance they cover per day.Footnote 114
In 1690, Gemelli Careri confirmed Della Valle's description, observing a shater who “wore short trousers, open as in the case of our runners. His legs and thighs were naked and greased with a certain oil to prevent tiredness.”Footnote 115 Chardin provides additional information about how shaters traveled and what they carried apart from letters.
They are known in the Road by a Bottle of Water, and a Satchel they have at their Back, instead of a Knapsack, to carry Provision for thirty or forty Hours time, and to make more Speed, they leave the High-Road, and cross the Country: They are known also by their Shoes and some Bells, like our Wagon Horse Bells, which stick to their Girdle to keep them Awake. They are bred up to that Business, and it goes on from Father to Son; they are taught to walk at a good round Rate with the same Breath at eight Year old.Footnote 116
The largest foreign trading company in Iran, the VOC, employed three permanent couriers, in addition to incidental ones, to maintain communications between the director in Bandar Abbas, the Isfahan office, and other locations (e.g., Kerman). This was necessary because the main office in Bandar Abbas wanted regular updates on the market and price developments in Isfahan. Therefore, messengers between the two factories were exchanged every fortnight.Footnote 117 When in June 1624, merchant Jan Granyer went from Isfahan to Bandar Abbas, he was ordered to send a messenger to Isfahan immediately after the VOC ships arrived with information about their lading. If they had already arrived and a messenger had already been sent, he then had to send another messenger to report what had happened since, “because with double letters we will be more certain how to act in the Company's best interest in this country.”Footnote 118
The EIC employed messengers as well, although it sometimes piggy-backed on the VOC or messengers employed by other merchants or missionaries to save money.Footnote 119 This was not an unusual arrangement, as even competitors like the VOC and EIC often carried each other's letter pouch by ship. Letter inviolability was generally respected, although rare exceptions occurred, usually in the case of war. In one such instance, be it an uncertain one, a letter was “received by way of Batavia on the 8th current. As this came open, no doubt the Dutch have made themselves acquainted with its contents.”Footnote 120
Often, the couriers employed by the Dutch and English were Armenians, which, given the close contacts between both the VOC and EIC with Armenian merchants, is not surprising. The use of Armenian messengers was particularly evident on postal routes to the Ottoman Empire, where Shi`ite Persian messengers would have had a difficult time for both religious (purity) and political reasons (suspicion of being spies). For letters outside Iran, the network of other merchants and, in particular, Catholic missionaries—such as the Carmelites and other religious orders—were also used.Footnote 121
Private individuals, such as Chardin, also used shaters for the delivery of mail. In 1674, he employed a shater named Mohammad `Ali, who returned from Basra to Hormuz with a packet of letters.Footnote 122 Likewise, Armenian and other merchants also hired shaters.Footnote 123 Catholic orders such as the Carmelites, Capuchins, and Augustinians also made use of these letter carriers.Footnote 124
Shaters’ remuneration differed according to the milieu in which they worked. In government circles, a royal shater might be richly rewarded. For example, Khvajeh Nezam al-Molk, who was sent as an envoy to appease Shah Esma`il in 1505, sent a shater to Soltan Hoseyn Mirza, the last Timurid ruler in Iran, who was so thrilled by the news of the mission's result that he gave the shater 500 Khorasani tumans.Footnote 125 Shaters were also the target of court intrigue. In one case, a shater was given fifty tumans to arrive late, making the order to cancel an execution too late.Footnote 126 These kinds of rewards, however, were not paid for the delivery of normal mail. According to Chardin, “Messengers are hired at a very easy Rate; for they send an Express a thirty Days Journey for thirty Livres.”Footnote 127 In 1717, a VOC express messenger was paid thirty-five mahmudis per month, five mahmudis more than in 1641.Footnote 128 In 1729, the EIC paid its six to twelve shaters the same wage, viz., seventy shahis per month, i.e., twice as much as for an EIC writer. Qaseds employed by the EIC do not seem to