Evil in a Mask (29 page)

Still heading nearly south-east, they entered Persia, skirting the foothills of the northern half of the great Zagros mountain barrier that defends Persia's western frontier until, still in the plain, they came to the considerable city of Dezful. There they were met by officials who had been warned in advance of their approach, and taken to the Governor of the city. Through interpreters he enquired their business and, Gardane having produced papers to show that he was the head of a mission from the Emperor of the French to His Imperial Majesty the Shah, the Governor could not have been more courteous. Nevertheless, he insisted that their baggage must be examined by the Customs and that duty must be paid on all articles subject to tax when imported into Persia. Gardane protested in vain that all Ambassadorial missions were, by custom, exempt from such imposts. The following day he had to pay out a considerable sum before being allowed to proceed—a high percentage of which doubtless went to the Governor. They were soon to learn that in Persia nothing could be done without, in some way or other, greasing somebody's palm.

Some way further on, the road began to mount and wind upwards through a pass. On emerging from it they turned north of east to cover the last one hundred and twenty miles to Isfahan, and encountered the worst territory they had so far met with.

Persia is the most mountainous country in the world, and no sooner had the Silk Road crossed one chain of mountains than it approached another. For its size, the country also has the fewest rivers. Yet they never lacked for water for their horses or themselves. Every mile or so there were man-made water-holes and the
chaöushes
they had engaged in Dezful explained to them that two hundred years earlier Shah Abbas the Great had carried out one of the most marvellous irrigation works ever conceived by man. He had had underground pipe-lines laid all over the country, to bring water to every
valley; so that, instead of remaining parched desert, it could become fertile and bear crops.

Shah Abbas had also faced up to the terrible problem of his country's climate. The Greek historian Zenophon had quoted the Persian Prince Cyrus as saying, ‘The Kingdom of my Father is so great that there is no enduring the Cold on one side of it, nor the Heat in the other', and, in truth, up to the beginning of the seventeenth century the sufferings of travellers in Persia had, in certain seasons, been almost unbearable. But the great Shah had caused to be built many hundred caravanserai where merchants could seek relief—on winter nights from the cold of Dante's Seventh Hell, and at midday in summer the heat of Satan's Kitchen.

Although the mission travelled only during the early mornings and late afternoons, all its members were suffering from sunburn. Their faces and hands were red and their bodies baking beneath their thick uniforms. Roger suffered least as, having previously travelled for long distances in the East, he had taken the precaution, before leaving Constantinople, of buying a soothing salve to counteract the effects of the blistering sun. But he had lost nearly two stones in weight.

The scenery was magnificent. While crossing each wide plateau, upon every side of them rose jagged yellow mountain ranges, the highest peaks of which were still capped with snow, and stood out against a vivid blue sky. Below each range lay deep valleys, sheltering villages of flat-topped houses and well-cultivated fields, with abundant crops that struck a contrasting note of vivid green against the rocky precipices that protected them.

On the morning of July 25th they were only a dozen miles from Isfahan; so they had accomplished the journey in thirty-two days. It was at this point that they realised that the Governor of Dezful must have sent a courier ahead to announce that they were on their way, for half a dozen horsemen came out to greet them. One of the group was an Armenian interpreter, who said that his name was Mesrop-Li-bec, and he took charge of the party.

Half an hour later they came upon groups of houses at the
roadside and, here and there, an open market; so they imagined that they were entering the city. Actually, these were only the suburbs which seemed interminable, as they continued for several miles. It was this that first brought home to them that Isfahan was no ordinary Eastern city, but a great metropolis.

At length they came to a broad river: the Zaindeh. The Khajan bridge across it was like no bridge they had ever seen. Those of most European cities were surmounted on either side by irregular huddles of houses and shops. Those of Constantinople, the Balkans and the Near East consisted only of a number of flat-bottomed barges lashed together. This was a masterpiece of graceful architecture. On both sides of a broad roadway, it was lined by a long row of pointed arches behind each of which was an empty space overlooking the water. Mesrop-Li-bec explained that these alcoves were ‘boxes', which were occupied by the Shah and his nobles when boat races and other water sports were held on the river.

