'Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries, as also a full relation of the five years wars, between Aureng-Zebe and his brothers in their father's life time, about the succession. And a voyage made by the Great Mogul (Aureng-Zebe) with his Army from Dehli to Lahor, from Lahor to Bember, and from thence to the Kingdom of Kachemire, by the Mogols, call'd, the Paradise of the Indies. Together with a relation of the Kingdom of Japan and Tunkin, and of their particular manners and trade. To which is added a new description of the Grand Seignior's Seraglio, and also of all the Kingdoms that encompass the Euxine and Caspian Seas, being the travels of Monsieur TavernierBernier, and other great men.' [‎229] (262/1024)

Chap. XiL of Monfieur Tavernier,
CHAP. XII.
,
Of the third Eftate of the Kingdom, comprehending the Tradef-
men and Merchants : as dip of the Trades,MamtfaRures, and
Commodities o/Perfia.
T He Commerce of Perjia, as in all other Kingdoms, confifts in the Trade of the
Country and Forraign Traffick. Only with difference, that the Country
Trade is in the hands of the Perftans and the forraign Traffic in the hands
of the Armenians only, who are as it were the Kings and the Noble mens Fa
ctors to fell their (ilk.
As for the Handicraft trades, there are fome Corporations that pay a certain
yearly duty to the King, as Shoemakers, Cutlers, Smiths, and others. Some are
free, as the Joyners and Mafons *, though he get by their labour as much as others
pay him in money. For When the King requires twenty Mafons for a work which is
in haft, the Mamar Bajhi who is their Chief, fummons them together, and they
that gave moft are excused. For when the King requires twenty, he fummons
forty: and thus every man lives by his calling. The practice is the fame with the
Chief of the Joyners, and all other Trades, who are Officers pay’d by the King,
and never work unlefs they pleafe themfelves, commanding all that are under their
Jurifdi&ion. As for Carpenters and Joyners workpthe Perfians know little what
belongs to it, which proceeds from the fcarcity of Wood, that, does not afipw
them materials to work upon. So that for Chains, Tables and Bedfteads, there:
are no fuch things to be feen in Perfia: the Joyners bulinefs being only to make
Doors and Frames for Windows, which they make very neatly of feveral pieces
of wood joyn’d together, fo thata man can hardly put a Tennis Ball through the
holes where they put the glafs. Nor can it be expe&ed that the Perfians fhould
work like other Europeans^ having no other Tools then a Hatcjiet, a Saw, and a
Chizzel, and one fort of Plainer, which a French-man brought among them.
Their nobler Arts are Writing, for Printers they know none. All their Books
are writt’n, which is the reafon they fo much efteem that Art. Thqre was an
Armenian who had fet up a Printing-Prefsat Ifpahan^ and had Printed the Epifiles
of St. Pauf the feven Penitential Pfalms, and was going about to Print the whole
Bible, but not having the way of making good Ink, and to avoid the ill confequen-
ces of the Invention, he was forc’d to break his Prefs. For on the one fide the
Children refus’d to learn to write,pretending they wrote the Bible themfelves, on
ly to get it the fooner by heart; on the other fide many perfons were undone by
it, that got their living by writing.
The Perfians ufe three fortsofhands, the firft is call’d Neflalic^ot the Set hand,
the fecond Sbatyfle or Vivanni, which is their Court-hand: the third Neskre, or
the Running-hand, very like the Arabic. They write with fmall Indian Reeds*
and fay, that to write well, a man ought to lean fo Rightly upon his Pen,that fhould
a fly ftand upon the other end it would fall out of his hand. When they write they
hold their Paper in one hand to turn it according to the motion of the Pen, other-
wife they could not make their dafhes large and free, as the Chara£ter requires.
They make their Paper of Cotton Fuftian, very courfe, brown, and of no ftrength,
for the leaft folding tears it. They lleek it with a fleek ftone, and then rub it over
to make it more fleek. Their Ink is made of Galls and Charcoal pounded together
with Soot.
The reek’n four Languages among’em. The Peryiaw call’d that
js, fweet and pleating. The Tptrkjfh^ call’d Sciafcet, or the Rodomontado Language.
1 he to which they give the Epithite of or Eloquent: and the
fourth, call’d Cobabet, or th£ Speech of the Country people. The Perfian in ufe
among the Gentry is compos’d almoft of all Arabic words: by reafon that the
erftan is very barren. But the Gibbrilh of the Country people is fo corrupt that
J ey in the City can hardly underftand ’em. The Arabian is the Language of the
earned, in which tongue their Books are written. The Language of the Couit
E e 2 is ,