have been paid a fixed wage, but paid instead by time limit. In 1746, a qased was ordered to deliver a letter from Bandar Abbas to Kerman in eight days, about 400 miles as the crow flies.Footnote 129 However, the same time limit arrangement also was used by the VOC in the case of a shater, later referred to as a foot messenger, who was ordered to deliver a letter from Isfahan to Bandar Abbas within sixteen days.Footnote 130 It seems to have been a standard procedure, because a Capuchin monk in Baghdad sent a courier to the Carmelites in Basra, writing: “I expressly sent the letter-carrier to your reverence by payment of 20 scudos, who set out on the last day of Ramazan on a Sunday night, on condition that he should reach you within a week.”Footnote 131
According to Chardin, a shater took a journey, “which may amount to three hundred French Leagues, in eighteen or twenty Days time, and sometimes in fifteen.”Footnote 132 Chardin also mentions a competitive race where the winners covered 36 leagues or about 125 km in 14 and even 12 hours, or, respectively 8.9 km per hour and 10.4 km per hour.Footnote 133 A letter carrier ran from Isfahan to Shiraz, a distance of about 480 km, in 7 days, i.e., 68 km per day.Footnote 134 Taking into account the other running feats, it seems this shater did not even run all day, he also rested. In 1645, a foot messenger ran from Bandar Abbas to Surmaq in 6 days, when the roads were still sometimes covered in heavy snow.Footnote 135 Good reports that in the Afsharid period, shaters ran from Bandar Abbas to Kerman in 7–10 days and to Isfahan in 14 days.Footnote 136 This seems to have been standard practice; indeed, on December 15, 1635, Overschie, the then head of the VOC in Iran, wrote that he had received a letter in Isfahan from Bandar Abbas, brought by messenger in 16 days’ time, reporting that the ships had arrived on November 27.Footnote 137 The distance between the cities was 1,340 km, and the VOC ambassador Joan Cunaeus had traveled this path himself in 1651 in 46 days, meaning the messenger had on average covered 84 km per day!Footnote 138 However, the distance for these messengers was actually shorter than that of the caravan route, as they made use of short-cut paths, very well-known to them, but inaccessible to quadrupeds. This was also the reason that Bembo, in May 1674, “took into service a shater, who is like a foot guide, very experienced about the roads. With one of those, one can go safely alone through Persia without a caravan.”Footnote 139 This situation changed after the death of Nader Shah in 1747. Hanway's “courier, whom I sent to Mesched, poor and despicable as he was, did not escape without being robbed.”Footnote 140
Although shaters were trained from an early age to develop their running endurance, it seems they used doping to sustain this capacity. According to Herbert, who had first-hand experience with shaters in 1628–29, opium was the drug of choice.
The footmen use it too as a preserver of strength, and which is strangest, so giddies them, that in a constant dreame or dizzinesse, they run sleeping not knowing whom they meet, and yet misse not their intended places: and by its power protract their travell, to deceive their body of reasonable rest of lodgings.Footnote 141
Discussion
From the above, it is clear that both official and private communications were maintained throughout the kingdom through the use of mounted (chapar) and foot messengers (shater). Although lacking a system of relay stations with reserve horses and fodder, the Safavid-Afsharid-Zand express courier system was an effective one. It was also a formalized one, to the extent that chapars were recognizable by their dress and rules existed for their sustenance en route and use of private mounts. The chapar service, unlike the shaters, was entirely government operated, although in exceptional cases diplomats were allowed to avail themselves of chapar couriers. In the case of important diplomatic messages, courtiers were sometimes used as chapar messengers. In the 1730s, Nader Shah reestablished the chapar system with relay stations and reserve horses in part of the country, but by 1739 it had fallen into disuse due to his demand for men and horses for the army. As of the 1750s, due to the chaotic situation in Iran caused by succession wars, the relay system broke down and the chapar system operated as it had during the Safavid era. It was only in the early nineteenth century that the fast courier system with relay stations was reestablished again.