On reaching the far end of the bridge, a company of richly-dressed horsemen were waiting. They were headed by the Nazir—the Grand Steward of the Shah's household. In his Imperial Master's name, he bade them welcome. It was then explained that in Isfahan the Shah owned some three hundred houses and it was customary for distinguished visitors to be accommodated in any one of these they might choose as most suitable. Gardane then said that the dozen officers and servants with him were only a small part of the mission and that when the whole of it arrived in Isfahan, including servants, it would consist of some fifty persons.

Beyond the bridge lay a broad boulevard called the Khilban. It had shops on one side only; the other was occupied by the high-domed University and, behind, a screen of tall sycamore trees, the park of Chehel Sotun—one of the Shah's palaces. The long line of shops was broken by several streets in which lay many of the largest private houses in Isfahan. The Nazir led Gardane down one of them, pointing out a commodious building and, through Mesrop, asked if the General thought it would serve to house all his people. Gardane,
assuming that it had been chosen as suitable for the numbers of his party, at once agreed. He was then told that provisions to sustain the mission would shortly be brought there.

After the exchange of many bows and flourishes, the Nazir and his cavaliers then took their leave, Mesrop alone remaining to see the French into their quarters. On exploring the house they found it to be well furnished in the Eastern style, and were more than happy to see that the divans were draped in mosquito nets. Behind the building was ample stabling for the horses and a small garden in which there were orange, apricot and pomegranate trees.

An hour later a gorgeously-robed gentleman who rejoiced in the title of Mahemander Bachi—which Mesrop translated as the Guest-Keeper General—arrived. With him he brought an order on the Shah's purveyors for Gardane's party to receive at once, or at such times as they wished:

Sixty quintals of rice

Sixty quintals of flour

Sixty quintals of barley

Twelve quintals of butter

Twenty sheep

Two hundred chickens

One thousand eggs

Four hundred sacks of chopped straw for the horses.

Having expressed his gratitude, Gardane asked that a limited supply of each should be delivered as soon as possible, and said that he would ask for more when it became necessary. The Mahemander Bachi smiled his acquiescence, but appeared in no hurry to depart. Mesrop then told the General that it was customary to make this official some present in recognition of his services.

Gardane gave quick thought about what he had with him that might prove suitable; as all the gifts for the Shah and his courtiers were coming on by the caravan, which must be many days behind them. It then occurred to him that he had a musical
box which, at times, they had amused themselves by playing while camping in the desert. He sent his A.D.C. for it, and a tune was played on the box before it was duly presented. The Persian was delighted and, with many expressions of gratitude, departed. As Gardane had expected to have to pay both for the rent of a large house and everything his mission consumed while in Persia, he was naturally delighted at the Shah's generosity, and considered that he had got off extremely cheaply by surrendering his musical box for many thousand francs-worth of stores. But the following morning he became somewhat disillusioned about the generosity of the Persians.

An official termed the Peskis Nuviez arrived. Mesrop came with him, and explained that his companion's function was to enquire upon what business the mission had come to Isfahan and for particulars of the presents brought by the Ambassador for His Imperial Majesty, the King of Kings.

Gardane willingly gave a résumé of the letter from the Emperor that he was charged to present. As was customary between monarchs, he had, of course, numerous presents for the Shah. To Constantinople he had brought for the Sultan a magnificent Sevres dinner service, a miniature of Napoleon framed in diamonds, a beautiful clock and various other items. For the Shah he had similar gifts and a considerable consignment of modern weapons, to which he could now add those it had been intended he should leave in Constantinople. But he explained that all these things were in his heavy baggage and coming on with the next caravan, which could not be expected to arrive for a fortnight or more.

