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THE 
 
 ANSAIREEH OR NUSAIEIS OF SYEIA 
 
lOlTDOW 
 
 PBIKTBS Br SPOTTISWOODB AND CO. 
 
 NBW-SXBBET 8QUAKB 
 
THE 
 
 ASIAN MYSTEEY 
 
 ILLUSTRATED IN THE HI8T0ET, RELIGIOX, AND PEEBBNT STATE OF THE 
 
 ANSAIREEH OR NUSAIRIS OF SYRIA 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. SAMUEL LYDE, M.A. 
 
 FBLLOW OF JESUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE : AUTHOR OP "THE AITSXREEH AND ISMAELEEH ' 
 
 LONDON 
 LONaMAN, GEEEN, LONaMAN, AND EOBEETS 
 
 1860 
 
 ^ / r\ k <n . ^ 
 
/Y 71 ^^ 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In this book I have attempted for the sect of the An- 
 saireeh what De Sacy has already effected for that of the 
 Druses. My qualifications for the task have been — • 
 
 First : Connexion with the Ansaireeh for many years, as 
 the only European who has lived among them in their 
 mountains, where alone they are unmixed with other 
 tribes. 
 
 Secondly : Acquaintance with Ansairee belief and cus- 
 toms, acquired orally from Christian servants and others 
 brought up in Ansairee districts ; and, especially, from an 
 Ansairee lad, who has had many opportunities of gaining 
 information. 
 
 Thirdly : Possession of an Ansairee liturgical book, 
 called the " Manual of Sheikhs," in which all the main 
 points of the Ansairee system, theological and ceremonial, 
 are developed. 
 
 r#%^ r'kv>-r>ff]i 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 I have, moreover, consulted such Arab and other his- 
 torians and authors as promised to throw any light on 
 the Ansaireeh, and all published Ansairee documents that 
 I could hear of. I could have wished for greater opportu- 
 nities of examining original Ansairee writings. Indeed, I 
 might have been inclined to delay compiling the present 
 work, in the expectation of rendering it some day more 
 complete, had not the state of my health made it uncertain 
 whether I should enjoy such opportunity. As it is, I 
 trust that it will serve as a stepping-stone, to those who 
 may follow in the same road. 
 
 I have thus employed the leisure hours arising from 
 illness, in the hope that my labours might tend to the 
 furtherance of missionary work among a neglected people. 
 The letting in of light on the hidden things of darkness 
 is always favourable, with God's blessing, to the progress 
 
 of Christianity in the world. 
 
 S. L. 
 
 Cairo, 1860. 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 Note. — It is principally in Germany and France that Anaairee 
 documents have been published. 
 
 NiEBUHR (Travels, vol. ii. p. 357, &c.) gives an account of an 
 Ansairee book which had come into his possession. 
 
 De Sacy (Exposition of Druse Religion, vol. ii. p. 580, note) 
 speaks of this book as having been lent to him by Niebuhr, and 
 translated by him. 
 
 Both Niebuhr and De Sacy speak of a Druse book against the 
 Ansaireeh, from which De Sacy gives many extracts. 
 
 BuRCKHARDT (Travels, p. 151) speaks of an Ansairee book 
 which had come into the hands of M. Rousseau, " who has had it 
 translated into French, and means to publish it ;" and M. Rous- 
 seau himself (Annales des Voyages, cahier xlii.) has spoken of 
 the Ansaireeh. 
 
 In the Yearly Report of the German Oriental Society for 
 1845-6, mention is made of an Ansairee Catechism, which had 
 been sent, with a French translation, to the King of Prussia, A 
 translation of copious extracts from this document is given by 
 Dr. Wolff, in vol. iii. p. 302, &c., of the Journal of the same 
 Society. 
 
 But the most complete information hitherto given with respect 
 to the Ansaireeh is to be found in the papers of M. Catapago, in 
 the Journals of the French, Asiatic, and German Oriental Societies. 
 
 In the Journal Asiatique, Feb. 1848, he has given an account 
 of a book of Ansairee Festivals and Prayers ; and also three 
 Masses from the same in the Journal of the German Oriental 
 Society, vol. ii. p. 388. 
 
 In the Journal Asiatique, July, 1848, he has given the heads of 
 the contents of an Ansairee book, which I conclude to be the one 
 in my possession, and which, in that case, must have been once 
 lent to him. The book itself was purchased by me from a 
 Christian merchant in Ladikeeh for the sum of £10, having come 
 into his hands during the troublesome times of Ibrahim Pasha, 
 when the Ansaireeh were driven from their homes 
 
 Finally, in the Revue d'Orient for June, 1856, there is a short 
 paper on the Ansaireeh by M. Victor Langlois. He says that 
 his account is taken from a MS. in the library of the Mufti of 
 Tarsus, and it is in the main correct. 
 
The Rev. Samuel Lyde died at Alexandria, on the \st of 
 j4pril, I860, shortly after he had finished the work which is no lo 
 published by relatives to whom he was very dear. His intention was to 
 enlarge on some points, after reference to authorities to which he had 
 not access in the East ; but this he did not live to accomplish. His 
 Mission is taken up by others ; and his brother, whose address can be 
 obtained through the Publishers, will be happy to give information to 
 any one interested in it. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Geography and Description of the Ansairee Country . 1 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 History op the secret Heretical Sects of Islam , . 25 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 History op the Ansaireeh 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Religious System of the skcret Heretical Sects of Islam . 76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Religious System of the Ansaireeh. — I. Faith or Theology . 1 10 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Rrligious System of the Ansaireeh. — II. Practice or Cere- 
 monies 149 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Customs op thb Ansaireeh • . i . . « ,166 
 
 CHAPTER Vin. ' 
 Present State of the Ansaireeh . . • . • . 193 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Extracts from the " Manual for Sheikhs '* . . • , 233 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Extracts from published Ansairee Documents . . 270 
 
THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GEOGRAPIir AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ANSAIREE COUNTRY. 
 
 If the reader will take any map of Syria which has some 
 pretensions to accuracy, and will look at the sea-coast, he 
 will find in the parallel of latitude 35° 30' the town of 
 Ladikeeh, the Laodicea of Seleucus Nicator, now known 
 through the tobacco exported from it*; which tobacco is 
 grown in the neighbouring mountains. 
 
 These mountains, which are the special abode of the 
 Ansaireeh*, he will find to the east of Ladikeeh, stretching 
 from north to south, and called by names as various as 
 the different maps which he may consult. 
 
 The Ansairee mountains are separated on the south 
 from the Lebanon range, by the entrance into Hamath, a 
 valley through which run the roads from Tripoli to 
 Hamah, and from Tartoos to Hums, and also flows the 
 ancient Eleutherus, the Nahr-il-Chebeer of to-day. To the 
 north they are separated from the mountains, of which 
 Mount Cassius forms the conspicuous western termination, 
 
 • By Arab writers they are called An-Nusaireeyah. I have written 
 Ansaireeh as the nearest English imitation of the pronunciation of the 
 people themselves, when they speak of themselves by that name. They 
 usually style themselves Fellaheen, that ivS, peasantry. 
 
 B 
 
^ * THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 by a pass and valley, over and through which runs the 
 road from Ladikeeh to Aleppo. 
 
 But though these mountains are so almost exclusively 
 inhabited by the Ansaireeh as to be called by their name, 
 and in them is found the nucleus of the Ansairee nation, 
 and though in them and the neighbouring plains alone are 
 they governed by their own chiefs, and hold their lands 
 directly from government, yet the Ansairee population of 
 Syria is by no means confined to them. 
 
 They are the chief cultivators of the plain, which 
 stretches on the west of the mountains, from Wady Kan- 
 deel, about four hours, or twelve miles, to the north of 
 Ladikeeh (where the ground begins to swell into the range 
 of Cassius), to the district of Safeetah and the Nahr-il- 
 Chebeer, twenty-two hours, or sixty-six miles to the south. 
 On the east the narrow strip of ground between the 
 mountains and the Orontes, stretching to the south from 
 Djisr-ish-Shogher on the Aleppo road to the distance of 
 about thirty miles, belongs to them, and they possess vil- 
 lages in the wide plain which stretches east to Hums and 
 Hamah, in which last is a miserable quarter inhabited by 
 them. 
 
 To the south of the Eleutherus or Nahr-il-Chebeer, con- 
 siderable numbers are to be found in the district of 
 Kulaat-il-Husn, and in the more southerly district of 
 Akkar. 
 
 To the north of Wady Kandeel they form part of the 
 peasantry of the range of mountains which are bounded 
 on the west by Mount Cassius, and by the Orontes on 
 the east and north. Along the valley of the Orontes, in 
 the plains of Antioch, they are to be found in grent 
 numbers, from Suadeiah, on the sea-coast, near the ancient 
 Seleucia, fifteen miles to the west of Antioch, to the Djisr- 
 il-Hhadeed, twelve miles to the east, where the road Irom 
 Antioch to Aleppo crosses the Orontes. Three hours, or 
 nine miles further on, on the east of the Orontes, and on 
 the right hand of the road to Aleppo, is to be seen the 
 
THE ANSAIREE MOUNTAINS. 3 
 
 castle of Harim. In the mountains which stretch from it 
 towards the south is found a group of Ansairee villages, 
 as also in the district of II Roodj, hard by to the east. 
 
 In Antioch itself they form a large element of the popu- 
 lation, and are to be found along the sea-coast from it to 
 Scanderoon, especially in the neighbourhood of Arsoos, 
 the Rhosus of Ptolemy.* 
 
 Leaving Syria for a moment, and crossing the ancient 
 bay of Issus, they abound in the districts of Adana and 
 Tarsoos, the ancient Tarsus. In Syria, far away to the 
 south, in the lower extremity of the Wady-il-Taym, near 
 Banias, the ancient Ca^sarea Philippi, are the three An- 
 saireeh villages of Anfeet, Zaoorah, and El Ghudjr.f 
 
 To conclude : in that east country which was the cra- 
 dle of their religion, remnants of them still exist. An 
 Ansairee sheikh from Bagdad, who spent two days in my 
 house in the Ansairee mountains, assured me that there 
 were some five hundred Ansaireehs in Bagdad, and declared 
 that there was a town in Persia exclusively inhabited by 
 them. 
 
 Before proceeding to give the estimated number of this 
 people, I will attempt to give some idea of the geography, 
 physical and otherwise, of the Ansairee mountains and 
 the country adjacent. 
 
 Mount Cassius rises to the north of Ladikeeh and near 
 the mouth of the Orontes, in a magnificent cone of some 
 
 * The parts about Rhosus are described by Carl Ritter, Erdkunde, 
 Theil xvii. Kap. 27. 
 
 ■j- I was once prevented from visiting these villages when on my way 
 to them, I will, therefore, give here the information I have been able to 
 procure from my friend, Rev. J. E. Ford, American missionary at 
 Sidon, being obtained by him from various sources. Anfeet, population 
 320 souls, mostly Kumreeh ; Zaoorah, 150 souls, mostly Kumreeh ; El- 
 Ghudjr, 250 souls, mostly Shemseeh. The villages are within a half an 
 hour of Banias, W. and N.W. It is to be doubted, adds Mr. Ford, 
 whether their distinctions as Shemseeh and Kumreeh are correctly 
 ascertained by the people who go among them. I myself was once in- 
 formed that they were all Shemseeh, and in the latest maps the positions 
 of the villages is given as south of Banias. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE ASIAN IMYSTERY. 
 
 5,000 or 5,700 feet in height. It is joined to the Ansai- 
 ree mountains by a far lower range, over which passes 
 the road from Ladikeeh to Antioch, past the Mussulman 
 village of Oordee, situated near half way. The distance is 
 about twelve hours from Ladikeeh to Oordee, and ten more 
 from Oordee to Antioch, in all about twenty-two hours or 
 sixty-six miles. From Ladikeeh to the mouth of the 
 Orontes is reckoned at twenty-hours, or sixty miles, and 
 from Antioch to Scanderoon (or Alexandretta), eleven 
 hours, or thirty-three miles. 
 
 The Ansairee mountains commence, as I have said, to 
 the south of the road from Ladikeeh to Aleppo, which, after 
 crossing a pass in the mountains near Bahluleeh, an 
 Ansairee village, about six hours distant, north-east of 
 Ladikeeh, continues for eleven hours through a ^vinding 
 valley, past the Turcoman village of Bedawa, to Djisr-ish- 
 Shogher, a large Mussulman village, where it crosses the 
 Orontes, and so on a journey of two days more, or six- 
 teen hours, to Aleppo. The distance from Ladikeeh to 
 Aleppo is thus about thirty-three hours, or ninety-nine 
 miles. 
 
 But before proceeding with the Ansairee mountains, I 
 will return for a little towards Mount Cassius, as now 
 may be the best time to say something of the political 
 divisions of the country, so as to fix them in the mind 
 by means of the natural objects included in them, and the 
 reverse. 
 
 The province of Ladikeeh includes not only the greater 
 part of the western slope of the Ansaireeh mountains, but 
 also of the Mount Cassius range. From Wady Kandeel, 
 along the sea-coast, and on towards Oordee, is the district 
 of Boodjak. The chief inhabitants, as in the time of Ibn- 
 Batoutah, the Moghrebbin traveller, some 500 years ago, 
 are Turcomans. I once spent an evening with Hafiz Aga, 
 the governor of the district, who is nephew of the chief 
 man of Oordee. He was in considerable fear of the wild 
 Ansaireeh of the south, and received me very graciously, 
 
 
THE ANSAIREE MOUNTAINS. 5 
 
 giving rac credit for great influence among them, as Iwas 
 residing in one of tlie most powerful districts. 
 
 The district of the Baier, also chiefly Mussulman, lies 
 to the north-east of the Boodjak, and is but of small 
 extent. To the east, and on the north side of the road 
 from Ladikeeh to Djisr-ish-Shogher and Aleppo, is the 
 district of Djebel-il-Akrad, chiefly inhabited by a colony 
 of Kurds. I once skirted these mountains to the south, 
 on my way to the small town or village of Shogher, and 
 I had before passed over part of them, and then round 
 their base to Antioch, on my journey thither from the 
 same place. The present governor is called Mohammed 
 Aga Yumisu.* 
 
 Facing these mountains to the south are the mountains 
 of the Ansaireeh, to which we now come. Anciently 
 styled Mons Bargyhis, they are called by the Arab geo- 
 graphers Ibn-Haukal f and Abulfeda Djebel Lukkam, and 
 in the southern part, where dwelt the Syrian Assassins, 
 Djebel Summak and Djebel-il-Aamileh. They are con- 
 siderably lower than the Lebanon range, their height 
 being from 3000 to 4000 feet. On the west they sweep 
 in circles round the large plains of Ladikeeh and Tartoos, 
 throwing out spurs, which at the castle of Merkab reach 
 the sea, and skirt it for some distance. J On the east they 
 run in a straight line overlooking the Orontes, to the 
 valley of which they descend, to the eye, almost precipi- 
 tously, though there is room for deep valleys, gorges, and 
 extensive woods, and several villages. The people on this 
 side are relations of those who respectively adjoin them 
 
 * The districts of Mount Cassius, such as Kusair, Urdeh, Djebel 
 Akrad, &c., are described in the Erdkunde of Carl Ritter, Theil xvii. 
 Kap. 16. 
 
 t Ibn-Haukal, (Wonnely, London, 1808,) p. 38. 
 
 J Keiirick (Phoenicia, p. 4), misled by the words of some traveller, 
 says: "Between Ladikeeh and Djebileh the country is mountainous; but 
 from Djebileh extends the plain bounded by the Ansarian or Nasairieh 
 mountains." The plain commences beyond Ladikeeh to the north, and 
 sweeps round Djebileh to the east as far as Castle Merkab. 
 
 B 3 
 
b THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 on the other, of whom, as I shall show hereafter, many 
 crossed the mountains from the east. Burckhardt gives 
 the names of villages on the east of the mountains, and I 
 repeat the names of some as verified by myself. Beginning 
 from the north is Merdadj, the village of Mohammed ibn- 
 Djaafar, chief man of the eastern Amamareh, of whom I 
 saw the son, who Was studying under a sheikh Avith his 
 relations at Diryoos. In the plain is the village of 
 Khandok, belonging to Mohammed Ali Khadro, who lives 
 at Ain Nab, farther to the south. He alone of the Ansaireeh 
 remained unsubdued by Ibrahim Pasha, taking refuge in 
 his valleys and woods, while on the east his country is 
 defended by the marshes of the Orontes, which are only 
 passable in certain places by boats, through lanes of deep 
 water amid the sedge. He seems now to be the man of 
 chief influence on that side of the mountains, and is by all 
 accounts a wild fellow. I have never yet fulfilled an 
 intention of visiting him, though once when the mountains 
 were in a stir about a religious discussion which I had 
 had with the chief sheikh, 1 was told that he asked per- 
 mission of the people of the district in which I lived, on 
 the other side of the mountains, to come with twenty- 
 five men to make an end of the mission. 
 
 Still farther to the south is Ain-il-Keroom, inhabited 
 by relations of the wild Narvasireh of the western side. 
 Burckhardt speaks of them as rebels in his time. 
 
 On the west side of the mountains, at the extreme 
 north, live the Diryoos people, of which the chief man, 
 Mohammed Badoor, living in the village of Diryoos, has 
 influence over all the Ansairee peasantry in the Cassius 
 range, and about Antioch, as they are of the same sect 
 with himself; the Ansaireeh being divided, as I shall 
 afterwards show, into two principal sects, the Shemseeli, 
 called also the Shemaleeh or Northerners, as living mostly 
 to the north, and the Kumreeh, who living to the south 
 give the Shemseeh the above name. Two hours westerly 
 is 11 Kushbcc, an old tower, where lives Ali Aga Hassan, 
 
TOMB OF JONAH. 7 
 
 a relation of Ahmed Badoor, who has turned Mussulman. 
 1 once spent a night with him, having reached him in 
 about three hours from II Hhuffeh, a village of the 
 Sahyoon district. I was on my- way to him from Bahlu- 
 leeh, and reached Shereefah, a border village of the Bah- 
 luleeh district, with fine plantations running down to the 
 gorge leading to Djisr-ish-Shogher. After passing it a 
 little way, and arriving at a village Ard-il- Ham ra, near 
 Bahenna, I was stopped by the people of the latter village, 
 and taken off to Sahyoon, from whence when released I 
 prosecuted my journey to II Kushbee. From II Kushbee, 
 I paid a visit to the tomb of the Nebbee Yunis, or Jonah, 
 riding about two or three hours in an easterly or north- 
 easterly direction. It seemed the highest point in all this 
 part of the mountain, and near it more south is the 
 mountain of the Nebbee Matta, which seemed to Burck- 
 hardt, looking at it from the east, to be the highest point 
 of the Ansairee range. In this part of the mountains are 
 many towers, commanding the pass from Ladikeeh to 
 Aleppo. 
 
 The people of Diryoos, in the winter and spring, live in 
 houses on the edge of the Orontes marshes, and with the 
 other Ansaireeh of the eastern side of the mountains, 
 descend into the valley of the Ghab, cross the Orontes, and 
 carry off the flocks of the Turcomans, who, as Burckhardt 
 says, have in consequence not too good an opinion of 
 them. The Diryoos people are a wild and lawless set, 
 who, under their present chief man, have obtained an 
 independence from their former governors of Beyt Shilf. 
 
 From Diryoos, I started in a south-west direction for 
 Ain-il-Teeneh , a village situate under a spur of the mountains, 
 which rises conspicuously on the verge of the plain east of 
 Ladikeeh, in a line crowned by the tomb of the Nebbee 
 Rubeel, or Reuben.* The road lay across a deep valley, 
 
 * This may not be the patriarch Reuben, for Niebuhr speaks of a 
 certain Rubeel, son of Saleh, an Arabian prophet. 
 
 B 4 
 
8 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 and over high table -land, the distance being between one 
 or two hours' ride. From hence I took about the same 
 time to get to Djindjaneh, after passing a very deep valley 
 and skirting a mountain running from the eastern ridge 
 over the table-land towards the west. Djindjaneh is 
 prettily situated between two mountains, and is the resi- 
 dence of Ali Hhabeeb, an old man, Mekuddam, or chief of 
 that section of the Amamarah, who live in the part I had 
 passed through from Diryoos. They extend still farther 
 to the south in the highest part of the mountains, behind 
 the districts of the Muhailby and Kelbeeh, and also to the 
 east of the mountains as before said. The Mekuddam of 
 the southern section is Mohammed Saeed. They form a 
 considerable body, and bear a good character, being earnest 
 in matters of religion, and averse to robbery, presenting 
 thus a great contrast to their neighbours. They are as 
 the Diryoos people of the Shemseeh sect, but were origin- 
 ally of the Kumreeh, a fact which I shall have to notice 
 again. 
 
 From Djindjaneh it took me less than an hour to arrive 
 at Muzairiah, which is a village giving its name to the 
 district, which includes not only the part of the mountains 
 of which we have spoken, but also part of the plain. In 
 this village is a colony of Greeks, that is Arabs of the Greek 
 Church, who some 150 years ago emigrated here from 
 the Hauran. There are few Christian villages in these 
 mountains. Among them are Aramo, an Armenian vil- 
 lage, near the residence of Ali Aga Hassan, and Dar Sofra, 
 a Maronite village to the south of Castle Merkab. 
 
 Still going south from Muzairiah, one soon reaches the 
 Muhailby district, of which the inhabitants are again of 
 the Shemseeh sect, while, farther south, in the mountains, 
 all are Kumreeh. In their district is a castle, which the 
 late Dr. Eli Smith, of Beyrout, told me was called by the 
 people Blatanos ; and, therefore, this must be the castle 
 referred to by Abulfeda*, who says, that after Saladin had 
 
 * iv. 89. 
 
THE WADY BEYT NASIR. 9 
 
 taken Ladikeeh and the castle of Sahyoor, he dispersed his 
 troops over the mountains near, and " they made them- 
 selves masters of the Castle of Beladnoos (which he calls 
 elsewhere BelatnuS), for the Franks that were in it had 
 already fled from it ; so they took it.'* 
 
 At the south-east extremity of this district is the Djebel- 
 il-Arbaeen, a very conspicuous conical hill, lower than the 
 crest of the mountains behind it, but rising high above 
 the plain, towards which a lofty hill runs down from it, 
 nearly east and west, separating the district of Muhailby 
 from that of the Kelbeeh. On this hill is a visiting-place 
 (called Zeyareh), wath a double dome, and from it there 
 is a magnificent view of the plain and surrounding moun- 
 tains. Indeed it forms so distinguishable a landmark 
 that it was lately visited by Lieutenant Brooker, of H.M. 
 surveying ship Tartarus, to take observation?. 
 
 From it one easily descends through a well watered 
 valley to the large village of the Merdj, which forms the 
 outskirt of the Kelbeeh district, and is but half an hour 
 distant from B'hamra, the village in which my mission- 
 house is situated. This district from the character of its 
 people, and from their alliances and relatives, is the most 
 powerful in the mountains ; and hence they were heard of 
 by Niebuhr, Yolney, and Burckhardt, who make great, 
 and, as to Volney, absurd mistakes with respect to them. 
 To the east of the district lies the deep valley called Wady 
 Beyt Nasir, of which the inhabitants are wilder and fiercer 
 than perhaps any others in the mountains. Buried in 
 their lonely gorges they only issue from them to rob, or 
 help their friends the Kelbeeh in some fight with an 
 adjoining district, or with the government. This valley 
 runs up to a mountain called Giafar Tayyar, from a cele- 
 brated visiting-place on the top. It lies about direct east 
 from Djebileh, and as it took me about five hours and a 
 half to reach its summit from ni}^ house, which is three 
 hours north-east of Djebileh, I calculate it is about 20 
 miles from the sea-coast. I am thus particular, because 
 
10 THE ASIAN MYSTERY, 
 
 it lies at the inmost part of the curve of mountains which 
 sweep round Ladikeeh, and can easily be distinguished by 
 its bald head and its height, which, after many attempts 
 to institute with the eye a comparison between it and the 
 mountains of Nebbee Yunis and Nebbee Matta, I should 
 take to be superior to that of the last-named, and, there- 
 fore, the highest point of the Ansairee range. The chief 
 village of the Kelbeeh is called Kurdahah, which gives its 
 name to the district. Their lands run down to the sea, 
 and are prettily diversified by hills trending westerly, 
 between which are rich valleys, of which the most southern, 
 Wady Beyt Ahmed, is well planted. Then rises a moun- 
 tain also trending westerly which separates the district 
 from that of Beni Ali, to the south of which most of the 
 villages lie about this mountain ; Ali Sukkur being the 
 chief village of the plain or western part, and El Boadeh 
 of the eastern or mountain part of the district. 
 
 To the south-east of El Boadeh is the village of Harf-il- 
 Masatireh, where I once spent a night with Mohammed 
 Satir, the Mehuddam of the northern section of the 
 Keratileh, a wild race, relations of the people of my own 
 district, the Kelbeeh. To the south of them is Matwar, 
 the residence of the late Sheikh Hhabeeb, whose family 
 hold the highest rank as sheikhs, or religious heads, of 
 the Ansaireeh. This village I still call Matwar, notwith- 
 standing the strictures of the learned professor, Carl 
 Ritter, who (confounding it with the Nebbee Matta) will 
 Jiave it that its name ought to be written differently.* 
 But a name is a name notwithstanding all the efforts of 
 critics. 
 
 To the south of Matwar, in a deep gorge, is the castle 
 of Beni Israeel, which I was able to inspect on a second 
 visit to Sheikh Hhabeeb. It probably belonged to the 
 crusaders, and defended this gorge, which extends to the 
 plain westward, and, with the castle of Platanos, kept 
 
 * Erdkunde, Pliocjiicia, &c., passim. 
 
'^^SSR^P 
 
 THE DISTRICT OF BAHLULEEII. 11 
 
 under the Ansairee population of all this part of the 
 mountains. I found the people near of the wildest 
 belonging to the Sararnitah. They, with the Beyt Ya- 
 shoot, and the southern section of the Kerahileh (whose 
 chiefs are of the house of Djadjah), form the inhabitants 
 of the district of Simt Kublee, which is to the south of 
 the Beni Ali, and the most southern of the mountain 
 districts of Ladikeeh, which are inhabited exclusively by 
 Ansaireeh, and governed by Ansairee chiefs. 
 
 As we have now arrived at the district of Merkab, of 
 which the western termination is the castle of the same 
 name, situated on a hill, where the mountains touch the 
 sea, and close the plain of Ladikeeh, we will return to 
 that part of the plain situated under the northern part of 
 the Ansairee range. Here is the district of Bahluleeh, 
 governed by an Ansairee Mekuddam, Ahmed Selhab, who 
 has been once burnt out of house and home by the 
 Diryoos people since my first visit to him. He and his 
 are of the Kumreeh sect, and the district is bounded by 
 Wady Kandeel to the north, aud the district of Sahyoon to 
 the south. This last is a Mussulman district, grouped 
 round the castle of Sahyoon, which was taken by Saladin 
 from the Templars in his march north after the disas- 
 trous battle of Hattin, near Tiberias, in the year 1187, 
 which for the time shattered the power of the Crusaders. 
 The district has been governed by Mussulman chiefs, 
 called Djindees, from that time, and their people are in 
 constant feud with the Ansaireeh, and are as wild and 
 fierce as they, though somewhat more advanced in wealth 
 and knowledge. In the district are many Ansaireeh and 
 some Christians. 
 
 To the south are the Djenneeh people, of whom the 
 chief man is Shemseen Sultan of Beyt Shilf. They are 
 relations of the people of my district, the Kelbeeh, and 
 are as great robbers and as rebellious as they. I found 
 them two months ago in contest with the government, 
 which was rendering the plain more desolate than ever, 
 
12 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 burning their lower villages. They have not much 
 mountain country, but sufficient to retire to in case of 
 need. They plunder the country from Wady Kandeel to 
 Ladikeeh, as the Kelbeeh do from Ladikeeh to Djebileh, 
 and the Beni Ali and Kerahileh from Djebileh to Castle 
 Merkab. Not that by any means they confine their 
 depredations to these parts. The Kelbeeh, especially in 
 times past and when the govermnent is weak, have gone, 
 and do go, as far as Kulaat-il-Husn to the south, and 
 Mount Cassius, and even past Antioch, to the north. 
 
 The villages of the phiin of Ladikeeh to the north are 
 mostly Ansaireeh, of the Shemseeh sect. Their villages 
 surround Ladikeeh on every side, but no Ansaireeh lives 
 in Ladikeeh or Djebileh. The names of many of the 
 villages end in "o" (such as Dinnserkho, Bakhtdermo, 
 Selago), which is not an Arabic termination. Shotfateeh, 
 the village which Maundrell amusingly speaks of as 
 inhabited by a race who cursed Abu-Beer and Omar, is 
 an Ansairee village on the Nahr-il-Chebeer, about two 
 hours east of Ladikeeh. P/ofessor Carl Ritter* supposes 
 this river to have been the boundary between the Phoeni- 
 cian state of Aradus and that of Laodicea, as the other 
 Nahr-il-Chebeer, or river Eleutherus, was the boundary 
 between the states of Aradus and Sidon. Laodicea was 
 probably only rebuilt about B.C. 290, by Seleucus Nicator, 
 and named by him in honour of his mother, for its older 
 Phoenician name was Ramantha. Herodotus makes 
 Phoenicia to extend from the Bay of Issus to Carmel, and 
 an inscription to a Phoenician merchant, in Delos, places 
 Laodicea in Phoenicia. Probably it was first colonised by 
 Phoenicians, who may have had jurisdiction to Mount 
 Cassius to the north, along the coast towards which lay 
 Heraclea and Poseidion. 
 
 The plain of the south of Ladikeeh is well watered by 
 the Nahr-il-Chebeer, in winter a deep though rather slug- 
 
 * Erdkunde, ut supra. 
 
THE CASTLE OF MEllKAB. 13 
 
 gish river ; the Nahr Senobar, a rapid and dangerous 
 stream after a day or two of rain ; the Nahr-il-Mudeek ; 
 and out of a spur of the mountain to the north of Mer- 
 kab, the Nahr-es-Seen, a short but deep stream, near 
 which the Kelbeeh and others have committed many a 
 deed of blood, easily concealed in the old tombs and 
 caverns there. Over the three former streams many a 
 ride have I had, in dark and troublous times, through the 
 desolate plain which spreads from Ladikeeh, for some 
 eighteen miles south-east, to my house on the lower hills. 
 The oppressions of the government, and the violence of 
 the Ansaireeh, permit of the existence, in most rich and 
 fertile land, only of a few miserable viHages, of which I 
 will not now give the names. 
 
 To return to the mountains, where we had reached the 
 castle of Merkab. Since this castle was taken by Ke- 
 laoon, Memlook sultan of Egypt, from the Knights of 
 St. John in a.d. 1285, it has, like Sahyoon, formed the 
 nucleus of a colony of Mussulmans, who have been able to 
 maintain themselves in the midst of an Ansairee popula- 
 tion, for the district is principally inhabited by Ansaireeh, 
 with a few Christians. This castle seems to have been 
 held for some time by the Ismaeleeh, but is now governed 
 by a Mussulman, Mohammed Adra, whose forefather, a 
 century or two ago, made himself master of the castle, 
 after having murdered the former possessor, in whose ser- 
 vice he was as Kahya. This I was told by the governor 
 of Tartoos, who remarked that the sword had never de- 
 parted from his house. At present he has enough to do 
 to maintain himself against the Kerahileh to the north, 
 with whom, in my time, he has had a bloody feud. 
 
 We have now come to that part of the mountains which 
 was the seat of the Syrian branch of the famous Ismae- 
 leeh, or Assassins, as they are called by William of Tyre, 
 and other writers on the crusades. Here dwelt the 
 famous sheikh, or " old man " of the mountain, whose 
 name was a terror to the nurseries of oklen time. The 
 
14 THE ASIAN MYSTKRY. 
 
 Arab geographers and historians, such as Edrisi, Abul- 
 feda, Ibn-il-Wardee, Makrisi, &c., call them Israaeleeh 
 and Fedaweeh, and give the names of their castles. 
 William of Tyre speaks of their having ten castles in the 
 part of the mountains near Antaradiis (Tartoos), in the 
 names of which Yon Hammer * falls into error. Among 
 them were Kadmoos, Masyad, Khawaby, Kahf, Ulleykah, 
 Maynakah, Mounifeh, Rossafah, Koleyah. At Kadmoos 
 at present there are about two hundred and fifty families 
 of Ismaeleeh ; at Masyad the same number ; and at Ulley- 
 kah some fifty. In all, the Ismaeleeh of Syria are not 
 supposed to exceed some four thousand, or at most 6,500, 
 and they are diminishing before the superior numbers 
 of the Ansaireeh, who are the chief inhabitants even of 
 the districts, such as Kadmoos and Masyad, which are 
 governed by Ismaelee chiefs. 
 
 The district to which Castle Kadmoos gives its name is 
 to the east of Merkab. South-east from Merkab, where 
 the mountains leave the sea and sweep round the plain of 
 Tartoos, is the district of Khawabeh, which derives its 
 name from the castle of that name, which is the seat of 
 the governing family of the district, who are Mussulmans, 
 relations of the chief men of Merkab and Tartoos. 
 Edrisi f says that it is fifteen miles to the south-east of 
 Tartoos, built on the mountain, and near the western side. 
 
 We have now left the fourteen districts of the province 
 of Ladikeeh, and find in the mountains to the north-east 
 of the three last-mentioned districts the castle of Masyad, ij 
 giving its name to its district, which is under the juris- 
 diction of Hamah. This castle was visited, and is de- 
 scribed by Burckhardt, and the Hon. F. Walpole, who 
 speaks of the fear in which the Ismaelee emir was of his 
 Ansairee neighbours. 
 
 From Kadmoos, in my first journey in these moun- 
 
 * History of Assassins, (Wood's trans.) p. 121. 
 t Ed. Jaubert, Paris, 1836, p. 35. 
 
THE PLAIN OF TARTOOS. 15 
 
 tains*, I travelled south to the district of Safeetah, which 
 was the seat of the Ansairee chief, Fakr, in Burckhardt's 
 time, who had jurisdiction over the whole of the southern 
 part of the Ansairee mountains, on high ground project- 
 ing from which the tower of Safeetah stands. This dis- 
 trict has always been one of the most noted of the 
 Ansairee districts, and was lately governed by a certain 
 Ismaeel Khair Bey, who, as well as his tribe, the Meta- 
 warah, in the mountains near, was originally a great 
 robber, and was sent to Constantinople, from whence he 
 came back, as is not unusual, in high honour, as governor 
 of the district of Safeetah. He aspired, however, much 
 higher, and I once met him with a great train at Ladi- 
 keeh, whither he had come to make himself conspicuous, in 
 endeavouring to intervene between my own district and 
 the government. About a year ago, however, he rebelled 
 against the government himself, and, being defeated, took 
 refuge in an Ansairee village to the east of the mountains ; 
 but the people of it had been so oppressed under his rule 
 that they cut off his head, and those of two of his near 
 relations. He was a young man of commanding stature, 
 and of all the Ansairee chiefs the most powerful, or at 
 least, noted, of his day. 
 
 Having now arrived at the most southern point of the 
 Ansairee mountains, we will return to the north of the 
 plain of Tartoos, which is separated from that of Ladi- 
 keeh, by the mountains which, for some distance, coast the 
 sea shore from Merkab southwards. This plain which, as 
 I once found to my cost, is well watered, swells out to a 
 great width east of Tartoos. Having started, March 3rd, 
 from my house, during a rainy time, I arrived the first 
 night at Djelasa, a village on the spur of the mountain, 
 under which is the fine fountain of Nahr-es-Seen. Before 
 reaching it we were hailed by the chief man of the Kera- 
 hileh, who, with some of his people, was in the thick 
 
 ♦ Ansaireeh and Ismaeleeli, p. 238. 
 
IG THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 bushes at the base of the hill, waiting for some prey. At 
 the mouth of the Seen is an encampirient of the wander- 
 ing Arabs, called Arab-il-Mulk. After passing Banias, 
 under Castle Merkab, we arrived in about six hours at 
 Tartoos, having passed Dar Sofr, under which the plain 
 beo^ins to widen. The third day we made about six hours, 
 crossing with great difficulty the swollen river of Nahr-il- 
 Abrash, at about that distance from Tartoos, and spent 
 a miserable night in the tent of an Arab chief, which 
 afforded insufficient protection against the rain and 
 wind. The Arab-il-Djehaysb wander in this plain. The 
 chief looked with no favourable eye on an Ansairee 
 companion of mine, as he had often to suffer from the 
 mountaineers. Though we toiled during the next day 
 over the flat plain, almost continually through water, it 
 took us the whole of it to pass the Nahr-il-Chebeer, and 
 arrive at the Khan of the Nahr-il-Barid, though this last 
 is but three hours from the Nahr-il-Abrash. Here the 
 plain is closed by a mountain over which a road of three 
 hours leads to Tripoli. All this fine plain formed part of 
 the territory of the Phoenician state of Arvad (Ezekiel, ^ 
 xxvii. 8 — 11), of which the metropolis was on the small I 
 island of Arvad, now Ruad, situated opposite Tartous, ' 
 anciently called Antaradus. The Arvadites are mentioned 
 (Gen. X. 17, 18) in connexion with the Sinites (near the 
 river Seen to the north); the Zemarites, of whom the 
 name is preserved in Zimreh, a ruined town to the north of 
 Tartoos ; and the Arkites of Tel Arka, to the south of jj 
 Nahr-il-Chebeer, where was a castle taken by the cru- 
 saders. Among the most northern possessions of the 
 Arvadites may have been Gabala, the modern Djebileh, 
 fifteen miles south of Ladikeeh. The road to the south 
 of Tartoos, for three or four hours, is one of the most 
 unsafe in Syria. It is called the Heeshat Tartoos, and 
 consists of rocks and ruined sepulchres scattered among 
 thick myrtle groves, which give shelter to the daring and 
 too often pitiless Ansairceh of the mountains, which 
 
THE CASTLES. 17 
 
 bound the plain. These mountains from the sea look 
 but low, though one can see higher peaks rising behind. 
 
 The Templars possessed many castles on the south of 
 the Ansairce mountains, proving troublesome neighbours 
 to the Assassins, whom they compelled to pay tribute. 
 They held Safeetah, which was taken from them in a.d. 
 
 1271, by the famous Sultan Beybars, of Egypt, who sub- 
 dued the Assassins also, and took all their castles a.d. 
 
 1272. Makrisi* speaks of the Franks in Djebel-il-Aamila 
 being attacked by his troops on all sides. Among the 
 castles belonging to the Franks in the mountains were 
 Raphania, two hours south of Masyad, and Barin, or 
 Mons Ferrandus, held by the Knights of Jerusalem. 
 
 Among the castles taken by Beybars the same year that 
 he took Safeetah, were Husn-il-Akrad and Akkar (Arka), 
 to the respective districts of which we now come, as 
 possessing a numerous Ansairee peasantry. 
 
 The castle of Husn was held by the Knights of St. John, 
 and is situated at the northern extremity of the Lebanon, 
 between which and the Ansairee mountains, as I have 
 said, is the entrance into Hamath, and the road from 
 Hums, the ancient Emessa, to its seaport Tartoos, or 
 Antaradus, lying nearly west of it, at a distance, accord- 
 ing to Edrisi, of two days^ journey. There are many An- 
 saireeh in this district, which is principally inhabited by 
 Christians of the Greek religion, who are warlike, and 
 could muster, I was told, 2,000 muskets. In the moun- 
 tains south, called the Shaara, dwell the Denatchee Arabs, 
 who, I was informed, came from Bagdad some 300 years 
 ago, and number 500 horsemen. I only mention them to 
 say that they are sometimes employed by the government 
 to attack the Ansaireeh, and some time ago were suc- 
 cessful in killing about seventy of them who had wandered 
 down on foot too far into the plain on the east of the 
 mountains, and were surprised as they were returning 
 
 * History of the Memlook Sultans, (Quatremere,) vol. i. part ii. p. 27. 
 
 C 
 
18 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 from a marauding expedition, by the Denatchee horsemen. 
 More south is Djebel Akkar, divided into three districts, 
 in one of which, Duraib especially, there are many Ansai- 
 ree peasantry, who till the ground for the Mussulman 
 Beys of Akkar. 
 
 I have not visited the Ansaireeh of the mountains of 
 Castle Harim, though I skirted those mountains on my 
 road to Aleppo, nor those of the marshy district of the 
 Roodj, on which I looked down from the mountain of the 
 Nebbee Yunis.* 
 
 I have seen the Ansaireeh at Mersina, the seaport of 
 Tarsus, who seemed to be well off, and 1 have always 
 heard from those of them who had been there, that food 
 was cheap and wages good, but both only to be obtained 
 at the expense of the fever which prevails there on account 
 of the marshy character of the plain country. Many from 
 various causes go there from Syria; and according to a 
 writer in the Revue d'Onentf, "it is more than half a 
 century since the Ansaireeh commenced to emigrate to the 
 pashalik of Adana, to withdraw from the vexations which 
 they w^ere made to endure in Syria on account of their 
 religion. Thus the district of Ladikeeh is depopulated 
 more and more every day." 
 
 To give some approximate idea of the number of the 
 Ansairee population in Syria, which, as will have been 
 already seen, is by no means small, I may state that the 
 Arabic geography, published at Beyrout by Dr. Vandyke, 
 of the American Board of Missions, which gives the number 
 of the Druses at 100,000, gives that of the Ansaireeh and 
 Ismaeleeh together at 200,000, and we have seen that the 
 Ismaeleeh are few in number. 
 
 In the district of Akkar there are supposed to be about 
 2,550 or 3,500 Ansaireeh ; in that of Safeetah, 29,100 ; 
 in the several districts of Ladikeeh, from 70,000 to 75,00(> ; 
 
 ♦ The Roodj is described in Carl Ritter's Erdkunde, Tlieil xvii. ^- 
 1(:69. from a MS. of the late Dr. Eli Smith, 
 t Juno, 1856. 
 
THE POPULATION. 19 
 
 ill the mountains east of the Orontes, 3,750 ; and in the 
 neighbouring district of Koodj, about 5,000. These num- 
 bers do not inchide the Ansaireeh on the east of the 
 mountains, those of Antioch and the neighbourhood, and 
 those along the coast to Scanderoon, so that near 200,000 
 may perhaps be considered without much exaggeration as 
 the number of this people in Syria.* 
 
 Dr. Thomson, American missionary, says : " Mr. Barker 
 assures me that about one third of the inhabitants of 
 Tartoos are Ansaireeh, and that they abound not only in 
 Djebel Bailan, above Scanderoon, but in the mountains of 
 Anatolia. This corresponds with the unvarying testimony 
 of the people themselves, who also say that their sect 
 extends to Djebel Sindjar, and even to Persia. They are 
 several times more numerous than the Druses, but then 
 they are more widely dispersed. Their number cannot be 
 less than 200,000, and most intelligent natives place it 
 much higher. The largest body of them occupy the plain 
 and mountains of Ladikeeh, which are in consequence 
 called Djebel-il- Ansaireeh. Their villages are also very 
 numerous in the region called Safeetah, above Tartoos, 
 and in Husn and Akkar. They also comprise one third of 
 the inhabitants of Antioch, and abound in the mountains 
 above it." f 
 
 The tract of country of which we have been speaking 
 is one of the most agreeable and fertile in the world. Dr. 
 Thomson in travelling north, past Tripoli, could not help 
 being struck with the difference between the country to 
 the north and south of that place. In the lower moun- 
 
 * Since writing the above, the Rev. H. H. Jessup, American mis- 
 sionary at Tripoli, has kindly sent me the government census of adult 
 males in the province of Tripoli. This gives 15,623 for the district of 
 Safeetah, and 100 (!) and 500 (!) respectively for those of Akkar, and 
 Ish-Shaarah. Mr. Jessup says : " I cannot but think their estimates in 
 Akkar and Tortosa lacking in respect to the Nusaireeyeh. The table 
 includes only adult males. This v»rould give perhaps a sum total of over 
 40,000 Nusaireeyeh in the Safeetah district." 
 
 t Missionary Herald, March, 1841. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 tains I have not seen: the thermometer rise above 95° 
 Fahrenheit in the shade, though the east wind, blowing 
 from the deserts of Mesopotamia, is sometimes oppressive 
 in the summer. The winter soon passes, and snow rarely 
 ftdls in the plain, though once at Ladikeeh in a northerly 
 wind, I saw ice on the morning of the 9th of March. 
 Ague and ophthalmia are not uncommon during summer, 
 arising from exposure to the heat in reaping the harvest 
 in the plains, and from neglect of cleanliness. To the east 
 of the mountains the climate is far more unhealthy, the 
 marshes of the Orontes giving a pallid hue to all who live 
 near, who are subject to a fever, under which the belly 
 swells.* That part is also infested by enormous raos- 
 quitos, of which 1 have spoken in my account of my former 
 passage along that valley, which reaches half-way up the 
 mountain ; and an Ansairee of the west of the mountains 
 told me the other day, that they put him and his com- 
 panions to flight, notwithstanding the thickness of their 
 skins, when once they were spending the night in a village 
 on the eastern side. 
 
 To the north the country about Antioch is favourable 
 to trees from nearly every quarter of the globe, and the 
 village of Betyas especially, on the mountain facing 
 Antioch, realises as far as can be, one's idea of an earthly 
 paradise. 
 
 The mountains near Cassius are clothed with beautiful 
 woodlands of pine and oak, where a Robin Hood might 
 wander, and these trees were largely used for the Egyp- 
 tian navy in Ibrahim Pasha's time. Magnificent walnut 
 trees are to be found in many places. 
 
 The Ansairee mountains are far more fertile than the 
 Lebanon, being lower and less rocky. The geographer 
 Ibn-il-Mardee speaks of the southern part, or Djebel 
 
 ♦ The people principally live on millet, which they sow among tlio 
 sedge which skirts the Orontes, and then when it commences to sprout, 
 cut down and burn the sedge. They sow also some of the coarao 
 curly leaf tobacco, and have large flocks of goats and herds of oxen. 
 
 
THE TREES. 21 
 
 Summak, so called from the sumach which grows there, 
 as a part abounding in good things, and I found it to be 
 so in passing through the length of it from Kadmoos to 
 Safeetah. 
 
 The district where I live, in the northern part, is equally 
 fertile, though the mulberry, fig, and olive trees have 
 mostly been cut down in the lights with Berber and 
 others. I have been astonished to see the progress made 
 by fig and mulberry trees planted by me a few years ago.* 
 In this part of the mountains grow the evergreen and 
 other oaks, such as the uzr, which is used in smoking 
 tobacco, and on the east of the mountains there are vast 
 woods of the oak which produces the gall-nut. On my 
 way to Djaafar Tagy^n, I passed through woods of beech 
 and oak, though I saw no trees of great size. I also saw 
 the yellow convolvulus or scammony. 
 
 The ground is prepared for wheat and barley in October 
 and November, and the seed then sown is reaped about 
 the end of May. The ground then lies fallow till the 
 next winter, when it is ploughed and prepared for the 
 summer crops of the year following, which are sown in 
 the spring and reaped in autumn. These consist of 
 millet, cotton, sesame, and sometimes lentils, chickpeas, 
 and castor oil ; portions of moist ground being chosen for 
 the water and yellow melon and cucumbers, tomatas, 
 lupines, the egg-plant, &c. &c. The wheat of Ladikeeh 
 will not keep long, being liable to be attacked by the 
 weevil. The principal exports from Ladikeeh, of the pro- 
 duce of its neighbourhood, are millet, sesame seed, and its 
 famous tobacco. 
 
 Ladikeeh, lying as it does in about the 35th degree of 
 north latitude, is therefore within the zone of from 15° to 
 
 * The most troublesome weed on my farm was the myrtle, which 
 springs up afresh unless every portion of the root is dug up. It abounds 
 in the mountains and plains of this part of Syria. In spring, the scent 
 of its blossoms, from a hill entirely covered with it to the south of my 
 house, was very agreeable. 
 
 c 3 
 
22 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 25°, which is most favourable to its production. The 
 best grows in the more northern, higher, and rocky parts 
 of the Ladikeeh mountains, and the people of Diryoos and 
 the Amamarah depend mostly upon it for their support, 
 cultivating with the greatest care the small plots before 
 their houses, which raise a small but valuable quantity of 
 the Aboo-Reehah. This, being afterwards smoked by the 
 fires used during the winter, and consisting of the uzr, is 
 then fit for the market, and shipped at Ladikeeh, mostly 
 for Egypt and Constantinople. The tobacco which grows 
 in the lower mountains is less valuable, and goes by the 
 name of Skek-il-Bint. 
 
 The plant is the species called Nicotiana rustica*, which 
 is that raised in China and most of Asia, and of which the 
 leaves are shorter and broader than the Nicotiana Tabacum 
 or Virginian tobacco, and the flowers smaller, with rounded 
 instead of pointed segments. It has a most pleasant 
 perfume, and, like the Havannah cigars, possesses probably 
 but 2 per cent of the poisonous volatile alkali called 
 nicotin, whereas the Virginian tobacco contains nearly 
 7 per cent. 
 
 The tobacco is sown in ground of which the clods are 
 broken fine, and which has been well manured with goats' 
 dung, first in seed-beds, and then the plants are pricked 
 out, being watered only once as they are put into the 
 ground. The leaves are plucked when the wheat harvest 
 is over, and strung on threads of goat's hair, and hung up 
 in the shade till somewhat dried, when they are suspended 
 under the roofs of the houses, to be smoked or otherwise, 
 and left till tax-gathering comes, when they are sold in 
 loads of 100 or 120 strings. 
 
 Such is a slight picture of the country w^here dwell 
 the wild Ansaireeh, once thickly peopled, now desolate 
 to a degree ; in fact, one of the least cared for portions 
 of the Turkish dominions, with a fierce and ignorant 
 
 • See Chemistry of Common Life, (Johnston,) vol. ii. p. 1 1. 
 
NORTHERN SYRIA. 23 
 
 population, who arc rarely visited by European travellers. 
 As we read the successive accounts of those who have 
 passed through the land in times past, we trace the 
 gradual ruin of the towns and the increasing desola- 
 tion and depopulation of the country, which in the 
 neighbourhood of Ladikeeh are going on at the present 
 moment, in the burning of villages, and the death, in per- 
 petually recurring petty fights, of their inhabitants. I, 
 myself, since the weakening of the government during and 
 since the Russian war, have been, a witness and hearer of 
 scenes of blood and desolation which must seemingly find 
 their end in the utter ruin of the country, and extirpa- 
 tion of the population, unless matters have come to that 
 state when they begin to mend. 
 
 I subjoin a lively picture of Northern Syria, past and 
 present : — 
 
 " Northern Syria, though not strictly sacred, is still 
 classic ground. A line drawn from the river Eleu- 
 therus, through the entrance of Hamath, and across the 
 plain eastward by Hums, marks the southern boundary. 
 
 " Although Ptolemy makes Phoenicia terminate at the 
 Eleutherus, we are not to suppose that the Phoenicians 
 had no possessions further north. Arvad was one of their 
 earliest settlements, and we have reason to believe that 
 Laodicea, Garbala, and Alexandria (Scanderoon) were 
 founded by them. The Phoenician section of Northern 
 Syria has sadly fallen ; the harbours are in ruins, most of 
 the towns are deserted, and the adjoining coast is almost 
 without an inhabitant. The soil is rich, but not a tenth 
 part of it is under cultivation. 
 
 " The territory of the ' Great Hamath' formed one of 
 the most ancient divisions of Northern Syria. It embraced 
 the plain on both banks of the Upper Orontes, — a tract of 
 unrivalled fertility ; and probably the Nusairiyeh moun- 
 tains, famed in Strabo's days for their vineyards. 
 
 " Northern Syria was the nucleus of the kingdom of the 
 Seleucidae; under that dynasty it attained its greatest 
 
 c 4 
 
24 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 power. Antiocb, Seleucia, Apamea, Laodicea, and many 
 other great cities sprang into existence as if by the wand 
 of an enchanter. The country was regarded as an earthly 
 paradise. The votaries of pleasure in every land longed 
 for the delicious groves of Daphne (near Antioch). The 
 pure sky and enchanting scenery remain ; and the ruins 
 tliat dot the country bear silent testimony to the wealth 
 and splendour of former days. 
 
 " To the Seleucidae succeeded the Romans. When 
 Hadrian divided Syria into three provinces, Antioch 
 remained capital of the ' first/ which embraced the whole 
 country under consideration. 
 
 " The decline of Northern Syria may be dated from the 
 Saracenic conquest. Some of its cities were still populous 
 Avhen the Crusaders marched through the land.* The 
 Mohammedan rule has since been fatal to almost all. 
 Seleucia is deserted, Apamea is deserted, Arethusa is 
 deserted, Larissa is deserted, and Antioch itself is dwindled 
 down to a fourth-rate town of 6000 inhabitants. A great 
 part of the country is desert." f 
 
 ♦ Bertrand, who passed through the country in 1432, after the in- 
 vasions of the Tartars, speaks of seeing in some places nothing but 
 ruined houses between Hamah and Antioch. Travels in Palestine ; ed. 
 Wright : H. Bohn. 
 
 j" Porter's Guide Book to Syria, (Murray,) vol. ii. p. 590. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SECRET HERETICAL SECTS OF ISLAM. 
 
 Before entering on the history of the Ansaireeh, it is 
 necessary to give an account of some of the other hereti- 
 cal secret sects which sprang out of the bosom of Islam, 
 such as the Karmatians, the Druses, and the Ismaeleeh or 
 Assassins. Not only is it necessary to do this, for the 
 sake of those who have hot given much attention to the 
 rise and progress of Mohammedanism, but as helping 
 materially to the elucidation of the history of the Ansai- 
 reeh. This sect has never been of much note, and, conse- 
 quently, Mohammedan authors only mention them now 
 and then, and that slightly; while the Ansaireeh them- 
 selves are not only very ignorant, and possessed of few 
 books, but also either entirely silent or designedly deceit- 
 ful as to their origin ; and few of their books have yet fallen 
 into the hands of Europeans. The consequence is, that it is 
 easier to write their history negatively than positively ; to 
 say what they are not, than to show what they are ; and 
 for this we must know something of those sects which 
 have any relation to them. 
 
 It has been a common error to suppose, that, while 
 Christianity has been split up into diverse sects, Moham- 
 medanism has been comparatively free from heresy and 
 schism. A saying imputed by tradition to Mohammed at 
 once shows that this idea is without foundation. He is 
 said to have declared, that whereas the Magians were 
 divided into seventy sects, the Jews into seventy-one, the 
 Christians into seventy-two, his own followers would be 
 separated into seventy- three, of which, orthodox Mussul- 
 
26 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 man authors suppose only one tp be entitled to salvation. 
 And, in fact, if all the several heresies which sprang into 
 existence after the death of Mohammed were enumerated 
 one by one, the number would be found to exceed even 
 the liberal allowance imputed to the prophet.* 
 
 As religion and civil government are intimately con- 
 nected in the Mohammedan system, we find that these 
 schisms had their first origin in political considerations, 
 namely, the right of succession to the government of the 
 Mohammedan state after the death of its founder. 
 