The slower shaters or foot messengers were employed by government and private institutions, both local and foreign. Foot messengers were rarely referred to as qaseds during this period. Shaters in government employ had to pass an athletic endurance test held regularly in both the national and provincial capitals. The government-employed shaters accompanied the shah or his governors whenever they traveled, ready to be dispatched immediately if needed. Shaters not in government employ also delivered mail for private individuals who were not their employer. The system of foot messengers continued unchanged despite the upheaval of the fall of the Safavids, the Afghan occupation, and the insecurity of the Afsharid and Zand reigns. In the nineteenth century, the shater's function was reduced to that of royal footman, while the term qased became the general term for foot messenger.Footnote 142
Appendix I The Shater's Race or Shater Davani
Tavernier
If the employer of the shater, who wants to become a master, is a magnate, he invites all his friends and has platform erected on the Meydan where snacks are prepared, and where the courtesans come to entertain the gathering. There is no invited person who does not bring something to give to the shater after his race. One brings a hat, the other a belt, and he gives some of the various presents that he receives to other shaters. Thus, he comes to the square, his thighs totally bare and his legs rubbed with a certain fat, wearing nothing but simple shorts with a belt with three bells that bang against his stomach. With that outfit he leaves the Ala Qapi, and from sunrise until sundown he runs twelve times as far as a stone that is in the mountains at one and half league from the city, covering in this short time thirty-six of our common leagues, that is longer than the distance between Paris to Orleans. While the shater runs, there is kourouk [quruq] in the Meydan and along the entire route where he passes, and three or four hundred riders go constantly up and down to see to it that no tricks are played in the shater's route. When he nears Isfahan they go ahead to warn that he is returning. Each time that he leaves and returns, the trumpets and drums make themselves heard. At the stone, which is at the end of the quarry there are people who hold arrows, and who give one to the shater after each leg, which he carries to the Ala Qapi. Each time when he returns the courtesans wipe caress him. During the entire race he eats nothing, because that would impede his running, but once in a while he drinks some sorbet. After he has completed his twelve laps, he receives the rank of master by the approval of the chief footmen of the king, who are in charge of all others, and whom he has asked to approve his acceptance. The Khans of governors of the major provinces have their shatters also race in the area of their residence and with the same ceremony. Each one of them give presents just like in Isfahan, which sometimes amounts to a rather large sum, of which they give a part to their friends, as I have said.Footnote 143
De Thevenot
Amongst the lowest Officers of the King are the Schaters who are as the King's Foot-men. To be admitted into this Office, besides credit, one must be an extraordinary good Foot-man, and give proofs of it; and therefore when a man desires to be received into the King's Service, in quality of a Schater, and hath made interest enough to be admitted to this trial, he must run a race, which is to be his Essay. He starts at Hali Capi, and twelve times in one day runs to a certain place towards the Hills, a long French League and a half distant from Hali Capi. At the end of this Carrere there are men who have several Arrows ready, with little pennons hanging at them; and every time the Schater comes, they give him one of these Arrows, which he carries to the Hali Capi, so that coming and going twelve times, he brings with him twelve Arrows, and runs about six and thirty French Leagues from Morning to Night. In the mean time there is Kourouk in the Meidan and all along the way he goes: The Elephants and a great many horse-men are ranked in the Meidan, where there is a noise of trumpets and timbrels all day long. All the great men make presents to the Schater, some ten or twenty, and some thirty Tomans, and all this to ingratiate themselves at Court: They who have nothing to give, are nevertheless present; nay, the People are forced to come, in so much that at Giulfa they drive out all out of doors with Cudgels and oblige them to come to this spectacle; none but old men, women and children are excused. The Armenians are also taxed in a certain Summ which they are to present to the Schater: When I was at Ispahan there was one of those races, and the Armenians were taxed in thirty Tomans. All b ring their presents to Hali Capi, whilst the Race is running. Some of the Countrey would needs have perswaded me, that the presents which are made to the Schater who runs, might amount in all sometimes to two thousand Tomans; but others who were more moderate, told me two or three hundred Tomans. This permission to run is earnestly solicited for, and he must have favour that can obtain it: He that ran whilst I was at Ispahan had been six Months in suing out the permission. Monsieur Diegre master of the Dutch Factory at Ispahan, a very knowing man, so curious and exact, that he omits not the smallest Circumstance, as much as possibly can, in describing all things punctually, measuring even publick places, Mosques and Gardens almost to half a foot, and more exactly too, if he can; set out one day from Hali Capi, which is the place where the Schaters starts who are to perform their trial, and went to that place where they take their Arrows, keeping pace on hoirse-back with his Foot-man that went before: He told me that he was an hour and a half on the way, and that having obliged his Foot-man to reckon all their steps, and to mark them by hundreds, he found that they had made four thousand Geometrical paces, which make a German mile, and is a French league and a half: So that the trial of the Schaters is in traveling thirty six French Leagues from Morning to Night.