Recalling his own experience with the Customs at Dezful, it then occurred to him that the heavy baggage might be held up there until duty had been paid on it; so he put this question to his visitor.

The Peskis Nuviez replied that certainly would be the case. Gardane protested that in other countries the belongings of diplomatic missions were allowed in free; then he asked if it could not be arranged that at least the presents for His Majesty and the weapons should be exempted from duty.

With a bland smile the Persian said that it could, but would prove a costly matter because a special courier would have to be sent to Dezful and some compensation made to the Governor of that city for his loss of revenue.

A second supply of coffee and sweet cakes was then sent for and, in a leisurely manner, the matter was discussed. Finally, to have all the mission's baggage brought through free of duty cost Gardane eighty gold Napoleons and, to his chagrin, he felt certain that the greater part of this sum would remain in the pocket of the Peskis Nuviez.

Later that morning Gardane had still greater reason to feel exasperated at the conduct of the Persian officials. The Mahemander Bachi called upon him to say that, having learned from the Peskis Nuviez that the gifts sent by the Emperor to the Shah were not yet available, he could not, for the time being, present the General to His Imperial Majesty. Protocol ruled that presents from foreign monarchs must always be offered, examined and their worth assessed before an Ambassador could be granted an audience.

Gardane again attempted bribery, but this time without success. Evidently it was more than the Mahemander Bachi's place was worth to ignore the accepted procedure. When the official had gone, the General gave vent to his fury at being delayed in attempting to carry out the task with which the Emperor had charged him. The many additional hours of exhausting travel across deserts and over mountains endured by himself and his officers had proved wasted effort. They might just as well have come by easy stages with the camel caravan. But there was nothing he could do about it.

His wrath was somewhat mitigated that afternoon after he had received another visitor. This was the Superior of the Capuchin Fathers who had established a monastery in Isfahan many generations earlier, were well regarded by the Shah and had accumulated an exhaustive knowledge of the Persians and their customs.

The Superior assured Gardane that the two or three weeks' delay before he could be presented at Court should, in the long run, prove all to the good, as it would enable him to
become acquainted with numerous Ministers and functionaries, whose goodwill was essential to the success of the mission. To gain it, he advised the General to lose no opportunity of entertaining them, making them such presents as he could and, above all, flattering them. Among the most important to be cultivated in his fashion were the Shah's twenty-four gentlemen-in-waiting, who were called Yessaouls. They were a venal crowd who openly made a fat living by obtaining concessions and favours for foreigners; but they had great influence with their master.

Of the Persians generally, the Superior said they were a kindly but intensely proud people regarding themselves, in view of their three-thousand-year-old civilisation, as superior to all others. They taught their children three things: to tell the truth, to draw a bow and to ride a horse. Even the shopkeepers went everywhere on horseback. But they were congenially lazy, which was probably due to the climate. For a great part of the year a warm humidity, which proved most enervating, pervaded the whole country south of the great range of mountains north of Tehran. It caused bow strings to become slack and even rusted scimitars if left long in their scabbards.

In the days that followed, Gardane and his officers were treated with the greatest courtesy. As the official responsible for the well-being of guests, the Mahemander Bachi visited them frequently and arranged for them to see the sights of the city. Mesrop-Li-bec accompanied them everywhere and they learned from him that, although quite a number of higher-class Persians had a limited knowledge of either French or English and many of them understood Arabic and Turkish perfectly, it was considered beneath their dignity to converse in any foreign language. It was for this reason that Armenians were always used as interpreters.

On being conducted through the city, the French marvelled beyond all else at the Maidan Square, which had been built by Shah Abbas early in the seventeenth century. It was, Roger reckoned, about seven times the size of the largest square in Europe: the Piazza San Marco in Venice. The
buildings surrounding it were uniform: each having a pointed arch in its upper storey. Centrally, on one of the longer sides, there towered up above the line of flat roofs the Shah's Ali Qipa Palace. It had a high, broad balcony, from which he and his Court could watch the polo matches played in the huge square.