 Mohammed died in the house of his wife Ayesha ; and 
 she is said by the Schiites, or followers of Ali, to have 
 suppressed his special designation, in favour of Ali, of the 
 Caliphate or civil rule, and the Imamate or spiritual 
 jurisdiction, of Islam or Mohammedanism. That is, they 
 say that Mohammed intended that he should be both 
 Emir-il-Moomeneen (prince of the true believers), and 
 Imam-il-Muslemeen (high priest of the Mussulmans); and 
 they maintain his indefeasible right to both offices, and 
 that though he for a time, and his children afterwards, 
 were by man's injustice deprived of the caliphate, no 
 human power could take from them the imamate. And in 
 truth, though the caliphate was voted to Abu-Beer, with 
 the pretty general consent of the chief companions of 
 Mohammed, Ali seems to have had a better claim. Abu- 
 Beer, indeed, was an early convert, and a favoured com- 
 panion, and also father of Ayesha, wife of the prophet ; 
 but Ali was not only related by blood to Mohammed, who 
 had been brought up and protected by Abu-Taleh, All's 
 father and Mohammed's uncle, but had married his 
 favourite daughter, Fatima, was one of his three earliest 
 converts, and had contributed materially by his bravery 
 to the success of his cousin. The subsequent conduct of 
 Ali shows him too, to have been, according to the light 
 
 • See Sale's Introduction to Koran, sect, viii., for an account of some 
 of these. 
 
THE IM/VMATE. 27 
 
 that was in liim, of a mild and praiseworthy character, 
 and he bore the preference given to rivals with an equani- 
 mity w^hich was not shared by his zealous partisans. 
 
 When Abu-Beer died, the claims of Ali were postponed 
 to those of tlie fierce Omar, and on his assassination, to 
 those of the aged and feeble Othman, who had married 
 two daughters of the prophet. It was only on the murder 
 of Othman that the claims of Ali were recognised ; and the 
 Schiites as a body make a religious duty to curse those 
 who had stood in his way — Abu-Beer, Omar, and Othman, 
 especially Omar, who had forced Ali to give way to the 
 first-named. 
 
 The opposition to Ali did not end with his succession 
 to the caliphate. Telha and Zobeir, companions of 
 Mohammed, and the determined enemy of Ali, Ayesha, 
 took the field against him, but were defeated ; Telha and 
 Zobeir being slain and Ayesha made prisoner. But 
 Moawiyah, who had been appointed by Omar governor of 
 Syria, and had been deposed by Ali, proved a more for- 
 midable antagonist. He was the son of that Abu-Sofian, 
 who, at the head of the Koreish, had so long resisted 
 Mohammed, and at length only professed Islam under the 
 sword. Moaw^iyah continued to make progress in his rebel- 
 lion against Ali, till Ali was assassinated, a.d. 661 ; when 
 having forced Hasan, the eldest son of Ali, to resign, he 
 became caliph, to the exclusion of the family of Moham- 
 med. Moawiyah was the founder of the dynasty of the 
 Omeyades (so called from Omeyah, one of his ancestors), 
 which ruled the Mohammedan world till the accession of 
 the Abbasides, caliphs of Bagdad, who were descended from 
 Abbas, an uncle of Mohammed, and obtained the caliphate 
 in A.D. 750. This dynasty proved as zealous enemies 
 of the descendants of Ali as the former. 
 
 Ali married no one in the life of Fatima, By her he 
 had three sons, Hasan, Hosein, and Mohsin, of whom the 
 last-named died young. He afterwards had eight wives, 
 and fifteen sons in all, of which one, Mohammed, son of 
 
28 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Hanefeyd, was one of the most noted, as reverenced by 
 one of the numerous sects, which were characterised by 
 the inordinate honour paid by them to the memory of Ali. 
 It was difficult to extinguish so numerous a progeny; but 
 the most important scions of the race were the sons of 
 Hosein, reckoned among the twelve celebrated imams, of 
 whom I proceed succinctly to give the history. 
 
 Hosein, led into rebellion and then deserted by the 
 people of Cufa, near Bagdad, was surrounded with seventy 
 brave followers at Kerbela, in the neighbourhood of those 
 places, by the army of Yezid, son of Moawiyah. It is 
 impossible to read without emotion the story of his bra- 
 very and death, and every year in Persia and India his 
 martyrdom is celebrated with all the outward marks of 
 extreme grief; and the Ansaireeh speak of him as the 
 third imam, the martyr of Kerbela. 
 
 Ali, his son, the fourth imam, who was twelve years 
 old at the death of his father, refused to take any share in 
 public affairs, and died a.d. 712, leaving such a reputa- 
 tion for piety, that he is styled Zeyu-il-Aabideen, the 
 " ornament of pious men." 
 
 Mohammed, the fifth imam, led as retired a life as his 
 father. He devoted himself to study, and is called by the 
 Schiites the " possessor of the secret,*' or II Bakir, " the 
 investigator." The Omeyade caliph of his day, alarmed 
 at the progress of opinions which tended to strengthen the 
 house of Ali, caused him to be poisoned a.d. 734. 
 
 His son Djaafar, the sixth imam, called Is-Sadik, or 
 *' the just," is especially celebrated and reverenced by the 
 followers of Ali and his family. They say that he wrote 
 the lesser Djifi, a book of astrological predictions, as Ali 
 liad been the author of the greater. Even at the present 
 day, and especially since the Mohammedan community has 
 been so rudely shaken in various parts of the world, this 
 book is referred to as having foretold all that has and is to 
 happen. He died a.d. 765, after the caliphate had passed 
 to the Abbasides, an event which, as we have inti- 
 
THE IMAM ATE. 29 
 
 mated, made no diiFerence in the treatment of the house 
 of All. 
 
 We now come to a part of the succession to the iinamate, 
 to wliich I must bespeak the reader's special attention, 
 for on a clear understanding of it will depend the com- 
 prehension of the distinction between the various sects 
 whose history we are giving. Djaafar designated his son 
 Ismaeel as his successor, but on his death, a.d. 762-3, 
 during his own lifetime, he declared his second son, 
 Moosa, his heir. Now as Ismaeel had left children, those 
 of the Schiites who regarded the imamate as hereditary, 
 denied that Djaafar had a right to make a second nomi- 
 nation. They formed a sect called the Ismaeleeh, from 
 which sprang the Fatimite caliphs of Egypt, who pre- 
 tended to be descended (and perhaps were so) from this 
 Ismaeel, and the Ismaeleeh or Assassins of Persia and 
 Syria. The Druses are the followers of one of these 
 Fatimite caliphs, Hakem-biamr-ilah, whom they worship 
 as the chief manifestation under a human form of the Deity. 
 
 The Saffarean or Sooper monarchs of Persia, claiming to 
 be descended from Moosa, declared him to be the seventh 
 imam, and this is now the general opinion in Persia. 
 The Ansaireeh, who are Imameeh, that is, acknowledgers 
 of twelve imams, recognise the claims of Moosa, whom 
 they call II Kazim, or '* the patient." In this they are 
 distinguished from the Druses and Ismaeleeh, who break 
 the line at Ismaeel, to the exclusion of Moosa and his 
 descendants, and perhaps from the Karmatians, who appear 
 to have done the same. Moosa was privately assassinated 
 by order of Haroon-ir-Rasheed, the hero of the "Arabian 
 Nights." Moosa's son, Ali, called by the Imamites and 
 Ansaireeh, Ir-Reda, or "acceptation," was proclaimed by 
 II Mamoon, successor of Haroon, as his own successor in 
 the empire, which raised such a sedition among the 
 30,000 descendants of Abbas that II Mamoon was obliged 
 to cause Ali to be privately poisoned a.d. 816. 
 
 Mohammed, the son of Ali, was the ninth imam. He 
 
30 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 lived in privacy at l^agdad, and died at an early age 
 A.D. 885. On account of his generosity he is styled by 
 the Ansaireeh, II Djawwad, " the generous." 
 
 Ali, the tenth imam, was but a child when his father 
 died. He was kept all his life a close prisoner in the 
 town of Asker, by the Caliph Motawakkil, a mortal enemy 
 of the Schiites. He pretended to devote himself to study 
 and religious exercises, but could not thus disarm the 
 jealousy of the caliph, who caused him to be poisoned 
 A.D. 868. He is called by the Ansaireeh, Ali-il-Hadi, 
 " the director." 
 
 Hassan, the eleventh imam, his son, is styled by them 
 n Askeree, from the place where, like his father, he lived 
 and was poisoned. 
 
 Mohammed, the twelfth and last imam, was but six 
 months old when his father died. He was kept closely 
 confined by the caliph, but after he had attained the age 
 of twelve years he suddenly disappeared. The Sonnites, 
 or orthodox Mohammedans, say that he was drowned 
 in the Tigris, but the Ansaireeh, and the other Imameeh, 
 deny the fact of his death, and assert that he entered into 
 a cave, from whence he will issue at the end of all things, 
 to cause the followers of Ali to triumph, and to punish 
 his enemies. He is called by the Ansaireeh " the demonstra- 
 tion, the chief, the director, the preacher of glad tidings 
 and of threatenings, the hoped for, the expected master 
 of the age and time." It is this " director," who, since 
 the suppression of the rebellion in India, is said by the 
 Mussulmans of Lahore and elsewhere to have already 
 made his appearance and to be about to restore the 
 dominion to them.* 
 
 ♦ For an account of the first four caliphs, and the twelve imams, the 
 reader may consult the History of Mohammedanism, by W. C. Taylor, 
 published by the Christian Knowledge Society, chaps, vi. and vii. It 
 is a very useful little book, though in unimportant things not entirely 
 free from error, as in the assertion, p. 166, that " The Nosairians stop 
 at Ali, the first imam." 
 
 Gibbon, with a few felicitous touches, sketches the rise of Mohamme- 
 
RISE OF HERETICAL SECTS. 31 
 
 We return now to the time of Ali, to describe the 
 gradual rise of the several sects of his extravagant ad- 
 mirers. 
 
 Makrisi, in his valuable description of Egypt, says* 
 that " even in the time of Ali, and of the companions of 
 the apostle, there arose those who promulgated extrava- 
 gant opinions concerning Ali, and that he caused some of 
 them to be burnt, saying in verse : — 
 
 " V^hen T saw that the matter was abominable, 
 I lighted my fire and called for Kanbar." 
 
 Kanbar being his freedman. This did not, however, 
 quench the zeal of his followers ; for, " in his time also 
 arose Abdullah, son of Wahab, and grandson of Saba, 
 who was the first to teach that the prophet of God 
 delegated the right of the imamate to Ali, and explicitly 
 assigned to him the succession, after himself, to the 
 government of his people ; and he pretended that Ali was 
 not dead but living and that in him was a particle of the 
 divinity ; that he comes in the clouds, that the thunder 
 is his voice, and the lightning his scourge, and that he 
 would certainly one day return to earth and fill it with 
 justice, as it was then filled with injustice. And from 
 the son of Saba originated all the sects of the extravagant 
 Rafedhis, who speak of the wakf, that is, that the imamate 
 belonged to certain persons, as the Imameeh say that it 
 does to the twelve imams, and the Ismaeleeh to Ismaeel, 
 son of Djaafar-is-Sadik. And from him they took the 
 saying about the absence of the imam, and that about his 
 return after death into the world, as the Imameeh believe 
 
 danism, and the history of the successors of Mohammed. It is a pity 
 that he could not read the Arab historians in their own language, for he 
 might have learnt from them a terseness in writing, which would have 
 left on the mind a more distinct impression of historical facts than his 
 own inflated periods. See also Von Hammer, History of Assassins, 
 book i. ; and Ockley's History of Saracens. 
 
 * Edition printed at Boulak, Cairo, vol. ii. p. 356. 
 
32 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 to this day of the "lord of the cave'' (Mohammed, the 
 last imam). This is the dogma of the transmigration of 
 souls. From him, too, they took the saying that a particle 
 of the Divinity resides in the imams after Ali, son of Abu- 
 Taleh, and that, therefore, they had a positive right to 
 the imamate. And the dais (missionaries) of the Fatimite 
 caliphs of Egypt took their belief from hence. Ibn-Saba 
 stirred up the sedition against Othman, son of Uffam, 
 which caused his death ; and he had everywhere many 
 followers, and thus the Schiites increased greatly." 
 
 Among the first of those who preached heresy and then 
 stirred up rebellion was Hakim ibn-Hashem, a native of 
 Khorassan, a province from whence, as from the country, 
 Persia, in which it is situated, arose the greatest corrup- 
 tions of Mohammedanism. Being very deformed and 
 anxious to give himself out as more than human, he 
 assumed a silver veil, and was hence called 11 Mokannaa, 
 or " the veiled." He appeared in the reign of the caliph 
 II Mohdee, a.d. 778, and by juggling persuaded many 
 that he could work miracles. He thus was able m a few 
 months to collect a large army and secure numerous 
 strong fortresses, but being closely besieged in one of 
 these, he first poisoned the entire garrison and his own 
 family, and then plunged into a vessel containing a corro- 
 sive liquid, so that men might think that he had been 
 taken up to heaven. Some still believed so, notwithstand- 
 ing tlie assertions of one of his concubines, Avho had hid 
 herself, and seen all that he had done ; and they clothed 
 themselves in white, to show their hostility to the Abbaside 
 caliphs, whose distinctive colour was black. After him a 
 still more formidable rebel, named Baber, appeared in Irak 
 during the caliphate of Al Mamoon, a.d. 810. He is said 
 by an Oriental exaggeration to have put to death 250,000 
 Mohammedans in cold blood, besides those slain in battle. 
 After twenty years he was defeated, seized, tortured, and 
 executed. 
 
 In the time of Mohammed son of Ismaeel, that son of 
 
I 
 
 ABDULLAH, SON OF MABIOON KADDAH. 33 
 
 the imam Djaafar-is-Sadik to whom we have before 
 specially alluded, arose Abdullah son of Maimoon Kaddah, 
 who, seeing the failure of II Mokanijaa and Baber, deter- 
 mined to proceed in a different way, by a secret gradual 
 promulgation of his doctrine, rather than by open war. 
 De Sacy supposes that before his time the sect of the 
 Tsmaeleeh, who take Ismaeel as their chief object of 
 reverence, may have existed, but that it was not till the 
 time of Abdullah, about the year of the Hedjirah 250, 
 A.D. 863, that the doctrines of the sect were reduced into 
 a system. He thinks that till his time they were only an 
 ordinary sect of Schiites, but that he introduced material- 
 ism and general infidelity. 
 
 I do not enter now into the doctrines which he dissemi- 
 nated, leaving that for a future chapter, but will relate 
 something of his history, as a preface to that of Karmat, 
 founder of the Karmatians, with whom some suppose the 
 Ansaireeh are identical, and to whom in truth they seem 
 more or less allied. 
 
 Nowairi * says that Abdullah son of Maimoon was 
 obliged to fly successively from Ahwaz (in Khoozistan, a 
 province of Persia bordering on the Arabian Irak, near 
 the head of the Persian Gulf), and from Busrah, and took 
 refuge at Salameeh in Syria (a town on the borders of the 
 desert, but situated in a fertile territory, a few miles south- 
 east of Hamah). He died there, and his. son Ahmed be- 
 came supreme chief of the Tsmaeleeh. He sent Hosein 
 Ahwazi, a dai (or missionary), into Irak. Hosein arrived 
 in the cultivated territory of Cufa, called by Arabs, Sawad, 
 and there found Hamdan son of Ashath. He initiated 
 
 * De Sacy (see Expose of Religion of Druses, vol. i. introd. p. 73) 
 places great reliance on Nowairi, who takes his facts from Aboul- 
 Hasan, said to be separated by only five generations from Moham- 
 med son of Ismaeel, from whom he claimed descent. He says that 
 Makrisi and Nowairi derived from one source in all probability, for they 
 employ nearly always the same expressions, and it is possible to correct 
 the text of one from that of the other. 
 
 D 
 
34 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 him into his religion, and when dying named him his suc- 
 cessor. According to Nowairi, Hamdan was called Kar- 
 mat, from the name of his ox. Others say that the word 
 means a man with short legs, who makes short steps. 
 Others that it comes from the Nahatean language, in 
 which it is Karamita, and hence Karmat. 
 
 Another story is told by Aboulfaraj in his dynastic 
 history, and also in Nowairi from Ibn-Atheer* ; also by 
 Bibars Mansoori and Abulfeda, who are supposed by De 
 Sacy to follow Ibn-Atheer. De Sacy gives this story from 
 Bibars Mansoori : — 
 
 A man of the province of Khuzistan came and esta- 
 blished himself in the territory of Cufa, called Nahrein. 
 He there led an austere life, and taught those that spoke 
 with him about religion, and that they should make 'pray- 
 ers fifty times a day. He lived with a gardener, and 
 watched date palms. Being ill, he was taken care of by 
 Hamdan Karamita, and taught him his religion, and chose 
 twelve nakeebs. Haidsam, the governor of those parts, 
 imprisoned him, but Haidsam's maid released him. A 
 little after he showed himself to some of his disciples, who 
 were labouring on lands far from the village, and told 
 them that angels had delivered him. However, fearing 
 for his life, he went into Syria. They called him Kara- 
 mita, from the name of him who showed him hospitality. 
 
 Thus it appears that the Karamitah or Karmatians took 
 their rise from the Ismaeleeh, but broke out into open 
 violence, instead of being content for a time with secret 
 propagandism. 
 
 Taking the former story as the correct one and con- 
 tinuing it, it is said that Hamdan Karmat sent a dai to 
 Salameeh, and found that the house of Maimoon Kaddah 
 were really set on aggrandising themselves, rather than 
 honouring Mohammed son of Ismaeel ; who, by the Isma- 
 
 * Ibn-Khallikin (p. 218, ed. Slane) speaks of the great chronicle of 
 Ibn-Atheer, and says that he gives a full description of the Karmatians, 
 from which he extracts. 
 
THE KARMATIANS. 35 
 
 cleeh, is treated with the same honour as his father, and is 
 often confounded with him. The dai, Abdan, reportec^ 
 the state of the case to Karmat, who ceased to propagate 
 the doctrine of Abdullah. Soon after Karmat disappeared, 
 and the representative of the house of Kaddah went to 
 see Abdan, who rejected him, and was therefore assassina- 
 ted by a man called Zierwaih, at the instigation of the said 
 descendant of the house of Kaddah, who was called Yahya, 
 and by the Karmatians Ish-Sheikh. Zierwaih sent emis- 
 saries into Syria, who spread his doctrine among the Arab 
 tribes of the Benoo Kelb, among whom they made many 
 disciples. The Benoo Kelb revolted a.d. 901, and were 
 defeated, the descendant of Kaddah being killed near 
 Damascus ; and soon after Zierwaih himself was killed, 
 not before the Karmatians had taken Salameeh, Baalbec, 
 &c., and slain vast numbers of the Mussulmans. 
 
 But another portion of the Karmatians in Bahreya (the 
 north-east portion of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf, south of 
 Bagdad and Cufa, and the country where all these events 
 took their rise) were far more successful. According to 
 Ibn-Schohnah it was in a.d. 888, that the Karmatians 
 commenced their movement in the villages near Cufa. 
 In A.D. 899, Abu-Said, the chief of the Bahreyn branch, 
 began his victorious course, and was succeded by his son, 
 Abu-il-Tahir, who was a still greater scourge of the 
 followers of the Abbaside caliphs, the orthodox Moham- 
 medans. There was a continual war in Chaldea, Meso- 
 potamia, and Syria, and the towns of Busra and Cufa were 
 taken, with the massacre of the greater part of their in- 
 habitants. At length Mecca was taken by storm, and 
 30,000 Mussulmans put to the sword. The well Zemzem 
 w^as filled with corpses, the temple defiled by the burial of 
 3,000 dead, and the famous aerolite, or black stone, taken 
 away and used for an unclean use. For a time pilgrimages 
 were intercepted, and then allowed to pass on the pay- 
 ment of a large sum, and at length at the instance of a 
 Fatimite caliph of Egypt, the stone was restored. The 
 
 D 2 
 
36 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Karinatian power gradually declined, but even in a.d. 971, 
 Hassan Alacem, grandson of Abu- Said, defeated in Syria 
 the forces of the Egyptian Fatimite caliphs, and went to 
 Egypt, where he was himself defeated by the Caliph 
 Moezz-lideen-ilah, the grandfather of Hakem, the god-man 
 of the Druses. After about a.d. 989, one does not hear 
 much of the Karmatians of Irak and Syria, but they were 
 found in Bahreyn till a.d. 1037-8, and at Mooltan in 
 India still later. During the time of the struggle between 
 the Karmatians and the Abbaside caliphs of Bagdad, Abu- 
 Abdullah, an Ismaelee dai from Salameeh, went into the 
 Moghreb, in the west country, that is the north coast of 
 Africa, which was then governed by the Aglabites, who 
 had rendered themselves independent of the Bagdad 
 caliphs. Having made himself master of the country, he 
 sent for Obeid-allah, who is supposed by De Sacy to have 
 been, as he asserted, a descendant of the imam Ismaeel, 
 though his enemies the Abbasides endeavoured to prove 
 that he was of the race of Maimoon Kaddah. He had been 
 called Said, when at Salameeh, but changed his name to 
 Obeid-allah, when he became master of the west. He 
 made Kairwan, the ancient Cyrene, the capital of his do- 
 minions, and so in a.d. 910 was founded the dynasty of 
 the Fatimite caliphs, so called on account of their descent 
 from Fatima, wife of Ali. Al Moezz, the third in succes- 
 sion from Obeid-allah, removed the seat of government to 
 Egypt, and founded Musr-il-Kahirah, or Cairo, arriving in 
 Egypt A.D. 970. It is his grandson, Maimoon, who is so 
 especially revered by the Druses. On his accession to the 
 throne a.d. 996, he took the title of Hakem-biamr-ilah, 
 and after a little began to manifest his whimsical and 
 wicked character. He was a miserable fanatic, and a 
 wretched madman, who persecuted and murdered, now the 
 Jews, now the Christians, now the Mussulmans, of the 
 countries, Egypt and Syria, under his rule. At length he 
 suddenly disappeared, a.d. 1021, having been assassinated 
 when on one of his nightly rounds. Shortly before, a cer- 
 
THE KARMATIANS. 37 
 
 tain Meshtekin, son of Ismacel-id-Damzi, asserted that the 
 caliph was a manifestation of the invisible imam, and 
 should therefore be worshipped as God. Hakem adopted 
 an opinion so flattering, but Id-Darazi, being imprudently 
 zealous, was obliged to fly from Egypt, and went to the 
 Wadi-il-Teym, near Damascus, where there were many 
 who, being afix3cted with Ismaelee doctrines, were ready 
 to receive his teaching. A Persian, Hamza ibn-Ali, had 
 before been teaching these doctrines, and Id-Darazi had 
 learnt from him, but Hamza acted with greater caution, 
 and his writings are among the chief books of the Druses, 
 who look on him as second only to Hakem. 
 
 I have said that in Wadi-il-Teym there were many ready 
 to receive the doctrines of Id-Darazi, and thus form a new 
 sect called Druses. In fact the whole of Syria was filled 
 at that time with heretical sects, who all had much in 
 common. Macrisi * says : *' The Schiites increased more 
 and more, till there arose the sect of the Karmatians, 
 attributed to Hamdan-il-Ashath, styled Karmat. And 
 there arose in Syria of the Karmatians such and such, and 
 in Bahreyn, Abu -Said, whose government increased greatly, 
 and great numbers entered their sect, for their dais were 
 spread through all countries. They call their doctrine 
 the knowledge of II Batin (the * inward,' that is the inner 
 meaning of the Koran opposed to Iz-Zahir, its outward 
 letter), which was the Taweil (interpretation or allegori- 
 sation), of the laws of Islam, and the turning them from 
 their literal meaning to their own fancies. The Fatimite 
 caliphs, having become strong in Western Africa, openly 
 embraced the doctrines of the Ismaeleeh, and sent their 
 dais to Egypt ; and when they became masters of it they 
 sent their armies into Syria. And the difi^erent sects of 
 the Karmatians, Batenis, &c. &c., spread through Egypt, 
 Syria, and the surrounding countries, so that the earth 
 was full of them.'' t 
 
 P. 357, continuation of words before cited. f P. 358. 
 
 D 3 
 
38 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Another author* says, " Obeid-allah manifested the 
 most hateful Schiitism." In fact the Fatimite caliphs 
 were Ismaeleeh, and they gave every possible encourage- 
 ment to the extension of the Ismaelee association, and 
 conferred office only on those who had been initiated into 
 its mysteries. An Ismaelee lodge was established at 
 Kairwan, and afterwards removed with the court to Cairo. 
 Assemblies were convened twice a week, on Mondays and 
 Wednesdays, by the Dai-al-Doater, chief dai, and were 
 frequented both by men and women. They had a lodge 
 called the Dar-il-Likmeh, which was well furnished with 
 professors, books, &c., and at the lectures and disputations 
 the caliphs frequently attended. The professors wore 
 khalaas, or robes, and Yon Hammer asserts that the 
 gowns of the English universities have still the original 
 form of the Arabic khalaa or kaftan. 
 
 The dais of the Fatimite caliphs prepared the way for 
 the teachers of Hakem's divinity, and these last found 
 Ansaireeh already existing in the parts to which they 
 proceeded. We have already spoken of the three Ansaireeh 
 villages near Wadi-il-Teym, and, as we shall see presently, 
 there were Ansaireeh existing in the valley when Id 
 Darazi arrived there. Also we have mentioned the 
 Ansaireeh living in the mountains to the east of the 
 Orontes. Adjoining these to the east is the Djebel-il- 
 Aala, where the Tenoukhee family of Bateneeh, who 
 became Druses, took refuge. There are still Druses 
 there, and they were formerly very numerous, but have 
 been, many of them, driven out by the Mussulmans, and 
 forced to fly for refuge to their brethren in the Lebanon 
 and the Hauran, the chief seats of the Druse sect. 
 
 When the Western, or Egyptian, Ismaeleeh were be- 
 ginning to decline, with the decline of the power of the 
 Fatimite caliphs (who had wrested Egypt and Syria from 
 the Abbaside caliphs of Bagdad), a new branch of the 
 
 * El Masoodi, Establishment of Fatimite Dynasty in Africa, 
 (Nicholson, Tubingen, 1840,) p. 112. 
 
THE ASSASSINS. 39 
 
 Ismaelee sect appeared in Persia, and afterwards in Syria, 
 called by Arab writers the Eastern Ismaeleeh, and by 
 Frank writers the Assassins. 
 
 A certain Hassan ibn-Mohammed-is-Sab^h was founder 
 of this famous sect, which, though it gained great power 
 and dominion, was rather an order like the Templars, 
 than a kinordom. His father Ali was a distino^uished 
 Schiite of Khorassan, Hassan was originally a believer 
 in the twelve imams, but asserted that during an illness 
 he had been converted to the Ismaelee doctrines, of which 
 the caliphs of Egypt were the head. Having set out for 
 Egypt, he was at first received with great honour ; but, 
 having had a difference with the general of the forces as to 
 the right of succession to the throne, he was imprisoned 
 by him at Damietta, from which he managed to escape 
 into Syria, in such a way as to give hinj an appearance of 
 having miraculous power. Having returned to Persia he 
 gained possession by force and stratagem of the strong 
 castle of Alamoot, in the district of Rudbar, in the north 
 of Persia. This happened in a.d. 1090. Pretending 
 that he was the Huddjah, or demonstration, of the invisible 
 imam*, he procured followers among the pre-existing 
 Ismaelee sect, and others of the like heretical and corrupt 
 opinions, and succeeded in persuading his followers that 
 to die for the imam or order was to procure certain 
 felicity. He gained castle after castle in Persia, and soon 
 obtained great power, inspiring terror in the hearts of all 
 by the sudden assassination of caliphs and viziers. 
 
 The Assassins appeared in Syria about the same time 
 as the crusaders, for these took Jerusalem a.d. 1099, and 
 the Assassins converted to their interests Red wan, governor 
 of Aleppo, a.d. 1100. Their first murder was that of the 
 prince of Aleppo, as he was going, a.d. 1102, to raise the 
 siege of the castle of Husn, which was being attacked by 
 the crusaders under the Count de St. Gilies. 
 
 * Safeenet-ir-Raghib, (printed at Boulak, Cairo,) p. 216. 
 
 p 4 
 
40 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Hassan Sabah, the founder of the order of Assassins, 
 reigned thirty-five years, and was succeeded by his general, 
 Kia Busurgomid, for Hassan had slain his own sons. The 
 succession of the children of Busurgomid, till the extinction 
 of the order, is one awful tale of suspicion and murder on 
 the part of the father, or parricide on the part of the son. 
 While they caused the blood of others to flow like water, 
 they did not spare that of their nearest relations. At 
 last Hoolakoo, grandson of the famous Jenghiz Khan, 
 brought to a close the rule of the Ismaeleeh, or Assassins 
 of Persia, by besieging and taking all their castles, and 
 putting to death their last grand-master, Rokneddeen. 
 Their fall, a.d. 1257, inlmmediately preceded that of the 
 Abbaside caliphs of Bagdad. 
 
 During this time the Ismaeleeh, or Assassins, existed 
 almost independently in the mountains of Sumra^k, the 
 southern part of the Ansairee range. According to 
 Dheh^by*, *^ The Ismaeleeh of Alamoot sent into Syria 
 in the year 1107, or after, one of their missionaries. 
 Many adventures happened to him, until he made himself 
 master of several fortresses in the mountain of Sanak, and 
 which belonged to the Ansaueeh^ 
 
 A man called Behram came into Syria, and took service 
 with Togtekin, lord of Damascus, who gave him the castle 
 of Banyas, on the site of Caesarea Philippi, and the 
 Ismaeleeh acquired great power in Syria. " At that time 
 the valley of Teym, in the province of Baalbek, contained 
 various sects, such as the Ansaireeh^ Druses, &c. ; and, when 
 Behram attacked them, they, under the prince of the 
 valley, defeated and killed him, a.d. 1128."f Six thousand 
 of them were killed, a.d. 1129, by the Mussulmans of 
 Damascus, on their failing in their attempt to deliver up 
 
 • Arabic MS. quoted by M. C. Defremeny in Recherches sur les 
 Ismaeliens et Bathiniens de Syrie, Journal Asiatique for May, June, 
 1854, and January, 1855. 
 
 f M. Defremeny, from Ibn-il-Attliier, page 412 of Journal Asiat. 
 May, June, 1854. See also Von Hammer, p. 78. 
 
THE ASSASSINS. 41 
 
 that city to the Franks. They were obliged to give up 
 the castle of Banyas to the Franks, and replaced the loss 
 of it by acquiring the castle of Kadmoos by purchase from 
 its Mussulman owner. There they established themselves, 
 A.D. 1132 — 33, and from thence harassed the Franks 
 and Mussulmans of their neighbourhood. In 1130 they 
 assassinated the Caliph Amin of Egypt, because he had 
 taken the place of his uncle Nesar, who had been sup- 
 ported by Hassan Sabah. The Ismaeleeh looked on the 
 previous caliphs of Egypt as, in a measure, the repre- 
 sentatives of the hidden imam. In a.d. 1140 they took 
 the castle of Masyad from its Mussulman governor by 
 stratagem, and several other castles which we have 
 already enumerated in Chap. I. They were probably 
 assisted in this by the Bateneeh, or secret sects, who 
 abounded in those parts, and in all the north of Syria. 
 In Sermeen, a day's journey from Aleppo, there were many 
 Bateneeh, when taken by the Franks*; and in a.d. 1110 
 the castle of Kefr Lata, also a day from Aleppo, was taken 
 by Tancred from Bateneeh.f There is among the Druse 
 writings mentioned by De Sacy, an epistle addressed, about 
 A.D. 11 37, to the inhabitants of the mountains of Summ^k, 
 and another to the " Unitarians " of the same part.| 
 
 * Apud Wilkin. 
 
 f Paul Petav. and Will. Camden speak of the Franks finding Turks, 
 Saracens, Arabs, and other pagans in Moarra, and of certain Publicani 
 in Area, which Baldrinus, archbishop, also mentions. 
 
 J Ibn Batootah (who travelled in Syria, 1325 — 50) mentions inciden- 
 tally the great number of heretics in the north of Syria. In one place he 
 speaks of the tomb of Omar ibn-Abd-il-Azeez, as having no Zawiyel or 
 garden, and gives as the reason, *' that there were in the country a kind 
 of impure heretics (Rawafid, followers of Ali), who hate the ten com- 
 panions, and every one whose name is Omar." lie then went to 
 Sermeen, " a great city, where the people were ' cursers,* who hated the 
 ten, and would not mention the name of the ten, and therefore had a 
 great mosque with only nine domes." He also speaks of a certain man 
 of heretical opinions in Ladikeeh, who was convicted of heresy and put 
 to death. Ladikeeh was the residence of members of the heretical noble 
 family of the Tenookhees. 
 
42 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 The Ismaeleeh, or Assassins, thus became neighbours 
 of the Franks, who, as we have intimated in Chap. I., had 
 many castles in the Ansairee mountains, and in the 
 southern part, called Djebel-il-Aamilah or Summak. 
 Thus they were in continual feud with the crusaders, 
 and, A.D. 1152, killed Raymond I., prince of Tripoli, in 
 the church of Tartoos. They were for that so successfully 
 attacked by their neighbours, the Templars, who entered 
 and ravaged their territory, that they were forced to pay 
 a yearly tribute of 2000 pieces of gold. 
 
 At this time appeared Rasheed-ed-deen Sinar, son of 
 Suleyman of Basra, as the grand-master of the Assassins 
 of Syria. He acquired a great celebrity, and left many 
 books, Avhich are of chief authority among the Ismaeleeh 
 of to-day. Many travellers and others, both Franks and 
 Arabs, mention the state of the mountains of Summak, 
 and of the Ismaelee power during his time. 
 
 Edrisi, who finished his Arabic geography a.d. 1154, 
 says of the mountains above Tartoos, where the Ismaeleeh 
 dwelt : — " Its people are Hasheesheeh (eaters of the in- 
 toxicating Indian hemp), heretics from Islam, who do not 
 believe in the mission of Mohammed, nor in the resur- 
 rection from the dead : may their sect be accursed ! " * 
 Benjamin of Tudela, the Jewish traveller, who passed 
 through the north of Syria a.d. 1163, speaking of 
 Djebileh, to the south of Ladikeeh, says : " In this 
 vicinity live the people called Assassins, who do not 
 believe in the tenets of Mohammedanism, but in those of 
 one whom they consider like unto the prophet Karmath. 
 They fulfil whatever he commands them, whether it be a 
 matter of life or death. He goes by the name of the 
 Sheikh-il-Hasheesheen, or the Old Man, by whose command 
 all the cities of these mountains are regulated. His 
 residence is in the city of Kadmoos. They are at war 
 with the Christians, called Franks, and with the Count of 
 
 • Ed. Jaubert, Paris, 1836, p. 35. 
 
THE ASSASSINS. 43 
 
 Tripoli."* William of Tyre, the famous historian of the 
 crusades, who died a.d. 1183, mentions, under a.d, 
 1169 — 1173, that the " Assassins" had ten castles, ** around 
 the bishopric of Antaradus," and that their number was 
 60,000 or more. He speaks also of the " Fratres militias 
 Teinpli," who had castles bordering on their territory, and 
 of the tribute of 2000 pieces of gold which they exacted 
 yearly from the Assassins. All this in giving an account 
 of an embassy sent by the Assassins to the king of 
 Jerusalem, Amaury, promising to become Christians if the 
 tribute annually paid to the .Templars were remitted to 
 them. On his return the ambassador was slain by a 
 Templar, who was protected by the grand- master and the 
 order ; for they had heard of the request of the Assassins.f 
 
 Jacob de Vitriaco, who was bishop of Acre under 
 William, and who died a.d. 1213, writing of the same 
 event, speaks of the Assassins as living near Tartosa, and 
 exceeding in number 40,000. He says that they paid 
 2000 pieces of gold annually as tribute to the Templars, 
 that they might dwell in security ; since the Templars, by 
 their proximity, were able to do them much harm. He 
 continues: They are for the most part Mohammedans, 
 " but say that they have a certain hidden law, which it is 
 not lawful for any one to reveal, except to their children, 
 when they are come to adult age." He adds that the women 
 and children say that they believe in the religion of their 
 relations without knowing it ; and that if any son were to 
 reveal the law to his mother he would be killed without 
 mercy. J 
 
 Ibn-Djubair, an Arab of Andalusia in Spain, in travel- 
 ling through Syria a.d. 1183, speaks of the Ismaeleeh 
 on his way to Hamah. He says that behind Muarra, 
 '* in the mountains of Lebanon, are castles of the impious 
 Ismaeleeh, a sect who have gone out of Islam, and claimed 
 
 * P. 59, ed. Asher. t Lib. xv. pp. 31, 32. 
 
 i Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 1143. 
 
44 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 divinity for a certain man-devil, Sinan by name, who has 
 deceived them by vanities and false appearances, so that 
 they have taken him as a god, and worship him, and give 
 their lives for him, and they have arrived at such a pitch 
 of obedience as to throw themselves down from a precipice 
 at his command."* 
 
 Brocardus Monachusf says: "On the eastern side of 
 Antaradus are certain low mountains, and this district is 
 called that of the Asisini.'* 
 
 Ibn-il-AVardee, who quotes from Ibn-Atheer and Medj- 
 ith-Dthahab of Massoodee, speaking of Djebel Summak, 
 says that " It contains cities and villages and forts and 
 castles, and most of its people are Ismaeleeh and Druses, 
 and on it grows the sumach." J 
 
 Abulfeda, who was prince of Hamah, a.d. 1310 — 30, 
 speaks of the town of Masyaf (Masyad) as having a strong 
 fort, and being the centre of the Ismaelee order. § 
 
 Marco Polo, who in 1271 travelled through Asia, 
 mentions the Assassins of Persia and Syria. || 
 
 Sinan resided in Castle Kahf. It is said that in a.d. 1176 
 the inhabitants of Summak took occasion of some words of 
 his, to the effect that no one should deny anything to his 
 brother, to break out into licentiousness and incest, and 
 he caused some of them to be put to death. Ibn-Jubair 
 mentions that eight years before his arrival in Syria, 
 a.d. 1183, some of the people called Ismaeleeh (whom 
 he describes as so numerous that none but God could 
 number them) became so corrupt in a village called 
 Bab, near Aleppo, that they were attacked and exter- 
 minated by the Mussulmans.^ 
 
 The Assassins endeavoured to assassinate the great 
 Saladin more than once when he was before Aleppo, and 
 
 ♦ Ibn-Jubair, (Wright, Leyden, 1852,) p. 256. 
 
 t Novis orbia, (Basil, 1532,) fol. 301. % Arab. MS. 
 
 § Geography, (ed. Keinaud and Slane,) p. 229. 
 
 II Lib. i. c. 21. 4 As above, p. 251. 
 
THE ASSASSINS. 45 
 
 therefore he went to attack Masyad a.d. 1176, but was 
 persuaded to give up the siege at the intercession of his 
 uncle, prince of Hamah, being the more ready to do so as 
 he had been in real fear of the Assassins, having had a 
 very narrow escape from death. In 1192 Conrad of 
 Montferrat was killed by two Assassins, at the instigation, 
 there is little reason for doubt, of Richard Coeur de Lion. 
 Sinan died a.d. 1192—93. In a.d. 1250 the Old Man 
 of the Mountain sent to demand a present from Louis IX. 
 at Acre ; but the Templars and Hospitalers sent back 
 demanding a present for the king, and obtained it. 
 
 But now the power of the crusaders. Templars, and 
 Hospitalers, and of the Assassins, was drawing to a close, 
 being about to fall before the celebrated Beybars or Malik- 
 id- Dhabir, sultan of Egypt, of the Memlook dynasty. 
 The Hospitalers, or Knights of St. John, being hard 
 pressed, sent an embassy begging him to maintain peace 
 in that part of the country which borders on the Ismaeleeh, 
 and he would only consent on their remitting the tribute 
 which they received from the Ismaeleeh, namely, 200 pieces 
 of gold and 100 measures of corn. In 1269 Beybars took 
 the chief castles of the Knights Templars, and of St. John, 
 in those parts, namely, Safeetah and Husn, and the Ismae- 
 leeh paid to him the tribute before paid to the knights ; 
 but after a short respite their castles, too, were taken one 
 by one ; and last of all Muneika, Kahf, and Kadmoos in 
 1272, in which year the Friday prayers were celebrated in 
 them.* 
 
 After the end of the thirteenth century we hear little of 
 the Ismaeleeh of Syria. Ibn-Batoutah, the Arab Moghrebbin 
 traveller, who was in Syria between 1325-50, speaks of 
 the castle of Sahyom, and then says : " And I journeyed 
 from it, and passed by the castle of Kadmoos, then by 
 the castle of Maynakah, then by the castle of Ulleyhah, 
 
 * Makrisi, History of the Memlook Sultans, vol. i. part ii. p. 3 : 
 Quatremere, Paris, 1840. 
 
46 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 then by the castle of Masyad, and these castles belong to 
 a people called the Ismaeleeh, and also the Fedaweeh ; 
 and no one enters among them besides themselves, and 
 they are the arrows of II Malik-id -Nasir, by whom he 
 reaches his enemies in Irak and elsewhere." He adds, 
 " that they were paid by him for this, and used poisoned 
 knives." * Thus from time to time we read of assassina- 
 tions attributed to them. An Arab author, who died at 
 Damascus a.d. 1349, speaks of the Ismaeleeh as having in 
 his time Masyad, &c. There were nawabs or viceroys 
 placed in the Ismaelee castles by Beybars.f Perhaps 
 from them are descended the present emirs of the castles ; 
 for they told Burckhardt, who visited Castle Masyad, that 
 they had been possessors of it since the time of the Malik- 
 id-Dhabir, Beybars, as acknowledged by the firmans of 
 the Porte J ; though the Ismaeleeh of to-day told Dr. Eli 
 Smith and Mr. Walpole, who visited them in 1848, and 
 1850 — 51, that they had come from Damascus a.d. 1010 ; 
 and they declared to the latter that they had chased 
 Ansaireeh out of the castles. 
 
 Abd-il-Ghanidj in-Nabulusi visited Kadmoos in a.d. 
 1693, and found the emir of Kadmoos, and his brother 
 of Masyad, to be of the Tenookhee family, which settled 
 in the time of the Greeks in Djebel-il-Aala, and were 
 Batenians, some of them being Druses at the present 
 day. 
 
 Niebuhr, in his description of his journey in Syria ad. 
 1764, speaks of the Ismaeleeh, but says little about them, 
 and that little is incorrect. He says : " The number of the 
 Ismaeleeh is not great. They live principally at Kellis, a 
 town between Shogher and Hamah ; as also in Gebel 
 Kalbie, a mountain not far from Latachia, between Aleppo 
 
 * Travels of Ibn-Batoutah, published by the Societe Asiatique, 
 Paris, 1843. 
 
 f M. Defremeny, Jour. Asiat. January, 1855. 
 
 X Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, (London, 1822,) p. 152. 
 
THE ASSASSINS. 47 
 
 and Antioch. They are called Keptun, from the name of 
 a village in this country." * 
 
 Von Hammerf says : " Remains of the Ismaelites still 
 exist both in Persia and Syria, but merely as one of the 
 many sects and heresies of Islamism, without any claims 
 to power, and without the means of obtaining their former 
 importance, of which they seem, in fact, to have lost all 
 remembrance. The policy of the secret state-subverting 
 doctrine of the first lodge of the Ismaelites, and the mur- 
 derous tactics of the Assassins, are equally foreign to 
 them. Their places of abode are both in Persia and Syria, 
 those of their forefathers, in the mountains of Irak, and 
 at the foot of Anti-Lebanon. 
 
 " The Persian Ismaelites recognise as their chief, an 
 imam, whose descent they deduced from Ismael, the son 
 of Djaafur-is-Sadik, and who resides at Khekh, a village 
 in the district of Koom, under the protection of the Shah. 
 As, according to their doctrine, the imam is an incarnate 
 emanation of the Deity, the imam of Khekh enjoys to this 
 day the reputation of miraculous powers; and the Isma- 
 elites, some of whom are dispersed as far as India, go in 
 pilgrimage, from the banks of the Ganges and Indus, in 
 order to share his benediction. The castles in the district 
 of Rudbar, in the mountains of Alamoot, are still in- 
 habited to this day by Ismaelites, who, according to a 
 late traveller, go by the general name of Hosseinis." 
 
 We have thus related briefly the history of the secret 
 heretical sects of Mohammedanism, in that of the original 
 Ismaeleeh, the Karmatians, the Western Ismaeleeh, from 
 whence sprang the Druses, and the Eastern Ismaeleeh, 
 or Assassins, and this, as a necessary preparation to 
 all that we know of the history of the Ansaireeh, 
 
 * Page 361. The reader may remember that the Kelbeeh are 
 Ansaireeh, and Kefteen is the chief village of the Druses in Djebel-il- 
 Aala. 
 
 t Page 211. 
 
48 THE ASIAN JVIYSTERY. 
 
 whose sect came into existence in the time of the 
 Karmatians. We have omitted to relate that history in 
 its proper place, that we may treat of it in a separate 
 chapter.* 
 
 * For further information about the Karmatians the reader may con- 
 sult D'Herbelot, Bib. Orient., article Carasmita. The history of Hakem, 
 the deity of the Druses, is given by De Sacy in his exposition of their 
 religion. Von Hammer has given a history of the Assassins, which 
 has been translated by Wood. As a most useful abridgment of these 
 authors, see Taylor's History of Mohammedanism and its Sects ; also 
 Sale's Introd. to Koran, sect. viii. Gibbon, chap. 52, gives a pithy 
 account of the Karmatians. 
 
49 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ANSAIREEH. 
 
 Syria consisted originally of two districts. The first, 
 Aram Damesk (2 Sam. viii. 6), was colonised by Aram son 
 of Shem, and included Aram Zobah (2 Sam. viii. 3, 5), a 
 district most probably extending from the right bank of 
 the Orontes to Aleppo and the Euphrates. The second 
 division of the country, including Gilead, all Palestine 
 west of the Jordan, and the mountain range northward to 
 the mouth of the Orontes, was colonised by the descend- 
 ants of Canaan the son of Ham.* We have already 
 spoken of the Phoenician state of Arvad, or Aradus, 
 and of the Phoenician town of Ramantha, afterwards 
 Laodicea ; as having possessed the plains under the 
 Ansairee mountains. It is probable that the inhabitants 
 of the west of the mountains were under their sway, 
 while those of the east may have been under that of 
 Hamath the Great. These mountains would naturally be 
 the refuge of the neighbouring states in the plains, on the 
 invasion of Syria by the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks. 
 Now a part of the present Ansaireeh are probably, and 
 almost certainly, the descendants of the ancient moun- 
 taineers and those who took refuge among them. This is 
 the opinion of the late Dr. Eli Smith, Dr. Vandyke, Dr. 
 Thomson, and others of the American missionaries in 
 Syria, as I have at different times learnt from themselves. 
 They think that these people became impregnated with 
 the Gnostic heresies, and hence that corrupted form of 
 
 * Porter's Syria, Introd. p. xxii. xxiii. : Murray. 
 E 
 
50 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Christianity which is part of their religion. Yolney 
 says* that it is probable that the Ansaireeh have some of 
 the old Gnostic rites, " for that, notwithstanding the vici- 
 nity of Antioch, Christianity penetrated only with the 
 greatest difficulty into those districts ; it reckoned but 
 few proselytes there, even after the reign of Julian ; from 
 that period till the invasion of the Arabs it had little time 
 to establish itself ; for it is not always with revolutions of 
 opinions in the country as in towns. The progress which 
 that religion was able to make among these rude moun- 
 taineers only served to smooth the way for Mohamme- 
 danism, more analogous to their tastes ; and there resulted 
 from the dogmas, ancient and modern, a shapeless mix- 
 ture, to which the Old Man of Nasar owed his success." 
 But though I have no doubt that a part of the present 
 inhabitants of the mountains are the descendants of the 
 ancient Canaanites, whose graves and sites of tombs on 
 every high hill still remain, and are visited by the Ansai- 
 reeh of to-day, the Gnostic ideas may well have been 
 introduced into their religion in its cradle in the East, 
 for that religion certainly came thence, and doubtless 
 found in Syria, as is asserted, an ignorant population 
 ready to receive it, and, perhaps, in some things, to add 
 to its former superstition. 
 
 But well-established tradition, and difference of phy- 
 siognomy, prove conclusively that not all the present inha- 
 bitants of the mountains of the Ansaireeh are the original 
 inhabitants of that region. Part, at least, have come from 
 those regions whence came the religion of the sect. 
 
 That sect is divided into two principal parts : Shemseeh, 
 so named from Shem, the sun, and also called Mawakisch, 
 Gaibeeh, and Shemaleeh ; and Kumreeh, also called Kela- 
 zeeh. Now I will show that the Shemseeh are the originiil 
 people of the mountains, and the Kumreeh a people who 
 came from the east, from Djebel Sindjar in Mesopotamia, ; 
 and elsewhere. [ 
 
 * Volney's Travels in Syria, vol. ii. p. 6. ; 
 
ORIGIN OF THE RACE. 51 
 
 It has been already seen that there are many Ansaircch 
 living in Bagdad, and the road from there would naturally 
 lead by Djebel Sindjar, and the town of Salameeh, 4^ 
 hours S.E. of Hamah, to the territory of that place, which 
 is bounded on the west by the Ansairee mountains. The 
 missionaries of the sect, in passing into Syria, might 
 naturally propagate their doctrines among the Arab tribes 
 of Mesopotamia. The Bagdad sheikh, Hadj Mohammed, 
 who visited me in the mountains, accordingly asserted 
 that Sheikh Hhabeeb's family, the religious chief of the 
 Kumreeh sect, were from Sindjar, as well as the Kelbeeh, 
 and gave as proof that there is still there a mountain 
 called Sin-al-Kuloob (so he called it), or dog's tooth. He 
 himself was one of the Kumreeh sect, having just come 
 from Bagdad with the present of a valuable mare for 
 Sheikh Hhabeeb ; and he spoke against the sheikhs of the 
 Shemseeh, one of the chief of whom. Sheikh Maroof of 
 Antioch, had incited the government against him, and 
 rendered necessary his visit to Syria. 
 
 Sheikh Hhabeeb also himself once told me that his 
 relations and people were older than the Osmanlees in 
 Syria (who took it under Sultan Selim, a.d. 1518) ; and 
 that, having been driven out from Djebel Sindjar (now 
 chiefly inhabited by the Yezidees, or devil-worshippers), 
 they had come by leave of the government to the plains 
 of Hamah, in the year of the Hedjrah 603 (a.d. 1205), 
 at the invitation of some of their sect, who, being weak, 
 had invited them to come and help them to possess the 
 country. On the people of the mountains coming down 
 upon them, they were allowed by the government to 
 attack them ; and this they did, driving out the inhabi- 
 tants, who were Kurds, as he said the names of the 
 villages ending in o, as before alluded to, attested. He 
 also asserted that their ancestors possessed the castles of 
 Kadmoos, Naasyad, &c. 
 
 The Ansairee lad of whom I have spoken in the Pre- 
 face tells me that his people swear by a certain sheikh, 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE ASIAN IVIYSTERY. 
 
 Is-Sindjaree. Mr. Walpole* found the same tradition 
 among them. They told him that " during the time of 
 the Caliphs of Damascus, their people lived in the moun- 
 tains of Sindjar, and that the Caliphs waged war against 
 the inhabitants of the Ansairee mountains, and extermi- 
 nated them," when they got possession. 
 
 Now it is certain that the Kelbeeh, within the last few 
 hundred years, have come over from the east of the 
 mountains, and opened a road for themselves to the sea ; 
 conquering the Beni Ali to the south, — who are asserted, 
 by the Kelbeeh and by others, to have been originally 
 Kurds converted to the Ansairee religion, — and the 
 Muhailby people to the north, who are uniformly declared 
 to be the oldest inhabitants of the mountains, and of the 
 Shemseen sect. The Diryoos people are of the same sect, 
 and I was told by a Diryoos man that the Muhailby and 
 Diryoos people, and two other families in the plain, were 
 descended from two brothers. Just below my own vil- 
 lage is a deserted one, once inhabited by the Kerataleh, 
 part of the original inhabitants of the present Kelbeeh 
 territory, who are said to have been of the sect of the 
 Muhailby, and have descendants in the villages of Ain-it- 
 Zeeneh ; a man of the Keratileh being now resident as a 
 peasant in the village where my house is. 
 
 The tradition that the Kelbeeh came from the other 
 side of the mountains is told circumstantially, and there is 
 no reason to doubt it. Ahmed the son of Makloof was 
 the first to come to the west of the mountains, with his 
 son Muhanna. He built most of the visiting places in the 
 mountains. Muhanna had eight sons, one of whom was 
 the ancestor of the house of Hasoon, and another brother 
 that of Beyt Ali, Beyt Djirkis, and Beyt Ahmed ; the 
 four ruling houses of the Kelbeeh. Beyt Aloosh are 
 said to have descended from a brother of Muhanna, and 
 another branch of less influence from a servant of the 
 
 * Ansayree and Assassins, vol. iii. p. 343. 
 
ORIGIN OF THE RACE. 53 
 
 same, though it is confessed that there is less certainty 
 about this. 
 
 The passage, from the east, of the Kelbeeh and others 
 of the Kumreeh sects, such as the Kerabileh and Beyt 
 Ammon, seems to have been pretty simultaneous. As I 
 have said. Chap. I., the Amamarah, who as well as other 
 western tribes have relations on the east of the mountains, 
 were originally Kumreeh. 
 
 Ahmed Selbah, Mekuddam of Bahluleeh, told me that the 
 ruling families of the Beni Ali had come originally from 
 the east of the mountains. He also told me that the 
 house of Shemseen Sultan, of the powerful tribe of the 
 Djenneeh, who are also of the Kumreeh sect, was descended 
 from men who had come from the other side of the moun- 
 tains. This was also asserted to me by an intelligent 
 young sheikh of the Djenneeh, residing at Kumeen. He 
 said that the Shemseen people were descendants of men of 
 good family, who came about 400 years ago from Djebel 
 Sindjar, and first settled in the district of Kadmoos ; and 
 then, 1 20 years since, removed to their present district ; 
 where, having killed the former rulers at a feast, they 
 became chief. The brother of Shemseen Sultan also 
 told me that the family had come from Kadmoos. 
 
 Thus we see that the Kumreeh are comparatively recent 
 in the country, and probably from the parts of Bagdad 
 and Djebel Sindjar. 
 