The Chans in their Government make their Schaters also run, and all make them presents, there being no difference but in more and less. When a Schater would be received into the Service of any Lord, he performs his trial, which is to go an Agatsch from the Town, where he finds a man that gives him an Arrow marked with a certain mark, that he may not play the cheat; he puts it through a hole in his coat on the shoulder, and so brings it to the Town, where he leaves it and returns back for another; and in one day betwixt Sun and Sun he must go and bring twelve, and so run four and twenty Agatsch: At Night they cocunt the Arrows which he hath brought, and if there be twelve of them he is received. He rests not all day long, neither eats; for that would hinder his going, but is continually in motion, save sometimes when he drinks Sorbet. I have been assured that there are some of the Lords Schaters, who in a frolick sometimes will carry on their shoulders four and twenty Mans of Tauris, which make a hundred and forty pound Weight, or thereabouts, and with that load travel thirty Agatsch a day, (that's to say) thirty French Leagues.Footnote 144
Chardin
Description of a very solemn Diversion in Persia, which is the Feast of the Chatir;, or Footman of the King. This is, when the Overseer of the Foot-men has a mind to be receiv'd into the King's Service. He must go from the Gate of the Palace to a Pillar, which is a French League and a half from the Palace, and fetch twelve Arrows from thence one after the other, between the two Suns. He is not receiv'd as the King's Footman till after that Trial. When King Soliman was mounted on his Throne, they show'd him some things in his State; and as they spoke very much concerning the Feast of the Chatir;, he order'd that it should be solemniz'd with all the Pomp imaginable, and that they should spare no Cost; and this is that which was perform'd the 26th Day of May, 1667; a Day set a-part by the Astrologers, who judg'd that to be the most Auspicious for this Festival. The General of the Musketeers who was, at that time, the Favourite, had brought a Chatir; the Day before to the King, who promis'd to take him, if he accomplish'd his Course, and gave him a Calaat or entire Habit, with Permission to begin at four a Clock in the Morning, this was granting him a Favour of nigh an Hour; for the Order, as I have said, is for them to do it between the two Suns, as they call it: And they immediately give Orders for opening the Houses, setting out the Shops, and watering the Streets all along the Ways: That was done to a nicety; and the next Day every thing was set out, adorn'd and fitted.
The Streets through which he that Runs must pass, which for the greatest part were cover'd Markets, were likewise wonderfully set out; the Shops were spread with rich Stuffs, and some were set out with Arms like the great Room of an Arsenal, with a great many Colours intermix'd. The Way was water'd every time he that Run came to go by it, the Moment before he came, and they strewed it with Flowers. The Suburbs were spread with Pavillions, and the City likewise, to the turn where he fetch'd the Arrows. A Body of Indians to the number of two or three Thousand, were there in; one place. That of the like Number of Armenians, in another. The Ignicoles, or Worshippers of Fire, in one Place, the Jews in another; every Body as well plac'd as he could to please the King, who had desir'd it. At the Gates of the Greatest Lords who were in the way, were Tables covered with Perfume-Pots, Sweet-Waters, and Basons with Sweet-meats: In short, all the Way was as it were border'd with Instruments of Musick, with Kettle-Drums and Trumpets, who play'd in Companies, as soon as they perceived him who Run, was; coming.
…
He always run his Course with a great many in Company sixteen or twenty Footmen belonging to great Lords, run on Foot before him, and by his Sides, at the Rate he went at, relieving one another. They were preceded by a Number of Gentlemen, five and twenty, or thirty in Number, among whom there were moreover, some of the greatest Lords, who run two hundred Spaces before, more out of State, than to make Way. A Courier on Purpose, nam'd by the King, follows him each Course, to be a Witness of it. They refresh his Face at every Turn, with sweet Waters, and they throw some all along upon his Thighs, Arms, and Legs, to refresh them. They continually Fan him, both behind and on his Sides and all that with so much Dexterity and Nimbleness, tho' the Way was always cover'd with People, both Foot and Horse there is never any Body before him. Every one resounded his Praises, and made a thousand Vows for him, calling upon God, and imploring the Saints with Cries, that rent the Air and the great Lords, who met him in his Course, promis'd him Wealth and Honours, by which his Swiftness, Courage, and Strength were Animated. He could not do it, but from being Spirited, and rais'd to a degree of Inchantment, by the agreeable Noise that is made about him.
