he

Heg.1137

1138

not give his minister the title of ambaffador. He J.C. 1725. was stopped at Scutari, because, they faid, could not be an ambaffador who reprefented only a rebel.

ceived.

Abdulazis, (that was the name of Afchraf's How rerepresentative,) could never obtain an audience of the monarch. Conducting himself always with as much haughtiness to the Turks as he experienced from them, he refused to let the grand vizier have any thing but a copy of the letter addreffed to his mafter, which contained the pretenfions of Aschraf, and in which he took the pompous title of king of kings. On the feal of these letters were engraved two Arabian verses, which may be thus tranflated: The blood of our enemies is our drink, and their Sculls ferve us for cups. In the private conferences which this Afghvan had with the reis effendi, he infifted that his master was a lawful prince like the Ottoman emperor: that Aschraf's elevation had been more agreeable to God than that of any other prince; fince it had been operated by the arms of the Sunnites on the ruins of the throne of the Aliians, whom the Alcoran orders to be exterminated, and that his master and his predeceffors, without any other fuccour than their zeal and courage, had beaten down the enemy of God, whilft the Ottoman emperors had been fleeping on their throne amidst so much power and riches; that if the Ottoman emperor thought to be commander of the Faithful in the countries under

his

J.C.1725. his obedience, Aschraf had a still better title to it Heg.1137, &1138. in that which he had conquered and was going to

conquer; fince his valour had extended the empire of truth, and that for the future, thanks to his conquests, the Sunnite dominions would be too extensive to obey one potentate. All the difcuffion between the minifters of the Porte and Afchraf's envoy was confined to the fuperiority claimed by the Ottoman emperor, and conftantly denied by the ufurper. The minifters, who had never fufficiently explained the grounds of this quarrel to the people, and who perceived the neceffity of convincing them that the Afghvans were not real Sunnites, published the demands of Aschraf, and the fetfa of the mufti, which decided, that every Muffulman who prefumed to difpute the fovereign power of the Ottoman house was a rebel and a heretic, and confequently Abdulazis was fent back deferving of death. with letters addreffed to his master, more haughty and menacing than those which he had brought. Meanwhile the czar, Peter the Great, died. 1139. His widow, who remained on the throne by the Death of defire of her husband, was too much taken up Great. with maintaining herself thereon, to think of fulfilling the articles of the treaty concluded with fend troops the Turks under the mediation of the marquis of into Perfia. Bonac. On her neglecting to fend troops to the

J.C. 1726.

Heg.1138,

&

Peter the

The Ruf

fians ne

glect to

borders of the Cafpian fea, the Turks took advantage of this inaction to encroach on the line which was to be drawn between the present or fu

ture

ture conquefts of the two powers. Mr. Romenzof, J.C. 1726. Heg.1138, the commiffioner fent for this purpose, preffed & 1139the Turks to finish it. They fent off the commiffioner who was to ftipulate for them; but, though Mr. Daillon, the relation of the marquis of Bonac who had been sent into Ruffia two years before, had been named by the court of France to affift in this bufinefs, the marquis of Andrefel, the fucceffor of the marquis of Bonac, had received orders from Verfailles, not only to fufpend the mediation, but likewife to thwart the Ruffians at the Porte with all his power. This change in the court of France proceeded from their having received certain intelligence of the czarina's having formed a fecret alliance with the emperor of the Weft.

prepare for

fence of

Thefe circumftances animated the Turks; they The Turks no longer talked but of conquefts. Achmet ba- war. Defhaw, the Turkish general, menaced Ifpahan, Afchraf. in which the ufurper had fortified himself. As the barbarous policy of his predeceffors and himself had greatly diminished the number of the inhabitants of this capital, he thought to defend himself better by forming an enclosure within the walls of a lefs extent, which, in lefs than fix months, was fortified in the eastern manner; that is to fay, he made a wall, ditches, and redoubts at equal distances, to oppofe his enemies, in cafe they should come to attack him. Afchraf prepared likewise another fort of defence more known among the Perfians and more congenial to his ferocious

VOL. IV.

Pp

J.C. 1726. ferocious foul; this was to ruin all the country Heg.1138, & 1139 from Cafbin to Ifpahan, in order to impede the march of the enemy; and, mixing hypocrify with cruelty, he spread a manifefto in the army of Achmet bafhaw, which contained in fubftance, that he, Afchraf, faw with grief Muffulmen obftinately bent on deftroying one another; that this impious war had lafted but too long; that he called God and his prophet to witnefs his difpofition for peace; and that he would neglect nothing to facilitate its completion.

He fends Come effen

Turkish

camp.

In fact, he chose from his nation four effendis, dis into the venerable by their age, their doctrine, and their manners, whom he sent into the camp of the enemy under the fafeguard of the law of mankind. Achmet bashaw received thefe deputies with honor in the middle of his council of war. The oldeft of them, fpeaking in the name of the whole, faid, that Aschraf their fovereign lord had fent them to Muffulmen, his brethren and friends, to invite them to fheathe the fword, which they ought to reproach themselves with having drawn against trye Believers, faithful obfervers of their law, and destroyers of the throne of the Aliians; that Afchraf, though aftonished at being treated as an enemy by Sunnite Muffulmen, had had much difficulty to believe that the Ottomans could have folicited the alliance of the Chriftians against a disciple and defcendant of Mahomet ; that it was this fame Mahomet who had armed him, and that he prayed the God of the holy

prophet

Heg.1138,

prophet not to impute to him a fingle drop of J.C. 1726. the blood that would be spilt, if Achmet III., & 1139. perfifting in his refolution to hinder him from extending the true worship, obliged the Afghvans to make use of their arms against their brethren. The Ottoman general perceived the impreffion which the old man's pathetic discourse made on the affembly. He replied, that, agreeably to the law infifted on by the Afghvans, he neither knew nor could know but one fole commander of the Faithful; that it was that prince, the fucceffor of Mahomet, and God's lieutenant on earth, who had fent him against the man who endeavoured to diffuade the Muffulmen from their obedience, and that, if Aschraf persisted in his rebellion, he would foon know on which fide the good cause was. The general had hardly done speaking when the moifins* called and announced it was noon, which is the hour of the third prayer ordered by Mahomet as the most folemn of the day. The four Afghvan effendis, without reply. ing to the bafhaw, fell on their knees with their faces to the east, and gave all the Muffulmen the example to pray; then, raifing their voices at the end of their prayer, they conjured Heaven to open the eyes and touch the hearts of thefe Muffulmen their brethren who would be their enemies. the escort that brought them.

The deputies retired immediately with This step produced one part of the effect which Afchraf had

VOL. IV.

Pp 2

expected

* The moifins are those who call the people to prayer. T.