 The young sheikh of Kumeen also said that the Muhail- 
 by people were the oldest inhabitants of the part of the 
 mountains where they live, which originally belonged, in 
 part at least, to the Kurds ; and he declared that the 
 Beni Ali were Kurds. He spoke also of many of the 
 present Ansaireeh having become so from living among 
 that sect where predominant. He also said that the 
 castles in the mountains had once been in their hands. 
 
 I have been informed by M. Wortabert of Hasheya, that 
 the inhabitants of the three Ansairee villages near there, 
 Avho are without doubt of the earliest converts to the sect 
 
 E 3 
 
54 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 in Syria, are Sheraseeh. The Muhailby and Diryoos 
 people, who are certainly also the earliest of the sect in 
 Syria, are Sheinseeh, as are also the people to the north, 
 and about Antioch, for the most part, who seem to have 
 been driven out of the mountains by the more powerful 
 sect of the Kumreeh. The sheikhs of the two sects are 
 very hostile to one another, no man of one sect learning 
 from a sheikh of the other ; and there is sufficient dif- 
 fence in the tenets and customs of the two. The sheikhs 
 not unfrequently succeed in fomenting war, to give vent 
 to their sectarian hate. The Shemseeh hold to their 
 religion far more firmly, or rather obediently, than the 
 Kumreeh ; and the two sects seem originally to have 
 been separated by distance of territory. There is a dif- 
 ference of physiognomy among the various tribes. I 
 should say that the Beni Ali had a harsh Kurdish appear- 
 ance ; while many of the people of the plains and the 
 Shemseeh have a lustrous eye, more cunning, but other- 
 wise not unlike that of the Maronites, who are of the 
 original soft Syrian inhabitants of Lebanon. 
 
 The Kelbeeh and other Kumreeh have a more Persian 
 or Arab physiognomy. This distinction may be partly 
 fanciful, but I think not entirely so. Every one ac- 
 quainted with Syria knows how the tribes vary in cast of 
 countenance. I myself noticed such distinctly marked 
 features among the Metawalee of the mountains just 
 south of the Ansairee range, who hold a religion near 
 akin to that of the present Persians, that I was able 
 afterwards often at once to distinguish a Metawalee when 
 I met him. These considerations, as well as others, may 
 be followed out and verified, or the reverse, by future 
 travellers. 
 
 Having said so much for the origin of the Ansaireeh as n 
 race, I proceed now to consider the origin of their name. 
 
 They are called by Arab authors, In-Nusaireeyeh, that 
 name being given as early at least as about the year A.n. 
 1021, by Hamerand Baha-cd-deen, the great Druse teacher. 
 
ORIGIN OF THE NAME. 55 
 
 " The Formulary of the Druses/' says De Sacy*, 
 " speaks of a sectary whom it calls Nosairi [so written 
 in French], and who is certainly the chief of the sect 
 in question," the Ansaireeh. "The 44th question is 
 this: — How have the Nosairis become separated from 
 the Unitarians, and abandoned the Unitarian religion ? 
 Answer: They have become separated in following the 
 doctrine of Nosairi." Hamza also mentions the sect 
 under the same name in his refutation of one of their 
 books. Hence evidently this name of the sect existed as 
 early as a.d. 1021, or a few years later, and was ascribed by 
 the author of the Druse Formulary, who shows great know- 
 ledge of the doctrines of the Ansaireeh, to a certain Nasair. 
 
 Now there has been much uncertainty and great con- 
 troversy as to whether this was the real origin of the 
 name thus given to them, and I was myself in doubt 
 about it till the very time of writing this ; after having 
 anxiously perused the Arab MS. in my possession, and 
 all other extracts given of their books by various authors. 
 But I have just stumbled on a passage in the said MS., 
 which, compared with the extracts of an Ansairee book 
 given by Niebuhr, and with what is said of the sect in 
 Dr. Vandyke's Arabic Geography, leaves no doubt that 
 the derivation given by so good and early an authority 
 as the Druse apostle Hamza is the right one. 
 
 To mention first some other derivations given of the 
 name. Richard Pococke saysf , that the Ansaireeh " may 
 be the descendants of the people called Nazerini, men- 
 tioned by Pliny (Hist. v. 23) as divided from the country 
 of Apamea by the river Marsyas," where he says, " Coele 
 
 * De Sacy's Expose de la Religion des Druses, (Paris, 1838,) vol. ii. 
 p. 260. 
 
 t Travels in Syria in 1738, vol. ii. p. 208. 
 
 In my MS. p. 86, Ali is called the father of the Sibtain, that is two 
 tribes of the children of Israel. A Christian scribe once told me that 
 he had seen in a private letter of Sheikh Hhabeeb, the expression, 
 Is-Sibteyn il Keram, " the two honourable tribes," as applied to the 
 Ansaireeh. 
 
 E 4 
 
56 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 habet Apamiam, Marsya amne divisam a Nazerinorum 
 tetrarchia." 
 
 De Sacy, after giving an extract from the Syriac 
 Chronicle of Bar-Hebraeus, to which we shall refer 
 presently, in which the latter ascribes the origin of the 
 sect to a certain old man who lived in a village called 
 Nasaria (in his Arabic history of dynasties, Nasrana), 
 says, " it appears from this text that the sect of the 
 Nosairis derives its name from that of the village of 
 Nasaria, where dwelt the founder of that sect." * HoW'^ 
 ever, in another place, he says, " I cannot well say (Je ne 
 saurais dire) whether the name, Nosairis, is derived from 
 that of the village Nasraya or Nasrana." f 
 
 Since, in the present day at least, the Ansaireeh rarely 
 call themselves such before others, giving themselves 
 usually the name of Fellaheen, or peasantry, which is 
 really a suitable one for their position, some have 
 looked on this as a mere term of reproach among their- 
 enemies which the Ansaireeh would not acknowledge, as - 
 the Druses do not call themselves by that name, but 
 " Muwahhedeen," or " Unitarians." But it is not unusual 
 for the members of a sect to dislike to be called after the 
 name of its author, which sometimes brings all the 
 prejudice felt by their enemies against the failings of that 
 author on the tenets taught by him and held by his follow- 
 ers ; and though the Ansaireeh do not usually style them- 
 selves such openly, or in their books, or when alone (for 
 then, as I shall presently show, they employ a different 
 TiQ,me, derived from that of another very celebrated 
 apostle of their sect), yet they do frequently call them- 
 selves Ansaireeh, using the name as one properly belong- 
 ing to them. So unhesitatingly asserts the Ansairee lad :' 
 and I have myself often heard them, either in joke, or 
 when serious and in a great rage, use the expression, 
 *' May God have no mercy on any one who has died an 
 
 ♦ Exp. Rel. Druses, vol. ii. p. 565. f ^* ^67. 
 
ORIGIN OF THE NAME. 57 
 
 Ansaireeh ! " when they mean to speak of those imme- 
 diately about them, or even of themselves and their sect 
 in general. So that Dr. Wolff is certainly at fault when 
 he derives the term from the diminutive of Nuss^ra, 
 Christians, supposing that their adversaries reproach them 
 for the mixture of Christianity introduced into their 
 religion by calling them " little Christians." * 
 
 To return to the true derivation of the name. Dr. Van- 
 
 -dyke, in his Arabic Geography, derives it from a certain 
 Nusair in-Namareef, but on asking him for his authority 
 he could not remember it, having derived what he says pf 
 
 ^he Ansaireeh from various sources, without giving in all 
 cases his authority, as the object of his book did not 
 
 'require the doing so. He also gives an extract from 
 
 -Abulfeda, who, on the authority of Ibn-Saeed says, " The 
 J Nusaireeh are so called from Nusair, a liberated slave of 
 
 ^Ali the son of Abu-Taleb." Now I find in my Arabic 
 MS., among the names of the " Bab " or " Door," in the 
 . "eleven appearances which God has granted us to know, 
 and brought us to remember " (in the first of which the 
 celebrated Salman-il-Farisee is the "door"), this name 
 given as the "door" of the eleventh, " Abu-Shuaib 
 Mohammed ibn-Nusair il Becree in-Numairee il Abdee, 
 May the favour of God be upon him ! And he is called 
 Abu-il-Kasim (for with Arabs a father, when his eldest son is 
 born, receives a title from him, the father of such and such 
 a one, as Abu-Shuaib, the father of Shuaib, for instance), 
 and among his Arabic titles are Abu-il-Talib and Abu-il- 
 Hasan." In the above name, Abu-Shuaib is the title from 
 the son ; Mohammed is the name ; Ibn, or son, of Nusair, 
 
 * Journal of German Oriental Society, vol. iii. p. 302, &c., note. 
 So the Jesuit Missionaries. See Jowett's Christian Researches. 
 
 f Arabic Geography, published at Beyrout, 1852, p. 106. Dr. Van- 
 dyke writes Namaree. My Ansairee MS. gives Numairee, which 
 is confirmed by another Ansairee book. Namir son of Kasit, and 
 Numair son of Aamir, each gave his name to an Arab tribe, as Namaree 
 and Numairee. 
 
58 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 is the patronymic ; and In-Numairee, &c., are the titles 
 from some place or quality in the person or his father. 
 Now the word Namairce is used in an Ansairee book of 
 festivals noticed by M. Catafago, in the Journal Asiatique.* 
 And on comparing the first part of the name here given 
 to the " door " with that of one of the apostles of the 
 Ansaireeh given by Niebuhr f in his extracts from an 
 Ansairee book, we shall find them identical. Among 
 the seven apostles of the Ansaireeh, among which are 
 reckoned Mohammed, Salman, Hamrudan Abdullah (pro- 
 bably a mistake for Abu- Abdullah ibn-Hamdan), ajid 
 Mufdil (whose name is given in my Arabic MS. as the 
 " door " of the eighth appearance), is found Abuschaiib, as 
 Niehbuhr writes the Arabic name. This then is the same 
 person as that mentioned above, and Niebuhr goes on to 
 say that the Ansairee author names a certain Ishak as 
 the greatest enemy of the Ansaireeh, " because he had 
 wished to kill our lord Abu-Schaiib." This Ishak was 
 the founder of the sect of the Ishakians, who are joined 
 by Ish-Sharestanee with that of the Ansaireeh or 
 Nasaireeh J, who, as I think it will now seem pretty certain, 
 derived their name of Nusaireeh, by which they are 
 distinguished in Arabic authors, and by which they are 
 commonly called to-day in Syria, from Nusair. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have, by again consulting 
 the Ansairee MS. in my possession, made a discovery 
 which sets this matter at rest, combined as it is with the 
 assertion of the Ansairee lad, who has just informed me 
 that his people call themselves Beni Nusair, saying that 
 their ancestor was Nusair, and has told me also that his 
 people curse Ishak. 
 
 This discovery I made with the clue given to me in 
 Niebuhr's book, which led me to search more carefully 
 
 • Feb. 1848, page 153. 
 
 f Niebuhr's Travels in Syria, vol. ii. p. 357, &c. 
 j Sharestance, Milal oo Nahal, quoted by Pococke, Spec. Hist. 
 Arab. (Ox. 1806, ed. White,) p. 261. 
 
ORIGIN OF THE NAME. 59 
 
 after the name of Abu-Shiiaib ibn-Nusair. I find now 
 that Nusair, and Abu-Shuaib, his son, lived in the time of 
 Hassan il Askeree, the eleventh imam, from whom the 
 Ansaireeh derive, as we shall hereafter see, most of their 
 doctrines and rites, or at least ascribe them to him. 
 
 In o'ivinc: a list of the names bestowed on Ali in various 
 languages, the repeating of which forms an important part 
 of their religious services, as I see from their book and 
 hear from the Ansairee lad, the authority alleged is the 
 '^ Egyptian epistle." Now the contents of this epistle are 
 said to be derived from the Emeer Moezz-id-dawleh * ; by 
 him from Mohammed ibn-Haidarah ibn-Mukatil il Kat'ell ; 
 by him from Ibraheem ir-Kaka'ee; by him from the Sayid 
 AbU' Abdullah il Hosein ibn-Hamdan il Kkaseebee (May 
 God sanctify his spirit ! ) ; by him from Abu-Mohammed 
 Abd- Allah idj-Djannan idj-Djenbalanee ; by him from 
 Muhammed ibn-Djundubf ; by him from Abu-Shuaib Mu- 
 hammed ibn-Nusair ; and lastly by him from the last 
 Hassan the Askeree.J 
 
 We thus see the position held by Nusair and his son, 
 with reference to the foundation of the sect, and that he 
 was a generation or two previous to Hosein ibn-Hamdan, 
 who, as we shall presently show, was the great apostle 
 who spread the Ansairee religion " in all countries." 
 
 But I will first refer to another passage in the MS., 
 which confirms what I have said about Nusair and Abu- 
 Shuaib. It occurs in one of the most solemn parts of 
 
 * This Moezz-id-dawleli must be that one of the three sons of Buiah 
 who became vizier of Bagdad, when that family gained power in Persia, 
 and were the real rulers of the Abasside Caliphs. Moezz-id-dowleh 
 deposed the Caliph Mustakfee. He was a most bigoted adherent to the 
 sect of Ali, and, when his power was fully established, commanded the 
 first ten days of Moharram to be set aside for a general mourning over 
 the death of Hosein. He entered Bagdad a.d. 945, and died a.d. 965-6. 
 See Malcolm's Persia, vol. i. p. 169. 
 
 •j- He is mentioned as the orphan or disciple of Abu-Shuaib, in the 
 "eleventh appearance." 
 
 X MS. p. 77. 
 
60 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 their service, the " first Kuddas," or mass. After referring 
 to the titles of Ali as a species of invocation, it goes 
 on : " We mean, and seek, and refer to him to whom the 
 first believer referred, and the priority of whose essence the 
 Unitarians have indicated. We refer to him, as did refer 
 our sheikh and lord and crown of our heads and learned 
 of our age, the sheikh of the period, and exemplar of the 
 season, Abu- Ahd- Allah il Hosein ihn-Hamdan ; we refer to 
 him to whom did refer his sheikh and his lord (Seyyid, 
 master, i. e. teacher), Abu-Mohammed Abd- Allah iz-Zahid 
 il Djannan (the ascetic, the intellectual) ; we refer to him 
 to whom did refer the * orphan ' of the time, Mohammed 
 Ibn-Djunduh.^^ * 
 
 We here see the same names, in same order, as in the 
 other passage; the last-named being, as I have said in a 
 previous note, the " orphan," or disciple of the " door," 
 Abu-Shuaib son of Nusair. He is called the " orphan " 
 of the time, because he was taught by Abu-Shuaib, who 
 himself learned from Hassan il Askeree, and would, there- 
 fore, be himself in the time of Mohammed, the last imam, 
 the son of Hassan il Askeree, who is called the lord of the 
 age and time, as being the last manifestation of the Deity 
 in human shape, and still existing, though concealed, on 
 the earth. 
 
 We will now proceed to speak of the other name, which 
 is only given to the Ansaireeh by themselves. It is taken 
 from a certain Abu-Abdullah il Hosein ibn-Hamdan il 
 Khaseebee, who is held in the greatest honour by the sect, 
 and is spoken of as he who spread their religion in all 
 countries. 
 
 He is referred to in the Ansairee manuscript in my 
 possession in several places, and that always with great 
 respect, and as an authority for the principal parts of doc- 
 trine and ceremonies. On page 73, he is given as the 
 authority for the fifty-one prostrations to be used during 
 
 * MS. p. 130, 131. 
 
OFvIGIN OF THE NAME. 61 
 
 the daily prayers ; on page 77, he is mentioned as above, 
 as forming one of the chain of those who had handed 
 down the name of Ali ; on page 130, he is spoken of in 
 the "first mass," as above ; on page 133, he is given as 
 the authority for the " second mass ; " and on page 144, 
 he is spoken of as he " who made manifest to us the reli- 
 gion in all lands."* 
 
 In the third of the three masses of the Ansaireeh given 
 by Joseph Catafago, in the first volume of the Journal 
 of the German Oriental Societyf , he is spoken of by the 
 high title of Rubb (Lord) : " There is no Lord but our Lord, 
 our Sheikh and Master, Hosein ibn-Hamdan il Khaseebee, 
 the ark of security, and eye of life." In the 98th question 
 of the Ansairee Catechism, given in the third volume of 
 the same journal J, it is asked; "Which of our sheikhs 
 spread our faith in all lands ?" Answer: "Abu- Abdullah 
 il Hosein ibn-Hamdan." In the prayer of the day of 
 Noorooz, given by M. Catafago in the Journal Asiatique§, 
 " Our master, II Khaseebee," is referred to as having ex- 
 plained a certain point " in one of his epistles," and having 
 " rendered it clear in his treatise Siyakat ; " and again, 
 as having spoken of the merits of the Persians. In the 
 book, from which extracts are given by Niebuhr, Hosein 
 is mentioned in the fifth place, as having appeared in difi'e- 
 rent forms, at the seven different periods of the manifes- 
 tation of the Deity; the seventh and last time being 
 called Hamdan.jl 
 
 From this man, the Ansaireeh among themselves call 
 themselves the " Khaseebeeh," from II Khaseebee, his 
 title, his name being Hosein, his father^s name Hamd^n, 
 and his son's name Abdullah. The Ansairee lad has in- 
 
 * P. 84. He is also mentioned as authority for other names of Ah', 
 and as having derived liis information by tradition from Hassan il 
 Askeree. 
 
 t P. 353. I P. 302. 
 
 § For February, 1848. Notice on Ansaireeh by Joseph Catafago. 
 
 II Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 315, &c. 
 
62 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 formed me that it is a common thing to swear " by the 
 truth of all that the law of the Khaseebee said ;" but they 
 have never so sworn before me, though I have heard a 
 legion of other oaths. They also say, " Takul Shayat dirbat 
 il Khaseebee ;" in their vulgar language literally, " Thou 
 wilt eat the things of the blow of the Khaseebee," that is, 
 thou wilt be punished by him. In my MS.*, reference 
 is made to the T^yfeh il Khaseebeyah, the " Khaseebee 
 people," and in the Catechism given by J. Catafagof , the 
 99th question is: "Why do we bear the name of the 
 Khaseebeeh ? " Answer : " Because we follow the teaching 
 of our sheikh, Abu-Abdullah il Hosein ibn-Hamdan il 
 Khaseebee." And in the summary of the contents of an 
 Ansairee book given by J. Catafago J, it is said of the 
 middle of the month of Shaban, that it is the last of the 
 " Khaseebee year." 
 
 We have thus shown, first that the name of An-Nusai- 
 reeyeh (commonly called in Syria 11-Ansaireeh), given to 
 the Ansairee sect by their enemies and by the authors 
 who treat of them, is acknowledged by themselves and 
 referred to a certain Nusair, whose son Abu-Shuaib, it 
 appears, was the first apostle of the sect, and derived his 
 teaching immediately from the chief authority of the sect, 
 Hassan il Askeree, the father of the last imam. We have 
 also seen, secondly, that the apostle who spread their reli- 
 gion was a certain Hosein ibn-Hamdan, who lived after the 
 time of Nusair, and is he from whom the sect derive that 
 designation which they generally adopt among them- 
 selves. 
 
 We have next to consider when and how this sect took 
 its rise; and here I fear, notwithstanding all that can be 
 done, the same amount of uncertainty will remain as to 
 the exact relation in history and doctrine of this sect 
 with the Kararaitah or Karmatians, as in that of the 
 Karmatians with the original Ismaeleeh. 
 
 ♦ P. 49. t Ubi supra. 
 
 I Juurnal Asiatique, ubi supra. 
 
WHENCE SECT AROSE. 63 
 
 Gregory, surnamed Bar-Hebraeus, and called in Arabic 
 Abulfaradj, in his Syrian Chronicle* gives the following 
 account of the origin of the Ansairee sect : — 
 
 " Since many desire to know the origin of the Nazarasi, 
 accept from us the following. In the year of the Greeks 
 1202 (a.h. 270, A.D. 891), there appeared a certain old 
 man in the region of Akab [the same, says Asseman, is 
 Cupha, a city of Arabia, as Bar-Hebra3us notes in his 
 Chronicle], in a village which the inhabitants call Nazaria." 
 In his Arabic dynastic history, Gregory Abulfaradj calls 
 it Nasraneh. The story then goes on to say that this old 
 man made a great appearance of religion, and was constant 
 in fasting and prayer, and in spreading his doctrines, till on 
 meeting with success he chose twelve apostles to preach 
 his religion. The governor of those parts hearing of this 
 imprisoned him, swearing that he would kill him. His 
 maid, or that of the gaoler, having made his keeper 
 drunk, stole the key of the prison from under his pillow 
 and released the sheikh ; and the keeper, to avoid the wrath 
 of the governor, gave out that an angel had released him. 
 This story got abroad, and, says Gregory, he made two of 
 his disciples, whom he met at a great distance from the 
 place where he had been imprisoned, to believe that he 
 had been delivered out of prison by angels. He con- 
 tinues, that he wrote a book, of which he gives an extract. f 
 He is said afterwards to have gone to Syria and dis- 
 appeared there, having converted the ignorant people of 
 those parts. 
 
 Now this story, which Gregory Abulfaradj tells of the 
 
 * Quoted by Asseman, Bib. Orient, vol. ii. pp. 319, 320. I should 
 say that I have not followed the translation of Asseman word for 
 word, but generally *the versions of the same story given in various 
 authors, as by Gregory himself in his dynastic history, written in 
 Arabic. Gregory was Metropolitan of the Jacobites, was born a. d. 
 1226, and died A.D. 1286. 
 
 t See Ansyreeh and Ismaeleeh (p. 284) for translation of story given 
 by Dr. Vandyke (Arabic Geography), who takes Asseman as his chief 
 authority. 
 
64 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 founder of the sect of the Ansaireeh in his Syriac Chro- 
 nicle, and the extract which he gives, are ahnost identical 
 with the same story and extract given by him in his 
 Arabic history*, but referred by him there to a certain 
 poor man who had come from Khoozistan to Sowad-il-Cufa. 
 This man, he says, was called by the name of the man 
 with whom he used to lodge, which was Carmateyeh, 
 which, when rendered more easy of pronunciation, became 
 Karmatah ; and Gregory makes him the founder of the 
 Karamitah or Karmatians. 
 
 The same story is told of the founder of the Karmatians 
 by Abulfeda, by Elmakeen (Elmacinus)f, and by Bibars 
 Mansoori. De Sacy says that the stories told by 
 Gregory are evidently the same, in one case related 
 of the founder of the Ansaireeh, and in the other of that 
 of the Karmatians, and both stories are identical with 
 those of Abulfeda and other historians with regard to 
 Karmat, founder of the Karmatians ; and the reader will 
 recollect that this is the same story as is told with regard 
 to a man who seems to have been the founder of the 
 Ismaelee sect. On this whole question, De Sacy says : — 
 " We might think that there results from the comparison 
 of the texts of these divers historians, and above all the 
 two texts, Syrian and Arabic, of Abulfaradj, that the 
 Nosairis and the Karmatians are one and the same sect, 
 but I think that this conclusion would be little exact. 
 The Karmatians were divided into various sects ; among 
 them are reckoned the Batineeh, who gave rise to the 
 Druses. It is probable that the Nosairis, whose teaching 
 has so many relations with that of the Bateins, were a 
 branch of the Karmatians, who had spread into the states 
 of the Fatimite caliphs." J 
 
 In another passage he says : — " I ought not to omit an 
 important observation ; it is, that there results from this 
 
 ♦ Hitt. Dynast, p. 274, 275, ed. Pococke. 
 
 t Hist. Saracen, p. 174. J Vol. ii. p. 567. 
 
WHENCE SECT AROSE. 65 
 
 history [that given above from various authors], that the 
 Karmatians and the Nosairis are the same sect, or rather 
 that the Ismaeleeh, the stock of the Karmatians, are not 
 different from the Nosairis. What the Druse books teach 
 us on the dogmas of the Nosairis, prove that in fact they 
 held a great part of the dogmas of the Ismaeleeh."* 
 
 Dr. Vandyke, in his geography, calls the Ansaireeh a 
 branch of the Karmatians, who, he says, took their name 
 from Hamdan son of Karmat ; and tells the above story 
 of Nusair in-Nainaree, whom he makes to have gone into 
 Syria and preached their doctrines there. Now we have 
 seen that Abu-Shuaib his son was an apostle of this sect, 
 but that he who spread the religion in all lands was Hosein 
 ibn-Hamdan il Khaseebee. 
 I Now this Hamdan, of whom Hosein was the son, can 
 hardly be Hamdan son of Karmat ; for when the Ansairee 
 lad read the passage about the Ansairee in Dr. Vandyke's 
 geography alone before an Ansairee sheikh, the sheikh 
 said, " May God curse the son of Karmat and all his sect !" 
 which he would not have dared to say if he had thought 
 Hosein ibn-Hamdan il Khaseebee one of them. For 
 though the Druses curse Id-Darazee, who has given them 
 the name by which they are commonly known, and who 
 was indeed one of their first teachers, yet Hamza, whom 
 they consider next to God, as being the " universal in- 
 telligence," speaks in the harshest terms of Id-Darazee, as 
 having been taught by him, and then having, in order to 
 acquire preeminence, been precipitate in openly declar- 
 ing the deity of Hakem, so as to have brought great 
 danger on the extravagant admirers of Hakem, through a 
 sedition which arose at Cairo in consequence. Hence Id- 
 Darazee finds no place in the hierarchy of the Druses, but 
 is even said to be reviled under the form of a calf. 
 
 However, it seems pretty clear that the Ansaireeh were 
 nearly allied to the Karmatians, as these last were to the 
 
 * Vol. i. p. 183. 
 
66 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 original Ismaeleeh. When, in a.d. 971, Hassan Ala'cem, 
 the grandson of the celebrated Karmatian chief Abu- 
 Said, attacked the Fatimite caliph Moezz, the latter wrote 
 to Hassan saying that, since he made profession of the 
 same doctrines as the Karmatians, they ought to leave him 
 in peace.* Now the Fatimite caliphs were Ismaeleeh, and, 
 even when those Ismaeleeh prepared by their dais had 
 become the sect of Druses, De Sacy says of them, " that 
 they may be but a branch of the sect of the Karmatians ; " f 
 and among the Druse writings there is a letter to the 
 people of Abu-Turab, that is Ali, for so he is called by the 
 Ansaireeh.J 
 
 In like manner the Ansaireeh are allied to the Kar- 
 matians. For instance, Karmat is said to have taught 
 his disciples in their prayers fifty prostrations a day, and 
 this is the number, wanting one, which II Khaseebee 
 ordained, or rather declared to have been ordained, to the 
 Ansaireeh. § Moreover the Ansaireeh, like the Karmatians, 
 are required to hold a fifth part of their property, every 
 year, at the disposal of their brethren, and to keep the 
 feasts of the Mihrdjan and Niarooz. But while the An- 
 saireeh are related to the Karmatians and the Ismaeleeh, 
 it appears, from what has been said of the Ansairee sheikh 
 cursing the sect of Ibn-Karmat, that they are not entirely 
 identical with the first named ; and, since the Ansaireeh 
 are Imaraeeh, or followers of the twelve imams, they thus 
 diverge from the Ismaeleeh, who do not continue the 
 line so far, but break it at Ismaeel son of Djaafar-is- 
 Sadik. 
 
 Let us now sum up all that has been said about the 
 
 ♦ M. C. Defr^jmeny on Ismaeleeh, Journal Asiatique, ubi supra. 
 
 t Vol. i. Introd. p. 34. Moreover, a Druse book speaks of the name 
 of Karmatians being given to the Ismaeleeh. Vol. i. p. 125. Ilamza 
 recognises the identity of the Ismaeleeli with the Druses, and calls the 
 Karmatians Unitarians, and their leaders, Abu-Saeed and Abu-Tahir, 
 servants of the true God. Vol. i. p. 240. 
 
 t MS. p. 117. § MS. p. 69. 
 
SUMMAEY AS TO ORIGIN. 67 
 
 origin of the sect, and endeavour to fix the approximate 
 time of its commencement. 
 
 Gregory Abulfaradj gives it, as we have seen, as a.d. 
 891, and this is the time mentioned by D'Herbelot as the 
 time of the appearance of Karmat. Since Mohammed the 
 last imam disappeared about a.d. 879, and Hassan il 
 Askeree died some few years before, this is probably 
 sufficiently correct. And as the two sects thus appeared 
 about the same time, and that shortly after the disappear- 
 ance of the last imam, I suspect that in the outset they 
 preached pretty nearly the same doctrines ; but that the 
 Ansaireeh were that part which was for trusting to secret 
 propagandism rather than to open violence, or that Syrian 
 branch which being defeated in a.d. 901 with the loss of 
 its leaders may have subsequently sunk into repose ; while 
 the eastern branch, whose seat was in Bahreyn, and whose 
 exploits made famous, or rather infamous, the name of 
 Karmatians, may have gradually diverged from the 
 original tenets of the sect. 
 
 Before proceeding with the history of the Ansaireeh, 
 which is henceforward pretty clear, it will be well just to 
 give in a note a table, showing the many changes of 
 government through which Syria has passed since the 
 Mohammedan conquest, the dates of which will serve 
 to ^x one's ideas, when following the history of the 
 Ansaireeh.* 
 
 * A.D. 633, Mohammedan conquest of Syria. 
 661, Moawiyah, founder of Omeyades. 
 750, Abbaside, Caliphs of Bagdad. 
 969, Fatimite Caliphs of Egypt. 
 1075, Seljuke Turks. 
 1099, Crusaders take Jerusalem. 
 1187, Saladin takes Jerusalem. 
 1258, Hulakoo, grandson of Gengis Khan, invades Syria. 
 
 Soon after Sultan Beybars of Egypt drives Tartars 
 beyond the Euphrates. 
 1291, Acre, last possession of Christians, taken by Egyptians. 
 1401, Tamerlane invades Egypt. 
 1518, Sultan Selim, the Osmanlee, takes Syria. 
 F 2 
 
68 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 On referring back to the chain of tradition, from Hassan 
 il Askeree who became imam in a.d. 868, to Moezz-id- 
 dawlah who entered Bagdad a.d. 945, and remembering 
 that II Khaseebee is removed equally by two links from 
 Abu-Shuaib ibn-Nusair who learned from the Askeree 
 and Moezz-id-dawlah, we shall find a.d. 900 — 920, to be 
 about the time when II Khaseebee, the great apostle who 
 spread the doctrines of the Ansaireeh, disseminated them 
 in Syria ; and it is certain from the Druse books to which 
 we have referred, that about a.d. 1020 the Ansaireeh, or 
 Nusaireeh, existed as a sect under that name, and probably, 
 from those same writings and other considerations, in 
 those mountains which are their chief seat to-day, while 
 probably also others of the sect were found in the plains of 
 Mesopotamia. At all events, when the Franks were 
 marching down, in a.d. 1099, to Jerusalem, they found 
 Ansaireeh living in the mountains called by their name. 
 For Gregory Abulfaradj *, who lived only about a century 
 later, says in his Syrian chronicle, speaking of this march : 
 — " The Franks, setting out from the city of Moarra (east 
 of the Ansairee Mountains) into Mount Lebanon, there 
 killed a vast multitude of people of those who are called 
 Nazaraei.^' 
 
 Assemanf, after having mentioned that William of 
 Tyre and Jacobus de Vitriaco speak of the Assassins, 
 adds : — " And that these are the Nazaraei, i. e. Ansaireeh, 
 both the time and the place where they lived, and finally 
 the fact that they affected the name of Christians, seem to 
 convince me." But Asseman, a Maronite Christian of the 
 Lebanon, little removed from our own time, is worthless 
 as an authority on such a point, and it is certain that the 
 Ansaireeh were always quite distinct in name and doctrine 
 from the Ismaeleeh or Assassins. M. Defr^meny, on the 
 authority of Dheh6by, as we have seen, speaks of the 
 
 * Apud Asseman, Bib. Orient., vol. ii. p. 320. 
 t Ubi supra. 
 
COMIMENCEMENT OF SECT. 69 
 
 taking of Ansairee castles by the Ismaeleeh in a.d. 1107, or 
 subsequently ; and I have already mentioned the general 
 tradition among the Ansaireeh to that effect.* In an 
 Ismaelee book of miracles, ascribed to the famous Ismaelee 
 grand-master Easheed-ed-deenf, who was such during 
 the latter half of the twelfth century, the title of one of 
 the sections is — " Easheed-ed-deen confounds two Ansaris 
 who had dared to speak of him with little respect." In 
 fact, the historians Abulfaradj and Abulfeda clearly dis- 
 tinguish between the two sects, who have, as Burckhardt J 
 says, always been at enmity, as they were in old time in 
 Wadi Teym, as we have had occasion to mention. 
 
 We have seen that the Crusaders had castles in the 
 heart of their country, as Platanos in the district of 
 Muhailby, Merkab, and probably Beni Israeel. The 
 Crusaders and Mussulmans also alternately were in pos- 
 session of those of Sahyoon, Ish-Shogher, Apamea (Kulat- 
 il-Mudeek), and others east and west of the mountains 
 and on their verge ; so that the Ansairee population of 
 the north of the mountains must have been held in entire 
 subjection, while those of the south were equally under 
 the absolute rule of the Assassins in their strong castles 
 of Kadmoos, Masyad, &c., and these last they may have 
 sometimes helped against their common enemies, having 
 more conformity with them than with the Franks or 
 Mussulmans. The fact that the Ansaireeh were a sub- 
 ject people explains why they are so little mentioned in 
 Mussulman and other authors compared with the more 
 powerful Ismaeleeh, or Assassins, with whom it is easy to 
 see that they would be frequently confounded, considering 
 their common origin and place of residence. 
 
 Thus they remained subject to the Mussulmans, 
 Crusaders, and Assassins of their neighbourhood, till 
 both the one and the other of these last had surrendered 
 
 * So Ismaeleeh to Mr. "Walpole. 
 
 f Journ. Asiat. Nov.— Dec. 1848. | Travels, p. 152. 
 
 T 3 
 
70 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 all their castles to Beybars, Memlook sultan of Egypt, 
 and his successors, a.d. 1270 — 85. Then, like their 
 neighbours the Israaeleeh, they fell under Mussulman 
 rule, under which they have continued to this day. 
 
 Ibn-Batoutah the Moghrebbiri traveller*, who was in 
 Syria a.d. 1325-50, relates amusingly the way in which 
 the Ansaireeh bore the regulations of their new ruler. 
 Having spoken of Djebileh, he says : — " And the majority 
 of the people of these plains are of the sect of the Nusai- 
 reeh, who believe that Ali the son of Abu-Taleb is God, 
 and they do not pray, nor practise circumcision, nor fast. 
 Now the Malik iz-Zahir (Beybars) forced them to build 
 mosques in their villages, and they built in each village a 
 mosque at a distance from the houses, but they do not 
 enter them, nor repair them, and perhaps their flocks and 
 cattle repair to them, and should, by chance, a stranger 
 come to them, and enter the mosque, and call to prayer, 
 they will say to him, ' Don't bray, your fodder will come 
 to you' ; and their number is great." He then goes on to 
 write : '' A story. I have been told that an unknown man 
 arose in the country of this sect, and pretended to be the 
 director, and gained many followers. He promised them 
 rule, and divided between them the land of Syria, and 
 used to appoint to them particular parts of the country, 
 commanding them to go forth, and giving to them the 
 leaves of the olive, saying to them, ' By these conquer, 
 for they are to you as authorisations.' When, accordingly, 
 one of them went forth into a country, and the emir of 
 the country summoned him before him, he would say, 
 * The Imam, the Mohdee (director), has given me this 
 country;' and when the emir would ask, ' Where is your 
 authorisation ? ' he would take out the olive leaves and be 
 beaten and imprisoned. Then he commanded them to 
 prepare to attack the Mussulmans, and that they should il 
 begin with the town of Djebileh, and ordered them to 
 
 ♦ Published by the Soci6t6 Asiatique, Paris, 1853. 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF SECT. 71 
 
 take instead of swords sticks of myrtle, promising that 
 they should become swords in their hands at the moment 
 of attack. So they surprised the town of Djebileh while 
 its inhabitants were at the Friday prayers, and entered 
 the houses and ravished the women. Then the Mussul- 
 mans rushed out of their mosque, and seizing their swords, 
 slew them as they pleased. When the news reached 
 Ladikeeh, its prince, Behadir Abdullah, came with his 
 troops, and carrier pigeons were sent oif to Tripoli, and 
 the emir II Umara came with his troops, who pursued 
 them till they had killed of them nearly 20,000, and the 
 rest had fortified themselves in the mountains. Then 
 they sent to the emir, and bound themselves to give him 
 a dinar for every poll, if he would spare them. Now the 
 news had already been sent by carrier pigeons to II Malik 
 in-Nasir (sultan of Egypt, 1310-41), and he replied that 
 they should be put to the sword. But the emir II Umara 
 laid before him that they were employed by the Mussul- 
 mans in tilling the land, and that if they were slain the 
 Mussulmans would be weakened, so he commanded that 
 they should be spared." 
 
 Abulfeda likewise speaks of this descent of the Ansai- 
 reeh on Djebileh in nearly the same terms, and says that 
 it took place a.h. 717, or a.d. 1317, that is, shortly before 
 Ibn-Batoutah's arrival in the country. He gives the 
 additional information that the man was from the moun- 
 tains of Belatnus* (which he calls Beladnoos, when he 
 speaks of the taking of the castle from the Franks by 
 Saladinf), that is, from the mountains of Muhailby, 
 just north of the Kelbeeh district, where I reside ; Djebileh 
 being on the sea under my house. He says : — " There 
 appeared in the mountains of Belatnus a man of the 
 Nusaireeh, who gave out that he was Mohammed son of 
 Hassan il Askeree, the twelfth of the imams with the 
 Imameeh, who entered the Sirdthah, or cave, of which 
 
 * Hist. Musi. vol. V. p. 320. f Vol. iv. p. 89. 
 
 p 4 
 
72 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 mention has been made." He adds that they think that 
 he, Mohammed, still lives, and will return at the end of 
 all things. Abulfeda was prince of Hamah from a.d. 
 1310 — 32, and therefore lived at the time of the occur- 
 rence which he describes. 
 
 From this story it appears clearly that more than 500 
 years ago the Ansaireeh were in that condition in which 
 they have been found by all subsequent travellers, and in 
 which they are now. In fact the Ansaireeh have a say- 
 ing among them that whereas God gave to the ancestor 
 of the Mohammedans one thing, and to the Christians 
 another, he gave to their ancestor, Nusair, the ox- 
 goad. 
 
 As we have seen that the condition of the Ansaireeh 
 has not altered since the time of Ibn-Batoutah, we need 
 not regret that we cannot fill up the break between his 
 description of them and those of subsequent Frank tra- 
 vellers. 
 
 The accurate Maundrell speaks of them in describing his 
 journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem in 1697. He tells an 
 amusing story of his reception at Sholfatia, an Ansairee 
 village in the plain of Ladikeeh, which seems to have 
 been in much the same state as at present. Further on 
 in his narrative he says : — " In that part of the mountains 
 above Jebilee there dwelt a people called by the Turks 
 Neceres^ of a very strange and singular character, for it is 
 their principle to adhere to no certain religion, but, 
 chamelion like, to put on the colour of religion, whatever 
 it be, which is reflected upon them from the persons with 
 whom they happen to converse. With Christians they 
 profess themselves Christians; with Turks they are good 
 Mussulmans, with Jews they pass for Jews, being such 
 Proteuses in religion that nobody was ever able to dis- 
 cover what shape or standard their consciences are 
 surely of; all that is certain concerning them is, that 
 they make very much and good wine, and are great 
 drinkers." 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF SECT. 73 
 
 His description of their duplicity in religion would do 
 for the present day, but the vineyards have been destroyed 
 since his time, and no wine or next to none is now made. 
 
 The Jesuit missionaries mention the Ansaireeh. They 
 write* : — " At the present day we are not acquainted here 
 with any people bearing the name of Assassins ; yet it is 
 possible that the Kesbins [they mean the Kelbeeh], a 
 nation which inhabits the mountain two days distant 
 from Tripoli, and the Nassariens, another nation which is 
 established in the plain toward the sea, may be the suc- 
 cessors of the Assassins. These two nations inhabit the 
 same country, and, what is more, there is much resem- 
 blance between the religion which the Assassins professed 
 and that professed in the present day by the Kesbins and 
 Nassariens. 
 
 " These two nations, the Kesbins and the Nassariens, 
 ought to be considered as making one and the same nation. 
 They have different names from the different countries 
 which they inhabit. Those among them who inhabit the 
 mountains are called Kesbins, because their country is 
 called Kesbie : the others who occupy the plains are called 
 Nassariens, that is to say bad Christians ; a character 
 which belongs to them, for they have made themselves a 
 religion which is a monstrous compound of Moham- 
 medanism and Christianity, and which gives them an ex- 
 travagant idea of our holy mysteries." 
 
 They then go on to describe their religion, but we will 
 leave what they say on this point to a future chapter. 
 
 They conclude : " They are strongly attached to their 
 customs, persuaded as they are that their religion is no 
 less good than that of the Maronites [the Christians of 
 the Lebanon, who are members of the church of Le- 
 banon, which is connected with the Church of Kome], 
 because they have some practices in common. 
 
 * Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses. See Jowett's Christian Researches, 
 p. 52, &c. 
 
74 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 " Several of our missionaries have used their utmost 
 efforts to gain some of them ; but as they obstinately hear 
 only their own wicked doctors, and will follow no other 
 opinions than those in which they were brought up, our 
 missionaries, despairing of their conversion, have been 
 obliged often to shake off the dust of their feet against 
 them/' 
 
 Richard Pococke, who travelled in Syria in 1738, says: 
 " The Noceres who live north-east of I^atichea are spoken 
 of by many : their religion seems to be some remains of 
 Paganism ; they are much despised by the Turks, and they 
 seem rather fond of Christians."* 
 
 Niebuhr, who travelled in Syria in 1764, and obtained 
 an Ansairee book, says of them: — " One of their Mekud- 
 dams lives at Bahlulie, not far from Ladakia, and he is 
 the most powerful of the Nassairiens. There are likewise 
 Mekuddams at Sumrin, in the country of Khawaby 
 [Chouabe, as he writes it], and in the district of Safeta, 
 and another of their sheikhs leases a part of Djebel Kelbie. 
 They all pay tribute to the Pacha of Tripoli ; " for Ladi- 
 keeh was formerly governed from Tripoli. " Their dis- 
 tricts are lucrative enough, for they furnish the chief part 
 of that excellent tobacco which is exported from Ladakia. 
 But this nation is not nearly so numerous as that of the 
 Druses. It does not inhabit such high mountains, and 
 therefore is more under subjection to the Turks." He is 
 right in this last remark, but wrong in the previous one, 
 for the Ansaireeh are twice as numerous as the Druses. 
 
 Volney gives an account of the same people in his book 
 of travelsf (he was in Syria 1783-5) : — " The Ansaria," 
 he says, **are divided into several tribes or sects; among 
 -which are distinguished the Shamsia, or adorers of the 
 sun ; the Kelbia, or worshippers of the dog " (a ridicu- 
 lous statement, which by the by does not say much for 
 
 * Travels in Egypt and Syria, vol. ii. p. 208. 
 t Vol. ii. p. 6. 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF SECT. 75 
 
 his accuracy), "and the Kadmousia," which last are not 
 Ansaireeh but Ismaeleeh. 
 
 Burckhardt, in describing his journey from Aleppo 
 to Damascus in 1812 *, speaks of passing the Ansairee 
 village of Busseen, in the plains of Hamah, on his way 
 from tliat place to Masyad. He afterwards spent a night 
 at the Ansairee village of Shennyn, on his way south, along 
 the east of the Ansairee mountains. He takes occasion 
 to speak of the Ansaireeh, and makes a little confusion in 
 names. He says: — " They (the Ansari) are divided into 
 different sects of which nothing is known but the names, 
 viz. Kelbye, Shemsye, and Mokladye." 
 
 Thus we have come down to our own times, when, 
 before myself, the late Dr. Eli Smith and the Hon. F. 
 Walpole penetrated into the Ansairee mountains, the former 
 passing quickly through, the latter making a rather longer 
 stay. Recently the American Presbyterian missionary, 
 the Rev. Mr. Dodds (who, with his colleague, the Rev. Mr. 
 Beattie, has just established himself in Ladikeeh), has 
 visited part of the mountains. 
 
 * Travels in Syria, p. 156. 
 
76 THE ASIAN IMYSTERY. 
 
 CHAP. lY. 
 
 RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE SECRET HERETICAL SECTS 
 
 OF ISLAM. 
 
 Before entering on the description of the religion of the 
 Ansaireeh, we will give a sketch of that of those secret 
 heretical sects of Mohammedanism, which are allied to 
 them. By doing so, w^e shall more fully redeem the 
 promise of our titlepage, the illustration of what has 
 been called the "great Asian mystery," which has its 
 counterpart and representative in the childish mystery of 
 our day, Freemasonry. 
 
 We have already said that these sects had their origin 
 in political as well as in religious considerations. The 
 endeavour to secure the Caliphate for Ali and his descend- 
 ants was based on his asserted right to the Imamate, and 
 the weaker the hope of obtaining the former, the more 
 determined the maintenance of the latter. 
 
 But these considerations were not the only ones which 
 led to the corruption of Islam, by the extravagant honour 
 paid to Ali and his house ; the Mohammedan faith received 
 equal injury from its contact with the Magians of Persia; 
 " who," says an Arab author professing to draw his 
 materials from books not readily to be found, " as they 
 could not conquer the Arabs, corrupted Mohammed- 
 anism." * 
 
 " Scarcely," says De Sacy, " had Islamism thrown out 
 some roots in the places formerly subject to the empire of 
 the Sassanides and the religion of the Magians, than a 
 
 * Safecnet-ir-Raghib, (Boulak, Cairo,) p. 216. 
 
RELIGIOUS SYSTEM. 77 
 
 schism political and religious lit up there the torch of 
 fanaticism." * 
 
 " When the faith of Islam was forced upon the Persian 
 nation by the sanguinary Omar, it was declared by the 
 conqueror, that all who did not receive it with implicit 
 obedience should be put to the sword. Such a summary 
 process of conversion left the real tenets of the great 
 majority of the nation unaltered ; from old associations, 
 they began to regard the Imams, or chiefs of the faith, as 
 Bodhisatwas ; and, as we shall have occasion to notice 
 hereafter, his principle pervades all the Schiite sects ; the 
 chief difference between them being as to the number of 
 incarnations. The Schiite notion of an Imam is pre- 
 cisely the same as that which the Tibetians form of their 
 Grand Lama, and the Burmese of their Bodhisatwas. "f 
 
 So De Sacy : — " The dogma of the union of the divinity 
 to Ali and the Imams of his race owed, if I am not mis- 
 taken, its origin to the ancient system of the Parsees. It 
 is also to the ancient theology of the people of Eastern 
 Asia that we must refer the origin of the transmigration 
 of souls, and perhaps the study of the books of the 
 Grecian philosophers contributed to strengthen and ex- 
 tend this opinion among the Mussulmans."^ 
 ■ It is necessary to observe that not only was contact 
 with the Magians easy, especially in the frontier provinces 
 of Persia, but they as well as the Sabians (who also con- 
 tributed to form the heterogeneous system of the heretical 
 sects) had been driven into the Arab province of Bahreyn 
 by Alexander the Great. And in explanation of the closing 
 words of De Sacy, in the above quotation, I will give those 
 of Makrisi § : — 'Mamoon, son of Haroon-ir-Easheed, being 
 very fond of the sciences of the ancients, sent men into 
 the country of the Greeks, who translated for him into 
 
 * De Sacy, Religion of Druses, Introd. p. 27. 
 
 t Taylor, p. 152. J De Sacy, Introd. p. 31. 
 
 § Description of Egypt, vol. ii. p. 258 : cd. Cairo. 
 
78 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Arabic the books of the philosophers, and brought them 
 to him about A. h. 210 (a. d. 825); so that the sects of 
 philosophers and their books were spread everywhere. 
 The Karmatians and others studied them eagerly, and 
 thus came on the Mussulmans, from the teaching of the 
 philosophers, innumerable ills. All the sects of the Ra- 
 fedhis, which were spread everywhere, studied philosophy 
 and took that part of it which they chose." 
 
 I have before said that, even in the time of Ali, 
 Abdullah ibn-Saba and others taught that a particle of 
 the Divinity resided in him. So also II Mokannaa, in the 
 time of the Abbaside caliph Al Mohdi, " spoke of the 
 transmigration of souls,"* and "joined to it the incar- 
 nation of the divine nature, a dogma originating in India, 
 and afterwards adopted by the Ghullat [extravagant 
 followers of Ali] as one of their principal tenets."f 
 
 It is well just to pause and explain this doctrine of 
 Hhulool, i. e. descent of the Divinity into a human form, 
 rather than its incarnation or taking of human flesh, for 
 the former seems to be the doctrine of the Ansaireeh ; and 
 we ask for the attention of the reader, as we shall have 
 again to refer to what is now said, 
 
 " The Sabians," says Shahrestani J, " say of God, that 
 he is one in his essence, but multiple, because he mul- 
 tiplies himself in persons before the eyes of men. These 
 bodies or persons are the seven planets which govern the 
 world, and those good terrestrial objects in which God 
 descends without ceasing to be one. There is, also, a 
 descent of His essence^ or a descent of the whole deity ^ and 
 a 'partial descent^ or a descent of a 'portion of His essence^ 
 which takes place according to the degree of preparedness 
 of the person." 
 
 The only possible way in which the heretical sects 
 could maintain , any connexion with Mohammedanism, 
 
 * Abulfaradj, Hist. Dynast, (ed. Pocockii,) p. 225. 
 t Von Hammer, Assassins, p. 27. 
 X Quoted by Do Sacy, Introd. p. 36. 
 
DOCTRINE OF HIIULOOL. 79 
 
 was by allegorising the Koran, and teaching an inner 
 or esoteric meaning, Il-Batm, in opposition to, and to 
 the entire subversion of, the outer or apparent meaning, 
 Iz'Zahir, Mohammed son of Ismaeel, and grandson of 
 the imam Djaafar-is-Sadik, is sometimes said to have 
 been the author of this allegorisation, which he may have 
 learned from his grandfather. This allegorisation, or inter- 
 pretation, is called Taweel, in contradistinction to Tanzeel, 
 descent, which is used for the literal interpretation of 
 the words of the Koran, as they were sent down to 
 Mohammed. The Taweel opened a wide door to all 
 kinds of heresy, and led, as Mussulman authors complain, 
 to an entire explaining away of the positive precepts of 
 Islam. Those that pretended to this Ulm ul Batin, or 
 knowledge of the inner meaning of the Koran, were called 
 Batineel, which name embraced a wide circle of sects ; 
 and they are said to have based their system on the 
 " words of the Most High, where he says, ' A wall 
 was thrown between them, which had a door, on its 
 inner side (Batin) mercy, and on its outer (Zahir) 
 torment.' " * 
 
 On the failure of the rebellion of II Mokannaa and 
 Baber, Abdullah son of Maimoon Kaddah founded, as we 
 have seen, a sect called the Ismaeleeh, from Ismaeel 
 the son of Djaafar-is-Sadik, whose name he made use of to 
 give authority to his system. His object was to gain 
 political power, and to effect that by secret propagandism 
 which had not succeeded by open violence. " Similar 
 attempts have been made in different ages of the world : 
 the colleges of the Indian and Egyptian priests, the asso- 
 ciation of the Magi, which more than once shook the 
 throne of Persia, the secret societies of the Pythagoreans 
 in Southern Italy and Sicily, the Bacchanalians of which 
 Livy gives such a singular description, the Templars in the 
 middle ages, and the Jesuits in our own, are all examples 
 
 * Safeenet-ir-Raghib, p. 216. 
 
80 THE ASIAN IVIYSTERY. 
 
 of secret societies formed under the pretext of religion, 
 but really aiming at the establishment of their order in 
 the plenitude of political power." * 
 
 Abdullah son of Maimoon divided his system " into 
 seven degrees, after the fashion of the Pythagorean and 
 Indian philosophers," into which his disciples were ini- 
 tiated gradually. *' The last degree inculcated the vanity 
 of all religion, — the indifference of actions, which, accord- 
 ing to him, are neither visited with recompense nor chas- 
 tisement, either now or hereafter. This alone was the 
 path of truth and right, all the rest imposture and error. 
 He appointed emissaries, whom he dispatched to enlist 
 disciples, and to initiate them, according to their capacity 
 for libertinism and turbulence, in some or all of the de- 
 grees. The pretensions of the descendants of Mohammed 
 the son of Ismail served him as a political mask : these his 
 missionaries asserted as partisans, while they were se- 
 cretly but the apostles of crime and impiety." f 
 
 These degrees were afterwards increased to nine, by the 
 western Ismaeleeh, in the time of the Fatimite caliphs of 
 Egypt, and as they became then more known, and are 
 described by Makrisi the great historian, I will give them as 
 they were taught in their lodge at Cairo : — " This account 
 which Makrisi has preserved, concerning the promulgation 
 of these degrees of initiation, forms a very precious and 
 the most ancient document on the history of the secret 
 societies of the East, in whose steps those of the West 
 afterwards trod."l 
 
 " The iirst degree § was the longest and most difficult 
 of all, as it was necessary to inspire the pupil with the 
 most implicit confidence in the knowledge of his teacher, 
 and to incline him to take that most solemn oath, by 
 which he bound himself to the secret doctrine with blind 
 
 * Taylor, p. 172. f ^o" Hammer, p. 29. i Ibid. p. 33. 
 
 § I have followed Von Hammer, p. 34, Wood's translation, in this 
 account of the degrees of initiation. 
 
