'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎166] (201/714)

■Hi
mmmmm
166
PERSIA
bidden, and is only pursued in secret. The story of their enforced
conversion to Mohammedan ism in the year 1838 is well known, and
Jews in ^ ias been repeated by more than one traveller. Dr.
Meshed Wolff, who was twice at Meshed, both before and after
the incident, described it in these terms ;—
The occasion was as follows : A poor woman had a sore hand. A
Mussulman physician advised her to kill a dog and put her hand in the
blood of it. She did so ; when suddenly the whole population rose and
said that they had done it in derision of their prophet. Thirty-five
Jews were killed in a few minutes ; the rest, struck with terror, became
Mohammedans. They are now more zealous Jews in secret than ever,
but call themselves Anusim, the Compelled Ones. 1
Wolff does not add—what is necessary to explain the sudden
outburst—that the incidents of the Jewess and the slaughtered
dog unfortunately occurred on the very day when the Mohammedans
were celebrating the annual Feast of Sacrifice. 2 Superstition and
malice very easily aggravated an innocent act into a deliberate
insult to the national faith; and hence the outbreak that ensued.
There is much less fanaticism now than in those days ; but it still
behoves a Yehudi, or Jew, to conduct himself circumspectly and to
walk with a modest air in Meshed.
Khanihoff is responsible for the statement that there are fourteen
madressehs and sixteen caravanserais in the city ; as also for an
Public enumeration of their names and the dates of their
buildings foundation. Any reader who requires information upon
these points may be referred to his pages. 3
F had heard or read a good deal about the native manufactures
of Meshed, but was greatly disappointed with such articles as I
Manufac- saw. A more unfavourable hunting-ground for the
tures would-be purchaser can hardly be imagined. The
manufacture of damascened sword-blades has long been a trade
here, having originally, it is said, been introduced by a colony
transported for the purpose by Timur from Damascus, Now, how
ever, that rifles and revolvers have taken the place of swords and
1 Narrative of Mission to Bokhara in 1843-1845, vol. i. p. 239, and vol. ii. p. 72.
2 The Aid-i-Kurban is held in commemoration of Abraham's intention, accord
ing to the Mussulman tradition, to offer up Ismail (Ishmael), not Ishak (Isaac).
The animals sacrificed on this occasion are supposed also to act as a propitiatory-
offering, which will stand the believer in good stead when he comes to the razor
like bridge of Sirat that spans the gulf to Paradise.
3 Memoire mr la Partie Meridionale de VAsie Centrale, p. 107.