I forgot to tell you, that upon the Pillar that marks the End of his Course, and where the Arrows which he goes to fetch, are pass'd thro' a Scarf there is a Pavillion built half as big as that which I have describ'd before the Gate of the Palace, which was Adorn'd after the same Manner, and furnish'd with several Entertainments. When he who runs, goes the first time before the Gate, he sets forward by leaping and capering, and moving his Arms, as if he had a mind to Fence, and show Postures. This was to put himself in Wind he does this the first Course, without Resting, either going or coming but in the other Courses, he stops a little to take Breath. When he enter'd the Tent where the Arrows were, two of the strongest Footmen took him by the Strength of their Arms, or main Force, set him down upon a Carpet, where during the Space of a Pater, or Pater-Noster, they put some Sherbet, or other Cordial to his Mouth, and hold Perfumes to his Nose and at the same time another Footman, took an Arrow out of one of the King's Officer's Hands, and there put it thro' his Back. These Arrows are about a Foot long, and not thicker than a large Writing Quill, having a little sort of a Streamer at the End of it, like that which is put to the Consecrated Bread. The Foot-man perform'd his six first Courses in six Hours, for the others, he took a little more time. The greatest Lords of the Court, as I have said, all Accompanied him, one after the other in his Courses. Cheic-Aly Can, Governour of the most .[209] important Province in Persia, and at that time, mightily in Favour, tho' he was sixty eight Years of Age, rode six Courses with him, changing his Horse so many times. The first Minister, almost as old as the other, rode three Courses. The Nazir, or High Steward, a Lord of very near the same Age, perform'd but two Courses, being call'd elsewhere, upon the King's Service: But the better to make his Court to the King, he made his only Son, a Youth of about two and twenty Years of Age, well made, and charmingly handsom, perform the twelve Courses intire, he continu'd running, without any Intermission, from four of the Clock in the; Morning, till six at Night, in; the midst of all this hurly-burly, and terrible Noise, and without any Refreshment, but a little Cordial. The King had order'd, that twelve Principal Workmen belonging to the Palace, should run each of them a Course with the Footman;, which was accordingly done. I follow'd him all the seventh Course, in which he began to slacken his Pace, by Reason of the Heat of the Sun, and the Sand he pass'd nevertheless he always put me to the Gallop. When he came into the Palace Royal, there was such Hollowing, Shouting, Musick playing, and above all, upon certain Kettle-Drums, carry'd upon Carts, which were bigger than Tunns. I never heard such a Noise in; all my Life: And I learnt afterwards, that they heard it a League off. At the sixth Course, the King came to the Door of the Tent, to see him who run, come in, and to encourage him. At the eighth Course, the Tent was serv'd with thirty Basons of Massiff Gold, full of good Meat, to regale the Footmen and at three in the Afternoon, the King appear'd at the Windows of the Pavillions, which were upon the Place, before the great Gate, then began all the Diversions which had been prepar'd for that Purpose, each before him, without any Regard to the Spectators; the Beasts to Fight, the Men and Women Dancers to Dance, each Company apart; the Rope-Dancers to fly about, the Jugglers to play their Tricks, the Wrestlers to Engage. This; Confusion of Exercises and Sports, where one did not know which to fix ones Eyes upon, was the most whimsical Sight in the World, but every one almost was intent upon the Fighting of the wild Beasts, which is one of the most ravishing Sights among the Persians: Among the rest, that of the Lion or Panther, with the Bulls; and upon the Fight of the Buffler, the Rams, Wolfs, and of the Cocks. These Horn'd Beasts don't Fight with one another after equal Manner; for these Bufflers rush upon, and take hold of one another's Horns; they push at one another and never quit, till one or other is overcome, and fled out of the List: But the Rams rush upon one another at ten or twelve Yards distance, and meet each other with such a dreadful Shock, that one may hear the Stroak at fifty Yards distance; after that, they retire quick, running backwards to about the; same distance, when they return to the Charge, and run against one another again, and so on, till one or t'other be laid upon his Back, or that the Blood gush out of his Head: As for the Wolfs, they stand upon their Feet, and take hold of one another's Bodies: As this Beast is heavy, they must make him Angry before he will Fight and they do it after this Manner, they tye him fast by one Foot to a long Cord or Rope, then they show him a Child, or little Boy in the Place, and they let him go at him; he runs hard at him, thinking to glut himself; but when he is just ready to throw himself upon the Child, they gather in the Cord, and draw him back, then they let go a little, upon which he warms, stands up upon his Feet, and roars, to which they stir him up, by irritating him, till he was grown as furious as they would have him. I say nothing here concerning the Fights of the wild Beasts, because I shall have Occasion to mention them elsewhere. To conclude this Relation of the Feast of the Chatir, I shall say, that the King gets on Horseback at Five a-Clock, and going before him, he meets him again at the Gate of the Suburbs: When he understood the King came, he took a little Child, which he found in a Shop, and put it upon his Shoulders, to let him see that he was not Spent and this redoubl'd their Shouts and Acclamations of Joy. The King call'd to him as he was going by, and told him, he would give him the Calaat, or Royal Garment, from Head to Foot, 500 Tomans, which is 22000, 500 Livres, and make him Chief or Head of the Chatirs, which is a considerable Trust, in respect to the Income. All the Grandees sent him likewise Presents. Yet it was said that he had not run well, because he had not brought the twelve Arrows in twelve Hours, but had taken near fourteen to do it in. They say that a Foot-man in the Reign of Chasefy, did it in that Time. It is a fine Foot-Course, to run six and thirty Leagues in twelve Hours.Footnote 145
Bedik
CHAPTER XXII.