Abdullah's system. 81 
 
 faith and unconditional obedience. For this purpose every 
 possible expedient was adopted to perplex the mind by 
 the many contradictions of positive religion and reason, to 
 render the absurdities of the Koran still more involved by 
 the most insidious questions * and most subtle doubts, and 
 to point from the apparent literal signification to a deeper 
 sense, which was properly the kernel, as the former was 
 but the husk. The more ardent the curiosity of the 
 novice, the more resolute was the refusal of the master 
 to afford the least solution to these difficulties, until he 
 had taken the most unrestricted oath; on this he was 
 admitted to the second degree. This inculcated the re- 
 cognition of divinely appointed imams, who were the 
 source of all knowledge. As soon as the faith in them 
 was well established, the third degree taught their number, 
 which could not exceed the holy seven ; for, as God had 
 created seven heavens, seven earths, seven seas, seven 
 planets, seven colours, seven musical sounds, and seven 
 metals, so had he appointed seven of the most excellent of 
 his creatures as revealed imams : these were Ali, Hassan, 
 Hosein, Ali Zeyn-il-Aabideen, Mohammed-ul-Bahir,Djaafar- 
 is-Sadik, and Ismaeel his son, as the last and seventh. The 
 fourth grade was, that since the beginning of the world 
 there had been seven divine lawgivers, or speaking apostles 
 of God, of whom each had always, by the command of 
 heaven, altered the doctrine of his predecessor ; that each 
 of these had seven coadjutors, who succeeded each other 
 in the epoch from one speaking lawgiver to another, but 
 who, as they did not appear manifestly, were called the 
 mutes (Samit). The first of these mutes was named 
 Sas, Asas, or foundation, ' the seat as it were of the 
 ministers of the speaking prophet,' Natik. ' These seven 
 speaking prophets, with their seven ' Asas, * were Adam, 
 Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and Ismaeel 
 the son of Djaafar, who, as the last, was called Sahib-ez- 
 
 * See De Sacy's Introd. 
 G 
 
82 THE ASIAN MYSTEEY. 
 
 Zeman, the lord of the time, and Kaim-iz-Zeman, or chief 
 of the age. Their seven assistants were Seth, Shem, 
 Ishmael son of Abraham, Aaron and afterwards Joshua, 
 ' Simeon ^ or Simon Peter, Ali, and Mohammed son of 
 Ismaeel. It is evident from this dexterous arrangement, 
 which gained the Ismaeleeh the name of Seveners, that as 
 they named only the first of the mute divine envoys in 
 each prophetic period, and since Mohammed the son of 
 Ismaeel had been dead only a hundred years, the teachers 
 were at full liberty to present to those whose progress 
 stopped at this degree whomsoever they pleased as one of 
 the mute prophets of the current age. The fifth degree 
 must necessarily render the credibility of the doctrine 
 more manifest to the minds of the hearers. For this reason 
 it taught that each of the seven mute prophets had twelve 
 apostles for the extension of the true faith ; for the 
 number twelve is the most excellent after seven : hence 
 the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve months, the 
 twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve bones of the fingers of 
 each hand, the thumb excepted, and so on. 
 
 " After these five degrees, the precepts of Islamism were 
 examined ; and in the sixth it was shown that all positive 
 legislation must be subordinate to the general and philo- 
 sophical. The dogmas of Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras 
 were adduced as proofs, and laid down as axioms. This 
 degree was very tedious, and only when the acolyte was 
 fully penetrated with the wisdom of the philosophers 
 was admission granted him to the seventh, where he 
 passed from philosophy to mysticism. This was the 
 Oriental mystic theology, and the doctrine of unity 
 which the Soopees have exhibited in their works. In 
 the eighth, the positive precepts of religion were again 
 brought forward to fall to dust by all that preceded ; then \\ 
 was the pupil fully enlightened as to the superfluity of all 
 apostles and prophets, the non-existence of heaven and 
 hell, the indifference of all actions, for which there is 
 neither reward nor punishment, either in this world or 
 
karmat's system. 83 
 
 the next ; and thus was he matured for the ninth and 
 last degree, to become the blind instrument of all the 
 passions of unbridled thirst of power. To believe no- 
 thing, and to dare all, formed, in two words, the sum of this 
 system, which annihilated every principle of religion and 
 morality, and had no other object than to execute am- 
 bitious designs with suitable ministers, who, daring all and 
 honouring nothing, since they consider everything a cheat 
 and nothing forbidden, are the best tools of an infernal 
 policy." 
 
 The Keramitah, or Karmatians, were, as we have seen, 
 a branch of the early Ismaeleeh. D'Herbelot * says of 
 the founder, that he taught his disciples to make fifty 
 prayers a day, and allowed them to eat things forbidden 
 by Mussulmans. He allegorised the precepts of the 
 Koran, giving out prayer to be the symbol of obedience 
 to the imam ; fasting to be merely the symbol of silence 
 and secrecy with respect to strangers who were not of 
 their sect ; and that fidelity to the imam was figured 
 by the precept which forbids fornication, so that those 
 who reveal the precepts of their religion, and who do 
 not obey their Sheikh blindly, fell into the crime called 
 "zinah." Instead of the tenth part of their property 
 which Mussulmans gave to the poor, they were to set apart 
 the fifth part for the Imam, 
 
 Yon Hammer f speaks in a similar way of Karmat. 
 " His doctrine, in addition to the circumstance of its 
 forbidding nothing, and declaring every thing allowable 
 and indifferent, meriting neither reward nor punishment, 
 undermined more particularly the basis of Mohammedan- 
 ism, by declaring that all its commands were allegorical, 
 and merely a disguise of political precepts and maxims. 
 Moreover, all was to be referred to the blameless and 
 irreproachable Imam Maasoom (preserved from error), 
 as the model of a prince, whom, although he had occupied 
 
 * Article on Carmatians, Bib. Orient. * f P. 29, 30. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 no existing throne, they pretended to seek, and declared 
 war^against bad and good princes, without distinction, in j 
 order that, under the pretext of contending for a better, 
 they might be able to unravel at once the thickly inter- 
 woven web of religion and government. The injunction 
 of prayer meant nothing but obedience to the Imam 
 Maasoom ; alms, the tithes to be given to him ; fast- 
 ing, the preservation of the political secret regarding 
 the imam of the family of Ismaeel. Every thing de- 
 pended on the interpretation, Taweel, without which the 
 whole word of the Koran, Tanzeel, had neither meaning 
 nor value. Religion did not consist in external observ- 
 ances, Iz-zahir, but in the internal feeling, Il-Batin." 
 Ibn-Atheer, who lived between about a.d. 1159 — 1231 
 according to Nowairi, gives an account of a book of the 
 Karmatians. So do Bibars Mansoori and Abulfeda, who 
 take their narration, for certain, thinks De Sacy, from Ibn- 
 Atheer. Gregory Abulfaradj also speaks of this book in 
 his Arabic history, ascribing it to Karmat, though in his 
 Syriac Chronicle he ascribes it to the founder of the sect 
 of the Nusaireeh. 
 
 The extract which these historians give from the book 
 is as follows : — "In the name of God, the compassionate, 
 the merciful. Says Il-Faradj, son of Othman, of the vil- 
 lage of Nusrana, that there appeared to him in human 
 form the Messiah, who is the Word of God, who is the 
 Guide, and he is Ahmed, son of Moliammed, son of 
 Hanafeyah, of the sons of Ali, and he is also Gabriel the 
 angel, and he said to him, thou art the leader ; thou art 
 the true one ; thou are the camel that keepest wrath 
 against the infidels ; thou art the ox that bearest the sins 
 of the true believers ; thou art the spirit; thou art John, 
 son of Zachariah." 
 
 This, with variations, is the extract given by the various 
 historians, but De Sacy with justice questions its having 
 been taken, at least in the form given above, from any 
 book of the Karmatians, for they certainly did not re- 
 
SECT OF THE ISHAKEEH. 85 
 
 cognise the imamate of Mohammed, son of that wife of All 
 called Hanafeyah, but that of the descendants of his wife 
 Fatima. Moreover, says De Sacy, the name of 11-Faradj, 
 son of Othman, does not appear in any book of the Is- 
 maeleeh.* It is said also that Karmat taught his disciples 
 to make four inclinations ; two before sunrise, and two 
 before sunset, or, according to Bibars Mansoori, two after 
 sunset. The following words are also ascribed to him. 
 First quoting a passage from the Koran (Soorah ii. verse 
 185), "They will ask you of the new moons; say that 
 they are the epochs fixed for men," he thus allegorises it : 
 " In the exterior sense it refers to years, chronology, 
 months, and days ; but in the inner sense it refers to my 
 faithful friends who have made known my ways to my 
 servants." Among other things he commanded a fast two 
 days in the year, at the feasts of Mihrdjan and of Nurooz ; 
 he forbade the wine of the palm tree, and permitted the 
 use of that made from the grape ; he prescribed the abs- 
 taining from the complete ablution according to the rite 
 called Gosl, for a pollution ; and directed the being con- 
 tented with the ablution called Wudoof, as it is practised 
 before prayer. He allowed the killing all that should take 
 arms against him ; but forbade the eating any animal -with 
 tusks or claws.J 
 
 About the time that the sect of the Ansaireeh arose, 
 arose also that of the Ishakeeh, who are spoken of in con- 
 junction with them by Shahrestani and Niaracci.§ We 
 have seen that Ishak, the founder of this sect, is considered 
 the great enemy of the Ansaireeh, for having " wished to 
 kill" Abu-Shuaib ibn-Nusair, their first apostle. Niaracci 
 makes them hold pretty well the same tenets as the Nu- 
 saireeh ; and probably they hated one another with that 
 
 * Vol. i. p. 177, note. t Taylor, p. 121. 
 
 X De Sacy, p. 178, and Gregory Abulfaradj, Hist. Dynast, p. 275, 
 276. 
 
 § Prodroraus to Koran, part iii. p. 84. 
 
 G 3 
 
86 THE ASIAN MYSTETIY. 
 
 odiuin theologicum which is always the fiercer in propor- 
 tion to the nearness in opinion of those who indulge in it. 
 He says, under the eleventh head of sects : " The Ishakeeh 
 and Nusaireeh. These assert that the appearance of a 
 spirit with a material body cannot be denied, since Gabriel 
 appeared in the figure of a man, and Satan in the figure 
 of an animal ; and so, say they, God appeared in the form 
 of Ali, and of his children, and spoke by their tongue, and 
 handled with their hands." 
 
 Macrisi alludes to the Ishakeeh, " who say that prayer 
 is not lawful except after the imam." * 
 
 We now come to that offshoot of the Western Ismaeleeh, 
 the Druses. 
 
 Hakem, the Deity in human form of the Druse sect, was 
 sultan of Egypt towards the end of the tenth century. It 
 was towards the close of his life, which had been charac- 
 terised by every absurdity, that some of the sect of the 
 Ismaeleeh began to ascribe to him divine honours. He 
 himself during his life had shown himself a partisan of the 
 sect, and among other ordinances forbade the selling of 
 fish without scales^ raisins^ cjrc. II Darazi, who was a con- 
 vert of Hamza, published a book in which he styled him- 
 self " the sword of the age," and ascribed divine power to 
 Hakem, teaching that the soul of Adam had passed through 
 Ali and then to Hakem. On reading this book in a mosque 
 at Cairo, a sedition was raised, from which he escaped to 
 Syria ; where, after preaching his doctrine for a few years, 
 he is said to have been killed in a fight with the Tartars. 
 
 Hamza, the great founder of the Druse religion, is said 
 by De Sacy to call him more than once in his works, 
 " calf," " pig," &c. As Abdullah, son of Maimoon the 
 founder of the Ismaeleeh, came from the Klazistan, the 
 frontier province of Persia, and Hassan^ son of Sabab, 
 founder of the Assassins, from another Persian province, 
 Khorassan, so also II Darazi, and Hamza the son of Ali, 
 the founders of the Druse sect, were Persians. 
 * Description of Egypt, vol. ii. p. 354. 
 
SYSTEM OF THE DRUSES. 87 
 
 The following is the system of the Druses. Hakem 
 appeared ten times, in all, under human form ; the first 
 time under the name of Al-b^r, and in the last and most 
 perfect manifestation under that of Hakem. 
 
 The human figures under which the Deity appeared are 
 called " Appearance," " Statim,'' " Envelope," or Kamees, 
 a word which is now used for a shirt. 
 
 The Druses call Mohammed son of Ismaeel the seventh 
 Natih, or speaking prophet and legislator, and make him 
 the author of the Taweel and Batin, or the system of alle- 
 gorisation and of the inner meaning of the Koran. From 
 Ismaeel to Abdullah, the father of Said or Obeidallah, the 
 founder of the Fatimite caliphs of the West, they reckon 
 seven concealed imams. 
 
 In the formulary of the Druses it is said that Hamza 
 had before appeared seven times in the world, though De 
 Sacy doubts whether this was the original teaching of the 
 Druses, since he does not find the number of appearances 
 given in the ancient writings. 
 
 These appearances were — 
 
 as Shatnil, or Adam-is- Safa. 
 „ Pythagoras. 
 „ David. 
 
 „ Schoaib (Jethro). 
 „ Eleazar (the true Messiah). 
 ., Sahrian-il-FaresL 
 l, ,', Said (Obeidallah) „ Saleh. 
 
 De Sacy gives* the following clear summary of the 
 statements in the Druse writings with respect to the person 
 of Hakem ; and I must again bespeak the reader's special 
 attention, as what he says, mutatis mutandis, is pretty 
 well applicable to the opinion of the Ansaireeh with respect 
 to Ali. 
 
 *' There results, it seems to me, from these statements, 
 that the divine humanity of the Deity was one and always 
 the same in his difi^erent manifestations, although he ap- 
 
 ♦ Vol. i. p. 66. 
 G 4 
 
 In the time of Adam 
 
 » » 
 
 Noah 
 
 » » 
 
 Abraham 
 
 }> a 
 
 Moses 
 
 a >» 
 
 Jesus 
 
 »» » 
 
 Mahomet 
 
88 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 peared under different forms ; that the Deity and the 
 human form, which serves him as a veil, are so united, 
 that the actions and words of this form are truly the 
 actions and words of the Deity ; that the merit of faith 
 consists in believing that the Deity, in rendering himself 
 accessible to sense by the form which serves him as a veil, 
 does not cease to be infinite, incomprehensible, inaccessible 
 to the senses. First, that notwithstanding the diversity and 
 the succession of his manifestations, there is nevertheless, 
 in respect of him, neither succession of time nor any num- 
 bers ; that the divine humanity of the Deity is antecedent 
 to all created things, and is the prototype of the human 
 form ; that the manner in which men see him in the figure 
 with which he clothes himself is proportioned to the 
 degree of purity in each ; that it was necessaiy that 
 divinity should thus manifest itself under a human form, 
 that men might be able to acquire a full conviction of his 
 existence, and that the divine justice might recompense 
 those who should have believed, and punish those w^ho 
 should have been incredulous ; and lastly, that the last 
 manifestation under the name of Hakem is the most per- 
 fect, that of which all the preceding manifestations were 
 in some sort but the daybreak and sketch." 
 
 Hamza established a carefully devised hierarchy, as the 
 beings intervening between Hakem and the common herd 
 of believers, and as the teachers of his new sect. The 
 ministers are divided into two classes of five superior and 
 others inferior. 
 
 The superior are the following : — 
 
 I. Hamza, styled •' the universal intelligence '^ ( Akl) ; 
 the " will " (iradel, volonte) ; ** the cause of causes ; " " the 
 chief of the age ; " " the imam ; " " the door ;" " the 
 command." 
 
 Hamza was next to Hakem, and not far removed from 
 him in honour and respect> for he existed from the begin- 
 ning, and by him were all things created. He is far 
 superior to those who came next. 
 
SYSTEM OF THE DRUSES. 89 
 
 II. Ismaeel. "The universal soul" (Nafr) ; "the 
 wish" (Maslieyah, vouloir); "the demonstration of the 
 time;" " the missionary of the imam;" " Dthoo Massa," 
 one that sucks, as it were, instruction from another. He 
 is nearest to Hamza, and bears the same relation to him 
 that woman does to man. 
 
 III. Mohammed, son of Wahab. " The word." 
 
 IV. Abu-ii-Khair Sclama. " The great door." " The 
 right wing." 
 
 V. Baha-ed-deen. " The successor." " The left wing." 
 Then come the inferior ministers, " the application," 
 
 " the opening," " the appearance," the Dais (missionaries), 
 Madhoons (permitted), and Mocassers (breakers). 
 
 Many of these names are traditional ones in the 
 Ismaeleeh sects, and the Ansaireeh, for instance, make use 
 of several of them. 
 
 The Druses believe that all souls were created from the 
 light of the " universal intelligence," and that having been 
 created all at one time, their number remains always the 
 same. 
 
 They believe in transmigration, but it appears from the 
 Druse book against the Ansaireeh, that they did not, in 
 Hamza's time, believe in transmigration into animals, as 
 the Ansaireeh do. 
 
 They call the body " kamees," or envelope, as do the 
 Ansaireeh. 
 
 The punishment of a man is to fall from a higher to a 
 lower rank as regards religion, 
 
 De Sacy thinks they believe that when souls arrive at 
 perfection they cease to transmigrate, and are united 
 with the imam. In this last age, the epoch of Hakem 
 and Hamza, perfect souls remain concealed in Hamza 
 till he shall return in glory, when they will appear in 
 his train. 
 
 The Druses look on the last judgment only as the time 
 when the " Unitarian" doctrine will be publicly mani- 
 fested, and when the fate of the faithful and of infidels 
 
90 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 will be finally fixed. The name they give to themselves 
 is that of Muwahhedeen, or Unitarians. 
 
 With respect to the positive precepts of Islam, Hamza 
 says of prayer : — "You have heard in the Madjlisses 
 (sittings of the lodge of the Ismaeleeh in Cairo), that the 
 ' interior ' of this precept is the accustomed engagement, 
 and that it is called Salat, because it is the Silat which 
 joins the faithful to the imam, that is, Ali son of Abu- 
 Taleb. But our Lord (Hakem) has himself abrogated this 
 inner meaning, and we learn that prayer is to attach our 
 hearts to the dogma of the unity of our Lord by the 
 ministry of the five ministers. 
 
 " Then comes the tithe from which our Lord has entirely 
 discharged you. You have heard say in the Madjlisses of 
 the doctrine of the Batineeh, that the payment of tithes 
 consists in recognising the sovereign power of Ali son of 
 Abu-Taleb, and of the imam of his race, and of renouncing 
 all connexion with his enemies, Abu-Beer, Omar, and 
 Othman. AVe see clearly that our Lord has abolished the 
 interior of the precept of tithes, which has for object Ali 
 son of Abu-Taleb, just as he has abrogated the exterior. 
 
 "With respect to the inner sense of the precept of fasting, 
 the sheikhs say that it is silence (on the dogmas of their 
 sect). We see that our Lord has delivered men from the 
 inner and outer precept of fasting. The precept signifies, 
 in truth, the keeping your hearts in the faith of the unity 
 of our Lord. 
 
 " As to the inner part of the precept of pilgrimage, the 
 sheikhs who profess the inner doctrine have said that the 
 Haram (Caabah or temple of Mecca) is the sect of the 
 Bateneeh. But our Lord has abrogated both the outer 
 and the inner meanings," &c. 
 
 The Druses enjoin in their writings veracity, mutual 
 assistance and protection, that is to their " brethren " and 
 "sisters" (for the Druses admit women among the ini- 
 tiated), and alms to the Okhal, or initiated. Let it be 
 remembered that it is only to " brethren," the members of 
 
SYSTEM OF THE ASSASSINS. 91 
 
 their Freemasonry, that these good qualities are recom- 
 mended, and not to outsiders. 
 
 The Druses do not initiate even all those of their own 
 sect. Very many are left without any religious teaching, 
 who are distinguished from the Oklial, by the title of 
 Djuhluil, or ignorant ; in fact these last form the majority. 
 The Druses have watchwords, by which they recognise 
 one another. 
 
 I have been thus particular with respect to the con- 
 stitution of the Druse sect, because I shall have to institute 
 some comparison between them and the Ansaireeh, and I 
 liave followed De Sacy in nearly all that I have said. 
 
 We now pass on to the system of the Eastern Ismaeleeh, 
 or Assassins, founded by Hassan son of Sab^h, a Persian 
 of Khorassan. Yon Hammer, in his history of the order, 
 has given an account of the changes by which Hassan 
 adapted the doctrines and system of the Ismaeleeh to his 
 purpose. 
 
 "Hitherto," says he*, "the Ismaeleeh had only Masters 
 and Fellows ; namely, the Dais or emissaries, who, being 
 initiated into all the grades of the secret doctrine, enlisted 
 proselytes ; and the Rafeeks (companions), who, being 
 gradually intrusted with its principles, formed the great 
 majority. It was manifest to the practical and enter- 
 prising spirit of Hassan, that in order to execute great 
 undertakings with security and energy a third class would 
 also be requisite, who, never being admitted to the mystery 
 of atheism and immorality, which snaps the bond of all 
 subordination, were but blind and fanatical tools in the 
 hands of their superiors; that a well organised political 
 body needs not merely heads but also arms ; and that the 
 Master required not only intelligent and skilful Fellows, 
 but also faithful and active agents; these agents were 
 called Fedaweeh (i. e. the self-offering or devoted J, and 
 the name itself declares their destination. They were 
 
 * P. 55 et seq. Wood's translation. 
 
92 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 clothed in white, with red turbans, boots, or girdles. 
 Habited in the hues of innocence and blood, armed v/ith 
 daggers which they continually drew in the service of the 
 Grand-Master, they formed his guard, the executioners of 
 his deadly orders, the sanguinary tools of the ambition and 
 revenge of this order of Assassins. 
 
 " The Grand-Master was called Seyyidna, our Lord, 
 and commonly Sheikh-ul-Djehd, the old man or supreme 
 master of the mountain, because the order always pos- 
 sessed themselves of the castles in mountainous regions. 
 He was neither king nor prince in the usual sense of the 
 word, and never assumed the title either of Sultan, Malik, 
 or Emeer, but merely that of Sheikh, which to this day 
 the heads of the Arab tribes and the superiors of the 
 religious orders of the Srofees and dervishes bear. His 
 authority could be over no kingdom nor principality, but 
 over a brotherhood or order ; European writers, therefore, 
 fall into a great mistake in confounding the empire of the 
 Assassins with hereditary dynasties, since in the form of 
 its institution it was only an order like that of the Knights 
 of St. John, the Teutonic Knights, or the Templars. The 
 latter of these, besides having a grand-master, grand-priors 
 and religious nuncios, had also some resemblance to the 
 Assassins in their spirit of political interference and secret 
 doctrine. Dressed in white with the distinctive mark of 
 the red cross on their mantles, as were the Assassins in 
 red girdles and caps, the Templars had also secret tenets, 
 which denied and abjured the sanctity of the cross, as the 
 others did the commandments of Islamism. The funda- 
 mental maxim of the policy of both was to obtain pos- 
 session of the castles and strong places of the adjacent 
 country ; and thus, without pecuniary or military means, 
 to maintain an imperium in imperio^ keeping the nations 
 in subjection, as dangerous rivals to princes. 
 
 " The flat part of a country is always commanded by the 
 more mountainous, and the latter by the fortresses scat- 
 tered through it. To become masters of these by strata- 
 
SYSTEM OF THE ASSASSINS. 93 
 
 gem or force, to awe princes either by fraud or fear, and 
 to use the murderer's arm against the enemies of the 
 order, were the political maxims of the Assassins. Their 
 internal safety was secured by the strict observance of 
 religious ordinances ; their external, by fortresses and the 
 poniard. From the proper subjects of the order, or the 
 profane, was only expected the fulfilment of the duties of 
 Islamism, even of the most austere, such as refraining 
 from wine and music ; from the devoted satellites was de- 
 manded blind subjection, and the faithful use of their 
 daggers. The emissaries or initiated worked with their 
 heads, and led the "arms" in execution of the orders of 
 the Sheikh, who, in the centre of his sovereignty, directed, 
 like an animating soul, their hearts and poniards to the 
 accomplishment of his ambitious projects. 
 
 " Immediately under the Grand-Master stood the Dai-il- 
 Kebeer, grand-recruiters, or grand-priors, his lieutenants 
 in the three provinces to which the power of the order 
 extended, namely, Gebal, Kuhistan, and Syria. Beneath 
 these were the Dais, or religious nuncios and political 
 emissaries in ordinary, as initiated masters. The Fellows 
 (Rafeek) were those who were advancing to the master- 
 ship, through the several grades of initiation into the 
 secret doctrine. The guards of the order, the warriors, 
 were the devoted murderers, Fedaweeh ; and the as- 
 pirants (Lasik) seem to have been the novices or lay 
 brethren. Besides this sevenfold gradation from Sheikh, 
 grand-master ; Dai-il-Kebeer, grand-prior ; Dai, master ; 
 Rafeeks, fellows ; Fedaweeh, agents ; Lasiks, lay brothers ; 
 down to the profane or the people ; there was also 
 another sevenfold gradation of the spiritual hierarchy, 
 who applied themselves exclusively to the before-men- 
 tioned doctrine of the Ismaeleeh concerning the seven 
 speaking and seven mute imams, and belonged more pro- 
 perly to the theoretical framework of the schism, than to 
 the destruction of political powers. According to this 
 arrangement, there live, in every generation, seven persons 
 
94 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 distinguished from each other by their different grades of 
 rank : 1st, the divinely appointed Imam ; 2nd, the proof, 
 Hudjjah, designated by him, which the Ismaeleeh call 
 As^s, or foundation ; 3rd, the Dthoo Massah, who received 
 instruction from the Hudjjah, as he did from the Imam ; 
 4th, the Missionaries, or Dais ; 5th, the Madthomeem, or 
 permitted, who were admitted to the solemn promise or 
 oath (Ahd) ; 6th, the Umhellabeeh, or dog-like, who 
 sought out subjects fit for conversion for the missiona- 
 ries, as hounds run down the game for the huntsman ; 
 7th, the Moomeneen the believers, the people. On com- 
 paring these two divisions we find that in the first the in- 
 visible Imam, in whose name the Sheikh claimed the 
 obedience of the people, and in the second the guards, of 
 which he made use against the foes of the order, are 
 wanting ; but that, in other respects, the difierent grades 
 coincide. The proof was the Grand-Master; the Dthoo 
 Massah, the grand-prior ; the Fellows were the Mad- 
 thomeem ; and the dog-like, the lay brethren. The fourth 
 and seventh, that is the preachers of the faith and the be- 
 lievers, the cheating missionaries and the duped people, 
 are the same in both. 
 
 " We have seen above that the first founder of secret 
 societies in the heart of Islam, Abdullah the son of 
 Maimoon Haddal, established seven degrees of his doc- 
 trine, for which reason, as well as for their opinions con- 
 cerning the seven imams, his disciples obtained the by- 
 name of Seveners. This appellation, which had been 
 assigned hitherto to the Western Ismaeleeh, although they 
 had increased the number of grades from seven to nine, 
 was with greater justice transferred to this new branch, 
 the Eastern Ismaeleeh or Assassins, whose founder, Hassan, 
 not only restored the grades to their original number, 
 seven, but also sketched out for the dais, or missionaries, 
 a particular rule of conduct, consisting of seven points, 
 which had reference, not so much to the gradual enlight- 
 enment of those who were to be taught, as to the necessary 
 
SYSTEM OF THE ASSASSINS. 95 
 
 qualifications of the teachers ; and was the proper rubric 
 of the order. 
 
 " The introductory rule was called Ashinai, risk (know- 
 ledge of the calling), and comprised the maxims of the 
 knowledge of mankind, necessary to the selection of sub- 
 jects suited to the initiated. Several proverbs much in 
 vogue among the Dais had relation to this. They con- 
 tained a sense different from their literal meaning : * Sow 
 not in barren soil;' 'Speak not in a house where there 
 is a lamp;' implied, MVaste not your words on the in- 
 capable ;' ' Venture- not to speak them in the presence of 
 a lawyer : ' for it is equally dangerous to engage with 
 blockheads as with men of tried knowledge and probity, 
 because the former misunderstand, and the latter unmask, 
 the doctrine, and neither would be available either as 
 teachers or instruments. These allegorical sentences, and 
 the prudential rules so necessary to avoid all chance of 
 discovery, remind us of a secret society of high antiquity, 
 and a celebrated order of modern times ; in short, of Py- 
 thagoras and the Jesuits. The mysterious adages of the 
 former which have come down to us, and whose peculiar 
 sense is now unintelligible, were probably nothing more 
 than similar maxims to the initiated in his doctrine ; and 
 political prudence in the selection of subjects fit for 
 the dififerent designs of a society reached the highest per- 
 fection in that of Jesus. Thus the Pythagoreans and the 
 Jesuits have a resemblance to the Assassins. 
 
 " The second rule of conduct was called Tanees (gaining 
 confidence) ; and taught them to gain over candidates by 
 flattering their inclinations and passions. As soon as they 
 were won, it was requisite, in the third place, to involve 
 them, by a thousand doubts and questions concerning the 
 positive religious commands and absurdities of the Koran, 
 in a maze of scruples which were not to be resolved, and 
 of uncertainty which was not to be disentangled. 
 
 " In the fourth place followed the oath (Ahd), by which 
 the acolyte bound himself, in the most solemn manner, to 
 
96 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 inviolable silence and submission ; that he would impart 
 his doubts to none but his superior ; that he would blindly 
 obey him and none but him. In the fifth rule, Tadlees, 
 the candidates were taught how their doctrine and opinions 
 agreed with those of the greatest men in Church and State. 
 This was done the more to attract and fire them by the 
 examples of the great and powerful. The sixth, Tasees 
 (confirmation), merely recapitulated all that had preceded, 
 in order to confirm and strengthen the learner's faith. 
 After this followed, in the seventh place, the Taweel, or 
 allegorical interpretation, which was the conclusion of the 
 course of atheistical instruction. In Taweel the allegori- 
 cal interpretation, in opposition to Tanzeel or the literal 
 sense of the divine word, was the principal essence of the 
 secret doctrines, from which they were named Batineel, 
 Esoterics, to distinguish them from the Zahireel, or fol- 
 lowers of the outward worship. By means of this crafty 
 system of exposition and interpretation, which in our 
 own days has often been applied to the Bible, articles 
 of faith and duty became mere allegories, the external 
 form merely contingent, the inner sense alone essential ; 
 the observance or non-observance of religious ordinances 
 and moral laws equally indifferent; consequently all was 
 doubtful and nothing prohibited. 
 
 " This was the acme of the philosoph}^ of the Assassins, 
 which was not imparted by the founder to the majority, 
 but reserved only for a few of the initiated and principal 
 leaders, while the people were held under the yoke of the 
 strictest exercise of the precepts of Islamism. His 
 greatest policy consisted in designing his doctrine of infi- 
 delity and immorality, not for the ruled, but only for the 
 rulers ; in subjecting the tensely reined blind obedience of 
 the former to the equally blind but unbridled despotic 
 commands of the second ; and thus he made both serve 
 the aim of his ambition, the former by the renunciation, 
 the latter by the full gratification, of their passions. Study 
 and the sciences were therefore the lot of only a few who 
 
SYSTEM OF THE ASSASSINS. 97 
 
 were initiated. For the immediate attainment of their 
 objects the order was less in need of heads than arms ; and 
 did not employ pens but daggers, whose points were every- 
 where, while their hilts were in the hands of the grand- 
 master." 
 
 The author of the Masalic-al-Absar *, who speaks as 
 having had a conversation with the son of the chief of the 
 Ismaeleeh, says that they called themselves the " possessors 
 of the rightly directed government," and that their religion 
 was founded on transmigration ; that they looked on their 
 chiefs as their purifiers, and on Ali as the great purifier ; 
 and that they were descended from the imams and their 
 successors. He says also that he was told that they con- 
 sidered the soul that died in obedience to them went to 
 the " lights above," and all others to the " darkness below." 
 
 The miserable remnant of the Assassins or Ismaeleeh of 
 to-day, especially those of Syria, have sunk very low 
 indeed in belief, and if one can credit what is said of them 
 by report, in practice also. What Burckhardt f says of their 
 doctrine seems to be most certainly true, for it is confirmed 
 by the testimony of men of such information and judg- 
 ment as the late Dr. Eli Smith of Beyrout, and by the 
 general assertion of all classes in Syria, as well as by, it 
 is said, signs used openly by them about their houses. 
 Dr. Smith says that there are at present two sects: 
 the Hedjaweeh, whose sheikh resides in Khawaby, and 
 who adhere to Mussulman customs ; and the Suwayda- 
 
 * Defremenj, article on Ismaeleeh in Journ. Asiat. 
 
 f Burckhardt (Travels in Syria, p. 152) says, " The Ismaylys are 
 generally reported to adore the pudendum muliebre, and to mix on cer- 
 tain days of the year in promiscuous debauchery." Mr. Walpole, in his 
 book (Ansairii and Assassins), gives at the end of vol. iii. a Latin trans- 
 lation of what he calls a prayer of the Ansaireeh, but which really is an 
 Ismaelee prayer, which proves beyond doubt Burckbardt's assertion. 
 Dr. Smith (as quoted in Carl Hitter's Erdkunde) says, " The Ansy- 
 reeh are not guilty as the Ismaeleeh of the worship of the goddess 
 of nature." They seem to use what they worship as a symbol of mother 
 earth, and are reported to say, " From it we came, and to it we return." 
 
 H 
 
98 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 neeh, who live in Kadrnoos and the neighbourhood, are 
 only Mussulmans in appearance, and have no regular 
 feasts.* 
 
 The Ismaeleeh at present revere principally the grand- 
 master of the order Rasheed-ed-deen, in whose date 
 M. Rousseau, who has given an account of the modern 
 Ismaeleeh, makes a strange mistake, assigning it to three 
 hundred years ago, whereas we have seen that he flourished 
 during the existence of the power of the order in the latter 
 half of the twelfth century. His books form the chief part 
 of their writings, which *' are a shapeless mass of Ismaelee 
 and Christian traditions, glossed over with the ravings of 
 the mystic theology." f 
 
 M. Rousseau says of the modern Ismaeleeh J : — '* The 
 Ismaeleeh of Syria are divided into two classes, tlie Swey- 
 danis and the Khedrewis, who differ from each other only 
 in certain external ceremonies. Beth recognise the divinity 
 of Ali son of Abu-Taleb, and declare that light is the 
 universal principle of all things created. These sectaries 
 call it ^ the light of the eye,' an equivocal expression, the 
 source of many superstitions; but the greater part of 
 their sheikhs declared that it is a virtue, a charm or super- 
 natural force, which produces and preserves the different 
 parts of the universe. 
 
 " As a consequence of their dissimulation in regard to 
 religion, they have no public temple ; they, however, go 
 on pilgrimage to the tomb of Ali, which is erected in the 
 desert four or five days' journey from the ruins of 
 Bagdad. They have also another place of devotion near 
 Mecca, whither they make a secret pilgrimage whenever 
 an opportunity offers, but I have not been able to discover 
 the name of the saint or prophet to whom they have 
 dedicated this shrine." 
 
 * Ritter's Erdkunde, vol. above quoted, 
 t Von Hammer, p. 211. 
 
 % Memoires sur les Ismaelis et Nossairis de Syrie, adresse h. M. Silv. 
 de Sacy, par M. Rousseau; Annales des Voyages, cahier, xlii. 
 
THE METAWALEES. 99 
 
 I shall conclude this enumeration of secret sects by 
 mentioning the Metawalees and the Soofces, not so much 
 because the former are a secret sect in tlie same sense 
 as the others, as because they are silent concerning 
 themselves, so that little is known about them. Their 
 belief and practice, too, are allied to those of the Persian 
 Mussulmans, whose country was the prolific mother of the 
 above-named heretical sects ; and Yon Hammer supposes 
 that the Metawalees probably originated in a sect of 
 Ismaeleeh. They live now principally about and in Tyre, 
 and near the source of the Orontes ; and their physiognomy 
 indicates that of a race foreign to the other inhabitants of 
 Syria, and probably from farther east. 
 
 They are called Metawalees, because they follow the 
 Taweel, or allegorical interpretation, of the Koran. I 
 have been told that they reverence Ali, as is probably 
 certain, more than Mohammed ; and, as a consequence, 
 curse Abu-Beer, Omar, and Othman, who supplanted him. 
 They are more unsociable than any other sect in Syria. 
 Though they will eat with others, they will break a plate 
 or vessel from which a stranger may have eaten or drunk, 
 and even his shadow passing by may suffice to defile their 
 food. 
 
 The Soofees are a secret society of Persian mystic 
 philosophers and ascetics. Before giving a short sketch 
 of their tenets as stated by Sir John Malcolm, I will say 
 a few words of the general religion of the Persian nation, 
 ancient and modern. Their original religion may have 
 been that of the Chaldeans, or Sabians, who believed in 
 the unity of God, but adored the host of heaven (Tsaba), 
 especially the seven planets, as representing Him. Zoro- 
 aster, the introducer of the Magian religion, or a section 
 of it, taught the existence of two principles, Hormuzd 
 and Ahriman. As light was with him a symbol of the 
 good spirit, he directed them to turn to the fire lighted 
 on the altar, if worshipping in a temple, and to the sun, if 
 worshipping in the open air. These remarks on the 
 
100 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Sabian and Magian religions may be useful when we come 
 to that of the Ansaireeh. 
 
 The modern Persians are Schiites, that is those Mussul- 
 mans who reject the Sunnah or the code received by the 
 Mussulmans of Turkey and the West, as founded in 
 the traditions of Mohammed, collected and commented 
 upon by the four orthodox doctors. They also look on 
 the first three caliphs as usurpers, and consider Ali at 
 least equal to Mohammed. But many look on him as far 
 superior to him. It is quite a common saying in Persia, 
 " Though I do not believe Ali to be God, I believe that he 
 is not far from being so." In all portraits of him he is 
 represented with his face covered, because, as they allege, 
 the glory of his countenance is too bright for mortal eye 
 to behold. 
 
 But the following version of a popular Persian hymn to 
 Ali will show the reader, better than any dissertation, 
 the absurd and blasphemous lengths to which the Schiites 
 carry their reverence for the first imam : — 
 
 " Beside thy glories, O most great ! 
 Dim are the stars and weak is fate. 
 Compared with thy celestial light 
 The very sun is dark as night. 
 Thine edicts destiny obeys, 
 The sun shows but thy mental rays. 
 
 " Thy merits form a boundless sea 
 That rolls on to eternity : 
 To heaven its mighty waves ascend, 
 0*er it the skies admiring bend ; 
 And when they view its waters clear, 
 The wells of Eden dark appear. 
 
 ** The treasures that the earth conceals, 
 The wealth that human toil reveals. 
 The jewels of the gloomy mine, 
 Those that on regal circlets shine, 
 Are idle toys and worthless shows. 
 Compared with what thy grace bestows. 
 
THE SOOFEES. 101 
 
 " Mysterious being ! None can tell 
 The attributes in thee that dwell ; 
 None can thine essence comprehend ; 
 To thee should every mortal bend ; 
 For 'tis by thee that man is given 
 To know the high behests of heaven. 
 
 ** The ocean-floods round earth that roll, 
 And lave the shores from pole to pole, 
 Beside the eternal fountain's stream, 
 A single drop, a bubble seem; 
 That fount's a drop beside the sea 
 Of grace and love we find in thee." * 
 
 The Soofees form a separate body in Persia, bound 
 together by secret mysteries. Their books are a strange 
 and beautiful, but blasphemous mysticism, like the poems 
 of Ibn-il-Farid, which are well known and often quoted, 
 but little understood in Syria by the majority of its pre- 
 sent ignorant inhabitants. They speak of love to the Deity 
 under that of attachment to a beautiful woman, and their 
 system is really identical with Pantheism. 
 
 "The Soofees," says Sir John Malcolm f, "represent 
 themselves as devoted to the search of truth, and inces- 
 santly occupied in adoring the Almighty, a union with 
 whom they desire with all the fervour of divine love. 
 The Creator, according to their belief, is diffused over all 
 creation. He exists everywhere and in everything. They 
 compare the emanations of his essence or spirit to the rays 
 of the sun ; which they conceive are continually darted 
 forth and reabsorbed. It is for this reabsorption into the 
 divine essence, to which their immortal part belongs, that 
 they continually sigh. They believe that the soul of 
 man, and the principle of life which exists through nature, 
 are not from God, but of God. 
 
 " The Soofee doctrines are as old as Mohammed, and are 
 common in India. They became more general in Persia 
 under the Saffavean dynasty (from a.d. 1499), which took 
 
 * Taylor's History of Mohammedanism, pp. 152^-154. 
 f Malcolm's Persia, vol. ii. p. 269, 
 
 H 3 
 
102 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 its rise from a Sooffee sheik. From that time Schiite 
 doctrines have been the recognised ones in Persia. 
 
 " The Soofee tenets allow a man to retain outward cere* 
 monies in the first stage. They have four gradations, 
 and secrets and mysteries for every gradation, which are 
 never revealed to the profane. There are from two 
 hundred to three hundred thousand tainted with Soofee 
 doctrines in Persia." 
 
 I now come to a point which I omitted while giving 
 a sketch of the several secret heretical sects of Islam 
 in detail — the common charge which is made against them 
 individually, of licentiousness, obscenity, and incest. And 
 here I will include the Ansaireeh, so that I may state the 
 charges made against them at the same time, of which 
 charges I shall show the utter groundlessness, at least in 
 our day, when speaking of their religion under the heads 
 of Faith and Practice. 
 
 " The orthodox Mussulmans," then, " accuse the rem- 
 nants of the secret sects of secret indulgence in gross 
 immoralities, and call them Zendics, a name nearly 
 corresponding with our sceptics or freethinkers. But 
 it would be as unfair to judge of these sectaries by 
 the writings of their enemies, as to take our account of 
 the early Christians from the libels of their Christian 
 persecutors."* 
 
 "Similar charges, " says Von Hammer f, " have been 
 at all times raised against secret societies, whenever they 
 concealed their mysteries under the veil of night ; some- 
 times groundlessly, as against the assemblies of the early 
 Christians, of whose innocence Pliny affords a testimony ; 
 sometimes but too well founded, as against the mysteries 
 of Isis, and, still earlier, against the Bacchanalians of 
 Rome." 
 
 • With respect to the early history of these sects, it would 
 be certainly difficult or impossible to clear them from the 
 
 • Taylor, p. 202. f !"• 214. 
 
THE CHARGES OF IMMORALITIES. 103 
 
 charges of utter infidelity and muterialism (as forming 
 the tenets of the fully initiated), made against them by 
 such writers as De Sacy and Von Hammer, who base 
 their assertions on a careful study of respectable Mussul- 
 man, Arabic, and Persian historians, such as Makrisi; 
 especially since these last profess to have drawn their 
 details from the most authentic sources. For instance, 
 Atamelik Jowaini, who gives an account of the doctrine 
 of the Assassins, from which more modern writers, such 
 as Mirkhond and Wassaf, followed by Yon Hammer, 
 take theirs, was present at the fall of Alamoot, and ob- 
 tained from Hoolagoo, its captor, leave to consult the 
 Ismaelee library existing there, which he professes to 
 have done, and then destroyed the heretical books, having 
 first embodied their contents in his own history.* More- 
 over one of the grand-masters of the Assassins, Hassan II., 
 wishing to stem the torrent of infidelity, and bring back 
 his sect to orthodox Mohammedanism, "lifted the veil, 
 and published to the profane the mysteries of atheism and 
 immorality, hitherto the inheritance of the initiated. " f 
 And therefore Von Hammer, though he vindicates the 
 Jesuits and Templars from the charges of regicide and 
 profligacy made against them, declares that what he says 
 of the " secret doctrine, the systematic infidelity, and 
 the sedition of the Assassins is by no means founded on 
 untenable conjectures, historical accusations, or forced con- 
 fessions, but on the free acknowledgment of their teachers 
 and masters. " J In the same way De Sacy accuses the 
 Karmatians of carrying the abuse of philosophy and the 
 system of theology to the greatest extent, with the view 
 of leading men to atheism, materialism the most absolute, 
 and immorality ; and says that what he advances is not 
 founded on conjecture nor induction, but on history. § 
 
 * Von Hammer, p. 178. t I^id, p. 106. 
 
 t Ubi supra. § Exposition of Druzes' Religion, Introd. p. 34. 
 
 H 4 
 
104 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 It is impossible to ascribe all that the orthodox Mussul- 
 man authors say of the infidelity of their adversaries to 
 mere religious hate, but it is difficult to believe any charge 
 of gross immorality and incest brought against a large 
 body of men who have existed for any lengthened space 
 of time. And in this I agree rather with M. Niebuhr 
 than M. Volney, who alludes to his opinions.* " The 
 Kadmousia ," says Volney, who mistakes the Ismaeleeh of 
 Kadmoos for Ansaireeh, " as I am assured, hold nocturnal 
 assemblies in which, after certain discourses, they extin- 
 guish the lights, and indulge promiscuous lust, as has been 
 reported of the ancient Gnostics. M. Niebuhr, to whom 
 the same circumstances were related as to me, could not 
 believe them, because, says he, it is not probable that 
 mankind should so far degrade themselves (which idea 
 he ridicules). The whimsical superstitions I have men- 
 tioned may the rather be believed still to exist among the 
 Ansaria, as they seem to have been preserved there by 
 a regular transmission from those ancient times in which 
 they are known to have prevailed.'* 
 
 But whatever may be the case with M. Volney 's general- 
 isations as a philosopher, his details as a traveller are not 
 always trustworthy. We have already noticed an absurd 
 mistake of his, and he makes a most ridiculous statement 
 with respect to the Metawalees, which is quoted by Von 
 Hammer, f It is to the effect that there was in his time 
 a village on the road from Ladikeeh to Aleppo, called 
 Martaban, whose Metawalee inhabitants invited travellers 
 to have intercourse with their wives and daughters, and 
 what is more, considered their refusal as an affront. 
 Unfortunately for this story, there are no Metawalees to 
 be found in the parts named. 
 
 The more charitable view of human nature is in this 
 case probably the true one. Men do not remain long in 
 such unbridled licentiousness without bringing on them- 
 
 ♦ Volney's Travels, vol. ii. p. 6. f P- 213. 
 
THE CHARGES OF IMMORALITIES. 105 
 
 selves the direct vengeance of God, as did the cities of the 
 plain; or his vengeance none the less because exerted 
 through the agency of their fellow-men, as in the case of 
 the inhabitants of the village to which Ibn-Batoutah 
 alludes, and the Bacchanalians of old or, lastly, through 
 the inevitable causes of dissolution attending immorality 
 and crime. The mass of mankind are opposed to the 
 existence of the worst forms of open vice; if they were 
 not, civil government would come to an end in communi- 
 ties where reason or instinct, rather than religion, is the 
 guide. It is not to be denied that communities did exist 
 of old, in which, as among the votaries of Isis and Cybele, 
 licentiousness prevailed, but then these were but festering 
 sores existing in a large body, and these communities 
 formed the receptacle for those impurities which exist 
 in every large society. And in fact, with respect to the 
 early history of the secret sects which we have considered, 
 it is only asserted that the minority, the governing body, 
 attained to an emancipation from all the rules of morality. 
 The great body of the sectaries were only tools made use 
 of by them towards the gratification of their own evil 
 propensities. 
 
 Makrisi, indeed, mentions a sect of Magians, followers 
 of Masdeli, " who declared war against all religion and 
 morality, and preached universal liberty and equality, the 
 indifference of human actions, and community of goods 
 and women, " but '^ this scandalous brood was exter- 
 minated by fire and sword," after but a short period of 
 triumph.* 
 
 Makrisi, also f , describes a sect of Rafedeeh as allowing 
 the drinking wine and fornication, and denying a paradise 
 or the contrary, except in this world, but it does not seem 
 that they formed an important or noted part of the general 
 body of the Rafedeeh, which included the many branches 
 of those who ascribed divine honour to Ali. 
 
 * Von Hammer, p. 25. 
 
 t Description of Egypt, vol. ii. p. 352 : ed. Boulak. 
 
106 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 It is possible that part of the accusations brought 
 against the secret sects has arisen from a misinterpre- 
 tation of their allegorical language. They certainly have 
 themselves to thank for this, if innocent, because their 
 founders used language which might easily lead to the 
 worst excesses. 
 
 We have seen that some of the inhabitants of the 
 mountain, where resided Kasheed-ed-deen Sinan, made 
 some language which he had used a pretext for breaking 
 out into licentiousness, but that they were severely 
 punished by him for this. Hamza, the Druse apostle, 
 charges similar and even more objectionable language 
 against the Nusairee whose book he refutes, of which 
 I will translate as much from De Sacy as will bear 
 quotation : — 
 
 " There has fallen into my hands," says Hamza, in 
 the preamble, " a book composed by a man among the 
 Nasaireeh. He has styled his book ' the book of truths, 
 and the manifestation of that which was veiled.' Who- 
 ever receives this book is a servant of the devil. He 
 believes in metempsychosis, he permits all kinds of illicit 
 unions, he approves lying and falsehood. This writer 
 attributes this doctrine to the Unitarians, but God forbid 
 that the religion of our Lord should authorise criminal 
 actions ! " * 
 
 Hamza passes next to the direct refutation of the 
 Nusairee dogmas. "The first thing," says he, "which 
 this wicked Nusairee advances, is that all things which 
 have been forbidden to men, murder, theft, lying, calumny, 
 fornication, sodomy, are permitted to him, or to her, who 
 knows our Lord. With respect to what he says, ' the 
 believer ought not to prevent his brother from taking 
 away his property and his honour ; he ought to let his 
 believing brother have full liberty to see the people of his 
 house (that is, his wives and daughters), and ought not to 
 
 ♦ De Sacy, vol. ii. p. 568. 
 
THE CHARGES OF IMMORALITIES. 107 
 
 oppose anything which may pass between them, else his 
 faith will be imperfect;' he lies, the accursed one. He 
 has stolen the first part of this phrase — I mean the words 
 * he ought not to prevent his brother from taking away 
 his property and his honour,' — from the Medjlis of wis- 
 dom, and he has abused them to conceal his own impiety 
 and falsehood As to what he says, * the pro- 
 hibition of illicit intercourse is only for those who speak 
 things contrary to the truth : that is, fornication. But 
 those who know the inner doctrine are not subject to the 
 yoke of the outer ; ' he lies," &c.* 
 
 De Sacy seems to endorse the accusation of the Druse 
 writer, for he says, " What the Druse books teach us with 
 respect to the Nasaireeh prove that in fact they permitted 
 fornication, incest, and adultery, without any reserve f ; " 
 but, as he himself shows, the Druses themselves use an 
 allegorical language likely to be misunderstood, and in 
 fact Hamza himself, in the above extract, accuses the 
 Nusairee writer of having stolen the words, which, accord- 
 ing to him, he abuses, from the Druse or Ismaelee 
 writings. His statements, however, are to be received 
 with caution as those of an enemy, and at least one 
 thing is certain, that, as to theoretical opinions, no appear- 
 ance, even the slightest, of immorality or obscenity is 
 to be traced in the Ansairee books which have become 
 known in our day ; w^hile, as to practice, the charges made 
 against the Ansaireeh of the present time, of unclean 
 practices, are utterly without foundation. 
 
 Similar charges are and have been made against the 
 other sects. Benjamin of Tudela accuses the Druses of 
 his day of " living incestuously, and indulging in pro- 
 miscuous intercourse ; " and De Sacy, though he speaks of 
 the immorality which appears in the Druse writings J, says 
 
 * P. 570. t Vol. i. p. 183. 
 
 J Vol. ii. p. 692, note. Mr. Cyril Graham, who has seen so much of 
 the Druses of to-day, has told me that he thinks immoral charges against 
 
108 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 that he would not take upon himself to deny that the 
 Druses of to-day are innocent of the '* libertinage " and 
 the infamous actions which report imputes to them. He 
 says, moreover, that the early Druse writer Moktana 
 alludes to impostors who, in his day, endeavoured to cor- 
 rupt the morals of the sect, in order to gain partisans ; 
 such as Sakkeen, who was admitted to the hierarchy of 
 the Druses soon after the commencement of the sect, and 
 was intrusted with the " diocese " of Northern Syria. 
 He introduced changes into the Druse religion, and is 
 condemned in a letter found among existing Druse writ- 
 ings. " It even seems to me," says De Sacy, '' that this 
 immoral doctrine was taught in Syria by Neshtekern-id- 
 Darazi." 
 
 Von Hammer too, speaking of the Ansaireeh and 
 Druses, says : " The former believe, like the Ismaelites, 
 in the incarnation of Ali ; the latter consider that maddest 
 of tyrants, Hakem-biaun-illah, as a God in the flesh. 
 Both abjure all the rules of Islamism, or only observe 
 them in appearance ; both hold secret and nocturnal 
 assemblies, stigmatised by the Moslems, where they give 
 themselves up to the enjoyment of wine and promiscuous 
 intercourse." 
 
 The chief origin of these stories with respect to the 
 Ansaireeh is, beside their profession of a secret religion, 
 the fact that their neighbours, the Ismaeleeh, do hold tenets 
 of an obscene character, though even they, I believe, are 
 not guilty of all that is imputed to them. These stories 
 are passed from mouth to mouth, and told to those who 
 skirt the mountains in journeying by land, or who view 
 them from the sea, on passing along the coast. I have 
 often heard them repeated, sometimes with that zest 
 ■with which such stories are circulated, by the officers of 
 the French steamers which ply past Ladikeeh. But 
 
 them utterly groundless, and considers them more moral than the people 
 of the towns. 
 • P. 212. 
 
THE CHARGES OF IMMORALITIES. 109 
 
 this is more excusable in them than in a traveller like 
 M. Poujoulat, who, if I remember right, connects his 
 travels with M. Michaud's flowery history of the crusades. 
 The source of his mistake is, as usual, the confounding 
 them with the Isinaeleeh, as appears from what he says 
 in another place, where he speaks of certain men as 
 *' paying to women the same worship as the ' Ansariens ' 
 of Lebanon." His words are : — " These nocturnal and 
 monstrous reunions call to mind those of the like nature 
 which are held in the mountains of the Ansariens of Syria, 
 and which are called Bokhech " (fete de I'empoignement, 
 grasping). 
 
 This story he has taken from a vulgar report which 
 ascribes to the Ansaireeh such doings on a reputed feast 
 of theirs called Bukbeyshee. The story is familiar to the 
 Ansaireeh, and as they neither know of the feast, nor are 
 acquainted with such a mode of celebration of it, it is to 
 them a subject of much merriment ; for they are aware that 
 their character is looked on as the blackest, and they are 
 not a little amused at the false conjectures of their neigh- 
 bours, without being much concerned about a few handfuls 
 of mud, more or less, being thrown at them. As I shall 
 have in a future chapter to consider that character, which is 
 indeed none of the brightest, it will be as well to leave till 
 then the relieving it from one of its darkest shades. 
 
 To the next chapter too, having so far lifted the veil of the 
 " Great Asian Mystery," with the aid of other writers, we 
 will leave the further illustration of that mystery, and 
 allusions to its connexion with the modern mystery of 
 Freemasonry. 
 
 We shall thus endeavour to carry out the special object 
 of our book, with the assistance to be obtained from others, 
 and the information we have been able to acquire from 
 the Ansairee MS., careful observation, and trustworthy in- 
 formation. 
 
110 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE ANSAIREEH. 
 
 I. Faith or Theology. 
 
 The Ansaireeh believe in one God, self-existent and 
 eternal. This God manifested himself in the world seven 
 times in human /orm, from Abel to Ali son of Abu-Taleb, 
 which last manifestation was the most perfect ; that to 
 which the others pointed, and in which the mystery of the 
 divine appearances found their chief end and comple- 
 tion. 
 
 At each of these manifestations the Deity made use of 
 two other Persons ; the first created out of the light of his 
 essence, and by himself, and the second created by the 
 first. These, with the Deity, form an inseparable Trinity, 
 called Maana, Ism, Bab. 
 
 The first, the Maana, meaning^ is the designation of the 
 Deity as the meaning, sense, or reality of all things. 
 
 The second, the Ism, name^ is also called the Hedjah or 
 veil, because under it the Maana conceals its glory, while 
 by it it reveals itself to men. 
 
 The third, the Bab, door^ is so called because through it 
 is the entrance to the knowledge of the two former. 
 
 In the time of Adam, when Abel was the Maana, Adam 
 was the Ism, and Gabriel the Bab. In the time of 
 Mohammed, when Ali was the Maana, Mohammed the 
 prophet was the Ism, and Salmfin-il-Farisee, or the 
 Persian, a companion of Mohammed, was the Bab. 
 
SKETCH OF THEIR RELIGION. Ill 
 
 The following are the seven appearances of the Maana, 
 the Ism, and the Bab : — 
 
 
 Maana 
 
 
 Ism 
 
 Bab 
 
 
 (meaning). 
 
 
 (name). 
 
 (door). 
 
 1. 
 
 Abel 
 
 
 Adam 
 
 Gabriel. 
 
 2. 
 
 Seth 
 
 
 Noah 
 
 Yayeel ibn-Fatin. 
 
 3. 
 
 Joseph 
 
 
 Jacob 
 
 Ham ibn-Koosh. 
 
 4. 
 
 Joshua 
 
 
 Moses 
 
 Dan ibn-Usbaoot. 
 
 5. 
 
 Asaph 
 
 
 Solomon 
 
 Abdullah ibn-Simaan. 
 
 6. 
 
 Simon-is 
 
 -Safa (Cephas) Jesus 
 
 Rozabah ibn-il-Merzaban. 
 
 7. 
 
 Ali 
 
 
 Mohammed 
 
 Salman-il-Farisee. 
 
 I 
 
 After Ally the Deity manifested himself in the Imams, 
 his posterity, he himself being the first Imam, the Imam of 
 the Imams, as he is styled. 
 
 And here we h^ve to recal to mind Sharestani's de- 
 scription of the descent of the Deity into human forms, 
 that it is either total or partial, a descent of the whole 
 Deity, or of only a portion of his essence. The descent 
 in the eleven Imams after Ali is of this latter description. 
 Ali is still the grand manifestation of the Deity to man, 
 so that he occupies in person and name, with respect to 
 man, the position of the Deity himself; all divine attri- 
 butes being ascribed to him as Ali, and all prayers made 
 to him in the name of Ali. And we find that the Imams 
 are looked upon only as his representatives in the world, 
 and in some sense as his prophets and apostles. 
 
 The secret of the above Trinity is represented by a 
 sign, token, or mark to the true believers, namely, the 
 three letters Ain, Meem, Seen, which are the three initial 
 letters of Ali, Mohammed, and Salman (sometimes styled 
 Salsal), 
 
 Among the many worlds known only to God, are two, 
 the Great Luminous World, which is the heaven, " the 
 light of light," and the little earthly world, the residence 
 of men. 
 
 An Ansairee has to believe in the existence in the Lu- 
 minous, Spiritual World, of seven Hierarchies (each with 
 seven degrees), which hierarchies have their representa- 
 
112 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 tives in the earthly world. They are, (1.) Abwah, or 
 doors, 400 in number; (2.) Aytam, orphans or dis- 
 ciples, 500 in number; (3.) JSTukaha, princes, or chiefs 
 (the companions of Moses and properly so called), 600 in 
 number; (4.) Nudjaba, excellent, 700 in number ; (5.) 
 Mokhtasseen, peculiars, 800 in number; (6.) Mukhliseen, 
 pure in faith, 900 in number; (7.) Mumtahaneen, tried, 
 1100 in number. In all, 5000. 
 
 In this world they have their representatives in twelve 
 Nukaba, and also twenty-eight Nudjaba, who, besides 
 their earthly names, have names in the world of light, 
 namely, those of the twenty-eight mansions, or stations 
 of the moon. They have also their counterparts in 
 apostles and prophets ; who are, moreover, representatives 
 of the Deity, as being inhabited by a partial emanation 
 from Him. 
 
 This earthly world in like manner contains seven de- 
 grees of believers; (1.) Mukarrabeen, near ones, 14,000 
 in number; (2.) Cherubims, 15,000; (3.) Rooheyeen, spi- 
 ritual, 16,000; (4.) Mukaddaseen, sanctified, 17,000; (5.) 
 Saieyeen, ascetics, 18,000; (6.) Mustamaeen, listeners, 
 19,000 ; (7.) Lahiheen, followers, 20,000. In all, 119,000. 
 
 The mystery of the faith of the Unitarians, the mystery 
 of mysteries, and chief article of the faith of the true 
 believers, is the veiling of the Deity in light, that is, in 
 the eye of the sun, and his manifestation in his servant 
 Abd-in-Noor. Light is described as the eternal Maana, 
 or meaning, which is concealed in light. The Deity thus 
 concealed in light manifests himself in Abd-in-Noor, the 
 " servant of light," which is wine ; this wine being con- 
 secrated and drunk by the true believers, the initiated, 
 in the Kuddas, or Sacrament. 
 
 This Kuddas or Sacrament is the great mystery of the 
 Ansaireeh. 
 
 The Ansaireeh believe that all souls were created from 
 the essence which inhabits all beings, and that, after a 
 certain number of transmigrations, those of true believers 
 become stars in the great world of light. 
 
 ' 
 
ALI GOD WITH ANSAIREEII. 113 
 
 They believe that the last Imam, Mohammed, is still 
 dwelling concealed on the earth, and that he will return 
 to make the true religion prevail in the destruction of its 
 enemies. 
 
 When an Ansairee attains the age of manhood he is 
 initiated into the mysteries of religion, and becomes a 
 participator in its rites, and acquainted with its secret 
 prayers, signs, and watchwords, by all which the initiated 
 are bound up into a freemasonic body of Ukhwan, or 
 " brethren." 
 
 Such is a sketch of the religion of the Ansaireeh, I now 
 proceed to consider its several parts in detail. 
 
 Like the Druses, the Ansaireeh believe in God, without 
 in either a philosophical or theological manner defining 
 distinctly the mode of his existence, his essence, and 
 his attributes. Ali with the Ansaireeh is God, and takes 
 the place of the Allah of the Mussulmans. All the attri- 
 butes that the latter ascribe to Allah, these and others the 
 Ansaireeh ascribe to Ali ; some to him in his human form, 
 others in his Godhead. They come very near confusing 
 his essence with that of light. He is spoken of in their 
 catechism as veiling himself in light, that is in the eye of 
 the sun*, and in my Ansairee manuscript f he is de- 
 scribed as " appearing from the eye of the sun." Mo- 
 hammed is also said to be created from the " light of his 
 essence "J, and the " light of his unity." § While, in 
 answer to the question in the catechism ||, "What is 
 light ? " the answer is : " The eternal Maana, or mean- 
 ing (the Deity), which is concealed in light." Perhaps 
 they go no farther than Zoroaster and the Magians, in 
 taking light as a symbol of the good spirit. | 
 
 * Q. 82. t ^^^- P- 110- t P- 94. § P. 110. II Q. 93. 
 
 4 In the Ansairee book of festivals (M. Catafago, Journ. Asiat. Feb. 
 1848) the Divinity is styled the " essence of beings;" and a certain rain 
 which came on the luminous bodies of men, and of which the drops be- 
 came their souls, is said to be nothing else but " the essence which in- 
 habits all beings." 
 
 I 
 
114 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Among the appellations given to Ali are those of " the 
 meaning of meanings," "the element of elements," the 
 " end of ends," a name by which my Ansairee lad has 
 often heard him addressed. 
 
 The proof that he is God, is his own testimony to him- 
 self from the words of the Koran, which in its inner 
 meaning is made to allude exclusively to him. Thus the 
 commencement of my Ansairee manuscript, after the usual 
 opening, "In the name of God the compassionate, the 
 merciful," goes on : — " The words of the Most High. Our 
 Lord, Emeer il Moomeneen (prince of the true believers, a 
 name which must be given to Ali alone*), has said, ' God 
 (may he be praised!) has described me in his precious 
 Book, and said, He is the God, beside whom there is no 
 God, the compassionate, the merciful, the holy king, the 
 Creator ; Him all things praise in heaven and earth.* Now 
 these attributes belong to Him (God), and are in' Him; 
 for it is necessary for him to describe himself (because no 
 other being could do so), but they are in me, and referred 
 to me, and part of my descriptive marks, for when he 
 says, ' He is God,* it refers to me, for I am," &c. &c. 
 
 Another testimony is that of Ali to himself in his 
 several discourses from the pulpit, of which many are 
 mentioned by name f ; for instance : " With me is the 
 knowledge of the hour, and me did the apostles indi- 
 cate ; of my unity did they speak, an^ to the knowledge 
 of me did they call." 
 
 Another chief testimony is that of Mohammed on a 
 special occasion, a detailed account of which is given in 
 my Ansairee manuscript J, and of it I shall give a trans- 
 lation in a subsequent chapter.§ 
 
 Ali is said to be mentioned in every tongue, and praised 
 in every period || ; and so excessive is the laudation bestowed 
 upon him in the manuscript in my possession, that on 
 
 ♦ MS. p. 86. t MS. pp. 6, 10, 11, 12, 15. Catechism, q. 2. 
 
 t MS. p. 91. So Catech. q. 3. § Chap. IX. || MS. p. 4. 
 
NAMES OF ALL 115 
 
 showing it to a learned Moslem sheikh, he could not help 
 exclaiming, " excess of praise is blame." 
 
 Among the " names given to him in the various 
 languages *," the following are mentioned : " The Arabs 
 called him Ali ; his mother called him Haiderah, lion ; the 
 monk called him the most great Law, and Simon-is-Safa 
 (the Ansaireeh, like the Ismaeleeh and Druses, seeming to 
 look on Safa as allied to an Arabic word meaning pure, 
 instead of being the Arabic form for Cephas). He called 
 himself in the pulpit Aristotle ; and he is called in the 
 Old Testament Bareea (from the word for * create*). His 
 name in the New Testament is Elias, of which the in- 
 terpretation is Ali (the two words as written in the 
 Arabic MS. are nearly alike). With the priests he is called 
 Baweea; by the Hindoos, Kankara; and in the Psalms, 
 Areea ; with the Greeks, Butrus, Peter. His name with 
 the Ethiopians is Habeena (a mistake for Aboona, the 
 name of the Abyssinian metropolitan) ; with the Abys- 
 sinians, Batreek, patriarch ; and the Armenians called 
 him Afreeka. Finally he is called by the beings who 
 inhabited the world before men, the Righteous, the Com- 
 passionate.'* 
 
 Amonor other names of his is that of Emeer-in-Nahal, 
 prince of bees, that is true believers, who are styled bees 
 because they choose out the best flowers, that is follow the 
 best instruction, f This name is given to him constantly. 
 
 He is also called the Crown of the Kicras, as the 
 Sassanide kings of Persia are called by the Arabs, from 
 Khosroo or Chosroes ; and in a description of the feast of 
 Nurooz, given in an Ansairee book J, Ali is said to have 
 manifested himself in the Trinity of Maana, Ism, Bab, in 
 the persons of many of the kings of the Sassanide line; 
 though in that partial way in which the Divinity resides 
 in worthy men, rather than by a complete descent. In this, 
 as in many other ways, the connexion of the Ansairee 
 
 * MS. p. 77. Catech. q. 43. j ^S. p. 86. Catech. q. 50. 
 
 J Described by M. Catafago, Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 religion with Persia becomes evident. Ali is spoken of as 
 having exercised all that power, and performed all those 
 actions, attributed by Mussulmans to the Deity. He is 
 said to have created us * ; to have formed Jesus within 
 the womb of his mother f ; to have sent and taught 
 Mohammed J ; to be omnipresent, omniscient, &c. &c.§ 
 
 But the Ansaireeh do not suppose Ali to have been 
 flesh and blood, but rather a luminous appearance. They 
 speak of his acts as zahh\ apparent only. For instance, 
 says the Ansairee lad, they say that he was not really 
 married ; for how, say they, could he, being God ? 
 
 Thus, in one passage,, the appearances of the Creator 
 are spoken of, and his goodness in Tanees, the holding 
 intercourse with men ; and in the same place he is called 
 " the best of sheaths, within a sheath." || 
 
 Also it is asserted, according to the well-known words 
 of the 112th chapter of the Koran, that "He neither 
 begat, nor was begotten ; neither had he any equal :" and 
 then is added, " and he was not incarnate in anybody^ nor 
 took a female companion, nor a child." | 
 
 In the catechism, in answer to the question *'*, " If Ali 
 be God, how did he become of the same nature with 
 men?" the reply is, *' He did not so become, but took 
 Mohammed as his veil, in the period of his transmutation, 
 and assumed the name of Ali." And in answer to the 
 question ff, "What is the divine appearance?" the reply 
 is, " It is the appearance of the Creator in humanity by 
 means of the veil ; " and in answer to the demand to ex- 
 plain the matter more exactly JJ, the reply is, " As the 
 Maana is entered into the Bab, so it has concealed itself 
 under the Ism, and has taken it for itself, as our lord 
 Djaafar-is-Sadik has said." 
 
 * Catech. q. 1, and MS. passim. • f MS. p. 7. 
 
 X MS. p. 21. § MS. passim. 
 
 II MS. p. 32. That is Ali was a Gilaf (sheath as of a sword, or pod 
 as of a pea) of the Deity ; and this Gilaf was concealed in another Gildf, 
 namely Mohammed, the Hedjah or veil. 
 
 i MS. p. 101. ** Q. 4. ft Q. 8. XX Q. 9. 
 
THE "inseparable TRINITY." 117 
 
 Withal, he is often spoken of in his human connexions, 
 and he is said to have been the only Hashimee in his 
 time (that is, a descendant of Hashim, the great-grand- 
 father of Mohammed), who was so both by his father's 
 and mother's side.* His apparent mother's name is given 
 as Fatima, and his brothers as Hamza and Djaafar, Talib 
 and Akeel ; his sons, as Hassan and Hosein ; and his 
 daughters, as Zeynab and Umur Kulthom ; and, finally, 
 his Mashid (or mosque erected over his tomb) is said to 
 be in Dakwat-il-Beyd, to the west of Cufo. f 
 
 The Druses seem, in like manner, to think that Hamza's 
 humanity was only in appearance; and their belief with 
 respect to Hakem is so like that of the Ansaireeh with 
 respect to Ali, that I refer the reader to those few and 
 concise, but clear and accurate, words of De Sacy, re- 
 garding the manifestation of the Deity in human form, 
 to which I drew his attention in p. 78. 
 
 Before proceeding further, I would allude to something 
 found in Niebuhr's Ansairee book. He says : — "In 
 another place the author states that an Ansairee must be- 
 lieve that Mohammed, Fatir (Fatima), Hassan, Hosein, 
 and Mochsin (the three sons of Ali by Fatima), form but 
 one, a Unity, and mean Ali." J Now Makrisi § alludes to 
 certain men who " asserted the divinity of five, Moham- 
 med, Ali, Fatima, Hassan, and Hosein, and declared that 
 these five were one ; " and, not liking to say Fatima, with 
 a feminine termination, they called her Fatim. Thus we 
 see whence the Ansairee author, or his authority, took 
 his statement. And I would say, once for all, that if 
 it seems incongruous with the outline of Ansairee theo- 
 logy which I have given, it is to be remembered that in- 
 congruities must be expected in a religion compiled by 
 ignorant men, from everything that came to hand ; with 
 
 * MS. p. 87. t ^^S. pp. 87, 88. Catech. q. 45—48. 
 
 X Travels, vol. ii. p. 360. 
 
 § Descr. of Cairo and Egypt, vol ii. p. 253. 
 
 1 3 
 
118 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 a desire, which the Ansaireeh above all others seem to 
 have, of claiming every belief as their own. 
 
 The seven appearances of the Divinity, from Abel to 
 Ali, are said to have taken place in seven kubbehs, literally 
 Domes, that is, Periods, such as the period or dome of 
 Abraham, the Persian dome, the Arab dome, or dome of 
 Mohammed.* These appearances are referred to four 
 times f in my Ansairee manuscript, and the names given 
 to those persons in whom Ali appeared are the same in 
 each place, as also are the names in the seven appearances 
 given by Niebuhr, and in the Nusairee catechism. % In 
 fact, this is one of the many instances of entire con- 
 formity in the Ansairee MSS., which have been ob- 
 tained at various times, and in such various ways; a 
 conformity the more remarkable, when we consider the 
 heterogeneous nature of the Ansairee tenets, and the wild 
 and seemingly aimless haphazard character of some of 
 their elements. 
 
 We will now speak of that " inseparable Trinity," under 
 which the Deity reveals itself in each of its manifestations, 
 of which the three persons are designated by the names of 
 Maana, Ism, and Bab. 
 
 And I would say at the outset that we must not suppose 
 this Trinity to resemble that of Christianity, though the 
 name and idea have been taken by the Ansaireeh from it, 
 like many other things. The second and third persons, 
 the Ism and the Bab, have far more affinity with the two 
 chief Druse ministers, the " universal intelligence," and 
 the " universal soul," as we shall see when we come to 
 treat of them separately ; indeed, the third person is 
 called by the name, the " universal soul," given to the 
 second great minister of the Druse hierarchy. 
 
 The word Maana, meaning or sense, is used by the 
 Druse writers. Baha-ed-deen, one of their earliest and chief 
 
 * MS. pp. 41, 42, 131. t MS. pp. 8, 41, 90, 130. 
 
 t Q. 5. See also Victor Langlois, Revue d'Orient. 
 
THE MAANA. 119 
 
 authors, says : — " Praise to the Lord, to God, who is dis- 
 tinguished from all other beings, in that He alone is the 
 Maana (sense) of all the divine manifestations." * But, 
 as says De Sacy f , " this expression is especially sacred in 
 the religion of the Ansaireeh, with whom, even at the 
 present time, it signifies the Divinity concealed under 
 human form ;" and he gives an extract from M. Niebuhr's 
 Ansairee book, which had been lent to him by that 
 traveller. " The Ansairee author," says De Sacy, " after 
 having cited divers texts from the discourses pronounced 
 by Ali, adds : ' All these testimonies and these luminous 
 discourses show the existence of the Maana of the Creator 
 of creatures, under a human form.' " % 
 
 In another place the same author says : " The word 
 Allah (God) is derived from Alaha (to adore), and the 
 word God supposes necessarily a being adored, and a 
 name is different from the thing named by it. He, then, 
 who worships the Name (Ism) in the place of the Mean- 
 ing (Maana) is an infidel, and does not worship any- 
 thing ; and he who worships the Name and the Meaning- 
 is a polytheist ; but to worship the Meaning to the exclu- 
 sion of the Name, that is true Unitarianism." § 
 
 From this passage we see that of the Trinity only the 
 first person is to be worshipped, and not even the second 
 person or Name, for he is a different being from Him 
 whom he represents, who alone is the great God. 
 
 In the Ansairee catechism are the following ques- 
 tions : II " What are the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab ? " 
 Answer : " They are an inseparable Trinity, as men say, 
 ' in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ' 
 (a formula prefixed to all the chapters of the Koran 
 except one). The word God signifies the Maana, the 
 words Compassionate and Merciful denote the Ism and 
 the Bab." — " Are the Maana and the Bab separable from 
 
 * De Sacy, vol i. p. 60. t 'V'ol. ii. p. 580. 
 
 % Ubi supra. § De Sacy, vol. ii. p. 581. 
 
 II Q. 10, 12, 13. 
 
 I 4 
 
120 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 the Ism ? " Answer : " No ; they are one with it, they 
 cannot be separated." — " What names have the Maana, the 
 Ism, and the Bab, and how are they distinguished ?" 
 Answer: "These names are threefold. 1. Figurative; 
 2. Essential ; 3. Attributive. The Figurative belong to 
 the Maana ; the Essential belong to the Ism ; the Attribu- 
 tive are those of which the Ism has made use, but which 
 belong peculiarly to the Maana. As when we say, the 
 Gracious one, the Compassionate one, the Creator." 
 
 So in another question : * " What do the outer and 
 inner word, Iz-Zahir and Il-Batin, denote ? " Answer : 
 " The inner, the Godhead of our Lord ; the outer, his 
 Manhood. Outwardly we say that he is spoken of as our 
 Lord Ali, son of Abu-Taleb ; and this denotes inwardly 
 the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab, one Gracious and Com- 
 passionate God." 
 
 Maana is a name specially belonging to theDeity.f Some 
 other names, though attributive names of the Maana, are 
 sometimes assumed by the Ism, such as God, the Creator, 
 &c. &c. ; or, as the manuscript expresses it : '' The attri- 
 butive names, by which the Ism (Name) has named itself, 
 though they belong peculiarly to the Maana." J 
 
 In my Ansairee manuscript the Maana and Essence 
 are coupled together in one passage § ; and in another || 
 the Ism and Bab are spoken of as referring to, and indi- 
 cating, the Maana of Ali, in the seven Domes or Periods ; 
 and this indication is the office of these two persons, with 
 reference to the first divine person. In my manuscript also 
 the words Maana, Ism, and Bab are frequently mentioned 
 together, as forming an essential part of the Ansairee 
 religion. Thus 4, referring to some quotations from the 
 Koran with respect to the divinity of Ali, it is said: 
 "And many other similar passages indicate the know- 
 ledge of the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab." Again, a 
 certain wife of Mohammed, Umur Salmah, is spoken of 
 
 ♦ Q. 97. t MS. p. 89. t MS. p. 75. 
 
 § MS. p. 66. II P. 131. i P. 17. 
 
THE ISM. 121 
 
 as, " by her * nearness * to the apostle indicating the 
 appearances of the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab." * In 
 another place Ali is invoked ** by the truth of the 
 Maana, the Ism, and the Bab." f In other passages refer- 
 ence is made to the Maana-il-Kadeem (ancient Meaning), 
 the Isra-il-Azeem (great Name), and the Bab-il-Kareem 
 and Makeem (honourable and durable Door). J 
 
 These words also are found in all the known books of 
 the Ansaireeh. Thus Niebuhr speaks of them ; but as 
 these appearances, in the book in his possession, were 
 coupled with those of five orphans and of a certain 
 Hosein, the famous apostle of the Ansaireeh who spread 
 their religion, he terms the manifestations of the Deity a 
 Quintite, which he professes himself unable to explain. 
 
 M. y. Langlois § refers to the same words, and says : 
 " The dogmas of the Ansaireeh are : The divinity of Ali, 
 son-in-law of Mohammed, who was incarnate seven times ; 
 and a Trinity, renewed at seven different epochs, and under 
 diverse names. This Trinity is called Maana, Ism, Bab. 
 They denote this Trinity by the letters Ain, Meem, 
 Seen, which are the initial letters of the names of Ali, 
 Mohammed, and Salm^n-el-Farsi." 
 
 M. Catafago also, in describing an Ansairee book ||, after 
 giving the title, says " that the author distinguishes three 
 principles in Ali. 1. The divinity properly so called, or the 
 essence of beings. 2. The light or veil (Hedjab). 3. The 
 door, which is the faithful soul." 
 
 We see again the entire agreement of the several 
 MSS. consulted, with reference at least to all the main 
 Ansairee dogmas, and we shall find that they no less agree 
 in minor points. 
 
 Mohammed is the Ism, Name, or second person of that 
 triune manifestation of the Deity which took place at the 
 
 * MS. p. 40. , t P. 41. t MS. pp. 44 and 158. 
 
 § Revue d'Orient, Juin, 1856. 
 
 II Notice on Ansaireeh, Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. 
 
122 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 most perfect period, that of Ali. Thus the form of 
 Mohammed is the most perfect of the seven manifestations 
 of the Ism, of which the six previous were in the persons 
 of Adam (who is looked on by the Mussulmans also as a 
 prophet), Noah, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus. On 
 comparing these with the corresponding manifestations of 
 the Maana, we shall find that the seven personages of this 
 last are less noted than the seven of the Ism. Such per- 
 sonages as Abel, Seth, Joseph, Joshua, Asaph, and Peter, 
 seem chosen for the manifestations of the Deity, because of 
 their comparative seclusion when in the world, possessing 
 only such notoriety as was necessary to give them suffi- 
 cient importance for the use made of them in the Ansairee 
 system. The Deity, even in Ali's time, is supposed to 
 reveal itself to men by means of the Ism, called- also the 
 Hedjab, because the Ism veils as it were the insupportable 
 brightness of the Deity from the eyes of mortals. This 
 expression or idea seems to have been taken from the 
 Hedjabs or veils used before the doors of the halls of 
 audience of great men. Thus the caliphs of Bagdad 
 had, as their special prerogative, seven veils before their 
 audience chamber, to raise and lower which was the duty 
 of the Hadjib, or chamberlain, whose denomination was 
 taken from his office.* Tha term is often applied to 
 Mohammed in my Ansairee MS.f In the 3rd mass pub- 
 lished in the Journal of the German Oriental Society, it is 
 said : " There is no Pledjab but our Lord Mohammed-il- 
 Mahmood, " the praised ; for this, and another denomina- 
 tion, Mohammed-il-Hamd, or " the Praise," is given to him, 
 on account of the likeness of the adjective to the noun 
 proper; just as Salman is called Is-Salaam, the Peace, 
 and Salsal, pure wine, or pure water. 
 
 As Hamza appeared several times, so did Mohammed, 
 for the same person who was the Ism during one period 
 was identical with the one who appeared at another, 
 
 ♦ Von Hammer, p. 93. t Tp- 8, 10, 40, 61, 144. 
 
MOHAMMED THE ISM. 123 
 
 though under a different form. Thus the most perfect 
 appearance of the Ism as Mohammed, had before ap- 
 peared as Jesus*, so that in the prayer for the eve of 
 Christmas, given by M. Catafagof , appear these words : — 
 " Thou (Ali) didst manifest in that night thy Name, 
 which is thy Soul, thy Veil, thy Throne, to all creatures, as 
 a child, and under human form ; while with Thee that 
 Name is the greatest and most sacred being of all that is 
 found in thy kingdom. Thou didst manifest thyself to 
 men, to prove thine eternity and thy divinity. Thou 
 dost manifest thyself to them in the person of thy Hudjjilh 
 (* demonstration'), to recompense those who shall have 
 recognised thy divinity at the epoch when thou didst call 
 men to thy religion in sacrificing thyself for their re- 
 demption." 
 
 However, though the Ansaireeh use this language, they 
 do not believe in the reality of the crucifixion, but hold 
 the Mussulman view based on the words of Mohammed 
 in the Koran J, which he took from the early Christian 
 heretics, and probably from a spurious gospel : — " The 
 Jews have spoken against Mary a grievous calumny ; 
 and have said, Verily we have slain Christ Jesus, the son 
 of Mary, the apostle of God. Yet they slew him not, 
 neither crucified him, but he was represented (to them) 
 by one in his likeness; and verily they who disagreed 
 concerning him were in a doubt as to this matter, and 
 had no sure knowledge thereof, but followed only an 
 uncertain opinion. They did not really kill him; but 
 God took him up unto himself." This passage is cited in 
 my MS.§ ; and once when I was speaking to an Ansairee 
 sheikh about the death of our blessed Saviour, he used the 
 blasphemous expression, " May God have no mercy on any 
 one who died for me ! " 
 
 Mohammed holds much the same position with respect 
 
 * Victor Langlois, ubi supra. f Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. 
 
 t Soorah, iy. v. 156. § P. 2. See also Catech. q, 75. 
 
124 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 to Ali in the Ansairee belief, that Hamza places himself 
 in with respect to Hakem. He is made to say of himself: 
 " For I was created out of the light of His (All's) es- 
 sence/'* and farther to show his inferiority immediately 
 after he says : " Is not Ali my Lord and your Lord ? " 
 So that, as we have said, the Ansairee Trinity is not a 
 Trinity of Persons in the Godhead. 
 
 Further, in the same passage, Mohammed asks the ques- 
 tion : " Is not Ali my creator and yours ? " f And in 
 the Ansairee catechism, in answer to the question J : 
 " How did the Maana create the Ism, and how did the 
 Ism create the Bab ?" it is said : " The substance of 
 substances created the Name out of the light of his 
 unity." 
 
 In another passage of my MS.§, Ali is addressed as 
 having " created the Lord Mohammed from the light 
 of his unity and from the power of his eternity." " And 
 He made him a light extracted from the essence of His 
 Meaning, and called him Mohammed at the time when 
 he conversed with him, and caused him to move out of 
 his state of rest, and chose him, and called him by his 
 name, and elected him. And he had no Lord but him, 
 and He made him His flashing light and His sharp edge 
 and His speaking tongue, arid set him over the great 
 matter and the ancient cause, and made him the circle 
 of existence and the centre of prayer" (Mihr^b, the point 
 in mosques towards which prayer is made, as marking out 
 the Kublah or direction of Mecca), " by the command of 
 the Lofty one, the worshipped. And He said to him : 
 Be the Cause of causes, and the framer of the Doors^ and 
 at them (the doors) the Hedjab, veil " (so as to be 
 intermediate between the glory of the Deity and men). 
 '* Pie (Mohammed) created the Door (SalmA<n) by the 
 
 ♦ MS. pp. 94, 95. 
 
 t In my MS., at page 178, Mohammed is called the "best of created 
 beings." 
 
 % Q. 11. § Pp. 110, 111. 
 
NAMES GIVEN THE ISM. 125 
 
 command of his Lord, and His End (Gaiyah), and His 
 Meaning ; and he removed hurt and calamity from the 
 Door. He commanded him to create the higher and 
 lower worlds. So he guided them (the inhabitants of 
 the lower worlds) to all the pure worlds." Thus we see 
 that Ali created all things through the instrumentality of 
 Mohammed. 
 
 There is some difficulty in accounting for the way in 
 which the Ism or Name is sometimes spoken of, that is, 
 the names which are sometimes given to it in the An- 
 sairee book. Perhaps the best explanation is, that some 
 of these discrepancies have crept in gradually in the 
 course of time, and escape the observation, or at least 
 explanation, of the present teachers of religion. For 
 these, or their predecessors, have certainly sometimes 
 mystified themselves, as appears from some of the answers 
 in the Ansairee catechism. Thus, after a number of 
 most silly names given to the degrees of the seven spiritual 
 hierarchies of the world of light, — which names are seem- 
 ingly collected with much difficulty from various objects, 
 such as lights, suns, &c. ; moons, lightnings, &c. ; prayer, 
 alms, &c. ; mountains, seas, &c. ; night, day, &c. ; camels, 
 bees, &c. ; houses, mosques, &c. — the question is put : * 
 " How were these seven hierarchies called in the world 
 of light, before their appearance in the earthly world ? " 
 And the answer is : " They had other names in heaven ; " 
 as if the framer of these mystic hierarchies was either 
 wearied with his work, or in despair of finding suitable 
 names in his exhausted imagination. Otherwise, the 
 iiio:hts he sometimes takes show that he would not 
 have shrunk from the wildest conceptions. Again, to 
 the question, " How is it that the Nadjeebs have 
 two names, one in the earthly world, and the other in 
 the world of light ? " the answer is simply, that " they 
 have just two names." So, if we cannot reconcile every 
 
 ♦ Q. 64. 
 
126 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 imaginative statement of the Ansairee theology, we need 
 neither wonder nor be deeply grieved. 
 
 In my Ansairee MS., then, there are these consecutive 
 invocations of Ali, in some of which the Name is spoken 
 of in rather an inexplicable way.* " I invoke thee, my 
 Lord, by the names of the Name according to the rules 
 of language, which names are, Ahmed Mohammed the 
 chosen, Y.S. (and other similar cabalistic letters prefixed 
 to some chapters of the Koran), and in the Old Tes- 
 tament Mad al Mad, and in the New Testament Para- 
 kleet, and in the Psalms Muhaimin (a title of God, the 
 * observer of actions'), in the Koran Mohammed ; good 
 is the Veil ! " Again : " I invoke thee by the names of 
 the Name in the essential nine f , which are Adam, Jacob, 
 Moses, Aaron, Solomon, Jesus, Abdullah (father of Mo- 
 hammed), Mohammed the apostle of God, and Mohammed 
 son of Hassan, the Demonstration ; God, my Lord, that 
 thou wilt raise us by them to the highest rank, and save 
 us from all calamity and distress, by the truth of Mo- 
 hammed the son of Hassan, the Demonstration (the last 
 Imam)." 
 
 We see here that Noah is omitted and Aaron intro- 
 duced in the seven appearances of the Name ; Aaron 
 being admitted into the number of the seven mute " foun- 
 dations" (Asas) of the seven speaking prophets, in the 
 original Ismaelee system before described. Abdullah 
 and the Imam Mohammed are also added, for what reason 
 we confess we cannot at present see. 
 
 Another invocation is " by the names of the Name 
 in the Abrahamic Dome, which are Abraham, Ishmael, 
 Elias, Kusai (an ancestor of Mohammed), and Isaac:" 
 the next is by the same in the Mosaic Dome, " which arc 
 Moses, Aaron, Shabbar, Shabeer, and Mushabbir (three 
 sons of Aaron, according to the Mussulmans) : " and 
 lastly, by the same in the Dome of Mohammed, " which 
 
 * MS. pp. 60, &c. Catech. q. 16, 17. 
 
 t Meaning, perhaps, special manifestations of the Name. 
 
INVOCATIONS OF ALL 127 
 
 are Mohammed, Fatir (Fatima), Hassan, Hosein, and 
 Mohsin." Probably, as these last are reckoned only as 
 one (see above), so the other five, in the previous 
 period of Moses, and also of Abraham, are so reckoned. 
 The next invocation is exceedingly obscure in its word- 
 ing. It is, " by the sixty-three names, consecutive names 
 of the Name, through which the Name executed prophecy 
 and consecutive apostleship for the Maana and Essence.'^ 
 Or, as the fourteenth question of the catechism has it, 
 " What are the sixty-three names of the Name, which, 
 spiritually taken, denote the Maana (sense), and personally 
 the Name — those of which the Godhead has made use 
 to manifest himself in the persons of the prophets and 
 apostles ? " These form such a curious mixture, that 
 I will add them here, broken into groups. " Adam, Enos, 
 Cainan, Mahalaleel, Yarid (written Gazid), Edrees (Mus- 
 sulman name for Enoch), Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, 
 Shem, Arphaxad ; Yareb (descendant of Ishmael) ; Hood, 
 Saleb, Lokman (prophets, &c., mentioned in the Koran) ; 
 Lot, Abraham, Ishmael ; Alyas (an ancestor of Mo- 
 hammed) ; Kusai ; Isaac, Jacob, Shuaib (Mussulman 
 name for Jethro), Moses, Aaron, Kawlab (Caleb ?), Eze- 
 kiel, Samuel, Taloot (Mussulman name for Saul), David, 
 Solomon, Job, Jonah, Isaiah ; Heysa (a descendant of 
 Ishmael) ; the Khudy (a Mussulman or Christian person- 
 age according to circumstances; when Christian, Elijah 
 or St. George), Zechariah, John, Jesus, Daniel, Alex- 
 ander ; Ardesheer, Sapon (the first two Persian kings 
 of the Sassanian dynasty) ; Luai, Murrah, Kilab, Kusai, 
 Abd-Manaf, Hashim, Abd-il-Muttalab, Abdullah (ances- 
 tors of Mohammed) ; Mohammed the chosen ; Hossum 
 the elected, Hosein the martyr in Kerbela, Ali the orna- 
 ment of true believers, Mohammed the investigator ; 
 Djaafar the just, Moses the patient, Ali the accepted, 
 Mohammed the generous, Ali the director, Hassan the 
 Askeree, and the Imam Mohammed son of Hassan the 
 demonstration, the chief, the director,, the preacher, the 
 
128 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Warner, the hoped for, the expected, lord of the age and 
 time " (the last eleven being the eleven Irnarns after Ali). 
 On looking among these persons, we see the names of the 
 seven in which the Name is said especially to manifest 
 itself. Its manifestation in the others can hardly be 
 of the like nature, but by influence rather than by actual 
 descent in them. 
 
 Another explanation, which would remove the difii- 
 culties we have alluded to, and may after all be right, 
 is that besides the seven noted manifestations of the Name 
 at the time of the seven special manifestations of the 
 Deity, there were a consecutive series of manifestations of 
 the same, from the commencement of the world ; the Name 
 dwelling in the person of the son, or the next divine 
 prophet or apostle on the death or disappearance of the 
 father ; the only remark we make in this case being, 
 that some names, such as Ezekiel and Daniel, are sadly 
 out of their chronological order. It will be seen also 
 from the description of the merits of the feast of Nurooz*, 
 that in the Ansairee system there is an indistinct indica- 
 tion of other appearances of the Deity, or Maana, besides 
 the seven noted ones from Abel to Ali. 
 
 In that symbolical way through which the Ansairee 
 system represents things in heaven and earth, by human 
 personifications and the converse, Mohammed is con- 
 sidered the personification of Salat or Prayer ; some of 
 his family and companions, such as his sons, being used 
 for the same purpose, especially Fatima, Hassan, and 
 Hosein.f There are some doggerel lines ascribed to that 
 great authority Hosein il Khaseebee, to this effect : — 
 
 " As Prayer is (represented by) men whose persons are an interpreta- 
 tion (Tameel), 
 
 Fifty and one persons sanctified with new moons, 
 
 Mohammed, then Fatir (Fatima), and the Shibrayn (Hassan and 
 Hosein) the foundations (literally roots), 
 
 Given in Chap. X. f ^P- 69, &c. ; and Catech. q. 100. 
 
THE BAB. 129 
 
 IS from them, and with them, they are the true direction and the 
 way. 
 As likewise Zecat, alms, is the Door Gabriel, his name 
 Salman, beside him there is no guide to the Apostle." * 
 
 Thus we see that the Ansaireeh acknowledge Mo- 
 hammed, saying that as to his apostleship he was taught 
 and sent by All. They also receive the Koran, but alle- 
 gorise it. In the catechism f the question is asked, 
 " What is the Koran ? " And the answer is : " The fore- 
 runner of the appearance of our Lord in human form." 
 And again : " Who taught Mohammed the Koran ? " 
 Answer : " Our Lord, who is the Maana (meaning), by 
 the mouth of Gabriel." Here again is one of the incon- 
 sistencies into which the Ansairee writers could scarcely 
 fail of falling ; Gabriel being the first manifestation of 
 Salman the Bab. and identical with him as we see in the 
 above lines, and also inferior to Mohammed as a di- 
 rector of men to him, is here, in order to accord with 
 the uniform statements of the Koran, made a teacher of 
 Mohammed, or at least a go-between of the Deity and 
 Mohammed. 
 
 The Ansaireeh commonly declare that the Mussulmans 
 do not follow Mohammed the apostle, but Mohammed ibn- 
 Haneefa. Now, they either mean by this Mohammed ibn- 
 Hanafeyeh, or more probably allude to Abu-Haneefa (the 
 father, not the son, of Haneefa, who, moreover was not called 
 Mohammed), who was the doctor of the most celebrated 
 of the four orthodox sects of the Soonnah, and that one 
 which is followed by the Mussulmans of Syria. In the 
 same way they say that the Christians do not believe in the 
 true Jesus, but in Jesus-il-Djida, the new, or the young. 
 
 The third person in the Trinity is the Bab, or door, who 
 in the time of Adam was Gabriel, and in the time of All, 
 Salman-il-Farisee, the Persian. J Another name given to 
 
 * MS. p. 73. t Catech. q. 72, 73. 
 
 X MS. p. 144 ; and 8d mass of J. Catafago, Germ. Orient. Soc. Jour, 
 vol. ii. " And there is no door, but the lord Salman-il-Farisee." 
 
 K 
 
130 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 him is that of Salsal, which means either a chain (refer- 
 ring, as a name of Salmon, to his being one of a chain of 
 witnesses or apostles), or good wine, or pure water. It is 
 mentioned in connexion with Salsabeel in one passage of 
 my MS., this last being a name of wine, and especially of 
 a fountain in Paradise*, and probably Salsal is used only 
 because of its likeness to Salman and Salsabeel. In the 
 third mass given by M. Catafago, referred to in the last 
 note, is the expression, " my religion is Salsal." 
 
 That Salsal is only another expression for Salmon is 
 evident from the connexion in which it is always used. 
 Thus in one passagef is the expression, " God, be favour- 
 able to our Lord Mohammed and the family of our Lord 
 Mohammed, and to Salsal and the family of Salsal, the 
 lamps of darkness and keys of language." In another 
 passage^ it is said, "May God cause us and you, brethren, 
 to drink a draught from the palm of Salsal ! " 
 
 D'Herbelot says of Salman § : " Abu-Abdallah Selman- 
 il-Farsi (called also Salman-al-Khair) is the name of a 
 freedman of Mohammed, who was a Persian by nation. 
 It is said that he was a Christian, and that he had read 
 the Scriptures, and travelled much; however, he was of 
 the first and most considerable of the Mussulmans, so that 
 some say of him that he founded Islamism. Abu-Horairah, 
 and Anas ibn-Malek, two persons of great authority in 
 the traditions of Mohammed, received them from Salman, 
 and Salman immediately from Mohammed." 
 
 Salman was in great honour with the followers of Ali ; 
 thus Obeidallah, the first of the Fatimite caliphs, is ac- 
 cused of having calumniated the companions and wives of 
 the Prophet, except Ali, son of Abu-Talib, Ammar ibn- 
 Yasir, Salman-il-Farsi, Al Mikdad ibn-il-Aswad, and Abu- 
 Durr-il-Gifari||; the two last being, as we shall hereafter 
 
 ♦ MS. p. 45. t P- 138. t MS. p. 134. 
 
 § Bibliot. Orient, article Selman. 
 
 II Establishment of Fatimite Dynasty in Africa ; El Masudi, (Nichol- 
 son, Tubingen, 1840,) p. 112. 
 
NAMES OF THE BAB. 131 
 
 see, persons conspicuous in the Ansairee system. We 
 have seen, too, that Sahnan-il-Farsi, is so highly respected 
 among the Druses that he is made the person in whom 
 Hamza appeared at the time of Mohammed. Probably 
 this position of Salman with the secret sects is due to 
 some traditional account of his friendship with Ali. 
 
 We have seen that the Bab Salman holds an inferior 
 place to Mohammed the Ism, and that Mohammed is 
 said to have "created the Bab by the command of his 
 Lord, the End and Meaning (Maana)* ; and Salmon calls 
 Mohammed, " My most great Lord."f 
 
 Ali is spoken of as the " reminder of Salsal " or Sahnan, 
 that he may be the teacher of others. Salman^s position 
 is that of the immediate teacher of men, being a guide to 
 the apostlej, or ^lohammed, who again communicates be- 
 tween Salman and Ali. 
 
 We have already given the names of the Bab § at the 
 seven great manifestations of the Deity. As in the case of 
 the Ism there are other designations given to it, such as 
 the " universal soul," the Holy Ghost, Gabriel, &c.|| One 
 invocation of Ali is by the names of the personifications of 
 the Bab in the Bahman (Persian word for king), Domes, 
 or Periods. Among them are the names Fairooz, Anu- 
 shirwan, Bahram, Afridoon, and others known in Persian 
 history. 4 
 
 Other names arc given of the Bab, such as the titles of 
 chapters of the Koran, as in the case of the Ism; " the 
 faithful soul," names of constellations, Salsal, Salsabeela, 
 &c.** But of these and other names of the Name (such 
 as will, knowledge, power, &c. &c.), and of the Bab, we 
 have had already more than enough. 
 
 * MS. p. 111. See also Catecli. q. 11, MS. p. 91. f ^S- P- 21. 
 
 J MS. p. 38. Catech. q. 24—29. 
 § MS. p. 73. See the lines quoted above. 
 II MS. p. 50. Catech. q. 31. 
 \. MS. p. 50. ** MS. p. 45. 
 
132 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 In theAnsairee system, Salmon personifies Zac^t or alms, 
 as we have seen in the lines we have already quoted. As 
 Mohammed was the same person with Jesus, &c., so Sal- 
 man with Rozaba* and the other preceding Doors. 
 
 The twelve imams, of whom Ali is the first and chief, 
 form another part of the Ansairee system.f We have before 
 seen that they are spoken of as the termination of the 
 sixty-three personifications of the Name, and in another 
 passage of my Ansairee book J, it is said : " Stablish us in 
 obedience to Thee, and to Thy apostle Mohammed, and to 
 Thy Walee§ Salsal, and to Thy Names the Imams, who are 
 Thine ; Thou hast named Thyself by them, ; they are not 
 empty of Thee, but Thou art of themT 
 
 It is thus evident that they are inferior to the Maana, 
 and, when mentioned, they are represented as referring to 
 Ali and teaching obedience to him, and as authorities for 
 parts of the Ansairee religion, of which Ali is the great 
 centre. Thus in one passage of my MS. Djaafar-is-Sadik 
 (one of the most celebrated of the imams, and one who 
 may have had really something to do with the formation 
 and doctrines of the secret sects,) is made to say, " On the 
 naming of me the silence of the speaker is required ; and 
 on the mention of God silence and attention. "|| 
 
 At the same time the imams are spoken of with great 
 respect as divine persons. Thus, on a certain man entering 
 the presence of Hassan il Askeree, the eleventh imam, 
 and chief authority for the Ansairee faith, he is represented 
 as saying that he found him " sitting on a throne of light, 
 before him rays of light, and with a light between his 
 eyes, which filled the east and west. And when I saw 
 him I fell on my face in adoration ; then I raised my head 
 and stood praising and thanking my Lord ; and I said : — 
 
 • MS. p. 51. t MS. p. 142. % MS. p. 22. 
 
 § That is either one of whom God takes care, or who is obedient to 
 God. 
 
 11 MS. p. 179. 
 
THE AYTAM. 133 
 
 my Lord is to be praised and is holy; our Lord is the Lord 
 of the angels and of the spirit."* 
 
 Djaafar-is-Sadik is often spoken off as an authority in 
 matters of faith and practice. So Bakir-il-UlmJ, or Mo- 
 liammed the father of Djaafar, who also, as a great 
 student, may have had to do with the system of allego- 
 risation. 
 
 Mohammed "the Hudjjah§," or "Thy Hudjjah||," or 
 demonstration, occupies a conspicuous place among the 
 twelve imams as the Mohdec, who is to come " to make of 
 all religions one sole one|/' before the appearance of Ali; 
 who, according to the catechism, is to appear once more, 
 " without any transformation, asheis,in pomp and glory."** 
 This man is said by the Mussulmans to have been drowned 
 in the Tigris when twelve years old, and his tomb is shown ; 
 but the Imameeh believe that he entered a cave (Sirdthab) 
 and only disappeared from the eyes of men, to appear at 
 the appointed time."ff 
 
 To each of these imams, or Isms, there was a Bab, and 
 their names are given in the " eleven appearances," from 
 Ali to Hassan il Askeree, the Bab of whom, as Ave have 
 seen, was Abu-Schuaib ibn-Nusair, the Ansairee apostle. 
 
 Another conspicuous part of the Ansairee system are 
 the Aytam. These are the second of seven spiritual 
 hierarchies, of which the Doors are the first, and they are 
 generally connected with the Doors ; though the series 
 sometimes commences with the Names, thus J J, " His 
 Name, His Door, His Aytam, and the people of His holy 
 hierarchies." 
 
 The word Aytdm^ singular Yateem, properly signifies 
 orphans, and hence those disciples who have lost their 
 master. But the word is used in another meaning, as in 
 
 * MS. p. 119. t MS. pp. 20, 163, 169. Catecli. 9. 
 
 t MS. p. 166. § MS. p. 62. || MS. p. 64. 
 
 4 Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. Notice on Ansaireeh. ** Q. 7. 
 It Abulfeda, vol. v. p. 320 of General History. JJ MS. p. 60. 
 
 & 3 
 
134 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 the expression " id-dura il yateeraa," the priceless pearl ; 
 priceless on account of its rarity ; and hence the word is 
 probably used in the Ansairee system, in the meaning, 
 that the orphans or disciples were the choice spirits of their 
 time. 
 
 As an Ansairee is required to believe in the chain of 
 divine appearances from Abel to Ali, and in the chain of 
 imams, from the first Hassan to the last, so is he to believe 
 that there always have existed five Aytam* ; five being the 
 consecrated number in this case. Niebuhr gives their 
 names at the seven appearances from Abel to Ali, and they 
 agree most remarkably with those in my Ansairee MS. ; 
 there being only such discrepancies as may be accounted 
 for by mistakes made in expressing the Arabic words in 
 French, or by errors of the Ansairee copyists. It is thus 
 clear that the Ansaireeh of to-day have a certain definite 
 system. 
 
 The five orphans in the time of Adam, when Gabriel was 
 the Door, were the five angels, Michael, Israfeel, Azraeel, 
 Malik, and Rudwan f , and these are the types of the suc- 
 cessive appearances of the Aytam. Thus it is said, " There 
 are no angels but the five angels, the orphans." | 
 
 The Ayt^ra are often mentioned in the different books 
 of the Ansaireeh §, generally as those who had been the 
 disciples of the Doors; but the invocation in my MS.||. is 
 by the twenty-five names of the orphans, five of whom 
 belonged to each of the five persons, Salman, Mohammed, 
 our Lord Fatir (Fatima), and our lady Umur Salamah (a 
 wife of Mohammed), and our lord the Ark (which is the 
 name of the second of the Doors, in the time of the eleven 
 imams). The above is curious because it introduces women, 
 namely, Fatima and Umur Salamah, and their orphans, 
 
 * Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 360. f Niebuhr and MS. p. 47. 
 
 X Third Mass, J. Catafago. 
 
 § MS. pp. 20, 25, 27, 121. Catech. q. 56—63. Journ. Asiat. Feb. 
 1848. 
 II P. 42. See also Catech. q. 70. 
 
THE HIERARCHIES. 135 
 
 who are all women, and, as we shall see, women have no 
 part nor lot in general in the Ansairee system, so that tliey 
 make a man of Fatima by clipping her name and calling 
 her "lord." 
 
 In one passage *, the five orphans seem referred to as 
 the "five luminous bodies;" and, as we have seen, they 
 form part of seven hierarchies in the world of light, whose 
 names we have already mentioned, and of which we will 
 again speak shortly. 
 
 It is reported of Mohammed f, that he declared that 
 " when a congregation of true believers assembled in the 
 east, west, north, or south of the earth, and made mention 
 of God most high. His Name, His Door, His Orphans, His 
 Nakeebs, Nadjeebs, Mukhtassen, Mukhliseen, Mumtaha- 
 neen, and all the people of His hierarchies, there was a 
 crier from above, who proclaimed, * Rise, with your sins 
 forgiven you, and your ill deeds changed into good ones.' " 
 
 We have already spoken of these hierarchies and their 
 numbers, and of the earthly degrees of the " honourable 
 species," — the choice believers. The Ansairee writer not 
 only makes addition sums of the numbers of these spi- 
 ritual and earthly degrees — 119,000 and 5000 respectively, 
 — but takes the trouble also to add together the respective 
 sums, and gives the sum total as 124,000. To such a 
 height of grave absurdity may false teaching come ! The 
 most absurd names are given for the forty-nine degrees of 
 the spiritual hierarchies, for which I will refer the curious 
 reader to my note on questions 56 — 65 of the catechism. 
 
 Besides all these hierarchies, an Ansaireeh is required to 
 honour certain apostles, prophets, and great men. 
 
 For instance, seventeen prophesiers who appeared in 
 this (last) Dome, under the covenant of Lord Mohammed, 
 the greatest of whom is TeidJ, Mohammed's freedman. 
 Also twenty-eight Nadjeebs, excellent ones, of whom the 
 
 * P. 68. 
 
 f MS. p. 121. Part of these words are from a Mussulman tradition. 
 
 % MS., p. 33. Catech. q. 69. 
 
 K 4 
 
136 THE ASIAN MYSTEEY. 
 
 greatest is Abdallah ibn-Saba, he who maintained the 
 divinity of Ali during his lifetime* ; his name being con- 
 sequently mentioned in my MS. (p. 152) alone and con- 
 spicuously. 
 
 There are many other illustrious characters, such as 
 Djaafar Tayyar, called Bab or Doorf , and Malik or kingj, 
 a brother of Ali, whose tomb or visiting-place is at the 
 top of the highest part of the Ansairee range, and is held 
 in special reverence by the people of my own district. 
 
 The famous Khadi-il-Akhdar§, or the " green " green, 
 because of his sempiternal youth, and his having made a 
 rod to bud, is also in great favour with the Ansaireeh. 
 
 The four brothers of Ali, that they may not be without 
 designation, are called the four supports of the house (the 
 temple at Mecca, spiritually taken), and even Matthew, 
 Paul, Peter (called Butmus, in mistake for Butrus, his 
 usual Arabic name), and St. John Chrysostom (!) have a 
 place in the system as orphans of Rozaba||, the Door in the 
 time of Jesus, when Peter, under his other name of 
 Shamoon Safa (Simon Cephas) was the Maana, or human 
 form of the Deity. 
 
 We have spoken already of the Ansairee sign A. M. S., 
 by which they represent their Trinity, and which is styled 
 their " Uddal " or " arms." It often occurs in their 
 writings |, and on page 68 of my MS. Ali is invoked "by 
 the truth of the A of Ali, the M of Mohammed, and the S 
 of Salsal." 
 
 The Ansaireeh suppose that there were five "worlds," 
 that is ages, before that of man, and that during them the 
 world was successively inhabited by five kinds of beings, 
 worshippers of Ali, called the Djann, the Bann, the Turam, 
 the Ramm, and the Djan (!).** 
 
 * MS. p. 37. Catecli. q. 66. t MS. p. 41. 
 
 t MS. p. 107. § MS. p. 107. 
 
 II MS. p. 48. Catech. q. 29. Victor Langlois, Revue d'Orient. 
 !Niebuhr. 
 
 I MS. pp. 25, 68, 137, 161. Victor Langlois. Catccli. q. 74. 
 ♦* MS. p. 80. Catecli. q. 52. 
 
REVERENCE FOR LIGHT. 137 
 
 Another main fact of the Ansairee system is taken from 
 that of the Hindoos, the Sabians, and the Magians. It is 
 the respect paid to light, and the belief in spiritual, higher, 
 luminous worlds. 
 
 The Ansaireeh seem to suppose that the divine essence 
 is identical with light, or, if not so, that it is symbolised 
 by it. The letters K. N. represent the word " be " in 
 Arabic, and since this word was used in the creation of 
 light, light is called the secret of God which is concealed 
 between the K and the N.* 
 
 In the description of the merits of the feast of Nurooz, 
 given by M. Catafagof , there are these remarkable words. 
 In speaking of the manifestations of the Deity among the 
 Arabs and Persians, it is said : " The Lord, on leaving the 
 Persians, deposited his wisdom with them. He left them 
 well contented with them, and promised to return to 
 them. It is He himself who says : * The most High had 
 deposited his mystery with you Arabs, and it was among 
 you that He manifested a great work. He destined you 
 for its reception, but you have lost it, while the Persians 
 have preserved it, even after His disappearance by the 
 means of fire and light, in which He manifested Himself.' '^ 
 Allusion is then made to Moses seeing the burning bush, 
 and not being allowed to approach, to show the sacredness 
 of fire. And then, it is added, " We read in the treatise 
 of Fukh : ' The Persians have consecrated fire, from which 
 they await the manifestation of the Deity. And, in fact, 
 the manifestation will take place among them, for they 
 cease not to keep lighted the fire, from which they look 
 for this same manifestation, and the accomplishment of the 
 promises of the Deity in that event.' " 
 
 The wild conceits to be found in the passage from which 
 I have taken the above are probably due to some Persian, 
 and, in fact, one of the divisions of the book where it is to 
 
 * MS. p. 35, and Catech. q. 92. 
 t Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. 
 