Other Persian games and recreations.
There are two particular kinds of games. The first is called Sciatir Dovini,Footnote 146 i.e. the great run. In fact, in addition to the messengers who travel on very well-known horses, who are called chapar, the king has numerous other couriers on foot, called shater. This means about the same thing as what Europeans call footmen.
In front of the king's horse, men with special very tight and well fitting clothes rush forward. They are so well trained in the art of running that in a single day they can travel many miles. As soon as their master and director learns that such a race is to be organized, he notifies the king so that he may benefit from that event.
Then, in summer, on the king's signal, [280] a runner has to show his speed and agility over a length of 24 miles, and he has to run the distance without any moment of rest. At the chosen day, the prime minister of the king takes care to publish an edict that prohibits anybody from engaging in trade, handicraft or any other work. All, without exception, common people and nobles, princes and satraps have to attend the race spectacle.
Thus, on that day the runner has to run 12 times between the king's first palace and the other, a distance of one league or Aghaci,Footnote 147 as the Persian say. Without stopping he has to return via the same route to this first palace, so that a league or aghaci be measured 24 times. The number of turns is counted with arrows. In fact, when the runner has made his first turn from the first royal palace, he carries in his hand one arrow, which he puts down at the second palace, or he will take another one, to be deposed at the first palace when he reaches that again and there he again picks up another arrow, until 12 arrows have been transported from the first palace to the second, and 12 arrows from the second to the first one.
This race begins at sunrise, as soon as it skims the heights of the royal palace, and continues late, about 8 o'clock in the evening. The route is magnificently decorated by the population, also to honor the king as well as to encourage the runner. To that end the satraps, the princes and all the magnates have to accompany him on foot as far as the palace, but not all at the same time, and they congratulate him continually with vivaciousness and encourage him, so that with virile energy he may run a glorious race and so that in honor of the king and to show his bravery he does not spare his strength. Moreover, the grand pontiffs themselves come to watch and to encourage him with the same words and support him with friendly compliments. [281]
When the satraps, princes and magnates have sufficiently accompanied him, the nobles surround him, and then the common citizens, and finally all the servants and runners of the king and those from other provinces, and all support his morale so that he may make a speedy race. The great support that one gives the runner, and a good way to stimulate his bravery, is that, each time he comes from one palace and arrives at the other and drops his arrow they welcome him with all kinds of music instruments and congratulate him with all kinds of gestures and lavish him, loudly crying, with titles of glory.
In short, on that day all treat this runner as an idol, and after the race the king gives him very costly gifts, and the entire court, the royal city and the whole kingdom bring him presents to honor and please the king, and to recompense the runner for his effort. But often the life of these runners is short and it cannot be otherwise. They have to constrain and moderate themselves considerably. The current king Soleyman has, among a large number of runners, one who is called Hot Hot,Footnote 148 the hoopoe, who is better than all others. [282] Footnote 149
Kaempfer
Not far from there is a second tower, at a distance of one parasang from the court. It is called Mili tsjatir dauni [mil-e shater davvani],Footnote 150 i.e. turning-post of the couriers'. It is thus called, because during royal games it serve as a marker for the couriers, who, to prove their talent, have to run to that marker from the court precinct, then return, and do this 12 times. They also have to carry a spear as far as the marker and there take another one and carry it back to the court precinct, at both sides it is the sign that they have completed the leg. This race takes place with the court's and the city's loud participation. The inhabitants of all quarters stream to the stadium and with musical instruments encourage the courier, who does not dare to dawdle, to urinate, not even to drink. Having thus run 12 times, going and returning, this distance between sunrise and sunset, he receives the title of royal courier and from the court a large number of presents.Footnote 151