138 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 be found is styled " The traditionary sayings of Abu-Ali 
 of Busra, in his dwelling in Shiraz, in the year of the 
 Hijra327 (a. d. 938). 
 
 From this reverence for light, since the sun is the light 
 of lights*, Ali is supposed to reside in the sun f and in the 
 eyes of the sun J, from which he is said to appear § ; and 
 when they pray, according to the Ansairee catechism||, 
 they turn their faces towards the sun. 
 
 Tlie Jesuit missionaries observe : " AVhen the Ansaireeh 
 are at their prayers, they turn themselves towards the 
 sun ; which has led some to say that they adore the sun ; 
 but on this point they are not agreed." .j. 
 
 And this leads me to refer again to what I have alluded 
 to in the opening chapter of this book, that the Ansaireeh 
 are divided into two sects, called respectively Shemseeh and 
 Kumreeh, from " shems," the sun, and *^ kumr," the moon. 
 One of the great distinctions between them, as one might 
 infer from their name, is the different degrees of respect 
 which they pay to these luminaries. But they have other 
 distinctions, and the people of one sect do not learn of the 
 .sheikhs of the other. However, the Bagdad sheikh and 
 others have before me smoothed over these differences, 
 saying that their belief was the same, and that they were 
 only two sects ^ not of two religions. The book which I 
 have is of the Shemseeh sect, as also those Ansairee books 
 appear to be which have been hitherto published. The 
 Shemseeh seem to be the oldest and are the strictest 
 sect. 
 
 With respect to the sun and moon, I have often heard 
 the Kumreeh say of the Shemseeh, in contempt, " they do 
 
 ♦ Catech. q. 95. 
 
 t Niebulir's Ansairee book. Druse book against Nusaireeh. De 
 Sacy. 
 X Catech. q. 82. 
 
 § MS. p. 110, and Niebuhr. || Q. 95. 
 
 I Lcttres Edifiantes et Curieuses, vol i. pp. 361 — 364. 
 
BELIEF IN METEMPSYCHOSIS. 139 
 
 not love the moon." Once my Christian ploughman was 
 working with some of the Kumreeh, when some men of 
 the Shemseeh came up and began arguing with the 
 Kumreeh on the points of difference between them, and 
 let in light on them by the dispute ; for in the heat of 
 argument the Shemseeh champions appealed to my servant 
 and said, " Is it right to worship the creature? Should not 
 one worship the Creator only?" basing their argument 
 on the words of the Koran (c. 41, v. 37): "Worship not 
 the moon nor the sun, but worship God who created them; " 
 which passage the Kumreeh allegorise and explain away. 
 It is evident from their books that the Shemseeh reverence 
 the sun, though they do not worship it ; while it is certain 
 that the Kumreeh go very far in their respect for both 
 sun and moon, especially the latter. In fact, the Ansairee 
 lad tells me that his people, who are of the Kumreeh sect, 
 are extremely " afraid " of the sun and moon, and pray to 
 them. He says, also, that it is a common thing for the 
 women and children to speak of the moon (which probably 
 looks the greatest to them), as the face of Ali, and the 
 sun, as that of Mohammed. 
 
 It is from this reverence for light that spiritual person- 
 ages are symbolised by such things as the twenty-eight 
 mansions of the moon.* 
 
 Among many worlds which are said to be known to 
 God alone, and which form the higher and lower worlds f, 
 are two others, the great and the little world J ; the 
 luminous world or great world of light, and the earthly 
 wo rid. § For this notion they are ultimately indebted to 
 the Hindoo philosophy. 
 
 We now come to a more practical part of the religion of 
 the Ansaireeh — their belief in metempsychosis, or the 
 transmigration of souls. This doctrine was adopted from 
 the early religions of the East, by all the secret sects, 
 
 * MS. p. 37. t MS. p.II2. 
 
 X MS. p. 64. § Catech. q. 53—55. 
 
140 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Al Mokannaa being one of the earliest who is said to have 
 taught it. The Ansaireeh held it from the first, and 
 Hamza, the Druse author, directs his anathemas against 
 them, because they carry the doctrine to such an extent as 
 to say " that the souls of the enemies of Ali will pass into 
 dogs, and other unclean brute animals, till they enter fire, 
 to be burnt and beaten under the hammer." After 
 refuting this doctrine of transmigration into animals, he 
 concludes, " and whoever believes in metempsychosis, like 
 the Ansaireeh, the followers of the Maana, in the person 
 of Ali son of Abu-Taleb, and who stands up for it, 
 suffers the loss both of this world and the next." * 
 
 Metempsychosis, which is called by Mussulman authors, 
 Tanasukh, is termed by the Ansaireeh Taknees, or 
 Tadjaiyul, that is the coming in successive *'djeels" or 
 generations. The Jesuit missionaries say on this point: 
 " The Ansaireeh further admit the metempsychosis, and 
 say that the same soul passes from one body into another, 
 as many as seventy times ; but with this difference, that 
 the soul of a good man enters into a body more perfect 
 than his own, and the soul of a vicious man passes into the 
 body of an unclean animal." f 
 
 Niebuhr says : " The soul of a devout Ansairee can 
 enter into Paradise, after it has been in only a small 
 number of Hembden (?) (bodies), but the soul of another 
 must have dwelt in eighty Hembden (which is what they 
 term hell). The souls of infidels must pass through five 
 frightful degrees, Fesgh, Nesgh, Mesgh, Wesgh, and Resgh, 
 and after that they must remain in the world as sheep, 
 till the return of Soolra (Zahrah) or Fatima." J 
 
 With respect to the number of transmigrations, I have 
 heard from the people themselves the same number men- 
 tioned as by Niebuhr, while sheikhs have to pass through 
 but few bodies. I have often heard them, when the jackals 
 
 * Dc Sacy, vol. ii. p. 579. 
 
 t Lettres Edif. et Cur. vol. i. pp. 361—364. 
 
 j Travels, vol. ii. p. 360. 
 
I 
 
 BELIEF IN METEMPSYCHOSIS. 141 
 
 began to cry towards dusk, laugh and say : " Those are the 
 Mussuhnans calling to afternoon prayer ; for the souls of 
 Mussulmans pass into jackals." 
 
 Ish-Sharestanee * mentions the names of four degrees 
 of transmigration, called respectively Faskh, Naskh, Maskh, 
 and Raskb, which are like the names quoted by Niebuhr 
 from his Ansairee book. 
 
 When the disciple is initiated, one .of the threats, if he 
 shall reveal the Ansairee secrets, is, that he will thereby 
 " merit il Musookheyal (the being turned into dreadful 
 forms), and the walking in low envelopes (kamees)." f 
 And if " he shall doubt of the truth of his religion, he will 
 be turned into horrid forms, and be caused to transmigrate 
 again and again, and be tortured in various revolutions." J 
 The terms used here are " kaur " and "daur," which are also 
 used by the Druses. Thus, the title of Hamza's book 
 against the Ansaireeh is : " The epistle destroying the 
 wicked one ; the reply to the Nusairee ; may the Lord 
 curse him in every kaur and daur!" Which De Sacy§ 
 translates, *' En tons les tems et dans tons les ages ;" kaur 
 and daur referring to returns into the world, and the re- 
 volutions of time, and being used with respect to the 
 appearances of Ali in human form, as in Adam, in his 
 kaurs and daurs. || 
 
 The word kamees (shirt or envelope) we have already 
 referred to as used by the Druses and Ansaireeh, to signify 
 the body, as the envelope of the spirit, the only worthy part 
 of man. Thus, in one passage of my MS4 it is said: 
 *' Remember God with a due remembrance, and remember 
 His name, and His door, and His orphans, and all the 
 people of his hierarchies, that they may release you from 
 your graves, and the envelopes of flesh and blood in which 
 you now are." 
 
 The invocations in my MS. are, consequently, prayers 
 
 * Milah wa Nahal. . f ^^S. p. 165. J MS. p. 166. 
 
 § Vol. i. p. 471. II MS. p. 8. ; P. 21. 
 
142 THE ASIAN IVnrSTERY. 
 
 for the souls of the "brethren," that they may be de- 
 livered from Radd and Takrar *, i.e. from frequent trans- 
 migrations, over which Ali is said to have the power: 
 and the sheikh who was the transcriber of my MS. re- 
 presents himself as hoping for deliverance from these. In 
 fact the great fear of the Ansaireeh is of coming again 
 into the world in a state of misery. Though they speak 
 of Wukoof f , or standing before Ali, and pray that it may 
 be happy, and'also sometimes speak of a certain last judg- 
 ment, yet it presents to their minds a different and far less 
 influential idea than to those who, as Christians and Mus- 
 sulmans, believe that it will finally settle the state of all, 
 according to their actions in this world. 
 
 With respect to the state of perfect souls, we must first 
 remark that the Ansaireeh believe that souls are but parts 
 of the divine essence J, or at least of the essence of light, 
 and hence they think that the stars are perfected souls, 
 and that " every' Nusairee, after he has become purified, in 
 passing through different revolutions, by returning into 
 the world and reassuming the dress of humanity, becomes 
 after this purification a star in heaven, which was its 
 first centre." § Hence the prayer that Ali would clothe 
 the brethren in envelopes of light. || 
 
 There are two questions in the catechism bearing on 
 this subject.^ " Where do the souls of your brethren, the 
 true believers, go when they leave their graves ? " Answer : 
 " To the great world of light." — " What will happen to 
 the godless and polytheists ? " Answer : " They will have 
 all torments to suffer in all ages." 
 
 The Ansaireeh often support their belief in transmi- 
 gration by a quotation from the Koran ** : " There is no 
 kind of beast on earth, nor fowl which flieth with its 
 wings, but the same is a people like unto you ; we have 
 
 ♦ MS. p. 76. t P- 114. 
 
 i Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848. 
 
 § Sec Druse writing quoted by Dc Sacy,-vol. ii. p. 260. 
 
 II MS. p. 107. 4 Q. 80, 81. *♦ Chap. vi. v. 38. 
 
DAY OF JUDGMENT. 143 
 
 not omitted anytliinf]: in the book of our decrees : tlien 
 unto their Lord shall they return." 
 
 I have said that the Ansaireeh do speak of a Day of 
 Judgment.* They also use the term Resurrection. This 
 word is coupled with the former in my Ansairee MS. ; and 
 in the book of festivals f Iblees is said to have asked for 
 the putting off of his punishment till the " day of resur- 
 rection," but that a ** shorter period had been granted 
 him, only to the day of the arrival of the Mohdi, who 
 is to punish the infidels, and make all religions merge in 
 one." 
 
 It seems from the above that the Ansaireeh expect first 
 a kind of millennium in the world, and then the final set- 
 tlement of all things, which they speak of under the terms 
 "Day of Judgment " and "Resurrection," which terms 
 with them have only an allegorical meaning. 
 
 Burckhardt says that the Ansaireeh " have the curious 
 belief that the soul ought to quit the dying person's bod}* 
 by the mouth ; and they are extremely cautious against any 
 accident which they imagine may prevent it taking that 
 road : for this reason, whenever the government of La- 
 dikeeh or Tripoli condemns an Ansairee to death, his rela- 
 tions offer considerable sums that he may be impaled 
 instead of hanged. I can vouch for the truth of this be- 
 lief." % At all events, it is certain that not long ago An- 
 saireeh were frequently impaled. 
 
 I have often seen in the houses of the Ansaireeh two 
 holes over the door, in order that the departed spirit on 
 leaving the body may not have to meet an evil spirit who 
 might by chance be moving in through a single orifice. 
 
 There are things which tend to confirm the Ansaireeh 
 in this belief in transmigration. I suppose most people 
 have at several periods of their life been surrounded by 
 circumstances which have partially recalled former events, 
 
 * MS. p. 178. t Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848, p. 166. 
 
 X Burckhardt, Travels in Syria, p. 156. 
 
144 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 SO that for a moment they seem doing precisely the sam.e 
 thing, or talking with the same person, as at a certain time 
 past. Now, it is a usual thing for some of the Ansaireeh 
 to fancy this, and that therefore they have already existed 
 in a former generation. And lying comes in to help fancy. 
 It is often reported that at such and such a day and hour 
 a person died in one village, and another was born at 
 another place, and that this latter on growing up could 
 remember distinctly what he did before he died, when in 
 the form of the man who deceased on the day of his birth. 
 I have heard of one Christian woman who pretends that 
 she was an Ansairee in a former age, and professes to 
 describe what she then did ; and of another woman who 
 pretends that she has already been in seven forms. It is 
 further asserted that she went to a village where she had 
 lived in a previous state, and showed the people where they 
 could find water by digging; and that on digging the 
 water was found. One man, who is a curer of serpent 
 bites, gravely sp'eaks of having been so in all former 
 generations.* It is by these lies that argument is stopped ; 
 for, as I have often assured the people, though great liars 
 they will believe any lie, but disbelieve any one when he 
 tells the truth. It is a common thing to suppose that a 
 Frank traveller is looking after treasures hidden when he 
 and his ancestors were in the country. 
 
 The Ansaireeh not ordy acknowledge the Tawrah (Old 
 Testament or Law), Andjeel (Gospel), Zuboor (Psalms), 
 and Koran, but speak in all of 114 books f, among which 
 they include those of " Seth, Idrees (Enoch), Noah, and 
 Abraham, in the Syriac." J In this they exceed the Mus- 
 sulman calculation, who reckon only 104, of which ten 
 were sent down to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Idrees, and 
 
 * When it is asked why all souls do not remember what happened to 
 them in a former state, the answer is, because some arc plunged in 
 Jordan up to their necks, and consequently forget their previous condi- 
 tion. 
 
 t MS. p. 40. Catech. q. 71. J MS. p. 85. 
 
ANSAIREE BOOKS. 145 
 
 ten to Abraham.* These books were appealed to by the 
 Sabiansf ; and a book attributed to Enoch is still to be 
 found, and has been translated in England. The Mussul- 
 mans have an apocryphal gospel of St. Barnabas J ; and I 
 have seen portions of an apocryphal gospel among the 
 Ansaireeh.§ 
 
 Before I conclude this chapter I will refer to a few 
 accounts of the Ansairee religion, given by various authors 
 of very early dates, to show that the Ansairee religion is 
 pretty well now what it always was. But first I would 
 account for this by mentioning that the Ansairech have 
 some books in their possession ; though the late Dr. Eli 
 Smith did not think they had many, as an early Druse 
 author asserts that they had in his time. Several are 
 alluded to in my Ansairee MS., some of which at least 
 have not yet fallen into the hands of Europeans. A cer- 
 tain AboO'Saeed was one of their chief authors, and two 
 books of his, " Ir-Radd Ala-il-Murtadd || " and "II Kitab- 
 il-Hawi Ala Ulm-il-Fetawi|," are mentioned in the body of 
 my MS., and their names entered on a fly-leaf, as if the 
 owner had made a note of them, that he might remember to 
 obtain copies. These same books have their titles given 
 by Dr. Wolff in the Journal of the German Oriental 
 Society**, apparently as referred to in the Ansairee cate- 
 chism ; as also another of the same author, which is 
 described by M. Catafago in the Journal Asiatique.ff 
 
 Another author is the apostle II Khaseebee, one of whose 
 treatises bears a Persian name, Rastabasheyeh, of which, 
 as far as I can make out, the meaning is, " Cliiefs of a 
 Series;" and it is in such honour as to be mentioned more 
 than once in my MS., Ali being invoked by the truth of 
 
 * Taylor, p. 105. Sale's Introd. to Koran, p. 52. 
 ■f Gibbon, ch. iv. J Sale, p. 53. 
 
 § Ansaireeh and Ismaeleeh, p. 138. || Answer to the Backslider 
 
 4 Book containing the knowledge of the Fetwas, or decisions of 
 doctors of religion. 
 
 ** Vol. iii. p. 302, &c. at end. ft Feb. 1848. 
 
 L 
 
146 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 it.* Many Khutbehs of Ali are referred to, but apparently 
 all are not in writing ; for, in one instance, a saying is 
 quoted from " Khubbat-il-Cashf, and some say Khubbat-il- 
 Bayan," as if the tradition were merely oral. Another 
 book, 11 Hadayah, the title of which is given by Dr. Wolff, 
 is also mentioned in my MS.f as written by 11 Khaseebee. 
 
 The various MSS. that have fallen into the hands of 
 Europeans show that there are books among the An- 
 saireeh, and that these, moreover, agree in all main 
 points. There is, as might be expected from the present 
 state of the people, an utter want among them of gram- 
 matical knowledge, and accordingly their books are full 
 of mistakes, some of which have probably crept in as 
 each successive copy was made ; but they are in general 
 capable of explanation, and after a little practice, and 
 knowledge of the present language of the people, easily 
 rectified. 
 
 We proceedto give some statements with respect to the 
 Ansaireeh of old. 
 
 Abulfaradj (a.d. 1226— -1286) says of them {:—" Among 
 the extravagant sects of the Schiites are the Nusaireeh, 
 who saj that God Most High appeared in the form of Ali, 
 and spoke by his tongue with reference to the inner mean- 
 ing of mysteries ! " 
 
 D'Herbelot, who drew his materials from various Oriental 
 sources, says of the Nossairnoun § : — " This also is the name 
 of a particular sect of the Schiites, or followers of Ali 
 among the Mussulmans, who believe that the divinity 
 joined and united itself to certain of their prophets, 
 and particularly to Ali, and to Mohammed son of Hanifieh, 
 one of his children. For the people of this sect believe 
 that the divinity can unite itself bodily with men and 
 human nature, equally as with the Deity. This doc- 
 trine is reprobated by Mussulman authors, who reproach 
 the Ansaireeh with having drawn it from the books 
 
 * r. 17. t P- 84. I Hist. Dynast, p. 169. § Bibl. Orient. 
 
RELIGION NOW WHAT IT WAS. 147 
 
 of the Christians." As to what he says of Mohammed 
 son of Hanafeyeh, he was probably led astray by the 
 supposed quotation from a Karmatian book ascribed by 
 Abulfaraj to the founder of the Ansaireeh. 
 
 Sharestani (quoted by Pococke) * says of the Ansaireeh, 
 that they hold " a spiritual appearance in a material 
 body ; " and assert that '* God Most High appeared in the 
 form of persons ; and since, after the apostle of God, there 
 is no person more illustrious than Ali, and after him his 
 sons, the chief of mortals, therefore the Truth appeared in 
 their form, and spake by their tongue, and handled with 
 their hands, and for this they ascribed divinity to them." 
 They also narrated many miracles of Ali ; among others, 
 that he removed the gates of Khaibar (as the Ansaireeh 
 often mention in the present day), and that " to prove 
 that a particle of Deity and almighty power resided in 
 him." 
 
 They also said that not only did God appear as above in 
 the form of Ali, " but that he (Ali) existed before the 
 creation of heaven and earth," which is similar to the 
 belief of the Druses with respect to the preexistence of 
 the humanity of Hakem. 
 
 I will close my list of citations, in proof of my asser- 
 tion that the Ansairee religion of to-day is what it always 
 was, with the following passage from an early Druse 
 writer. In the Druse catechism is this question f : " How 
 have the Nusaireeh separated themselves from the Uni- 
 tarians, and abandoned the Unitarian religion ? " Answer: 
 '' They have separated themselves in following the teach- 
 ing of Nusair, who said that he was the servant of our 
 Lord, the prince of true believers ; who denied the divinity 
 of our Lord Hakem, and made profession of believing in 
 the divinity of Ali, son of Abu-Taleb. He said also that 
 the Deity had manifested himself successively in the 
 
 * Spec. Hist. Arab. p. 261 : ed. White, Oxf. 1806. 
 t Question 44. See De Lacy, vol. ii. p. 260. 
 L 2 
 
148 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 twelve imams of the family of the prophet ; that he had 
 disappeared, after having manifested himself in Mohammed 
 the Mohdi, the Kaim (the twelfth and last imam) ; that 
 he had concealed himself in heaven ; and that, being en- 
 veloped in a blue mantle, he had fixed his abode in the 
 sun. He said, also, that every Ansaireeh, when he had 
 been sufficiently purified in passing through difi'erent 
 revolutions, by returning into the world and reassuming 
 the garment of humanity, became after that purification a 
 star in heaven, which was his first centre. If, on the 
 contrary, he had rendered himself guilty of sin by trans- 
 gressing the commandments of AH, son of Abu-Taleb, 
 the supreme lord, he returned into the world as Jew, 
 Mussulman Sunnee, or Christian, which return would be 
 reiterated till he had become purified like silver purified 
 by lead, and that then he would become a star in heaven. 
 As to infidels, who do not adore Ali, son of Abu-Taleb, 
 they will become camels, mules, donkeys, dogs, sheep 
 destined for slaughter, and other similar things. They 
 have many other dogmas, and a great- number of impious 
 books, which treat of like matters." 
 
149 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE ANSAIREEH. 
 
 II. Practice or Ceremonies. 
 
 The prayers of the Ansaireeh are rather invocations than 
 petitions. An instance here taken at random from my 
 MS. is a type of all the others : * — "In the name 
 of God, the compassionate, the merciful. The words of 
 the Most High. He has said : Never do my friends sit 
 together, and make mention of me, but my mercy covers 
 them, and I make mention of them to those with me; 
 therefore frequently make mention of me, for the mention 
 of me obliterates faults, and it is a remembrance to those 
 who make mention. God, I ask thee, my Lord, by the 
 truth of this section of making mention, and by the truth 
 of thy shining grace, and by the truth of thy soul that 
 gives commands, and by the truth of thy overcoming 
 power, and by the truth of thy seeing eye, and by the 
 truth of thy noted demonstration, and by the truth of 
 thy overflowing seas, and by the truth of thy sounding 
 thunders, and by the truth of thy rainy clouds, and by 
 the truth of the preeminence of thy strength and the 
 strength of thy strength, prince of bees [true believers], 
 Ali, Haiderah [lion], crown of the Chosroes line, 
 chief of this world and the next ! May God cause to 
 descend [oftener, * cause to abound as with milk ^ J in your 
 habitations blessing and mercy and happiness, pos- 
 
 * P. 22. 
 l3 
 
150 THE ASIAN AnrSTERY. 
 
 sessors of this wealth and this favour, and this generosity 
 and this subject for boasting, and this goodness and this 
 present table; and turn from us and from you the ills of 
 the violent men, the sons of Omeyah [the Orneyade 
 caliphs of Syria, enemies of the house of Ali], the over- 
 bearing, the unjust, the infidels ; and sanctify and have 
 mercy on the spirits of our brethren, the true believers, 
 in their good, pure soul, prince of bees, lofty one 
 [Ali], great one ! " 
 
 This is, in the main, the termination of every Ansairee 
 invocation. My Ansairee lad has often heard the sheikhs 
 make use of this and similar invocations after having 
 partaken of a feast at one of the people's houses. He has 
 also heard his people repeat very quickly the names of 
 Ali, the visiting-places, &c., saying after every ten or so, 
 " May the mercy of God be upon them ! " Afterwards 
 they will sing what they call Mawali, of which the 
 following is a specimen : — 
 
 ** By the truth of Him who without hands created the Virgin Mary, 
 Mohammed is my intercessor, and Ali is the End of Ends." 
 
 M. Langlois says : " With respect to external worship, 
 the Ansaireeh have prayers which they recite three times 
 a day, and in the open air, the most important is made at 
 the rising of the sun. They turn towards the east like 
 the Mussulmans, from whom they have borrowed ablutions 
 and circumcision. '' * 
 
 My lad tells me that before sunrise the people get up 
 and wash ; and then, either rising or sitting, inside the 
 house or walking to and fro outside, they repeat in a low 
 voice, rapidly and unintelligibly, their prayers, which some 
 of them omit for a month together, and sometimes con- 
 tinue for an hour at a time, ending with a chant. Not 
 long ago some sheikhs were in his house, they got up long 
 before light, and after washing and walking about a little 
 
 ♦ Revue d'Orient, Juin, 1856. 
 
TIMES OF PRAYER. 151 
 
 outside, reciting their prayers, entered the house, and for 
 more than an hour continued them, till near the rising 
 of the sun. They prayed also at noon, and again for an 
 hour or so before sunset. When sheikhs are in a 
 quarter of a village, they will sometimes assemble the 
 people to prayer. We have seen that the whole number 
 of their daily prostrations is to be fifty-one, but these 
 Rakaah they do not employ, except at their secret 
 meetings; and the morning, or that and the evening, are 
 the only usual times of prayer. Morning prayer is con- 
 sidered especially good. The presence of a Mussulman 
 does not make their prayers void, but the appearance of 
 a Christian within forty feet, unless running water be 
 between, does. My Christian ploughman once, after 
 finishing his day's work in the plain, went to place his 
 plough in a house in a neighbouring village. When seen, 
 the master was in a great rage, for in a neighbouring 
 house were some sheikhs at prayer, whom my man could 
 see through the chinks of the door. In fact there was a 
 feast there that day, and the above man said that he would 
 have given ever so much for the ploughman not to have 
 made his appearance. My Christian servants have often 
 seen them, in the early morning, praying in the open air, 
 and moving their heads or lips, but their appearance was 
 always sufficient to stop the worshipper. A part of their 
 worship is a curse against "Abu-Beer, Omar, Othman ibn- 
 Uffan, and Sheikh it-Tarkoman. " 
 
 In my MS. a form is given for the morning and 
 evening prayer of every Ansairee. A certain Yahya is 
 said to have entered the presence of Hassan il Askeree, the 
 eleventh imam, and to have asked him : " My Lord, what 
 ought your servant, a true believer, one well instructed, 
 who looks into the truth of things, who is particular in 
 matters of religion, to do, every day and night, and 
 morning and evening?" So he said: "0 Yahya! Such 
 a servant of mine, every day and night, and morning and 
 evening, ought to turn to the right and left [as my 
 
 L 4 
 
152 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 servants have seen them do], and if he finds a brother of 
 his brethren, or a friend of his friends, he ought to shake 
 hands with him." "And, " says Yahya, " I said : My Lord, 
 and if he does not find a brother of his brethren, nor friend 
 of his friends?" He said: " Let him shake hands with him- 
 self, and meditate on himself, by himself; and let him 
 take the Lord Mikdad on the right, by the love of Ain, 
 Meem, Seen, and the Lord Abu-id-Durr on the left, by 
 the love of the perfect one, and rise and say : 'He is 
 successful and fortunate who begins morning and evening 
 with, and indicates and enters into, the knowledge of my 
 Lord, the prince of bees, Ali, Haiderah [the lion] il- 
 Anzaa [without hair on temples, a mark of beauty], the 
 preponderating, the beautiful; and he is successful and 
 exalted who has laid hold of the firm cord which shall 
 not be broken, for God is the hearing and the seeing 
 One.* "* This last sentence is from the Koran (ii. 257). 
 
 It is necessary to explain two or three things in this 
 prayer, if such it can be called. The Ain, Meem, Seen, we 
 have observed, stand for Ali, Mohammed, and Salmon ; and 
 the perfect one, which is feminine and relates to a woman, 
 is 1 suppose, Fatima, or rather Umur Salamah, a wife 
 of the Prophet, noted for her bounty, and said in another 
 passage to " indicate by her nearness (to the Prophet) the 
 appearances of the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab." f 
 
 Mikdad and Abu-Durr were two noted companions of 
 Mohammed. My boy has heard the name of the former 
 often mentioned, and they were in honour with the secret 
 sects, and especially so with the Ansaireeh, who, in their 
 system of symbolisation, make them the " right" and " left" 
 of prayer ; as we learn also from tlie third mass of M. J. 
 Catafago, where is the passage: "The prayer" (called 
 that of calling to prayer) " is now completed according to 
 its lords, God, my Lord ! Ali ! I pray thee to support 
 it, and cause it to endure while heaven and earth endure, 
 
 ♦ MS. p. 119. t MS. p. 40. 
 
ANSAIREE PROSTRATIONS. 153 
 
 and make the lord Mohammed its Seal (or conclusion), 
 and the lord Salman its Alms, and MikdM its right, and 
 Abu-id-Durr its left." In the prayers of consecration, 
 &c., those standing on the right and left of the imam 
 having a special office. I would say, by the way, that in 
 this prayer is the expression, " Haiyoo Ala Khair41-Amal," 
 " Come to the best of works," which was substituted by 
 the Ismaeleeh and Fatimite caliphs for the usual passage in 
 the call to prayer, "Haiyoo Ala-id-SaMh," "Come to 
 prayer." 
 
 The Mikdad referred to above was a certain Ibn-Omar 
 ibn-Othman ibn-il-Aswad il Kindee, one of the chief 
 " orphans" of Salmon. He was present with the Prophet 
 in all the engagements subsequent to the battle of Bedr, 
 and died A.n. 34. 
 
 Abu-id-Durr Djundub ibn-Djenada il Yhifaree is an- 
 other of the chief orphans of Salman. " He protested so 
 warmly against Moawiya's avaricious conduct in the 
 government of Syria, that the latter wrote to Othman 
 complaining of it, upon which the caliph removed him to 
 Mabda, where he died."* Taylor says of him: " Abu- 
 Durr, an old companion of the Prophet, misrepresenting 
 some passages of the Koran, declared that the riches of 
 this Avorld were the source of every crime, and that the 
 wealthy should be compelled by force to give their super- 
 fluities to the poor."f 
 
 It is evident that the Ansaireeh hold these men in such 
 honour as being conspicuous friends of Ah, just as they 
 do also another companion of Mohammed, a certain Ammar 
 ibn-Yasir, who died fighting for Ali at SuiFayn, a.h. 37. 
 
 We have seen that the Ansairee books speak of fifty- 
 one Rakaah, or prostrations, during the day, these Rakaah 
 including all the prayers, bowings, and genuflexions are 
 contained in one complete prayer. Two such Rakaah are 
 
 * Abulfeda, Annales Muslm, i. 272 and 260, cited by Nicholson on 
 El Masudi, p. 112. 
 t P. 137. 
 
154 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 necessary at every act of worship, except that of an hour 
 and a half after sunset. On reading the Rakaah men- 
 tioned in my MS. with a Mussulman sheikh, I find that 
 they agree pretty well with those of the Mussulmans ; which 
 are nominally fifty, at five difi^erent times ; daybreak, 
 noon, afternoon, evening, and an hour and a half after 
 sunset, the very devout using also prayers in the night.* 
 The difference is that the Ansaireeh personify these times 
 of prayer by the names of persons, and thus allegorise 
 them away, for they do not pray at all these times, nor 
 usually prostrate themselves at any. 
 
 We have now, at length, to consider the most important 
 part of the Ansairee religion, or at least of the ceremonial 
 part of it, — the great mystery, the secret of secrets, the 
 consecration of wine in a mass or sacrament. And we 
 cannot introduce what we have to say better than by 
 quoting the passages in the Ansairee catechism f referring 
 toit: — 
 
 Question. '^ What is the mass?" (Kuddas.) 
 
 Answer. " The consecration of the wine which is drunk 
 to the health of the Naheeb or Nadjeeb." 
 
 Q. *' What is the offering ?" (Kurb^n.)— .4. " The con- 
 secration of the bread which the true believers receive for 
 the souls of their brethren ; and on that account the mass 
 is read." 
 
 Q, ** Who reads the mass and brings the offering ?" — 
 A, " Your great imams and preachers." 
 
 Q. "What is the great mystery of God ?"— A *' The 
 riesh and the Blood, of Avhich Jesus has said, * This is my 
 flesh and ray blood ; eat and drink thereof, for it is eternal 
 life.' " 
 
 Q, " What is the mystery of the faith of the Unitarians ; 
 what is the secret of secrets, and chief article of the true 
 
 * My sheikh informed me that they might become about fifty ; but 
 Lane, who is so accurate in all he says, makes the usual number to be 
 but thirty-eight. Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 107, note. 
 
 t Q. 76, 77, 78, 79, 82, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94. 
 
THE ANSAIREE SACRAMENT. 155 
 
 believers ?" — A. " It is the veiling of our Lord in light, 
 that is in the eye of the sun, and his manifestation in his 
 servant Abd in Noor." 
 
 Q. " What is the first mass V'—A. " It is that which is 
 spoken before the prayer of Nurooz." 
 
 Q, "What is the prayer of Nurooz V'—A, "It is the 
 consecration of the wine in the chalice." 
 
 Q. " What is the consecrated wine called which the be- 
 lievers drink?"— ^. " Abd in Noor." (Servant of light.) 
 
 Q, " Wherefore so ?" — A. " Because God has manifested 
 himself in the same." 
 
 Q. " If our Lord has concealed himself in light, where 
 does he manifest himself?" — A. "In the wine, as is said 
 in the Nurooz." 
 
 From the above it is clear that the Ansaireeh have 
 taken their sacrament from Christianity. It is also clear, 
 and certain, that the wine is the chief ingredient in it, 
 though mention is also made of an " offering," and the 
 Jesuit missionaries, whose account cannot be implicitly 
 relied upon, speak of a piece of meat as forming part of 
 the sacrament. They say : " The Ansaireeh have borrowed 
 from Christianity the communion, but the mode in which 
 they practise it is perfectly fanatical ; for they celebrate it 
 with wine and a morsel of meat." I have not, however, 
 found bread or meat in any Ansairee MS., though the 
 prayers of consecration are given in full, and I find allu- 
 sions to the wine scattered about in other parts of the 
 book.* Thus the brethren are called " possessors of this 
 sarf," or " pure wine," f and " this naheed, or wine." J 
 It is the wine, too, which is especially referred to in the 
 catechism as the Abd in Noor, or servant of light, be- 
 cause the light, or Deity, manifests himself peculiarly in it, 
 
 * The word Kurban, or offering, is once used at the close of one of 
 the prayers. MS. p. 18. M. Catafago, apparently on the authority of 
 Ansairee books, speaks of " eating and drinking" and the consecration of 
 the same. 
 
 t MS. p. 32. I MS. p. 47. 
 
15B THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 and in it is partaken of by the brethren.* Under this name, 
 too, it is mentioned in my MS. as being the only thing 
 which the officiating sheikh consecrates f, and in another 
 passage J, in these terms : " God, this thy servant, Abd 
 in Noor, is a person whom thou hast rendered lawful, and 
 honoured, and favoured, for those who have the true know- 
 ledge, by a determinate command, and hast rendered unlaw- 
 ful to thy gainsaying infidel enemies, by a manifest denial." 
 The Ansaireeh, therefore, generally do not like to speak of 
 wine, and are annoyed if it is spoken of, for they look on 
 it as sacred, and belonging only to themselves. Wine is 
 also mentioned under the same name Abd in Noor, in the 
 second mass given by M. J. Catafago, where allusion is 
 made to its being ^^ incensed," the mass being called that 
 of " incense." 
 
 A certain sheikh, Hassan il Cananee, the best-informed 
 of all the Ansairee sheikhs that I have met with, and 
 also the most reprobate and deceitful, who had then 
 his son in my school, spoke to me of the time when 
 the boy was to become a Christian, and said, " Will not 
 wine be necessary for his initiation ?" and intimated that 
 he had the power of consecrating wine. 
 
 I have given in another chapter an entire translation of 
 the service of the mass, and will only make here one im- 
 portant remark, that, as far as I can judge from the 
 references made to the mass in that partial translation 
 which I have seen of the Ansairee catechism, in which 
 some of the chief expressions are quoted, the service given 
 in the catechism and in my book are identical in words 
 and arrangement. 
 
 This great secret of the mass is only administered in 
 the presence of the initiated of the male part of the An- 
 sairee sect. Great precautions are taken against the possi- 
 bility of this their religious service being seen ; and it is 
 probable that if a stranger were known to have been a 
 
 * See opening of Catechism, Chap. X. f MS. 133. i 134. 
 
MANNER OF ADMINISTERING. 157 
 
 "witness to it, accidentally or otherwise, he would be made 
 away with, if possible. But such are the precautions 
 taken, by placing watchmen, and choosing times and 
 places where there is little chance of interruption, that 
 scarcely ever has any one been an absolute witness of 
 their rites. Two of m}^ Christian servants were brought 
 up in the district of Merkab, in villages partly Christian 
 and partly Ansairee. The father of one of them was 
 well acquainted with the customs of the Ansairceh. Five 
 times during the year, at the time of their chief feasts, 
 the father and son were obliged to leave the Ansairee 
 quarter of the village in which they were living, while 
 the Ansaireeh entered a house belonging to the visiting 
 place in winter, or went into the open country in summer. 
 My other servant has told me that once, when present in 
 a district of the Shemseen sect, he was made to go up 
 into a room raised above the earth on poles, and con- 
 structed of myrtle boughs, the women being put into 
 a house, while the men went into a valley, where he 
 could see them from the tent, and where a sheikh read 
 to them. 
 
 I was once told by the Spanish consular agent at Ladi- 
 keeh, that an old man, who had died about five years 
 before the time of our conversation, had once been witness, 
 at a village in the plains, of one of these secret religious 
 meetings. He was an overseer of the village, and, coming 
 there unexpectedly, concealed himself in a room full of 
 chopped straw. From this he could look into the sheikhas 
 house, in which a number of men were assembled round a 
 large bowl of wine, with candles affixed to its circumfe- 
 rence, or, perhaps, placed about it. The sheikh read some 
 prayers. They then cursed Abu-Beer, Omar, Othman ibn- 
 Uffan, and Sheikh it-Turcom4n, and others (he said 
 Christians among them), and that then he gave a spoonful 
 of wine, first to the sheikhs present, and afterwards to all 
 the rest. Oranges were then eaten, other prayers said, 
 and the assembly broken up. 
 
158 THE ASIAN ]Vr5rSTERY. 
 
 These assemblies take place at the chief feasts, espe- 
 cially at that of Nurooz, the Persian name for the 
 vernal equinox. Women and children are strictly ex- 
 cluded. M. Langlois says : " On the days of the principal 
 feasts, the Ansaireeh assemble, and the sheikhs bless wine, 
 which they distribute to the company. These feasts are 
 called Eed Kuddas, feasts of the mass." The Jesuit mis- 
 sionaries say : ** They admit only men to the communion, 
 excluding women and children. It is in their secret 
 assemblies that the men observe this practice among them- 
 selves." 
 
 My lad informs me that when a feast is made on the 
 occasion of a Nidr (that is, a vow to kill such and such 
 beasts for a religious feast, to be partaken of by the sheikhs 
 or others), the men make what is called a Djamaa, or as- 
 sembly, in some house or lonely place surrounded by 
 watchers.* It is absurd to suppose that on such occasions, 
 and these are the only ones which have given and can 
 give, as I shall show, rise to suspicion and foolish stories ; 
 it is absurd, I say, to suppose that anything takes place, 
 but what we have described from their books and other 
 sources. 
 
 One thing to be remarked is that the wine in the sacra- 
 ment is mixed with water, after the manner of the Eastern 
 churches. 
 
 When the men go to a solemn meeting, they wear their 
 shirts over their drawers, turn down the heels of their 
 shoes, and leave their weapons at home. My lad has often 
 seen them thus going and returning. There are some 
 other regulations and prohibitions connected with the 
 dress and bearing of those who attend a meeting, for which 
 I refer to the sermon they pronounce, of which I have 
 given a translation in Chapter IX. 
 
 Such are the theoretical and ceremonial parts of the 
 religion of the Ansairee brotherhood. Before I proceed 
 
 * He has seen them also go to a quiet valley or other lonely place. 
 
INITIATION OF AN ANSAIREE. 159 
 
 to speak of the other parts of their freemasonic constitu- 
 tion, the coininands and prohibitions to which they are 
 subject, and their conventional signs of recognition, I 
 will, from the information I have received from my An- 
 sairee lad and others, and from the formulas in their 
 books, give an account of the process of initiation into 
 the knowledge of, and participation in, the mysteries of 
 the sect. 
 
 With the Ansaireeh, unlike the Druses, all the males 
 are initiated. This is usually done when a lad is about 
 eighteen or twenty, before marriage; and, in the case of the 
 sons of sheikhs, about sixteen. It is known when a boy 
 is to be initiated, and the women and children make it a 
 subject of conversation, and laugh at the boy, frightening 
 him with the idea of the beatings he will have, before he 
 can learn the requisite prayers. When young, my lad did 
 all he could to make his future initiation easy to himself, 
 by spying as far as possible into what was done on such 
 occasions, from fear of what he might otherwise have 
 to undergo. 
 
 When a lad is to be initiated, he buys a kid or some 
 other animal, as a dabeehah or sacrifice ; and in the 
 evening of some day, especially at a time of one of the 
 great feasts or when another *' vow " is celebrated, the 
 sheikhs come, and, with the boy's anna, uncle or private 
 instructor, who may be one of the laity (who are called 
 Aamees, in contradistinction to the Ukkal, sheikhs or re- 
 ligious teachers), partake of the sacrifice or slain beast. 
 My lad, when young, looked through the chinks of a door 
 where this was going on, and saw the men standing round 
 a vessel in which was incense. He has been told that the 
 boy passes behind his uncle into the middle of this circle. 
 Those composing it teach him words, and, if he makes a 
 mistake, cuff him. A contract is written between the 
 uncle and his walad, or " son," of which I shall give a 
 translation in Chapter IX. After that they " dish " him 
 (that is, let him loose like a lamb after his mother) *' be- 
 
160 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 hind " his uncle. For thirty days or more the boy learns 
 from his " uncle," until he knows a sufficiency of the 
 prayers, when, on the occurrence of another Nidr, or feast 
 in consequence of a vow, the opportunity is taken of com- 
 pleting the initiation of the boy according to a set formula, 
 of which I shall give a translation in the chapter devoted 
 to that purpose. I will say again, in passing, that this 
 formula, taken from my MS., seems to be identical with 
 that contained in the catechism. 
 
 The instruction takes place in the open air. The first 
 process is called Mudakhileh, " initiation," and also " the 
 carpet of (or entrance to) the prayer," *' besat is-salah ;" 
 and the second, " Ulm," " knowledge," and the " prayer." 
 Those who learn of the same uncle are called of the same 
 Nebaa, or fountain, and are bound together by special ties. 
 Thus the freemasonry spreads like leaven through the 
 whole body of adult males. 
 
 My lad used to be told, when disciples were learning the 
 prayers, that he would be smitten with deafness if he 
 listened, and was thus deterred by fear from doing so. 
 Some of the poorer sort, who have no friends to think 
 much about them, sometimes marry before initiation. In 
 that case they remain separate from their wives while 
 learning the prayers. They make use of raisins at one of 
 these ceremonies, either for extracting wine or other pur- 
 pose. Lately, when a Nidr took place on the occasion of 
 the initiation of a lad (who was, in fact, almost a man in 
 appearance), the people bought of my lad some raisins. 
 Raisins were among the things the sale of which was in- 
 terdicted by Hakem, the Ismaelee caliph of Egypt. These 
 raisins are called nakfeh, or rather the juice pressed out of 
 them in water is so called. Myrtle is put round the bowl 
 in which it is contained, and my boy thinks the juice may 
 be used when wine cannot be got. M. Victor Langlois 
 says ; * " The religion of the Nusaireeh is all a mystery ; 
 
 * Revue d'Orient, Juin, 1856. 
 
INITIATION OF AN ANSAIREE. 161 
 
 only men are initiated. Children are only initiated after 
 they have attained the age of puberty, and after having 
 been prepared by the sheikh, so as to preserve silence on 
 the mysteries which are revealed to them. The ceremony 
 of initiation (Tazneer) [putting on a girdle, the boy being 
 said to Tazunnar, or have a girdle put on, when initia- 
 ted], takes place in the presence of two godfathers. The 
 secret which forms the basis of their religion, and which 
 is not written in any of their books, is revealed orally to 
 the initiated, and is called the mystery of the two (Sirr 
 it-Tinateyn)." 
 
 There are some mistakes in this statement. The secret 
 which forms the basis of their religion is, theoretically, 
 without any doubt, the manifestation of the Deity in Ali, 
 with the accompanying dogmas ; and, ceremonially, the 
 sacrament, or manifestation of the Deity in the conse- 
 crated wine. All other secrets, such as conventional 
 signs, are only accessories in the Ansairee system. 
 
 Moreover with respect to the two godfathers, and the 
 " mystery of the two," the formula of initiation given in 
 my MS. terminates thus : — " Then he, the sheikh, shall sur- 
 render to his ten brethren and the Kufaleh [sureties], who 
 shall swear him, and then to the Nakeeb [chief, a name 
 used in the Ansairee system], his lord [that is, the boy's 
 uncle or instructor], who shall make him drink the secret 
 or mystery of the two [Sirr it-Tinateyn], after he, the 
 sheikh, has read them [the two masses probably], and 
 after the Imam [officiating sheikh, leader of the prayers] 
 has read a verse from the Koran, and they have bent in 
 adoration and prayed while adoring, and that is all. And 
 he shall read the Fatihah [opening chapter of the Koran] 
 to the people of the Way, and to the people of the Truth, 
 as shall be convenient, and then the blessed entrance [into 
 all the privileges and duties of the brotherhood]." 
 
 We see that this secret is accomplished or revealed in 
 the presence of many, among others, ten not two sureties 
 or godfathers, and the disciple is caused to drink the 
 
 M 
 
162 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 mystery before all present, and therefore doubtless this 
 mystery is none other than the consecrated wine. 
 
 By looking at the translation of the formula of initia- 
 tion, it will be seen that the endeavour is made to terrify 
 the lad by a number of words and threats strung together, 
 and by the fear of being turned into horrid shapes, and 
 of passing through mean bodies, &c. He is then bound 
 by solemn oaths, and, whatever may be the reason, cer- 
 tainly no Ansairee has ever revealed his religion. 
 
 We come now to a part of the Ansairee system which 
 is interesting on account of its connexion with the modern 
 mystery of freemasonry. I call it " modern," not be- 
 cause I pretend to say when it arose, but because it is 
 still in existence. I leave it to freemasons to say whe- 
 ther their brotherhood contains anything of importance 
 which is not found in that of the Ansaireeh. 
 
 " The Ansaireeh," says M. Victor Langlois*, " have 
 conventional signs, of which they make use to recognise 
 one another." Mr. Walpole is acquainted with many, if 
 not most, of these, and once taught me some of them, but 
 as I do not know whether he intends some day to give 
 his information on this and other points to the public, 
 I forbear speaking of them, and content myself with 
 quoting what he himself has already published : — " The 
 Ansayrii have signs and questions. By the one they 
 salute each other, by the other they commence an exa- 
 mination as to whether a man, whom they do not knoAV 
 personally, is one of them or not. But these signs are 
 little used, and are known only to a few ; as the dress 
 clearly indicates them to each other, and almost each 
 one knows all the chiefs, at least by sight." | In their 
 books they use the double interlacing triangle or seal 
 of Solomon. 
 
 The members of the Ansairee society are called Ukhwan- 
 
 * RcTue d'Orient. Juin, 1856. 
 
 •f Ansayrii, or Assassins, vol. iii. p. 354. 
 
FREEMASONRY. 163 
 
 or brethren. All that is said about doing good or refrain- 
 ins^ from doini? harm refers to these favoured individuals. 
 So little have those without the pale of the society, the 
 doubting and polytheists, any part or lot in the matter, 
 that there is even a prayer in my MS.* that " God may 
 take out of their hearts " what little " light of knowledge 
 and certainty '* they may possess. And the conduct of 
 the Ansaireeh, in robbing and murdering without com- 
 punction Mussulmans and Christians, shows the effect of 
 a system which, however benevolent to the initiated, at 
 the same time excludes all others from its benefits. Can 
 the system of freemasonry be right which acts on this 
 exclusive principle, when Christianity already exists which 
 teaches that " all ye are brethren," and therefore supplies 
 all that freemasonry can properly bestow ? If it be said 
 that freemasonry is more expansive as linking together 
 members of different religions, the answer is, that this is 
 a defect rather than a thing deserving of praise. A 
 Christian is charitable to all, and in this sense considers 
 all men as brethren, while he can admit none to the full 
 dignity of brotherhood who does not recognise and love 
 the elder Brother. 
 
 Freemasonry has been made use of for political and bad 
 purposes, as all secret societies are liable to be. " The 
 Royal Arch degree in that institution was originally de- 
 vised by some Scotch Jacobites, as a means of holding 
 together the partisans of the Pretender. From the place 
 where they resided, the new degree was called, ' The 
 Royal Arras,' and meetings of its members * Royal Arras 
 Chapters ; ' when the cause of the Pretender became hope- 
 less, the new degree merged in the general system, and by 
 an easy corruption its name was changed into that of the 
 'Royal Arch.' "t 
 
 Allusions are, even now, sometimes made to certain 
 dark degrees of freemasonry ; but, supposing there is in 
 
 * P. 138. t Taylor, p. 176. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 it nothing hurtful, is not the institution with all its parade 
 childish, for does it enjoin anything better than the prac- 
 tical duties of Christianity or even than those of the 
 Ansairee system, which duties are limited, as we have seen, 
 to a freemasonic brotherhood ? 
 
 The duties are contained in two principal precepts. At 
 the time of initiation a lad is informed that two things are 
 required of him, obedience to a command and observance 
 of a prohibition. The command is, that he should " guard, 
 and be attentive to, and take care of his brethren, and be 
 constant in visiting them and defending their character, 
 and in intercourse with them ; and that everything that he 
 should desire for himself, he shoidd desire for them ; " and it 
 is added, " that one fifth of his property every year becomes 
 their due.^^ * The prohibition is " against being unjust to, 
 or injuring his brethren, and against proclaiming their 
 failings, or doing anything to displease or hurt them. 
 Because every calamity would befall him should he injure 
 them in their honour, or listen to backbiting and scandal 
 about them, or make light of them, or be covetous with 
 regard to them." The lad is also to avoid lying and 
 every kind of wickedness and reprobate conduct, secret or 
 open. 
 
 Nothing can be better, moreover, than some of the pre- 
 cepts and ideas to be found in the sermon already alluded 
 to. It would be well if the Ansaireeh attended to them 
 with respect to their brethren, and extended the observ- 
 ance of them to all men ; but unfortunately they do neither 
 the one nor the other. True, some of the sheikhs and 
 people, of the Shemseen sect especially, living on the higher 
 mountains, seem to be simple-minded men, who take some 
 of these rules as their guide, but they complain with reason 
 that the majority of their fraternity treat them as a dead 
 letter. 
 
 Von Hammer alludes to the connexion between the 
 
 * Mussulmans have to give a fourth of the tenth part of their property 
 every year in obligatory alms. Lane, i. 130. 
 
FREEMASONRY. 165 
 
 Assassins or Ismaeleeli and Templars. He says that 
 there is an analogy between the constitution of the Assas- 
 sins and those of some modern orders ; and that " many 
 points of similarity are found, which can neither be acci- 
 dental, nor yet spring from the same cause.'* He mentions 
 one instance of accordance, that between the white dresses 
 and red fillets of the Assassins, and the white mantle and 
 red cross of the Templars ; and the Ansaireeh of the pre- 
 sent day mostly dress in white, while they are also fond of 
 red jackets and red handkerchiefs, or of red and white 
 mixed. We have already alluded to the fact that the 
 Templars dwelt in the immediate neighbourhood of and 
 among these secret sects, while, as is known, a degree of 
 freemasonry is called that of the Templars. With these 
 remarks we will leave the subject to those who are, or 
 consider themselves to be, acquainted with the history of 
 the freemasonic body. 
 
 M 3 
 
166 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 CUSTOMS OF THE ANSAIREEH. 
 
 We have thus described the theoretical and ceremonial 
 parts of the Ansairee religion. But it is with the An- 
 saireeh as with people of all other religions, especially with 
 those who are in a semi-barbarous state, religious theory 
 has little to do with the direction of their lives ; and a 
 description of their theological system gives but an im- 
 perfect idea of their state as affected by religion. Some- 
 thing more palpable and visible is found to be the moving 
 principle, the active influence, in the case of the great 
 mass of the people ; and among the Ansaireeh, but for 
 this popular belief and the customs which in most coun- 
 tries have a semi-religious character, such as those con- 
 nected with marriage, death, &c., the women and children 
 would be absolutely without religion. 
 
 With respect to their opinion about women, there is a 
 great difi*erence between the Druses and the Ansaireeh. 
 With the former some women are initiated into the highest 
 secrets, while the majority of men are excluded ; but, with 
 the latter, women are entirely excluded from any partici- 
 pation in religious ceremonies and prayers, and from all 
 religious teaching; and that, not only because females 
 are considered, as elsewhere, inclined to reveal a secret, 
 but because they are considered by the Ansaireeh as some- 
 thing unclean. Many stories are told of their original 
 wickedness, and of the faithlessness of those of the present 
 day, by men who do not reflect that it is their own 
 treatment and contempt of women which leave them such 
 as they are. However, as the Ansaireeh believe that 
 
ZEYAREHS OR VISITING-PLACES. 167 
 
 the soul of a brute may have in a former state animated 
 a wicked man, so they suppose that a man may be 
 punished for his sins in a previous generation by being 
 born in a woman's form in the succeeding one ; so that, 
 commonly, if a woman fulfils all the duties of which she is 
 capable, well and virtuously, there is hope of her again 
 coming into the world as a man, and becoming one of the 
 illuminati and possessors of the secret. And as no one 
 can remain without some form of religion, and women are 
 naturally more religiously inclined than men, the Ansairee 
 women are more fearful perhaps even than the men of 
 bringing on themselves the ill-will of those whom they 
 most fear, — the holy men of former times, who have tombs 
 and visiting-places in every part of the mountains. 
 
 This brings me to speak of the zeyarehs or visiting-places; 
 and it is proper to do so at the commencement of this 
 chapter on the customs of the Ansaireeh ; for of all things 
 which exercise a practical, religious, or rather superstitious, 
 influence on them, the zeyarehs are, without comparison, 
 the most powerful. Nearly all good is looked for from 
 them, and all ill dreaded from their displeasure. 
 
 The word " zey^reh" properly means " a visiting," and 
 hence is used for the place visited, being the appellation 
 given to the reputed sepulchres of men who have enjoyed 
 distinction in the Ansairee sect. These tombs are gene- 
 rally situated on conspicuous spots, such as the tops of the 
 highest hills, or amid groves of evergreen oak. They 
 recal to mind in a very striking manner the worship of the 
 ancient Canaanites, on every high hill and under every 
 green tree. Many of these groves are doubtless very old, 
 perhaps as old as the Canaanites. The tombs found 
 under them are often very apocryphal ; for instance, about 
 a quarter of a mile to the west of my village is a fine grove 
 of trees, in which are sixteen small tombs enclosed by a 
 rude wall, in which I have before now seen snakes, a fit 
 emblem of that old serpent who still deceives the dark 
 Ansairee mountains, where he has so long established his 
 
 M 4 
 
168 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 rule in ignorance, bloodshed, and the commission of every 
 diabolical act. Near at hand is a ruined village, once 
 belonging to the Keratileh, the former possessors of the 
 district. These tombs are doubtless those of the ancient 
 inhabitants of the village, but now they are supposed to be 
 those of some sheikhs who had come from Banyas, and hence 
 the tombs are called the Banwaseyeh. These tombs may 
 be considered the Penates of the people of my village; for 
 they are visited by them on all great occasions, and solemn 
 oaths are taken by them. " By the Banwaseyeh and the 
 sixteen tombs " is a common, but rather long, form of 
 asseveration. To the east of my village, about a mile dis- 
 tant, under a magnificent deciduous oak, is another famous 
 tomb, reputed to belong to a certain Sheikh Bedr (full 
 moon) il Halabee (from Aleppo), and to have the power 
 of curing bad eyes, and of restoring sight to the blind. 
 Often have people come to me for the cure of ophthalmia, 
 who have borne marks of having previously visited the 
 tomb, — a forehead smeared with earth from it, and leaves 
 of the oak stuck in their head-dress. When I say that the 
 tomb has the power of cure, I mean the spirit of him 
 buried within it, which is commonly supposed to be there 
 or within hearing distance. However, sometimes the good 
 man is supposed to be '' on a journey ;" and hence Friday 
 is considered an especially favourable day for a visit, as then 
 all the " prophets" are said to be in their respective places. 
 I once had to prescribe for a man who, from some inflam- 
 mation, had his muscles in a state of rigidity, and seemed 
 at the point of death. I placed a blister on his abdomen, 
 having previously asked the people to wash the part, but 
 on applying it found that there was earth there, which 
 interfered much with the action of the blister. However 
 the man recovered, but I fear the earth, which was from a 
 zeyareh, had more of the credit of the cure than the 
 blister. 
 
 When riding home one evening, towards dusk, I saw a 
 large, bright, blue ball of fire descend slowly, apparently 
 
ZEYAREHS OR VISITING-PLACES. 169 
 
 on the trees of the Banwaseyeh. Seeing my Ansairee 
 servant ahead, I rode up to hiin and asked him if he had 
 observed anything. He said no ; and, after remaining 
 silent for some time, added: — '^ Those trees are honoured, 
 and therefore a light descends on them; but it is only 
 sheikhs and such men as you are who are favoured with 
 seeing it." It is commonly said that holy places are indi- 
 cated and honoured by the descent of fire on them. There 
 have been accidents to confirm the people in their belief 
 in the sanctity of the Banwaseyeh grove. A few years ago 
 a camp was pitched near, and a soldier, having been sa- 
 crilegious enough to ascend into one of the trees, fell, and 
 was killed. His tomb is shown near. I myself know of 
 a poor little fellow who got up into one of the trees to 
 gather carobs, and, in doing so, lacerated his thigh so 
 much that he died of lock-jaw a fortnight after. 
 
 These visiting-places, when of any consequence, consist 
 of one square room with door, and with a small dome 
 above. They are plastered, and frequently whitewashed, 
 so that they are conspicuous objects, and remind one 
 vividly of our Saviour's allusion to whited sepulchres. 
 Still, men build the sepulchres of prophets whom their 
 fathers killed. In the village of Kurdahah is a tomb of 
 a Christian priest who was murdered and cast into a well 
 a generation or two ago. It is said that his body was 
 found miraculously suspended in the middle of the well. 
 A light is also said every evening to be miraculously 
 lighted at the tomb. 
 
 In the district of Muhailby, some years ago, the people 
 took considerable pains in building a zey^reh of four 
 domes, to a certain Nebbee il-Wakh^b, "Bountiful prophet;" 
 but, as the Muhailby have of late years been very un- 
 fortunate, they have got out of sorts with their holy man, 
 and say that he must have been a Christian, though they 
 add, at the commencement his " sirr," or secret, appeared, 
 and he had power to work miracles. Now they make a 
 mock of him. The sirr, I should add, is the appearance 
 
170 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 of a light or other token, pointing out a holy place or 
 tomb. 
 
 Connected with the tomb is often a house where the 
 servant of the zeyareh lives, and perhaps a room, where 
 sick people seeking cure pass a few days. Inside the 
 sepulchre, over the grave, is a kind of ark of wood, and 
 on it a piece of green calico. Strips of this are given to 
 visitors, and worn round their necks as amulets. One day, 
 on arriving at home from a visit to the town, I heard that 
 there had been some commotion in the school. One of the 
 boys had come with a piece of this stuff round his neck, 
 whereupon another, who had got to see the folly of such 
 things, tore it off, and, to show his contempt for it, put it 
 round my dog's neck. Of course I should not have sanc- 
 tioned this, but my Christian " friends " and others scat- 
 tered through the mountains still relate how I had ordered 
 the thing to be done. 
 
 Having built some chimneys with round tops, a little 
 resembling the domes of a zeyareh, a woman from 
 the higher mountains, struck with their appearance and 
 that of my house altogether, took it for a visiting-place, 
 and began to make salaams to it, saying, " Help me, 
 zeyareh !" The people of the village were much amused 
 at such an instance of ignorance, though they are not 
 much wiser. 
 
 The chief zey^rehs in the Ansairee mountains are, 
 going from north to south, the Nebbee Yunis, Nebbee 
 Matta, Nebbee Rubeel, II Arbaeen, Djaafar Tayyar, and 
 Ahmed Kirf^s. 
 
 The Nebbee Yunis, or prophet Jonah, has many tombs 
 in the East, one of them at Nineveh. The Ansairee repre- 
 sentative is found at the northern extremity of the moun- 
 tains, on one of the highest points. The sheikh or servant 
 lives in a house at the bottom of the steep on which the 
 tomb is built, and is really a remarkable man in his man- 
 ner ; wild, but intelligent, though living a most secluded 
 life. When I visited him, he received me very hospitably. 
 
ZEYAREHS OR VISITING-PLACES. 171 
 
 and gave me a repast of honey, butter, &c. Visible to the 
 south is the Nebbee Matta, or prophet Matthew, who it 
 seems is averse to any tomb being built over him, for an 
 attempt has been made to do so once or twice, but the 
 building has been destroyed by the prophet himself, as 
 people say ; rather perhaps by the strong east wind from 
 the plains of Mesopotamia. 
 
 Farther to the south is the tomb of the Nebbee Rubeel, 
 or prophet Reuben, situated on a conspicuous conical hill 
 near the village of Ain it-Teeneh. The sheikh was a 
 venerable old man, with a manner as if he had been accus- 
 tomed to receive the great ones of the earth, probably 
 acquired from his central position, and his intercourse with 
 men. I have found some others of the Ansairee sheikhs 
 possessing an air of simple dignity ; in fact, a feeling of 
 preeminence and authority communicates this even among 
 barbarous nations. His son was intelligent, and anxious 
 to learn ciphering, that he might be able to read dates. 
 
 To the south again is another conspicuous hill, that of 
 II Arbaeen, or the forty, just north of and at the back of 
 my own district. When I first began to speak openly on 
 religious subjects in the mountains, there was a great 
 commotion among the lords of the visiting-places, and a 
 certain veracious sheikh affirmed that they assembled in 
 consultation on this hill, which trembled at their pre- 
 sence. 
 
 Next in order, and chief in importance, especially with 
 my own district, is Djaafar Tayyar, called II Malik, or 
 king, and the Sultan. Its lord was a brother of Ali, who, 
 with two other generals, was killed at Muta, in the first 
 battle between the Mussulmans and Greeks. His name is 
 scarcely ever out of the mouths of the Kelbeeh people, who 
 swear by him a hundred times a day, on the slightest as 
 well as the most important occasions. No word has be- 
 come more a household one with me. In every calamity 
 he is appealed to, as he is considered the great friend and 
 helper of our district. When a fight has been going on, I 
 
172 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 have seen the women come out of their houses, and look 
 towards his zeyareh, saying, " Help, Sultan ! Take such 
 and such a thing from me, if you will help us." A vow 
 which is paid at some future time. The late Sheikh 
 Hhabeeb, the chief sheikh of the Ansaireeh, was Nazir il- 
 Awkaf to Djaafar Tayyar, that is, superintendent of the 
 property belonging to his zeyareh ; for it is common for 
 people to vow part of their property to a visiting-place, 
 and especially to the ^* Sultan ; " the proceeds of which 
 " Wakf," or entailed sacred land or houses, go to the 
 servants of the zeyareh for their support, and for the 
 providing of feasts and the exercise of hospitality. Sheikh 
 Hhabeeb was consequently well off. Since his death, 
 a year or two ago, his young son has taken his place. 
 Already wonderful stories are told of him ; how, on the 
 occasion of his father's funeral feast, water was wanting, 
 and was supplied by him miraculously. The father was a 
 heavy, and rather dull man, whose end, says my lad, was 
 hastened by drinking arrack, or spirits. 
 
 When I visited this zeyareh I started from my home be- 
 fore dusk. A man from a village farther up the mountains 
 joined us as we passed, and on catching sight of the 
 building, as we rose a hill, towards sunrise, saluted it from 
 afar. Before reaching it are stones marking its boun- 
 daries. Here also he saluted it. There are two villages 
 of sheikhs, Merhee and Semukhtee, the inhabitants of 
 which live on the alms given to the zeyareh, and call them- 
 selves the " dogs of the Sultan," giving that as an excuse 
 for their importunity. They are of the Shemseen sect ; 
 and in the division of the offerings two thirds are given 
 to the Semukhtee, and one third to the Merhee people. 
 Sheikh Ahmed of Merhee I found independent, but civil 
 and hospitable. The sheikhs at the zeyareh had all the 
 same appearance ; dirty, with heavy faces, aquiline noses, 
 and dirty white turbans. 
 
 The zeyareh itself is not at all striking. It consists of 
 three separate rooms, with a low wall round it to the 
 
ZEYAREHS OR VISITING -PLACES. 173 
 
 east. In the most northerly room, which is a little square 
 one with a low arched roof, there is a small tomb, near 
 the head of which, as well as of those in the other rooms, is 
 a hole for the reception of earth, which may be taken away 
 for the sick. There are two holes in the wall to the north 
 and to the west, and a niche in the wall to the south. This 
 tomb is said to be that of the slave of the Sultdn. The 
 central room is similar, having a wooden covering over the 
 tomb, concealed by a green cloth, on which the double 
 triangle is worked in one or two places. The room to the 
 south is larger, resting on a pillar in the centre, and the 
 floor is damp and dirty. This one belongs to the family 
 of Abd-il-Multalab, the grandfather of Mohammed ; and 
 it is common among the Ansaireeh to swear by the house 
 or family of Abd-il-Multalab. The two side chambers 
 were built by Sheikh Hhabeeb, who, while engaged on the 
 work, lived on the mountain, and exercised profuse hospi- 
 tality. The central chamber, according to Sheikh Ahmed, 
 was built in the time of II Moazz ibn-Saleh. The man 
 who went with me moved a heap of stones, forming the 
 boundary of the sacred precincts, and was most earnest in 
 taking away from the zeyareh, earth, incense, and a piece 
 of the green cloth for his little son who was ill. He had 
 previously on the same account vowed a calf should the 
 boy recover. 
 
 The last of the chief zeyarehs of the fellaheen, and the 
 best built of all, is that of Ahmed Kirf^s. He is also 
 called AboO'Ali, and with this addition forms a favourite 
 oath of the wife of our chief Mekuddam. His name of 
 Kirfas is interpreted of his power to " kirfas," render 
 frosty and slippery the roads. His zeyareh is on a spur 
 of the mountains, north of that on which Castle Merkab 
 is situated, and is said to have been built by the ancestor 
 of the Kelbeeh, who was their chief when they first 
 passed the mountains from the east. It resembles a small 
 Cairo mosque, being painted in red lines, like some of 
 those in that city. 
 
174 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 There is another place worth describing, situated be- 
 tween our district and the Boodee, at the back of the hill 
 which forms our southern boundary. It is a cave, called 
 that of the Seyyadeh, or blessed Virgin Mary. On visit- 
 ing it I found some trees and brackish water near, and in 
 it two capitals of columns, apparently Ionic, belonging 
 probably to some former temple. One of these is supposed 
 to be the tomb. There was oil placed there ; and there, also, 
 a miraculous light is sometimes seen. Some say it is 
 lighted every day, others only at the feast of the invention 
 of the Cross. This place is reverenced by the Christians, as 
 also indeed are the Nebbee Yunis, Djaafar Tayyar, and 
 Ahmed Kirf^s, the latter being supposed to be the tomb 
 of a certain John. It is not uncommon in Syria for dif- 
 ferent sects to reverence what is in great honour with 
 others, as is the case in Egypt, where the peasantry of 
 the country, as mentioned by Lane*, *^ observe certain cus- 
 toms of a religious or superstitious character," belonging 
 to the Coptic Christians. The Ansaireeh in like manner 
 reverence greatly the Khudr, who, with the Christians, is 
 Mar Elias or St. George. Consequently they often vow in 
 times of distress a sum of money, or rather article of pro- 
 perty, to the convent of Mar Djurdjis, situated near the 
 Kulaat-il-Husn, and visited by me in my first journey in 
 the north of Syria.f At a certain period of the year the 
 agent of the convent comes round and collects the pro- 
 ceeds of these vows, which, in the shape of millet or 
 wheat, he sometimes sold to me on passing ; on one occa- 
 sion saying afterwards that he had had conversations 
 with me on religion, and found that the English had no 
 creed, nor churches, and moreover were everything that 
 was bad. My lad a few days ago informed me that a 
 piastre a year had been vowed upon him to the said 
 convent, and asked me whether he should pay it as he 
 advanced in years. 
 
 ♦ Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 254. 
 t Ansaireeh and Ismaeleeh, p. 252. 
 
ANSAIREE FEASTS. 175 
 
 It is these visiting-places, as I have said, the fear of 
 which is the principal motive of a religious character 
 influencing the Ansaireeh. They will fearlessly swear 
 falsely by God, but are often very fearful of breaking 
 their oath by a zeyareh, especially a " powerful " one ; 
 and will tell tales of the calamities which befel such and 
 such a one on ofi^ending against the dues of a place of the 
 kind. On remonstrating with them on this point, witli 
 a similar one to which Mohammed reproaches the Arabs 
 of his time, they answer that God is forgiving and will 
 pardon an offence against Him, but not so the zey^rehs. 
 When pressed hard they say that they do not believe that 
 the lords of the zey^rehs have power in themselves, but 
 that they are accepted with God, and he punishes offences 
 against them, and hears their prayers of intercession. In 
 fact they occupy much the same place with the Ansaireeh 
 that saints and the blessed Virgin do with the Christians 
 of Syria. Property placed in the precincts of one of these 
 zeyarehs is safe, and it is not unusual to see loads of 
 wood, or ploughsliares and threshing implements depo- 
 sited there. Potsherds filled with incense are also gene- 
 rally placed upon them. 
 
 The zeyarehs are especially visited by the Ansaireeh 
 on the occasion of their feasts, of which I now come to 
 speak. 
 
 The feast of the Ansaireeh of which one hears and sees 
 most is the Kuzelleh, and, therefore, I will first speak 
 of it and its attendant feasts, though it is not their chief 
 religious feast, which is the Nurooz. The Kuzelleh and its 
 accompanying feasts, which I shall first describe, are taken 
 from the Christians ; others, such as* the Nurooz are taken 
 from the Persians ; and some belong to the Mussulmans. 
 
 The Kuzelleh is held on New Year's day, old style, which 
 is that still observed in the East by those Christians who are 
 unconnected with the Church of Eome. It is the reckoning 
 which the Ansaireeh generally follow in their civil transac- 
 tions. In the month before the Kuzelleh is the feast of St. 
 
176 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Barbara, on the eve of which, at sunset, the people light fires 
 on the tops of their houses. With respect to the expression, 
 eve, I must remind the reader that in the East the day 
 begins at sunset. 
 
 Before sunset they prepare wheat by beating it in a 
 mortar to remove the husk. They then kill a fowl, which 
 they strike on the door, and the wall on each side of it, and 
 sometimes on the lintel and side-posts ; in this, doubtless, 
 imitating the Jewish Passover. It is then put in the pot, and 
 boiled with the wheat, and eaten at sunset. Some of the feast 
 will remain over till next day, when it is again partaken 
 of. This mess is called the Hareeseh. After seven or 
 eight days comes the Helaweeh il-Keheereh, the greater 
 sweet feast, so called because it consists of wheat flour 
 mixed in cakes with figs, or the sweet juice of carobs 
 resembling treacle, or that of grapes. After another 
 seven days is the lesser Helaweeh, or Helaweeh it-Tanee, 
 the second, which is not kept by all. 
 
 Then comes theKuzelleh; for the festival of the Meelad, 
 or the 25th of December, though mentioned as of great 
 merit and sanctity in their books, as the meelad or birth- 
 day of Eesa or Jesus, is not kept as a popular festival. 
 
 A day before the eve of the Kuzelleh they kill and eat 
 the " dabeehat il-haram ; " that is, any one who may have 
 stolen an ox, sheep, buffalo, or goat, from the plains or else- 
 where, kills it, and partakes of it with his intimate friends, 
 the name signifying the " unlawful slain animal.*' On the 
 eve of the Kuzelleh they kill the *' dabeehat il-halfil," 
 lawful sacrifice, and eat a little of it. Even in the poorest 
 house some animal is killed, such as a kid ; and sometimes 
 several persons are partners in a more expensive one, 
 such as an ox. Before the eve every one will have 
 had his clothes washed. In the middle of the night they 
 set off for some zeyareh. For instance, the people of my 
 own village on one occasion went to the Arbaeen. My 
 lad was with them. They arrive there about daybreak. 
 Men, women and children go, and enter the zeyareh 
 
ANSAIREE FEASTS. 177 
 
 together ; and when they liave each taken some earth and 
 incense they go outside, and there they talk and chat, 
 and kiss their friends, saying, " Eeduk Mubarah Aleyk," 
 "May your festival be blessed to you, and to your 
 relations ; every year, Djaafar Tayyar, may they be in 
 liealth and wealth ! " The men when they enter the 
 zey^reh mutter a number of prayers very quickly and 
 indistinctly. On returning to the village they visit one 
 another, first paying their respects to the chief man. I 
 have received visits on such occasions, when the people 
 came in their best clothes. They make cakes of wheat or 
 burghool and onions, and also bread anointed with oil, 
 which they call Fateer. 
 
 If there are men among the visitors fond of good 
 living, the master of the house will kill fowls to feast 
 them. Also, if any great man have died a year or 
 so before, the people go to his grave on the day of 
 the Kuzelleh. On the six or seven succeeding days they 
 visit one another, going by turns to each chief house, 
 eating meat and drinking arrack. They also call in parties 
 on their friends in other villages. 
 
 This series of popular festivals closes with the Yetas, 
 or Epiphany. The word means an immersion, alluding 
 to the custom of the Greek Christians of immersing 
 themselves in water, in memorial of the baptism of our 
 Lord. The Ansaireeh turn the word into Kuddas or 
 *' Mass." Some celebrate three days, which they call the 
 first, second, and third Kuddas, but the whole of these are 
 kept by the more devout only. The sixth day after New 
 Year's Day, or the Epiphany, is the one which they chiefly 
 observe. They call the third Kuddas that of the Chris- 
 tians, and very few observe it. On the morning of this festi- 
 val, men, women, and children go to the fountain or river, 
 and wash all over; the men and women, of course, at separate 
 places. The Christians, and from them the Ansaireeh, 
 say that on the night of the Epiphany all the trees bend 
 in adoration, and that any one who sees them do so will 
 
 N 
 
178 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 have anything he prays for. They bring stones from 
 the fountain and place them on the fruit trees that they 
 may bear, and on their way to immersion they take 
 branches of olive or myrtle, and dip them in the water, 
 and on their return they put them in the vessels con- 
 taining corn, &c., or in the four corners of the house. 
 This also is done by the Christians. 
 
 Makrisi* mentions that the Fatimite caliphs of Egypt 
 used to keep the Meelad, or birthday of Christ, and the 
 Get^s, or Epiphany ; and says that the Egyptians of their 
 day believed that the water of the Nile, on the night of 
 the latter, had the power of healing diseases. 
 
 The feasts I have just mentioned are popular feasts, in 
 which men, women, and children participate, and are rather 
 times of rejoicing than religious festivals. They are taken 
 from the Christians. The feasts of which we now shall 
 treat are not spoken of commonly, but found in their 
 books, and are those on which the secret assemblies for 
 the participation in the sacrament take place. I shall not 
 mention all of them, but refer the reader to the transla- 
 tion of M. Catafago's notice of an Ansairee Book of 
 Festivals, given at the end of the volume. 
 
 The most important one is that of Nurooz, which is a 
 Persian word for the vernal equinox. f In the book just 
 mentioned one section is on " the Nurooz, or the 4th of 
 April, and the first day of the Persian year." J Accord- 
 ingly the Ansaireeh celebrate it on the 4th of April, old 
 style, and my lad knows of the feast by that name, namely, 
 '' fourth of April." 
 
 Makrisi mentions it § as kept by the Fatimite caliphs, 
 and calls it the Nurooz il Kubtee, or Coptee. But if it be 
 the same as the Nurooz kept by the Copts of to-day, which 
 
 * Description of Cairo, vol. i. p. 490. 
 
 f The word Nurooz is derived from the two words naw, nu, or no, 
 •* new,** and roz, " day." That is, New Year's Day, being the first day 
 of the Persian year. I have written the word as if an Arabic one. 
 
 t Journ. Asiat. Feb. 1848, p. 154. § Ubi supra. 
 
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS. 179 
 
 occurs, says Lane*, on the Copts' New Year's Day (or the 
 10th or 11th of September), it was not held at the same 
 time as the Ansairee feast of the same name. Makrisi 
 says that the Nurooz was first kept by Djamsheed, one of 
 the early Persian kings. He says that the word means in 
 Arabic, Djadeed, or new. It was reputed to be the day 
 on which Solomon's ring was restored to him, and the 
 birds brought water in their beaks and sprinkled it before 
 him; hence the Persian kings used to keep it as a festival, 
 with sprinkling of water. The Ansairee book alludes to 
 the "ceremony of sprinkling with water " thus practised. f . 
 It is mentioned in my Ansairee MS. (p. 132), where are 
 some lines of poetry called " the Nurooz," which are read 
 over the cup of wine in the Mass. This day is also 
 specially mentioned in the catechism. On it, and on 
 other great festivals, there is a Nidr or vow, which is a 
 feast at the house of some sheikh. Different sheikhs have 
 acquired the habit or right of celebrating particular feasts. 
 Thus the Nurooz is held at the house of a certain sheikh 
 Mahmood, in the village of Kurdahah. Any one present, 
 even Christians, may partake of the feast, that is, of the 
 eatables of it, with the Kumreeh sect ; but I have heard 
 men of the Shemseen or stricter sect blame them for 
 allowing this, saying that with them women would not be 
 allowed to eat of the slain animal. 
 
 It is at this and similar feasts that the sheikhs take the 
 initiated adults to some private place, in a house or 
 the open air, and perform their sacramental prayers. 
 Now is the time to contradict, once and for all, the com- 
 monly received stories of the promiscuous meetings of 
 the Ansaireeh. We have seen that on their popular 
 feasts, when men, women, and children assemble by 
 night to visit their ze}arehs, there is no approach to 
 anything wrong ; and it is this custom which has chiefly 
 given rise to the false stories alluded to. On other occa- 
 
 * Modern Egyptians, ii. 268. 
 f See translation of " Day of Nurooz," Chap. X. 
 M 2 
 
180 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 sions, men meet together for a short time, and then only 
 to partake of the sacramental wine. It is thus so clear 
 that there is neither time nor opportunity for any such 
 guilty doings as are ascribed to the Ansaireeh, that I con- 
 sider the matter set at rest for ever ; and I will only add, 
 that they are as moral as the majority of Christians who 
 are not seriously influenced by their faith. That most 
 fearful of all vices, which is so awfully prevalent among the 
 Mussulmans of Syria that they have come to look on it 
 and to talk of it without shame, and which can only be 
 just alluded to, is scarcely known among the Ansaireeh ; 
 and only among those who have been corrupted by inter- 
 course with the Mussulmans. Hence one of the curses 
 which they direct against the Mussulmans is, as guilty of 
 this abominable crime. 
 
 Another great festival, which my boy has heard spoken 
 of, and which is mentioned in the Ansairee books, is that 
 of the Gadeer ; a name which is applied to a pool of water, 
 such as those left by the Nile on its retreat. This feast 
 is kept in our neighbourhood by the sheikhs of a village 
 called Beyt Reehan. A common expression is, " Thou 
 shalt sufl^er the punishment of all that has been said on 
 the festival of Gadeer." My lad has known it as kept in 
 the spring, and perhaps the time is regulated by that of 
 the Nurooz. This feast is mentioned in my MS.* with 
 great respect, connected with that of Nurooz, and a certain 
 convention, or covenant, to serve Ali is called the Bey at il 
 Gadeer.f It is also specially mentioned in the Book of 
 Feasts, and also by Makrisi. 
 
 The Mihrdj^n is another Persian feast, that of the 
 autumnal equinox. About that time a family of sheikhs, 
 says my lad, are in the habit of celebrating a feast. This 
 feast is held the 16th day of October. 
 
 The 17th day of March, shortly before the festival of 
 Nurooz. is also held in great respect, Ali is invoked more 
 
 * P. 132. t !*• 105. 
 
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS. 181 
 
 than once in my book* " by the truth of the 17th of March," 
 and it is spoken of, and a prayer for it given, in the Book 
 of Festivals.f My lad has often heard them speak of it in 
 the expression, " Thou shalt eat the stroke of the treasure 
 and the wall, and the 17th of March;" which words in 
 Arabic are a kind of rhythm, and are found in my MS. J 
 The wall here alluded to is the one mentioned in the 
 Koran (chap, xviii.). 
 
 Other feasts follow the Mohammedan reckoning ; being 
 kept also by the Mussulmans, and taken from them. One 
 of them, Ashoora, the tenth of Moharram, is especially 
 kept by the Persian Mussulmans, in commemoration of 
 the death of Hosein, which took place on that day. There 
 is a prayer also in the Book of Feasts for the eve of the 
 middle of Shab^n, the eighth month of the Mohammedan 
 year. " This night is held in great reverence by the 
 Mooslims as the period when the fate of every living man 
 is confirmed for the ensuing year."§ This day is styled 
 the last of the Khuseebee, that is, of the Ansairee, year. 
 Mention is also made in the Book of Feasts of the festival 
 of Fitr, the breaking of the fast, the first of the three 
 days of the " Lesser feast " which the Mussulmans keep 
 after Ramadan ; as also of the feast of Adha, which is the 
 feast of the sacrifice, kept by the Mussulmans on the first 
 day of the three of the " Greater feast," held by them on 
 the tenth day of the last month of their year. My lad 
 has heard it spoken of under its other name of Dahee. 
 
 It is customary to give to the poor on the occasion of 
 feasts, as might be expected. Once I knew the sheikhs 
 to be considerably out about the time of the feast of Bar- 
 bara, and consequently of the subsequent feasts. In the 
 mountains to the south of us the fires were lit a day before 
 the time. 
 
 I have often spoken to the people with respect to the 
 fast of Ramadan. Sometimes they say, what is the truth, 
 
 * Pp. 106, 147. t «^ourn. Asiat. Feb. 1848, p. 168. 
 
 t P. 106. § Lane, vol. ii. p. 229. 
 
 N 3 
 
182 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 that they think nothing of fasting. At other times they 
 say that their sheikhs fast ; and some of them, who affect 
 Mussulman manners, do fast sometimes. But we have seen 
 that it has ever been a part of the system of these secret 
 sects to explain away all the positive commands of Moham- 
 medanism, and the Ansaireeh allegorise and personify the 
 month of Ramad^tn, as in the case of prayer and alms. 
 Thus there is the expression in my MS., " by the truth 
 of the month of fasting, and of its persons ; " so that the 
 prayer for Ramadan, given in the Book of Feasts, must be 
 one suited to such a view of the fast. The sheikhs have 
 sometimes made attempts to get the people to fast for a 
 short time; but, as my Ansairee servant said of such a 
 fast only for seven days, a few years ago, " the Ansaireeh 
 cannot endure fasting, and were unable to keep the fast 
 prescribed." 
 
 I proceed now to describe the Ansairee customs on the 
 occasion of circumcision, marriage, and death. 
 
 The boy is circumcised at the age of five or six years, 
 or, as among the peasants of Egypt, not unfrequently 
 much later, at the age of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen 
 years.* There is nothing peculiar in their mode of cele- 
 brating this festival, in which they follow the Mussulmans. 
 I was once present on an occasion of the kindf , which 
 lasted for a day or two ; and as the rejoicings are much 
 the same as those on the occasion of a marriage, I shall 
 leave what I have to say concerning them till I describe 
 the ceremonies of the latter. I must, however, mention 
 that by the Ansaireeh circumcision is called Tatheer, 
 purification. 
 
 With the Ansaireeh especially, even perhaps more than 
 other Easterns, marriage is considered almost indispens- 
 able ; though I have heard of one sheikh, the brother of 
 Sheikh Hhabeeb, who seemed to be spoken of with re- 
 spect although unmarried, as being one who despised the 
 
 * Lane, i. 82. j Ansaireeh and Ismaeleeh, p. 176. 
 
ANSAIREE CUSTOMS. 183 
 
 world. Nevertheless, in most cases, it would be consi- 
 dered disgraceful to remain single, and marriage is entered 
 into at a very early age. Frequently a girl of eleven or 
 twelve becomes a bride, while beardless boys are urged to 
 wed. ]\ry lad, who is about seventeen or eighteen, would 
 ere this have taken a wife had he not come to my school, 
 and ^that though he is still a mere boy in appearance. 
 Women among the Ansaireeh do not veil, and therefore 
 a young man has every opportunity of seeing and choosing 
 his intended. 
 
 When he has seen a girl who pleases him, he speaks 
 with her relatives, and agrees upon the sum to be paid to her 
 father, which ranges from 500 to 5000 piastres, or from 
 4 to 30, 40, or 50 pounds, according to the dignity of the 
 girl's family. 100 piastres of this are given to the girl as 
 " Dum ir-Rakabel,'^ " the blood of the neck," or head, as 
 it is termed: and her father also gives her something, 
 according to his pleasure ; sometimes, if rich, bedding 
 and a box, which are carried in procession with her 
 when she is taken to the bridegroom's house. But the 
 small sum returned from the dowry to the girl herself, 
 and the way in which the whole transaction is con- 
 ducted and spoken of, lay the Ansaireeh open to the 
 accusation of selling their daughters. The price thus 
 given for the girl is called her " burteel," or bribe. Some- 
 times she has been vowed when young to some zeyareh, and 
 then the vower makes a feast, and her price is agreed upon 
 before the sheikh, who receives it, giving some part of it 
 to the father. The sheikh retains a part in money, as 
 alms, and the rest is spent in eating. When only half the 
 girl has been vowed, the father settles the price, and gives 
 half to the sheikh of the zeyareh in question. No contract 
 is given, nor surety money necessarily paid. When the 
 kutbeh, or betrothal, has been thus entered upon, the 
 bridegroom can claim the girl when he pleases. When 
 the ceremony is to come off, he makes a feast in his house 
 for two or four nights before the occasion, so that she may 
 
 N 4 
 
184 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 be taken home on an *^ odd " day. On the first evening his 
 friends assemble only to dance. They light a fire, which 
 is kept up by boys and others, while the men and women, 
 mostly the younger ones, join hands in a ring, and jump 
 round the fire in a kind of dance, from left to right. 
 After stamping the foot in two places, they give a slight 
 bound to the right, and so on again, singing a suitable tune. 
 A piper is engaged on such occasions. In our neighbour- 
 hood lives a blind one, whose pipe is formed of two tubes 
 of bone bound together, and he is considered no bad player. 
 He has often also to instruct those who are to be initiated. 
 He receives presents from the people at the feast, and 
 shouts out their names as they fee him. Gipsies likewise 
 called Kurbat, come with drums and fifes to help on such 
 occasions. 
 
 On the next morning after the rejoicings have been com- 
 pleted at the bridegroom's house, his friends go to the house 
 of the bride, and sometimes he himself, with a present of 
 burghool and other eatables, or of other articles. In the 
 evening a feast is made, attended with dancing as before. 
 Next morning, which is the last of the series, a feast is 
 again made at the bride's house, and she is brought out 
 covered with- a veil, and in high boots, such as those worn 
 by the sheikhs. The friends of the father of the girl then 
 give presents, which are called Nuktah, of which the girl 
 takes a half. It is looked on as a loan, for the father gives 
 to his friends on similar occasions. A brother or cousin 
 places himself at the door, and will not let tjie girl come 
 out till he has received some such present as a gun. The 
 bridegroom also gives something to her mother. All this 
 only takes place when the bride is of some consideration. 
 She is then placed on a horse, and taken in procession to 
 the bridegroom's house, visiting two . or three zeyarehs 
 on the way. Her mother and other women accompany 
 her on the road, uttering their shrill zalagheets. 
 
 Before she goes into the house the bridegroom puts 
 some millet and figs in his pocket, and goes up to the roof 
 
ANSAIREE CUSTOMS. 185 
 
 with liis friends, he and they having each a long stick in 
 their hands. One of her relatives, who has carried a 
 flag in procession, stands below with other of her friends, 
 provided also with sticks. An amicable contest takes place, 
 during which the standard-bearer endeavours to enter the 
 house, and shots are fired. I should have said that the 
 firing of guns forms an invariable part of every rejoicing. 
 Tliey are crammed as full of powder as they will bear, so 
 as to make as much noise as possible, but, having flint 
 locks, they often miss fire. It is not pleasant to have them 
 going off in all directions, at one's very ear. When the 
 standard-bearer has got in, the mother, or other female 
 relative of the girl, gives her a piece of leaven, which she 
 sticks over the door, when the bridegroom gives her a blow 
 with his stick, and then throws the millet and figs upon 
 her and the by-standers. The bride then goes in, and a 
 little after is brought out, still veiled, when the friends of 
 the bridegroom make him presents of money. They then 
 have a feast, and towards evening every one goes home. 
 I should mention that before the girl gets off the horse 
 the bridegroom gives her thirty or sixty piastres, that 
 is, five or ten shillings, which is called the tanzeeleh, or 
 " causing to dismount." 
 
 It is said that an Ansaireeh who marries a Christian 
 woman can only be purified after washing in forty foun- 
 tains which have their openings turned towards the south 
 (the direction of Mecca). 
 
 Sometimes a man will run off with a girl, but he will 
 afterwards agree with her family on the price to be paid 
 for her. 
 
 Divorce only needs the will of the man, but it is hot 
 common. It is more usual for a man merely to send off 
 his wife to take care of herself, and she cannot marry 
 unless he '* takes his hand oft' her," except in another part 
 where she is unknown. It is, however, unusual to dismiss 
 a woman who has children. One man of my acquaintance 
 lias had no less than three wives, giving them up as they 
 
186 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 get old and plain. It is usual for those who are well off 
 to take two or three wives, who sometimes live together in 
 one room. When they have children, each has a house of 
 her own. But of this I will speak in the chapter on the 
 present state of the Ansaireeh. 
 
 When a man or woman dies a sheikh is brought. Water 
 is warmed and the dead person taken out of the house, 
 when, in the case of a man, the sheikh washes the body, 
 first pouring water on it three times from head to foot. 
 This is called mushahidel, or " testifying." A woman is 
 of course washed by a woman. A piece of linen, unsewn, 
 is wound round the body as grave-clothes, and then the 
 clothes even to the turban are put on, and the body buried 
 in them. In the case of a woman much beloved by her 
 relatives, her jewels and rings are buried with her, and 
 in all cases needle and thread. A bier is then made of 
 two poles connected by rope ; an outer garment being 
 placed on it, and the corpse above, covered with a quilt. 
 The poles are not brought back from the tomb till after 
 seven days. The sheikh heads the procession to the grave, 
 uttering prayers till it arrives at the sepulchre. Two 
 men go down into the grave, which is four to five feet 
 deep. One side is hollowed out, so as partly to receive the 
 corpse, which is then covered by large stones, supported, 
 that is leaning, against the hollowed side. The nose, ears, 
 and mouth of the corpse are stopped with cotton. As in 
 the case of the Mohammedans, nothing blue is placed in 
 the grave. They then fire their guns and return home. 
 They sit in the house of the deceased, condoling with the 
 friends, and partake of a repast, some of which may have 
 been brought by the guests. These also give the deceased's 
 friends alms for the sheikh, who perform the same duty in 
 return on similar occasions. When the earth has been 
 thrown into the grave, a man or woman with a good voice 
 sings something in praise of the deceased, and from time to 
 time stops, when the by-standers weep. I was once present 
 at a most melancholy funeral. Two of the men of my 
 
ANSAIREE CUSTOMS. 187 
 
 village (one of whom was the only one who could read, and 
 the most sensible of the people of it) were killed in a fight. 
 In the morning they were engaged in building my house, 
 and on an alarm being given went off to a fight, from 
 which they were brought home dead towards evening. 
 Their bodies were laid side by side at the burial-place, and 
 the men of the village who had come back tired, begrimed 
 with powder, and excited, helped alternately to dig their 
 graves. There was much unseemly altercation as to who 
 should perform this act of charity, all professing themselves 
 to be too tired. The old mother of one of those killed 
 "was informed of the death of her eldest son, and came 
 beating her breast, till at length she swooned away. The 
 brothers of the other also came, and a man, sitting at the 
 head of the corpse, sang some verses in a melancholy voice. 
 Altogether the scene was most distressing, and painful in 
 its desolation. 
 
 On returning to the house there is more singing ; and 
 for three successive days the people go out in the 
 morning to the grave, and sing and Aveep ; ending always 
 with firing off their guns. 
 
 During the next six days the friends of the family in 
 other villages collect and send money and articles of food, 
 and on the seventh day they assemble at the house of the 
 deceased and partake of a feast, and afterwards go out to 
 the tomb and act as before. This occasion is called the 
 usbooa, or " week." Incense is burnt in the house on the 
 day of the burial, in the evening ; and when they pay a 
 visit to the tomb, on the day of the usbooa, the mistress of 
 the house takes Avith her incense in a sherd, which is burnt 
 on the tomb. The whole village think it disgraceful for 
 any one to wash before the usbooa has passed, and the 
 friends appear sorrowful for a month or two, but wear no 
 mourning, except their unwashed clothes, which are con- 
 sidered as such. 
 
 I have often alluded to the sheikhs. This name, among 
 the Fellaheen, is applied to the religious teachers, and 
 
188 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 when they employ the term in the more usual sense of the 
 head man of a village, they add iz-zulm, that is, of 
 "injustice;" calling their teachers, in contradistinction, 
 " sheikh il-ulm," that is, of " knowledge." All the chief 
 sheikhs are such by descent, the office being hereditary in 
 their families ; but, as M. Langlois saj^s, " any one who 
 knows how to read and write may become a sheikh." Some- 
 times men are laughed at on assuming a white turban, one 
 mark of a sheikh, but they can only pass themselves off as 
 such where they are unknown ; for to do so in their own 
 district must depend on the countenance of the acknow- 
 ledged sheikhs. My lad, when at school, went to visit a 
 sheikh in a neighbouring village. He reckoned (hasab) for 
 him, and then said, " You were a sheikh in your time, and 
 in a former generation I knew you, for you were of my 
 relations, and I often partook of your hospitality." He 
 hereupon kissed the boy's hand and gave him ten piastres, 
 as alms paid to a sheikh, and said, " If there is a nidr, or 
 feast, and you take alms at it, you will not sin." 
 
 When a sheikh's son is about fifteen or sixteen years old, 
 he is consecrated as sheikh. 
 
 This ceremony is called Rasm or Taknees. My An- 
 sairee liturgical book was written by the uncle of such a 
 boy, to be given him as his " direction for sheikhs" at his 
 consecration ; as is stated by the said uncle and copyist. 
 
 The dress of a sheikh consists of a white turban, which 
 even their children wear (having from their earliest youth 
 the title of sheikh), and a white shirt, waistcoat, and wide 
 trousers, with red high boots, and often a red girdle. They 
 do not carry arms, and their dress is usually pretty clean. 
 The people treat the chief sheikhs with great respect, and 
 kiss the hands of all on occasion. Matters of controversy 
 are referred to them, and they have to do with the whole 
 public and private life of the people, and are constantly to 
 be seen going about with their donkeys receiving alms in 
 tlie shape of wheat, &c. 
 
 They will not eat of any food which they suspect may 
 
ANSAIREE CUSTOMS. 189 
 
 have been bought with money fraudulently obtained ; and 
 consequently will not partake of the hospitality of any 
 who are given to robbing ; neither will they eat the food 
 of Christians, though they eat that of the Mussulmans. 
 Sheikh Hhabeeb once, when he partook of coffee at my 
 house, paid my servant first for it, though he was reported 
 at the time to have said that he only did this that people 
 might not talk, for that he himself considered my pro- 
 perty Halal, or lawful. The Bagdad sheikh ate without 
 any scruple, and laughed at other sheikhs for theirs. 
 Sheikh Hassan il Kinanee also ate frequently at my house, 
 though privately. 
 
 They pretend to a knowledge of future events, by means 
 of astrology, divination, and ruml, and also to the power 
 of exorcism, writing amulets, &c. They have some ac- 
 quaintance with the names of the stars, and tell a man, 
 " Your sign of the zodiac is such and such, and therefore 
 such and such a line of life would suit you." My lad's 
 name was such and such, but as he was always ill it was 
 by the advice of a sheikh changed to another. 
 
 They pretend to reckon or divine by means of a string 
 of beads and looking into a book. 
 
 Ruml consists in making a number of fine dots, like 
 sand, on a piece of a paper, from which the sheikh divines 
 what will happen to any one. When at Hamah, on one 
 occasion, an Ansairee sheikh " reckoned" for me in this 
 way, and presented me with the paper of which he had 
 made use. 
 
 A family of sheikhs in our neighbourhood profess to 
 have the power of exorcising evil spirits. A poor man 
 in a village immediately below my own became mad, 
 and yet was still allowed to go at large. After a little 
 time he severely wounded his wife, who was brought to 
 us on a Sunday morning covered with blood. Soon 
 afterwards he set fire to his house and took refuge 
 in a cave near, whence he took to flight, and has 
 never since been heard of. During his illness a sheikh 
 
190 THE ASIAN IMYSTERY. 
 
 was brought to cure him. He addressed the evil spirit, 
 and was supposed to receive answers through the man 
 himself. The sheikh ordered the spirit to enter into me, 
 but he refused, as he considered me too good, and was 
 then told to go to Hamah. The spirit asked whence he 
 was to come out, from the man's toe or mouth, and re- 
 ceived directions ; but the issue of all was that the man 
 remained uncured. 
 
 It is a very common thing for the sheikhs to write 
 amulets ; and I have a book in which are described a 
 variety of most potent charms, which if written and worn 
 will be all-powerful against every variety of disease and 
 calamity. Some of them are mere repetitions of particular 
 letters. Most of the children have some in their head- 
 dress, or suspended round their necks by a string, in little 
 cases of leather. Sheikh Hassan il Kinanee is also accused 
 of writing love charms, and of other improper practices. 
 
 When a man is ill a sheikh comes and reads over him 
 in a loud voice what is called Azai-im, for which he re- 
 ceives five piastres or so. Sometimes he brings a lad with 
 him, whom he puts under what is called the Sir-ah, and 
 then gets him to say what is the cause of the man's dis- 
 ease. If it be suspected to be a devil, he is exorcised ; and 
 sometimes the sheikh tells the man that his illness is in 
 consequence of breaking a vow, or some other sin of omis- 
 sion or commission. I have been told that the eyes of one 
 who has often been put under the Sir-ah become red. 
 
 There are numerous pretenders to second-sight. A 
 certain sheikh, called Ali Zahir, living near Ahmed Kirfas, 
 tells a man all that he may have done on the road, and 
 acquaints people with the locality of stolen property. This 
 and similar stories are told in the most circumstantial 
 manner. 
 
 The people fear the evil eye, which they call Nudrah, 
 and believe in enchantment. Soon after I had esta- 
 blished myself in the mountains there was a fight be- 
 tween the inhabitants of my own district and those of the 
 
ANSAIKEE CUSTOMS. 191 
 
 neighbouring one. These last were worsted, and ascribed 
 their defeat to a whistle with which I had been accus- 
 tomed to summon my servants. They said that I 
 had been seen riding on my white mare at the time 
 of the fight, and that I had blown my whistle, which 
 brought small birds upon them, and in some way or other 
 their balls were made to fall short, while their adversaries' 
 balls reached them. They consequently threatened the 
 destruction of my life and property, while the story was 
 made a subject of merriment with my own people, who, 
 however, warned me of danger. 
 
 The Ansaireeh will not eat of some things which even 
 the Mussulmans consider clean, as the hare and eels, 
 which they wrongly call salloor. Neither will they eat 
 any kind of fish without scales. In some of these things 
 they follow the law of Moses. AVhen a man has killed a 
 wild boar, he will sell it to a Christian, but spends the 
 money obtained only in buying powder and shot. " I 
 have found," says Niebuhr, "in ray Nusairee book, that 
 Maana had forbidden them to eat of the camel, hare, and 
 eel ; that Ism had not permitted them to partake of pork, 
 blood, and, in general, the flesh of beasts not properly 
 killed ; and that Bab had forbidden them the zellor (a certain 
 black fish of the Orontes), and everything burnt."* 
 
 The Ansaireeh have a great regard for myrtle. Like the 
 Mussulmans, they place it about the tombs. Mention is 
 made in my Ansairee MS. of " what is lawful, and the re- 
 verse, above the myrtle ; " f and it is said that he who in a 
 religious assembly '' chatters above the myrtle" will be- 
 come dumb t ; and once, in a district near Mount Cassius, 
 one of my Christian servants fell in with a man who was 
 on his back, throwing up his legs, and performing most 
 extraordinary antics round a myrtle bush. The myrtle 
 is also mentioned in the second class given by M. Ca- 
 tafago. 
 
 * Vol. ii. p. 361. t^-1'79. ±P. 180. 
 
192 THE ASIAN IklYSTERY. 
 
 The Ansaireeh shave the hair of the armpits, and the 
 Kumreeh sect that under the chin likewise. The Shemseeh 
 do not ; so when, during one of the fights, an old man 
 of this sect fell into the hands of the people of our 
 district, they shaved him. The people of a bordering 
 village having become Kumreeh have shaved the same 
 part. 
 
 In my Ansairee MS. * tobacco is spoken of as " for- 
 bidden above the myrtle " ; but it is a Shemseen book, 
 and by that sect tobacco is considered unlawful, so that 
 their sheikhs do not smoke. 
 
 * Page 186. 
 
193 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 TRESENT STATE OF THE ANSAIREEH. 
 
 I CANNOT better preface what I have to say on the pre- 
 sent state of the Ansaireeh than by relating the events 
 of the last few years in their neighbourhood. The reader 
 will then be able, even before I descend into particulars, 
 to guess pretty accurately what must be the social state 
 of a people so circumstanced. I shall confine my remarks 
 principally to my own district, and thus, by entering into 
 a rather detailed account of particular occurrences, give 
 a clearer picture of the general state of things. 
 
 When on my way out from England, in 1853, to com- 
 mence the mission which I had determined on after my 
 first visit to the Ansaireeh, I passed the English and 
 French fleets on their passage up the Dardanelles to 
 commence the Russian war. I consequently found a 
 very different state of things in Syria, and in the An- 
 saireeh country, from that which I had seen the previous 
 year. The town of Ladikeeh was in confusion from the 
 irregular levies of the neighbourhood, who to the num- 
 ber of three or four hundred were assembling to start 
 for Erzeroom, Kars, and Lake Van, to defend that por- 
 tion of the Sultan's dominions. Miserably armed and 
 clothed, they were possessed with greater enthusiasm 
 than I should have expected from Mohammedan shop- 
 keepers and the refuse of town populations. They marched 
 about the streets crying out : " The gate of Paradise is 
 open !" " God give victory to the Sultan ! May Allah burn 
 the infidels ! " They were at least as dangerous to their 
 
 
 
194 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 friends as to their enemies. AYhen well rid of them (poor 
 fellows, few outlived the cold and the sword of the enemy), 
 one morning a number of sailing vessels entered the port 
 of Ladikeeh with a still more truculent band. These 
 were of the worst character, black galley-slaves from 
 Acre and professed robbers, who kept the town in terror 
 for some days. They had been originally embarked in an 
 Austrian steamer, but on bad weather coming on they had 
 rushed to seize their arms and gain possession of the 
 vessel, so that the captain had put them on shore at the 
 next port; hence their unwelcome arrival in our harbour. 
 Armed with great knobbed sticks, studded with nails, 
 they assaulted and robbed people with impunity ; and I 
 have reason to remember them, as part of my dinner was 
 one day intercepted by them. 
 
 When I first passed through the Ansairee country, I 
 found a little army of 2000 regular troops engaged in 
 taking conscripts, and hence the peasantry were humble 
 and submissive. The case was now very different. On 
 my first ride to the mountains to look for a piece of land 
 as the site of- mission premises, I encountered on the plain 
 an assembly consisting of men from the districts of Kelbeeh 
 • and Muhailby, and irregular horsemen of the government. 
 Long-established ill-feeling between the two districts had 
 begun to break out, the country was denuded of regular 
 troops, and each accused the other of having been guilty 
 of a recent robbery in the plains. 
 
 The Kelbeeh district, where I determined to establish 
 myself, had always been notorious for wild lawlessness. 
 Burckhardt * says : " During our stay at Tripoli, Berber 
 [the then pasha, who had risen from a low rank, but who 
 is described by Burckhardt as a " man of great spirit, 
 firmness, and justice "] was in the neighbourhood of La- 
 dakia making war against some rebel Anzeyrys." It was 
 with the Kelbeeh district that Berber was at war, and for 
 
 * Travels, p. 171 : London, 1822. 
 
MURDER OF CAPTAIN BOUTIN. 195 
 
 the following reason. Captain Boutin, a Frenchinan, was 
 travelling southward, past the Nahr-cs-Seen. When cros- 
 sing: a bridofe some stones or shells which he had in a 
 bag rattled in such a way as made some of the miserable 
 Arabs, called Arab-il-Mulk, who encamp there, suppose 
 that he had much money about him. He was therefore 
 set upon and murdered, and his body chopped into small 
 pieces to avoid detection. Lady Hester Stanhope, who 
 was then in the Lebanon, urged Berber to take vengeance. 
 The chief murderer escaped totheKelbeeh district, and the 
 people of it, according to their notions of the duties of hospi- 
 tality, refused to give him up on demand. The consequence 
 was that Berber attacked the district, and raised all the 
 surroundinor districts aofainst it. The war went on with 
 varying success. Once the Kelbeeh were driven to the 
 very highest part of their mountains, and took refuge in 
 a deep valley near Djaafar Tayyar, from which issuing 
 after a little, they drove their enemies completely out of 
 their country. But in the end Berber got the better of 
 them. The Arab refugee requited their kindness by 
 stealing a mare and making off to Hamah, while they had 
 to pay tribute. 
 
 An old Sahyoon man, called Abu-Saleb, who was between 
 seventy and eighty years old, once interested me much by 
 giving me an account of these times. His had been an 
 eventful life, and he had seen strange and fearful scenes. 
 He remembered two earthquakes, and a plague which, 
 he said, had destroyed half the population, besides fights 
 innumerable. Once he had been seized by a pasha of 
 Ladikeeh, by name Ibn-il-Maner, a suspected Ansairee, who 
 had intended to kill him, after having nearly scourged him 
 to death ; but he effected his escape, and with a com- 
 panion afterwards killed the pasha. He was with Ber- 
 ber in his combats with the Kelbeeh, and related with 
 glee how Berber had struck off seven of their heads at a 
 time. Those were the days, said he. The dragoman of 
 the English Vice-Consulate at Ladikeeh, lately deceased, 
 
 o 2 
 
196 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 well remembered those times, and assured me more than 
 once that on Berber's visits to Ladikeeh, the Ansairee 
 prisoners used to be taken to meet him on the road, when 
 he would behead them and cause them to be impaled. I 
 should say that the Ansaireeh are not considered, like Jews 
 and.Christians, to be " people of a book;" and consequently, 
 according to strict Mussulman law, not even their sub- 
 mission and tribute should be accepted, but they ought to 
 be put to the sword, and their wives and children sold as 
 slaves. The Karmatians were condemned to this by the 
 fetwas, or decisions, of the orthodox Mussulman doctors 
 of their day ; and a certain vile and ignorant fanatic 
 called Sheikh Ibraheem il Mograbee, who died about 
 1827 *, gave a fetwa for which his memory is accursed 
 among the Ansaireeh, that the lives and property of the 
 Ansaireeh were at the free disposal of the Mussulmans. 
 Berber, not content with slaying the people, cut down their 
 fruit trees; and almost the only trees to be found in my 
 own village, for instance, are fig trees which have sprung 
 from the roots of those destroyed in his- time. Before 
 then much silk was produced, and we have already seen 
 that in Maundrell's time much and good wine was made. 
 
 When on my first visit to the district in search of land, 
 a man entered the house where I was, to persuade those 
 there to go on an expedition with him, of which I heard 
 the result on returning to town. Four men of the Kelbeeh 
 had gone to rob in the district of Suirt Kublee. They 
 were seen, and the arms of one of them were taken from 
 him. A number of the Kelbeeh people in revenge went and 
 seized a large flock and their shepherd. While returning 
 they were attacked by the people of Suirt Kublee and the 
 Beni Ali, when two of the Suirt Kublee men were killed, 
 
 * He may be considered to be the patron saint of Ladikeeh. A hand- 
 some mosque has been built to him behind the town. Lately a thun- 
 derbolt struck the minaret, and the Mussulmans of the town thanked 
 the saint who had thus stretched out his hand and seized it, preventing 
 its descending on tiie town. 
 
PURCHASE OF SITE. 197 
 
 «an(l several of the Kelbeeh people wounded. I noted at 
 the time that the " woman who recounted the story 
 laughed as if much pleased ; and, indeed, they intend to 
 kill the booty at their great feast, which shortly takes 
 place." 
 
 Having agreed with a man for a piece of land, he was 
 to have returned to me the same afternoon to draw out the 
 contract ; but some Mussulmans of the town had mean- 
 while heard of his intention, and informed the governor, 
 who sent for the man and so frightened him that he 
 refused to proceed any further in the business. I wrote 
 to Beyrout to complain to the Consul-General. He men- 
 tioned the affair to the pasha, who told the governor not 
 to interfere with me in future as to buying land, but at the 
 same time begged the Consul-General to inform me dis- 
 tinctly that the government would not be responsible for 
 my safety, for I was going to a rebellious district. This 
 did not at all move me, as I had all along known the 
 weakness of the Turkish government in such matters, and 
 that I should have to depend on the people's own sense of 
 hospitality, which, as far as life was concerned, was a pretty 
 good security. 
 
 Having taken up my goods on camels to the village 
 where I proposed to build, I pitched my tents on the flat 
 roofs of some inhabited houses, and placed my property in 
 a room below. The next night I was awakened by a shot, 
 and it turned out that four men, who had seen my boxes, 
 had come to dig through the wall of the room where they 
 were, but had been seen by my dog, who by his barking 
 had awakened the people of the quarter. The robbers were 
 afterwards discovered, and the chief men spoke of writing a 
 bond, that if any one were killed in an attempt to plunder 
 me, no price should be demanded for his blood. Whenever 
 at this time I used to be rather late on my return from my 
 rides, I was met by people of the village, who had come to 
 look after me, professing fear for my safety. When I first 
 went to the mountains I used to ride up over the plain by 
 
 o 3 
 
198 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 moonlight, but the chief man of my district sent to beg 
 me to discontinue doing so, lest anything should happen 
 to me from the people of other districts, and he and his 
 bear the blame. 
 
 One morning I saw a little dirty bag in my tent, with 
 earth and myrtle leaves in it. I took no notice of it at the 
 time, but threw it outside. Two months after, my Arab 
 school teacher asked me if I knew what the bag was. He 
 said that he had not liked to speak of it at the time, but 
 that it contained earth from the sepulchres, and, according 
 to a prevalent superstition, had been thrown into the tent 
 with the idea of causing sleep, so that a robbery might be 
 quietly eifected. After this occurrence the chief man of 
 the village, unknown to me, slept outside my tent. 
 
 I had gone up to the mountains on June 2nd, 1854, and 
 early on the morning of August 15th a man rode breath- 
 lessly into the village, and told how an inhabitant of the 
 district had been killed by the Muhailby people. " Indabb 
 is-Sarot," as it is phrased, literally, " the voice crept on ;" 
 that is, an alarm was given, by shouting and firing, to the 
 different villages of the district, and in an incredibly short 
 space of time the people of my own and other villages 
 rushed off to the scene of conflict. Often have I since 
 heard similar alarms, and at night they have a solemn 
 effect in those wild mountains. Soon the increased firing 
 showed me that the fight had commenced in earnest, and 
 shortly afterwards one of the men of the village, who had 
 received a fearful gun-shot wound in his mouth, came 
 riding towards me on a donkey, with his head reclining on 
 his breast, which was streaming with blood. Expecting 
 many such cases, as another soon afterwards came with a 
 ball lodged in his cheek, I rode off quickly to Djebileli, to 
 endeavour to procure an Arab surgeon. A Mussulman 
 there, however, who had credit for treating wounds, re- 
 fused absolutely to come, saying that if the men died he 
 should have the blame of it with the Ansaireeh ; and he 
 was not far wrong, as I myself learned by experience after- 
 
FIGHT WITH MUHAILBY PEOPLE. 199 
 
 wards. Others said, " Please God, five hundred will be 
 killed on one side, and six hundred on the other!" The 
 first-named man died in a fortnight, and in the whole 
 four of the Kelbeeh people were killed, and six of the 
 Muhailby. The fight had been brewing for some time, 
 but the immediate cause was a quarrel about a cu- 
 cumber. 
 
 The Muhailby people, having lost most men, vowed 
 revenge ; and there were several false alarms. But one 
 morning, September 30th, as the people of the village were 
 engaged on my house, it was found that the threatened at- 
 tack was really being made. The Muhailby people came 
 on our district in two places, east and west of the moun- 
 tain, which, dividing the district, leaves openings at its 
 extremities. To the west they were at first victorious, and 
 I feared for the moment for myself, for a common threat 
 of theirs was that they would come and destroy my 
 serayel, or palace, as it was called. However, the people 
 of my own district assembling in force poured in a volley, 
 and soon drove them back far into their own district, 
 burning the villages as they came to them. On the east 
 they were equally victorious, and it was a painful sight to 
 see villages burning at noonday. In- this fight about 
 eleven of the Muhailby people were killed, and fifteen of 
 the Kelbeeh, two of them being the men of my own 
 village whose funeral I have described. 
 
 The Kelbeeh had it now all to themselves, and made 
 marauding expeditions into their enemies' country. The 
 women and children were active on such occasions. 
 When a fight takes place, the women seem like demons, 
 encouraging the men, and supplying them with water. 
 When the fights were ended, I used to see them returning 
 laden with pots, pans, quilts, &c., in fact everything 
 they could lay their hands on ; while the children would 
 bring chickens, and such like things. The wife of my 
 Ansairee servant, of whom I shall hereafter speak more 
 particularly, was very active on such occasions ; and I 
 
 o 4 
 
200 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 could see her on the hill near my house, stretching out 
 her hands to the Sultan Djaafar Tayyar, praying for suc- 
 cess and the safety of her husband. 
 
 One day fifty horsemen came to our district, and their 
 leader got our chief men, under promise of safe conduct, 
 to accompany him to the governor, in order that matters 
 might be settled between them and the Muhailby. But 
 directly they arrived they were seized and put in prison 
 at Ladikeeh. This piece of injustice exasperated the people 
 of my district, and seventy of them went down to Ladikeeh 
 by night, where they broke open the prison, released their 
 chiefs, and carried them off in triumph to the mountains. 
 The governor, Ali Bey, who for such a position was 
 more clever and able than would have been expected, 
 was now exasperated in his turn, and would not be satis- 
 fied except with conditions which could not possibly be 
 complied with. He assembled a mob of some two thou- 
 sand men, from his own irregulars and the surrounding 
 districts, at the small town of Djebileh, immediately under 
 my own district. He required me more than once to 
 come down, or rather to leave my house, and I always re- 
 fused, on the plea that if I did so my property would be 
 destroyed. 
 
 Meanwhile utter confusion reigned in the plains. The 
 Kelbeeh robbed at pleasure, and I heard in one case that 
 a man and woman had been burnt in a house which they 
 had set fire to, and this, I fear, was only too true. My 
 servant was one evening on his way up from Ladikeeh 
 with letters and other articles, when he was seized by 
 some Muhailby people, thrown down, and robbed, on the 
 pretence that his master had become a Kelbanee, one of 
 the Kelbeeh people, and I have never found out who were 
 the robbers. 
 
 At length, on Monday, November 27th, drums were 
 heard in the plain, and soon after the governor's force 
 came into sight, and filed past my house, the villagers 
 having previously taken flight, after firing off their 
 
ATTACK BY ALI BEY. 201 
 
 muskets in derision. The camp was pitched in the village 
 of Kurdahah, al)out half an hour's ride to the east of my 
 own. All was now desolation. The people had driven 
 off their cattle to the higher mountains, and buried their 
 wheat. Just under my house I witnessed a cow hunt, the 
 animal being brought down after many shots had been 
 fired at her. The people of the Muhailby and other dis- 
 tricts flocked into the Kelbeeh villages, and opened and 
 emptied the corn stores. One afternoon, I was sitting out- 
 side my room door, which commanded a view of all the 
 surrounding hills, when I saw three men enter a house in 
 a village separated from me by a valley. Fortunately for 
 them they did not remain long, for, on emerging, they 
 were seen by some of our men who had been down 
 into the plain, and were pursued. One of them perched 
 himself on the mountain which divided the districts, and 
 made an oration, as Jotham did to the men of Shechem 
 from Mount Gerizim. I had hoisted a handkerchief, in 
 default of a flag, hoping that it might tend to keep off 
 marauders from the camp, for the Mussulmans of Sahyoon, 
 as they passed my house, had threatened to return and 
 destroy it. So the Muhailby men said: — "Ah! you 
 Kelbeeh think much of yourselves, because you have a 
 * consul ' and flag in your district. Just wait till to- 
 morrow, and see if we don't, before the cock crows, enter 
 his house and curse his father." That same night my 
 friend Ahmed Selhab of Bahluleeh slept in my house, 
 and some of the people of the neighbouring village of th6 
 Merj, who had received permission from the governor to 
 return, had come to make complaints to him, and after- 
 wards slept in a house of the higher quarter. Some of the 
 inhabitants, who used to return every evening to see how 
 I was getting on, were also sleeping there, when, just at 
 dawn, the house was surrounded by some thirty horsemen, 
 and the inmates summoned to surrender. This they would 
 not do, but rushed out firing on the horsemen. I made sure 
 that the Muhailby people had kept their promise, and that 
 
202 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 they were come to attack my house ; but, on looking out, I 
 saw the real state of things. Observing a tent of myrtle- 
 boughs on fire, I thought the horsemen were about to burn 
 the village, and went up among them. They were in a 
 state of great excitement, two of them being wounded. I 
 attempted to rescue a horse which they had seized, when 
 a Kurdish horseman put his gun behind my back more 
 than once, as I was afterwards told by a Sahyoon man 
 who professed to have knocked it aside.. 
 
 On Wednesday, the third day of these scenes, I de- 
 termined to make one more effort to bring about peace, 
 and rode over to the governor, to ask him to allow me 
 to go up to the chief man, and try to get him to come 
 down. He said : " No ; it is not well." I then asked him 
 for two horsemen, for the protection of my house. He was 
 for sending them, but the Cadi of Ladikeeh, his main ad- 
 viser, said : " The evening will do." The evening never 
 came to the poor governor. I had scarcely reached my 
 house on my return when I heard firing, and, to my utter 
 surprise, saw the hills crowned with the flying horsemen 
 of Ladikeeh. I thought at first that they were only 
 choosing better ground for the conflict, but few minutes 
 elapsed before streams of fugitives passed my house on 
 both sides, dropping their muskets in their flight. They 
 seemed to be in absurd haste, but the cause was soon mani- 
 fest. Wild fellows of my own and the Djenneeh people 
 came rushing by, with loud cries of " Yallah, yallah !" and 
 soon reached and shot the hindermost of the runaways. 
 One man, who had been stripped of his things, and could 
 apparently run no farther, was walking as if in despair in 
 the grounds under my house. I sent my servant to bring 
 him back, but, before he could reach him, I saw a man 
 deliberately shoot at him, fortunately without touching 
 him. The man who fired the shot, being a stranger, at 
 first did not recognise my servant, and was for stripping 
 him. I had the satisfaction to save in all some ten or 
 twelve stripped and wounded men. The cook of the 
 
DEATH OF ALI BEY. 203 
 
 governor, an Armenian, came in crying quarter, having 
 been robbed, and having had a very narrow escape for his 
 life. I never saw a man more frightened. 
 
 Some poor fellows in the valley below my house were 
 overtaken, or rather shot, before they could reach the 
 opposite ascent, and I was told that their bodies were 
 piled together and burnt. 
 
 In the evening I was shocked at hearing that the Bey 
 had been killed. He had gallantly endeavoured to rally 
 his men, and having delayed too long had been shot in 
 the back when endeavouring to escape. On riding towards 
 Kurdahah next morning to recover his corpse, I saw the 
 bodies of men who had been killed stripped utterly naked 
 and lying in the road. In one place three w^re thus lying 
 on their faces. The people I met returning to their villages 
 shouted to me, asking me where I was going ; and some 
 who guessed my object told me scornfully that I was too late, 
 as the Bey was buried. However, on hastening forward I 
 found the chief man and others assembled round a hole 
 they were digging to receive the body, which was lying 
 near, stripped almost naked. On asking the chief man 
 whether I could have it, he said : " Oh, yes ; where are 
 your servants ? take it away as soon as possible." I had 
 compelled four men of the fugitives to accompany me to 
 Kurdahah ; and, a bier having been formed, the corpse was 
 placed upon it, and they were forced to carry it, as no one 
 else would do so. 
 
 Hearing that the son of the chief man of Sahyoon was 
 wounded and lying in a house near, I went and attempted 
 to ransom him. But it was useless to endeavour to treat 
 with the people, who seemed like wild beasts after the fight, 
 and were particularly indignant with the Sahyoon men 
 who had cut down some of their trees, and shown them- 
 selves especially hostile. A young Mussulman lad also 
 wished to follow me, but was prevented. Pie, however, 
 afterwards told the governor of Sahyoon what I had 
 tried to do for his brother, which, perhaps, proved the 
 
204 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 saving of my life. Soon afterwards I heard that the 
 poor man, whose thigh was already shattered, had been 
 strangled. 
 
 Finding that his father, who had been killed, was lying 
 unburied, I gave a sum of money to an Egyptian Mus- 
 sulman living among the Kelbeeh to bury him. As 
 he was proceeding to do so, they brought and cast down 
 the body before me, where I sat conversing with the chief 
 men, when a brutal fellow, who had been before engaged 
 about pay house as a builder, took a stone and threw it at 
 the skull of the dead man. One or two of the by-standers 
 uttered a faint disapprobation. 
 
 On remonstrating with a sheikh about the bodies re- 
 maining unburied, and asking him whether it was not 
 wrong, he said: " Yes ; men are of dust, and they ought to 
 be restored to dust;" but had not the least wish that his 
 words should be followed. So the bodies remained ex- 
 posed, till after two or three days the jackals took courage 
 and devoured them. 
 
 As there was a prospect of utter confusion in the pro- 
 vince of Ladikeeh (and indeed the people, if they had 
 known their power, might have taken and plundered the 
 town itself), I determined to go off to Beyrout with a 
 public statement. While it was being written, intel- 
 ligence came that the body of the Bey had been thrown 
 aside by those who carried it, and was lying near a 
 fountain. This had happened while my man was delayed 
 on a message to my house. He chanced on his return to 
 see in the hands of the people my outer garment, which I 
 had placed on the bier, and had some difficulty in recovering 
 it. It was now quite late, and I had the unpleasantness 
 of going down over the desolate plain by night. The poor 
 cook took every shadow for a marauder. I had not pro- 
 ceeded far on my way when a man started up from among 
 the myrtles, and begged for protection. He had hidden 
 himself during the preceding night, having escaped, though 
 with one ear nearly severed. I have forgotten to mention 
 
A PRISONER KILLED. 205 
 
 that when the horsemen attacked our village they wounded 
 one poor fellow so severely that he was barely able to drag 
 himself to some myrtles below, where his body was found 
 a day after the fight. He was one of the most inofi^ensive 
 and well to do men of our district. 
 
 On my return from Beyrout I found that the people of 
 my own district had kept pretty faithfully a promise to 
 me that they would be quiet during my absence ; but 
 their allies, the Djenneeh, had committed many robberies. 
 At length about sixty of them went to rob a village in the 
 district of the Baier. On their return the inhabitants of the 
 plain, of the Shemseen sect, surrounded them, and after a 
 hard fight killed twelve of them and took nine prisoners. 
 The people of Ladikeeh on this occasion behaved in a brutal 
 and cowardly way, just as I should have expected from 
 them. Just outside the town a horseman slew one of the 
 prisoners, who, he said, had killed his brother ; and the 
 townspeople went out and insulted the dead body, finally 
 casting it into a well. 
 
 After many " parliaments'' among the inhabitants of my 
 district, which were held in the open air, and in which all 
 spoke at once, there being as many opinions as people pre- 
 sent, I had the satisfaction of accompanying the chief men 
 to Ladikeeh ; and for some time matters went on quietly. 
 Soon afterwards I w^as stopped in the Sahyoon district ; and 
 if I had but spoken the word, that district w^ould probably 
 have been entirely destroyed. The Kelbeeh people were 
 indignant at what had happened to me, which they looked 
 on as an insult to themselves, and with their friends and 
 others of the Ansaireeh would have been too glad to have 
 had an excuse for attacking their hereditary enemies, and, 
 as they said, " not leaving a mill nor a house standing." 
 Once before the Sahyoon people had been ejected from their 
 district; and it is only the support of their co-religionists 
 of the government which maintains them in their position 
 among a large Ansairee population. 
 
 At the beginning of 1856 I heard of a dreadful crime. 
 
206 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 Some of the people of Harf, a village in the plains near 
 Wady Kandeel, had been engaged in the fight against the 
 Djenneeh people where so many of these were killed. To 
 avenge themselves, the latter invited six of the chief men 
 of Plarf to an entertainment, and then cut off their heads. 
 The following extract from my journal, written at the 
 time, will show how such an act was generally looked 
 upon, and furnish an instance of the usual replies of the 
 sheikhs : — 
 
 " Ismaeel Dayoob, father of one of my boys, who came 
 some five or six days ago, could not be brought to think 
 badly of what the Djenneeh people had done ; saying that 
 the others had previously killed some of the Djenneeh. 
 When I told him that this had been done in open fight, 
 and not by treachery, he said, * But those people do not 
 love our Sharee-ah (or law), for they are Mawakhaseh (a 
 name for the Shemseen sect). A sheikh from Cumeen 
 came with him for medicine. He did not seem to think 
 at all differently, smiling when I spoke to him. I told him 
 it must be a defect in their religion, which did not prevent 
 such things. But he turned off the conversation to steal- 
 ing, saying that the people stole from even sheikh's houses. 
 I asked him why they did not teach them better when 
 young. He said, * We do ; but when they grow up they 
 cast it all aside.' " 
 
 Shortly after there was a fight in the Beni Ali district, 
 in which several were killed on each side. Not long be- 
 fore the Kerahileh to the south had attacked the district 
 of the Merkab, and, being surrounded, many of them were 
 slain. Thus scarcely a month passed in the mountains 
 without a fight somewhere. 
 
 After a time things began again to look dark. The 
 governor of Ladikeeh, finding the people did not pay 
 their taxes, sent for two of the chief men, and, thougli 
 they went down to him under safe conduct, he put 
 them in prison. He then gave orders to the irregular 
 horse to attack the lower part of the district. These 
 
ANOTHER ATTACK. 207 
 
 men were well armed and mounted, being levies from the 
 neighbourhood of Mosul, wlio had been under training as 
 Basha-Bazooks for the Crimea. When disbanded at the 
 close of the Russian war, they had entered the service of 
 the government. Some seventy of them made an attack 
 on some of our people who were engaged in the plain. 
 These did not deliver themselves up, but took refuge in a 
 ruin, and, though but fifteen or twenty in number, de- 
 fended themselves gallantly. Two or three of them 
 — one a cripple or blind — were wounded, the horsemen 
 having leaped the part of the ruin where they were and 
 speared them. The cripple was killed. This fight hap- 
 pened on June 22nd of this year (1856). 
 
 The next day as I was riding to Ladakeeh I observed 
 a number of our people among ruins situated on a hill 
 by the wayside. I soon saw the reason. On the plains 
 below were about two hundred horsemen, who were gra- 
 dually approaching the hill-side. I rode up to our men 
 and asked them what was going on. One of them replied 
 that the government was attacking them without right. 
 I said, " You will not pay your taxes." " Yes," he said, 
 " we will." I asked if I might tell the commander of 
 the horse as much. They said *' Yes;" so I rode down 
 to him, and asked him to delay attacking the district for a 
 day or two till I had seen what could be done in Ladikeeh. 
 He replied that he would not fire on the people unless they 
 fired on him. I rode back to tell them so, and they asked 
 me to return and ask the Aga commanding the horsemen 
 not to touch a village in the plain near which he was. 
 He said he would pay for even a cup of cold water from 
 it. I continued my ride; and had the gratification of 
 learning afterwards that the horsemen had immediately 
 returned to Djebileh. It was rather a pretty sight to one 
 riding down from the mountains ; for the horsemen were 
 clustered on the plain, and on the hills which run down to 
 it were parties of the Kelbeeh people on the look-out, 
 while at the base of those more distant were men engaged 
 
208 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 in the peaceful occupation of treading out wheat with 
 oxen. 
 
 To conclude the history of the relations of the district 
 with the government. Towards the close of the year 
 there was another collision between the horsemen of the 
 town and the Kelbeeh, who pursued them towards 
 Djebileh, and to their hurt killed the son of the chief 
 Mussulman of Ladikeeh, who was a mere lad serving 
 with his uncle in the horse. The uncle and father have 
 vowed vengeance against the Kelbeeh ever since, and have 
 had many opportunities of wreaking it. 
 
 Next year the Nawasieh people fought with the Boodeh, 
 the mountain part of the Beni Ali district ; and the Kel- 
 beeh and Amamareh, taking sides with their respective 
 friends, fought against each other, when as usual the Kel- 
 beeh were the victors. But this was the close of their 
 victorious course. The Boodeh chief became friendly with 
 the government, who made use of him against the Kelbeeh. 
 Towards the close of 1858 the government collected about 
 200 men armed with Minie rifles and a small cannon, with 
 some of the above-mentioned well-trained horsemen. The 
 chief men as usual put the commoner sort forward, but, 
 when they found the Mini^ bullets reach themselves where 
 they stood, a panic seized them and they gave ground. 
 Some of the people were in a valley, and being sur- 
 rounded by the horsemen about forty were killed. So 
 terrified were they by the results of this and the next 
 day's fight, that they met by niglit and selected five of the 
 children of the chief men, whom they surrendered to 
 government on the morrow, and who have been detained 
 till the present time, so that the people have been brought 
 to a state of great submission. 
 
 The government, instead of being content with a just 
 and sufficient amount of punishment, has taken advantage 
 of the opportunity to harass the people in every way, and 
 by imposing new taxes, and making fresh demands, is in 
 danger of driving them to despair. Such a thing as a 
 
WANT OF SECURITY. 209 
 
 just uniform system of government is a thing unknown 
 in the outlying provinces of Turkey. As it was in the 
 days of Maundrell, more than a hundred and fifty years 
 ago, so is it now. The Ottomans only retain Syria by 
 setting tribe against tribe, making use of one to weaken and 
 subdue the other, thus fostering desolating feuds among 
 neighbours, which the forces at the command of govern- 
 ment are utterly unable to check, even when desirous 
 of doing so. Every man in the country districts has 
 to go armed, and to defend his life and property for 
 himself. 
 
 Were I to allow myself to dwell on this subject I might 
 say much of the fearful state, not only of the province of 
 Ladikeeh but of other parts of Syria, and that not on 
 doubtful testimony. I might speak of the utter want of 
 security in some parts, and the systematic perversion of 
 justice in others. For this our government is responsible, 
 in so far as it has deemed it necessary to strengthen an 
 empire which cannot protect its subjects from murder, 
 robbery, and wrong ; and whose only proof of sovereignty 
 lies in spasmodic efibrts to collect tribute and recruits. 
 Doubtless our rulers hope for the inauguration of a better 
 state of things, and are always ready to insist upon it ; but 
 meanwhile they have ordered their consuls to look calmly 
 on, while the people of the provinces are passing through 
 a dreadful ordeal. When I was at Ladikeeh, at the close of 
 last year (1859), the government was engaged in burning 
 villages belonging to the Djenneeh ; and murders had been 
 committed with the connivance of the government offi- 
 cials, nay, traced to one of the chief of them ; while the 
 poor sufferers. Christians and others, had nowhere to turn 
 for redress. Thus desolation was daily becoming tenfold 
 more desolate, till it seemed as if the land would be left 
 without inhabitants. As it is the population must de- 
 crease instead of increasing. 
 
 It may be said that it appears clearly enough that the 
 Ansaireeh themselves are much to blame. But are they 
 
 p 
 
210 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 SO much to blame as their rulers, who are unable and un- 
 willing to restrain them from such excesses ? Would not 
 the Ansaireeh quickly become another people under a just 
 and firm system of government, supported by such a force 
 as would render anything like rebellion hopeless ? If the 
 Ansaireeh had anything to hope or fear from the Mus- 
 sulman local officials of Ladikceh, soon would disorders 
 vanish, and a most fertile province sustain a numerous 
 population. 
 
 I have hitherto spoken of the quarrels of my own district 
 with the government and with other districts. One would 
 suppose that such a multiplicity of foes without would lead 
 to internal union ; but this is far from being the case. I 
 have before mentioned the names of the five chief houses 
 or families : Hasoon, Djirkis, Ali, Ahmed, and Aloosh. 
 They have old standing feuds, some of which are kept 
 purposely unsettled, that he who has a claim may keep his 
 antagonist in a state of fear and uncertainty. When 
 Ibrahim Pasha was driven out of Syria, Beyt Hasoon 
 killed the then chief man, who belonged to Beyt Djirkis, 
 and up to the present time the price of blood has not 
 been paid nor accepted. Just after my first visit to the 
 district in search of land, a quarrel took place in which a 
 brother of Ismaeel Osman, the present chief man of the 
 district, who is of Beyt Hasoon, was slain, and one or 
 two others ; and though the late Sheikh Hhabeeb settled the 
 price of blood of the supernumerary man of Beyt Hasoon, 
 who was then killed over and above those killed of Beyt 
 Aloosh, at 10,000 piastres, the money has not yet been 
 accepted by Beyt Hasoon. When I was present one day 
 at the taking up of stones for my house, 1 saw one of the 
 men who was at work suddenly run ofi* to a tree near and 
 seize his arms which were hanging on it, and on looking 
 up I saw the reason in the appearance of Ismaeel Osman. 
 This same man was one of those who fell afterwards in 
 the fight. 
 
 Not only in the district generally are there feuds. 
 
FEUDS. 211 
 
 but in the village where my house is situated. The in- 
 habitants are descended from two brothers, great-grand- 
 fathers of the present generation, one of whom killed 
 the other; so their descendants have ever since borne 
 mutual ill-will. One day some of them were working 
 on my premises, when a slight quarrel arose, and each 
 party rushed off for their arms, which the women eagerly 
 supplied. I was in the schoolroom at the time, and 
 hearing the noise ran out and found them fighting in 
 the courtyard. With the greatest difficulty I separated 
 them, and made some sit on an elevated place in the 
 yard, while others went to the upper part of the vil- 
 lage. Hearing these last still shout and jeer, I went up 
 to pacify them, when suddenly one of their relations, who 
 had heard of the quarrel at a distance, came rushing by 
 towards the houses of the lower quarter. Those who 
 were sitting in ray yard ran out after him, and, before I 
 could reach, four of them struck him with their swords, 
 till he fell covered with blood into a ditch. His brothers 
 came to defend him and wounded his opponents. When 
 I got to the place I raised him and conducted him to 
 my house. Wounded as he was, he vowed vengeance, 
 and threatened them with his gun (which was fortunately 
 unloaded), so that I had great difficulty in getting him 
 along. His appearance was scarcely human. He could 
 only be kept from swooning by pouring cold water on 
 him ; yet in a month he recovered. His brother, how- 
 ever, was badly wounded. His head was in some mea- 
 sure saved by a dollar which happened to be in his red 
 cap, but the small bone of his arm was quite divided. 
 He bled so much that I apprehended the worst conse- 
 quences ; but after a time his arm healed, though it 
 remained a little crippled. It was not permitted to talk 
 of compensation, till it was seen what the injury would 
 be. The two quarters of the village remained openly 
 hostile to one another; and my own Ansairee servant 
 was in danger if he went out of his house by night. I 
 
212 THE ASIAN MYSTEEY. 
 
 insisted that each party should come to my house un- 
 armed, and their friends in other villages assented to the 
 reasonableness of this demand. Scarcely were their wounds 
 skinned over, before there was a quarrel with another 
 village arising from some trifling discussion while at work 
 in the fields; and forgetting for the time their internal feud, 
 they rushed off in a body to the fight. I was again in 
 the schoolroom when told of this, and urged to go and 
 endeavour to prevent bloodshed. I immediately rode 
 off^, and was just in time. Shots were fired in bravado 
 in my very presence ; and one obstinate fellow I had the 
 greatest difficulty in restraining from rushing on his 
 opponents, and that only by dismounting, running up 
 to him, and pulling him back. He once told me his 
 melancholy story, which removed any wonder I might have 
 felt at his fierceness. In the time of Ibrahim Pasha his 
 brothers were taken as recruits, and he was left with his 
 old mother in a house robbed of nearly everything. About 
 six months after the village fight, I and the friends of 
 each party persuaded them to an accommodation, and the 
 wounded man accepted the sum of 500 piastres from his 
 opponents, as compensation for the injury he had received. 
 I got them also to swear on the New Testament that they 
 would be friends ; but as my lad, who is the wounded 
 man's brother, told me the other day, the ill-will still 
 remains, and will yet break out. 
 
 That the reader may not suppose that my own district 
 is singular in its savageness, I will make an extract 
 from my journal to show that such is not the case. It 
 is with reference to the Beni Ali district, which I have 
 said consists of two parts : the mountain part, called the 
 Boodeh, being under Sukkur Fadil ; and the plain country, 
 under the family of Sukkur of the village of Ain Sukkur, 
 and of their cousins of the house of Abu-Shalhah. 
 " Ahmed Sukkur of Ain Sukkur was Mekuddam in the 
 time of Ibrahim Pasha, and oppressed Sukkur Fadil and 
 his family, who are but very distantly related to that of 
 
FEUDS. 213 
 
 Sukkur, and sent them to the army. Some years ago Man- 
 soor, of the family of Abu-Shalhah, cousins of the house 
 of Sukkur, was Mekuddam (chief man), and Sukkur the 
 son of the above Ahmed Sukkur hired a man in Ladikeeh 
 to shoot him. I stayed with this Sukkur three years ago.* 
 Since then he has been poisoned, and this winter his 
 brother Rahman was shot by Khair Bey the brother of 
 Mansoor. Khair Bey was afterwards murdered by Sukkur 
 Fadil, and his effects plundered ; and his brother, Abu- 
 Shalhah, having been to Beyrout to complain, has been 
 made Mekuddam ; and I have heard that Sheikh Hhabeeb 
 has made peace between the parties." But such a peace 
 lasts for a very short tiuie. The Beni Ali people border 
 on our district to the south, and the Kelbeeh have 
 gained part of their possessions from them, so that, as a 
 Beni Ali man told me, there is and has been unceasing 
 hostility between the two. The politics of the districts 
 and of the mountains are of a most complicated character. 
 Men who are fighting against one another to-day, will to- 
 morrow join against a third party ; not so as to forget 
 their mutual feud, but with full intention to return to it 
 on occasion. I sometimes have wondered how any one 
 was left alive. A man grows up, has a young child or 
 two, and then is cut off in one of the numerous internal 
 quarrels or external fights, or else by secret assassination 
 or poisoning. How many of those whom I knew in my 
 first travels through the country have been cut off since ! 
 I have mentioned Sukkur of Ain Sukkur. Another man 
 I stayed with was a young Christian of Muzaiba-al, 
 whom I described as then ill. f He has since been 
 poisoned by the Ansairee inhabitants of Fidyo, a village 
 in the plain, whose inhabitants are addicted to this 
 horrible mode of assassination. Scarcely is there a vil- 
 lage around me, where one or other of the inhabitants has 
 not fallen victim to these dreadful quarrels in my time. 
 
 * Ansaireeh and Ismaeleeh, p. 188. f Ibid. p. 166. 
 
 r 3 
 
214 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 When I first went to the mountains I remonstrated with 
 tlie people for not planting more. I now know the reason. 
 The more property a man has, the more is he liable to the 
 attacks of his enemies. When in the mountains a short 
 time ago, a man openly threatened the chief man in my 
 presence, that if he oppressed him he would cut down his 
 trees by night. This is often done. 
 
 It is not the government only that oppresses. The 
 chief men themselves make use of the time of collecting 
 taxes, for exacting it doubly from those unable to defend 
 themselves. They eat part ; the Christian scribe who enters 
 the sums paid eats part ; the irregular horsemen who are 
 quartered to collect the taxes eat part ; and the remainder 
 goes to support the miserable local officials at Ladikeeh, or 
 if any remain over and above to the Pasha at Bey rout. 
 Not a para goes to Constantinople ; and I believe that 
 scarcely any revenue from Syria reaches that place (at 
 least so the people who pay the taxes suppose), except the 
 customs levied at the seaports, which are let to farmers 
 ct Constantinople itself. 
 
 Let it not be supposed that there are not many among 
 the people who sigh for a better state of things. True, 
 some young men delight in the frequent fights. A wild 
 fellow of the village, who, like a wild beast, seems to have 
 been born only to engage in such scenes and is always to 
 be found at them, once said to me that he was looking out 
 for the time when the harvest should be gathered 
 in (the chief time of combat), which, said he, putting his 
 tarboosh on one side, is the time for such men as I am. 
 There are others who long for security, and an oppor- 
 tunity of sitting quietly under their own vine and fig-tree ; 
 but as it is, they see the uselessness of acquiring property. 
 
 Every man goes armed. No man thinks of going any 
 distance, even in his own district, without arms of some 
 kind, except it be the protected peasantry ; for there are 
 some in every village who plough for those Avho are nearly 
 as poor, but who are too lazy, or think it a disgrace to 
 
FEUDS. 215 
 
 plough for themselves, preferring to fight and rob; and, 
 when not engaged in this, to boast and brag. 
 
 Often have I been reminded of the condition of the 
 children of Israel in the time of the Judges, when every 
 man did what was right in his own eyes. The robbery of 
 the house of Micah by the children of Dan is an exact 
 counterpart of what happens at the present day in the 
 mountains of the Ansaireeh. They had eifected a robbery 
 in open day, and turned and departed, putting " the little 
 ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. And when 
 they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men 
 that were in the houses near to Micah^s house were gathered 
 together, and overtook the children of Dan. And they 
 cried unto the children of Dan: and they turned their 
 faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou 
 comest with such a company ? And he said, Ye have taken 
 away my gods which 1 made, and the priest, and ye are 
 gone away ; and what have I more ? And what is this 
 that ye say unto me. What aileth thee ? And the 
 children of Dan said unto him. Let not thy voice be heard 
 among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose 
 thy life, with the lives of thy household. And the children 
 of Dan went their way : and when Micah saw that they 
 were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his 
 house." * 
 
 It is impossible for one who has not lived in a similar 
 state of society to conceive the vivid reality of such a story. 
 Often, too, have I been reminded of the condition of Eng- 
 land in the middle ages, when the lord of one castle fought 
 with the lord of another, quite independently of the central 
 government, and a feud lasted nearly two centuries. 
 Meanwhile the poor trader or peasant was trodden under 
 foot by both parties. Yet these much lauded mediaeval 
 times must have been still more intolerable than even the 
 present lawless state of parts of Syria, since it was neces- 
 
 * Judges, xviii. 21 — 26. 
 p 4 
 
216 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 sary to make regulations for the protection of the hus- 
 bandman, and the confining of war to certain days of 
 the week. 
 
 It is, indeed, melancholy to live under such an order of 
 things, in which all the finer and more useful qualities of 
 man are repressed, and the deserving and humane must 
 go to the wall. It is melancholy to see desolation ad- 
 vance ; and while hoping to see the ruins crowning some 
 hillock once more filled with life, to behold on the contrary 
 flourishing villages burnt, their inhabitants slain or scat- 
 tered, and the once tilled land overgrown with thistles or 
 brushwood. Yet such is the tendencynow in the province of- 
 Ladikeeh. The population cannot increase. Never in the 
 memory of man was the state of things worse than it has been 
 since, the Eussian war. During that time justice was in a 
 measure secured, and the country in the main kept quiet, 
 by the exertions of the English and French consuls ; but 
 now, since the former have been commanded to stay . 
 their hands, and are rebuked if they exceed their func- 
 tions in defence of men who are not English subjects, albeit 
 to save their lives, where is justice to be obtained by the 
 miserable peasant, Ansairee or Christian? Even his hopes 
 from the growing weakness of a government which does not 
 and cannot protect him are destroyed, because he finds it 
 bolstered up by powerful friends, and therefore likely to 
 linger long in all its impotence. 
 
 And as man decreases, the wild beasts of tha field 
 and creeping things increase. It is mournful to hear 
 on winter nights the howling of the jackals who have fed 
 on the carcasses of the slain; and in rides over waste 
 tracts, through the myrtle bushes, to see one of these 
 vile brutes a few feet distant looking at you unscared. 
 An increase of population would soon bring about a 
 decrease of noxious animals. As it is they abound in the 
 fields and houses. In ridding my farm of myrtle bushes 
 very many snakes were killed, and often have I had 
 dangerous ones in and about my house. Entering the 
 
DIVISION OF PEOPERTY. 
 
 schoolroom one evening, I saw a deadly snake on the 
 point of descending on the boys, who were asleep. I struck 
 at it, but it escaped among the stones of the wall. 
 
 Scorpions are very common ; scarcely one of those 
 about me escaped being bitten. The pain does not remain 
 ordinarily more than twenty-four hours, and is often imme- 
 diately stopped by a few drops of liquor ammonia) taken in- 
 ternally.' Once 1 heard a commotion in the fireplace, and 
 found a centipede and scorpion in such close combat that 
 it was easy to step in and settle the matter. At another 
 time I found a young scorpion immediately under me on 
 rising in the morning. It is possible to get indifferent to 
 the existence of such things about one, though not to their 
 bites or stings. 
 
 When hostilities have ceased it is usual to raise a flag 
 and fire guns. The Kelbeeh, as well as the people of other 
 districts, have a distinguishing flag. Theirs, for instance, 
 is white, while that of the Muhailby is red. 
 
 One fruitful cause of quarrel is the division of property. 
 My lad's . father, for example, has five children by two 
 wives. When his elder brothers, by the first- wife came 
 of age, each took a part of the property. The remaining 
 three, as they come of age, will each claim a part, and the 
 father in this case remain without anything, his younger 
 sons providing for him. In other cases the father retains 
 a part equal to that taken by each son. When a woman 
 has a sou she is sure of support; for when the son comes 
 of age he can claim his portion of the property. The 
 people of a village, or of a family, do not always divide the 
 land belonging to them definitively, but retain it in com- 
 mon, and agree every year how much each quarter or family 
 shall take, in proportion to its position and numbers. 
 Hence frequent disputes. If both man and woman are 
 willing, a man, as with the Jews, will take his deceased 
 brother's -Nvife. 
 
 The collection of the taxes is effected in a curious 
 way. Besides the land-tax, called Meeree, there is the 
 
218 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 poll-tax or Furdee, and lately the poor people have been 
 unjustly saddled with a third tax, called Ushr or tithes, 
 which used only to be levied on those who paid no poll-tax. 
 Moreover, when last in the mountains, the government 
 demanded half the taxes of the succeeding year as a loan, 
 and I had to pay my share on the portion of the lands of 
 the village in my occupation. Many other demands 
 were made, which, combined with a bad harvest, the 
 raising of the export duty on tobacco, and a prohibition 
 against sending corn from the town to the mountains, was 
 near bringing the people to their wits' end, so that they 
 told me they might as well fight it out at once, and en- 
 deavour to live somewhere else, as die of starvation where 
 they were. 
 
 But to return to the mode of collection. The govern- 
 ment sends a certain number of horsemen to the chief man 
 of a district. He quarters them on particular villages, 
 some in every house. The good man of the house has to 
 provide food for his unwelcome guest, and fodder for his 
 horse, till he receives a receipt as having paid his taxes. 
 Taxes however sometimes remain unpaid, and I asked the 
 head man of our village how that could be under such 
 circumstances. " Oh," said he, " we feed our guest pretty 
 well the first day, and gradually diminish his allowances 
 till he has nothing to do but to take himself off." My 
 Ansairee servant once made use of another plan. In 
 the province of Ladikeeh much tares grow among the 
 wheat. The effect of these, when made into bread, is 
 to make a man giddy and intoxicated, and such bread, if 
 partaken of in great quantities, may kill a man. He slily 
 put a good deal of these tares in the bread of the man 
 quartered on him, who consequently fell into a state of 
 coma, and could only indistinctly ask for " quarter." Let 
 me add that the " tares," called in Arabic Zu-an, a name 
 nearly identical with the Zizania of Scripture, are a bastard 
 kind of wheat, nearly resembling it, and quite different 
 from what are called tares in England. 
 
 II 
 
ROBBERY AND MURDER. 219 
 
 As the Ansaireeh are oppressed by the government*, so, 
 like most semi-barbarous mountain tribes, they take their 
 revenge by descending and plundering on the plains ; and 
 requite the hatred of the Mussulmans by robbing and 
 murdering them without mercy, when pretty sure of 
 escaping punishment. My own district, and especially 
 my own village, have been noted for these crimes, and 
 among the people of this last the ringleaders were the 
 brothers of my lad and my own Ansairee servant. Of 
 this man I had bought my land, and as he was my neigh- 
 bour I took him into my service at the small monthly 
 salary of five shillings and his food. It is true he and his 
 household profited in many ways from his position. For 
 instance, I would buy wheat for the school. A quarter 
 of this would be wasted in sifting out the tares. I found 
 that at the water-mill about a quarter was stolen. This 
 I ascertained beyond doubt by weighing it. The remainder 
 would be made into flat loaves, which were given to the An- 
 sairee's wife to bake ; and once she was so audacious as to 
 take a third of the number as payment. On being re- 
 monstrated with she would strike work, and we, on look- 
 ing out in the morning for bread, would find that none 
 was yet forthcoming, on account of the sulkiness of this 
 termagant. 
 
 Well, this man has committed many murders in his 
 time. His father was shot when engaged in robbery, and 
 his wife thanks me for " causing him to repent," and thus 
 probably saving his life. Once a man wounded him in 
 the leg and was coming on him, when he knelt and fired, 
 killing his adversary, whose body he threw into the exca- 
 vations near the Nahr-es-Seen. One of my lad's brothers 
 has thus also taken many lives in his time. Nothing is 
 thought of thus killing a Mussulman as a natural enemy, 
 
 * I mean always the local government ; for, though the defects of that 
 of Constantinople on the spot and its powerlessness at a distance are well 
 known, yet in principle, now, it is just to the different orders of its 
 subjects. 
 
220 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 or a Christian as an unclean thing. For, as T have before 
 shown by instances, the Christian is after all more despised 
 than the Mussulman, who has at least this recommendation, 
 that he acknowledges Mohammed ; though Christians may, 
 after a fashion, be more liked as harmless and fellow- 
 sufferers under oppression. 
 
 I will give an extract from an entry made at the time, 
 regarding an occurrence in Sheikh Hhabeeb's house. 
 We were sitting round the fire in the evening, some men 
 being present who had come to the sheikh to settle a 
 dispute about land. " One man of the Beyt-il-Wahsh, 
 of Wady Beyt Ahmed (in the Kelbeeh district), spoke 
 of an expedition which he had made to near Kulat-il- 
 Husn. He had, with his party, first seen two Mussul- 
 mans, whom he bound and laid on the roadside. An- 
 other man was about to give the alarm, and so, said 
 he, I shot him and threw him among the myrtle. They 
 asked him of what religion he was. He said, a Christian. 
 Sheikh Hhabeeb expressed some dissatisfaction ; but they 
 made it a matter of laughter when I told the man that 
 the crime was still upon him, and that he would yet have to 
 give an account for it. Sheikh Hhabeeb then said that 
 the sitting in their presence was *Haram' (unlawful). 
 The brother of the man made a kind of apology, saying 
 " that when their father died they had been left poor." 
 
 Lately five poor Mussulman hucksters were murdered 
 in one spot. 
 
 In a distant district I met a man who had formerly been 
 accustomed to accompany my servant on marauding ex- 
 peditions, the latter having gone a long way to him for 
 that purpose. They will go a great distance over the 
 plains by night, and return with incredible celerity ; or, 
 if overtaken by dawn, will remain with their booty con- 
 cealed in some cave till the succeeding evening. When 
 a robbery is detected, and comes to the ears of govern- 
 ment, they send to the chief man of the district claiming 
 the property; but the robbers do not give it up till 
 
OTHER BAD TRAITS. 221 
 
 they have received a *^ Helwiln " (sweetener ) from the 
 owners, which of course is a premium for stealing. 
 
 When I have taken my servant to Djebileh or else- 
 where, we have been met by people of whom he would 
 say : "Oh, I know that man ; I robbed hira or his 
 brother." 
 
 While I was with them, he and others of the village gave 
 up robbing. At one time, I believe, entirely. I found 
 him other things to do. I would send him to collect eggs 
 or fowls, or to accompany my Christian servant charged 
 with buying butter or wheat ; and often on messages 
 in the mountains. Sometimes I would give him harder 
 work, namely, to help the Christians in cutting and load- 
 ing wood. He would return tired and angry, having 
 done all he could to shift the task off himself. What 
 annoyed him most was being called by the women " little 
 woodcutter." " Ah," he would say, " that I should 
 ever come to this 1 " He was a difficult subject to deal 
 with ; as often sulking as smiling. 
 
 The people not only rob others, but one another. 
 
 " Let him take who has the power, 
 And let him keep who can,'* 
 
 is their motto. 
 
 I come now to other bad features of the Ansairee 
 character. The reader, after what has preceded, will be 
 prepared for the development of the worst passions. How 
 can people so situated, with a religion such has been 
 described, be free from them ? That religion, indeed, in 
 word inculcates the doing good to " brethren," and the 
 abstaining from injuring them ; the keeping free from 
 fornication, lying, and backbiting ; the remembering that 
 the "cord of believers is united to the cord of their 
 Lord," and that he who injures them injures Him ; the 
 behaving becomingly in God's house, with humility and 
 without a display of finery, and the abstaining from talking 
 at the time of prayer, laughing, or anything which may 
 interrupt the religious service ; during which " no one 
 
222 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 should have anything in his mind but thoughts of God." 
 All this, and more, will be found in the sermon given in 
 the next chapter. Even the great rule of duty towards 
 one's neighbour, " to desire for him what one would 
 desire for oneself, and to dislike in his case what one 
 would dislike in one's own," is borrowed from the 
 Gospel, and there given. But these precepts confess- 
 edly do not extend to outsiders, and are almost a dead 
 letter even among "brethren." The children are not 
 initiated into these good counsels, and when they are, 
 they are past profiting by them. The sheikhs can make 
 use of no exhortations, except a few ordinary sayings, to 
 inculcate them ; and are notoriously too busy in collecting 
 alms, and too fearful of stemming the stream, to give 
 themselves trouble in doing so. Hence the state of society 
 is a perfect hell upon earth. 
 
 1 think it impossible for any one to understand the 
 full force of St. Paul's allusions to the wickedness of the 
 unconverted heathen of his day, without having" lived 
 amongst or had some intercourse with some long neg- 
 lected barbarous tribe, such as the Ansaireeh, unre- 
 strained by civil government or by religion. I never 
 understood it before, but I felt it fully soon after my 
 settlement in the mountains. I allude to such passages 
 as that in the first of Komans.* "Being filled with all 
 unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, 
 maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malig- 
 nity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, 
 boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 
 without understanding, covenant-breakers, without na- 
 tural affection, implacable, unmerciful." Every one of 
 these evil qualities was illustrated in those around me ; 
 some, such as disobedience to parents, enty, debate, 
 whisperers, &c., in the most shocking way. 
 
 When I first went to the mountains to build, our tents 
 
 * Verses 29—31. 
 
INGRATITUDE. 223 
 
 were pitched, as 1 have said, on the roofs of some houses 
 in the village. Every morning and evening there was a 
 perfect Babel of quarreling. Brother would draw sword 
 against brother, and curse father or mother without fear 
 or shame. It was comparatively paradise to enter our 
 own house when just finished; but even then, as soon as 
 the day dawned, the shouting both of men and women 
 would commence, with the utterance of the most dreadful 
 oaths and unclean sayings. 
 
 At other times envy would be at work, and, though even 
 a brother was receiving a favour, an attempt would be 
 made by backbiting to displace him. To see a good office 
 done to another, was quite sufficient to obliterate the sense 
 of all good offices formerly received. I could scarcely be- 
 lieve such ingratitude as I have experienced to exist else- 
 where, did not I see from missionary reports that it is the 
 rule, not the exception, with savages and semi-savage 
 peoples. 
 
 My house was at first built by contract. I had observed 
 that the people, between thirty and forty in number, who 
 were working on it, were only doing half a day's work, 
 hiding themselves and the like to get rest. So the first 
 day that I commenced operations on my own account I 
 employed but three men, one of them of another village; 
 for 1 had seen him to be a hardworking man. An old 
 man of the village, indignant at this, rushed up to him 
 and said, " You shall not raise another stone." I waited 
 to see what the by-standers would say. They took my 
 part, and I told the old fellow that as an Englishman I felt 
 a pressure even on my little finger, and that if I was to 
 build under compulsion I should not build at all. I also 
 informed those who clamoured for work that I had none, 
 except I should pull down what had been already built, 
 or begin constructing a wall to Ladikeeh. By making a 
 stand at once I was less troubled in this way afterwards. 
 But I found my neighbours very troublesome. Continual 
 subjects of dispute arose; for their ideas of their own im- 
 
224 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 portance and rights were of the highest. Sometimes, when 
 in a rage, they would curse my religion in my own house, 
 though not before my face, and soon after return to 
 civility. One day my English schoolmaster saw that one 
 of them had been stealing my water-melons, and had con- 
 cealed the skins under a myrtle bush. When told of this 
 he was furious, and went about the village denouncing 
 the schoolmaster, calling him the *^ father of a pot," in 
 allusion to his cap. A day or two afterwards I saw him 
 quietly sitting in one of my rooms eating. I could not 
 restrain myself at this, and told my Ansairee servant that 
 it was a disgrace to him to allow such a man, after what 
 he had done and said, to come into my house. At this the 
 culprit was ready to burst with rage ; and yet a short time 
 after, at their feast of Nuzelleh, he came with the rest to 
 salute me. He had before asked the cook how he should 
 approach me ; and, before I could restrain him, he kissed, 
 the ground and then my foot. In fact their conduct used 
 to remind me of that of spoiled children. One day I would 
 be their "father" and "sultan;" another no name was 
 bad enough for me and mine. 
 
 Nothing would satisfy them. They would take the 
 bread out of my servants' mouths, sitting with them at 
 meals ; coming down like locusts after having finished 
 their own dinners. They would consider it a matter of 
 the greatest offence if it were hinted that their absence 
 was desirable on such occasions ; and really I feared at 
 times to be " eaten out of house and home," in its literal 
 meaning. When a child was born anywhere near, even the 
 women of chief men would come for oil to anoint it ; an- 
 other for a little rice for a child who was ill, which rice 
 might serve as a meal for themselves who had suddenly 
 taken a fancy to some. Like most poor people, the way 
 to the affections of the Ansaireeh is through their stomachs, 
 which they love dearly. They go miles to the gardens of 
 Djebileh to get a little unripe fruit. 
 
 Hospitality with them is the one virtue. As they say 
 
HOSPITALITY. 225 
 
 themselves, a man may do anything he likes with us if he 
 will feed us. One who " gives bread to eat " is with 
 them almost synonymous with a perfect character. Their 
 sheikhs accordingly are very bountiful in this respect, 
 and their example was held up to me for my encourage- 
 ment and imitation. It was in vain for me to say that 
 I would readily imitate these gentry, if I were allowed 
 to do as they did, — beg with one hand and distribute 
 with the other ; but that I really could not undertake 
 to feed the district, buying as I did all things at* full 
 price. 
 
 As Dr. Taylor well observes, " Hospitality and generosity 
 were deemed by the Arabians virtues paramount to all 
 others. This, indeed, is always the characteristic of a 
 semi-barbarous people; 'an open hand' is regarded by 
 the vulgar of every nation as an atonement for the worst 
 vices, not only because its benefits are felt more peculiarly 
 by themselves, but because men must have advanced to 
 that point in civilisation when the notion of property is 
 rightly conceived, before they can discover that improvi- 
 dence is a crime and prudence a virtue." * 
 
 Men would come to me for assistance who were thus 
 making a great show in their houses. Every one who has 
 come even from half an hour's distance expects to be asked 
 to eat ; and among themselves it is considered a mark of 
 churlishness and covetousness if the inviter does not press 
 his guest even to the extent of swearing that he shall 
 eat. Hospitality in such cases, with hungry and poverty- 
 stricken neighbours, becomes a serious thing. 
 
 AVith respect to the morality of the Ansaireeh, I have 
 already anticipated what I was going to say here, and 
 have cleared their character of the worst accusations 
 made against them. They are probably not more immoral 
 than Western nations. Early marriages on one hand favour 
 morality, while on the other the facts that families are 
 
 * History of Mohammedanism, p. 57. 
 Q 
 
226 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 herded together in one room, and that females remain 
 without education and religion, foster immorality ; and 
 no nation can be considered a moral one, where polygamy 
 is permitted with unlimited freedom of divorce. 
 
 " The depraving effects of this freedom of divorce, upon 
 both sexes," says Lane, speaking of Egypt *, " may be 
 easily imagined. There are many men in this country 
 who, in the course of ten years, have married as many as 
 twenty,. thirty, or more wives ; and women, not far ad- 
 vanced in age, who have been wives to a dozen or more 
 men successively." The Ansaireeh do not go to such an 
 excess of libertinism ; but divorce is by no means uncom- 
 mon among them. No increase of evil seems to arise from 
 the fact that their women go unveiled. 
 
 While speaking of the women, I must admit that, with 
 the exception of being hard-working, they have few redeem- 
 ing qualities. In violence, the use of oaths, and unclean 
 language, they unhappily imitate and sometimes go beyond 
 the men. 
 
 With such fathers and mothers it is needless to say what 
 the children are in the use of bad language and in every 
 other growing vice. Nothing shocked me more than to 
 see the schoolboys, when the fight took place in the village, 
 seem utterly unmoved by the sight of blood, and apparently 
 pleased with the excitement of the scene, using joking 
 expressions on what had happened. 
 
 Swearing, with old and young, is not an occasional but 
 constant thing. Few words come out of their mouths un- 
 accompanied with an oath, and that when utterly uncalled 
 for. A sentence will have more of the concomitants of the 
 oath in it, than of information. When remonstrated with 
 for this, they say that they are obliged to swear or they 
 would not be believed. They consequently swear falsely 
 with little fear. 
 
 It was long before I could teach any of the boys to 
 
 ♦ Vol. i. p. 251. 
 
HABIT OF SWEARING. 227 
 
 leave off this evil habit. Even when taught to say 
 "Yes," they called it swearing by "yes;" so entirely 
 did they conceive that every assertion must be accom- 
 panied by an oath. They would say, " By the truth of 
 yes," in answering a question affirmatively. Hence they 
 were called the house of " Hukh N4am," or the " truth of 
 yes." The other day I heard one young boy who had 
 been in the school repeat continually before me, " With 
 respect to that ;" and I did not understand at first that he 
 was filling up the blank left by the absence of oaths. 
 
 I have already said that with themselves the oath for 
 confirmation is by one of their visiting- places ; and in 
 matters between them and the government they will swear 
 by the sword and Koran. 
 
 It is well known that lying is a universal vice of 
 Eastern nations. They will not answer directly a direct 
 question, but ask another, not for information's sake, but 
 because they intend to tell some lie, and only wish to gain 
 time, that they may know of what shape and colour it 
 should be, and because they fear to commit themselves by 
 letting even the shadow of the truth appear. The An- 
 saireeh, as possessing a secret religion which they are 
 bound under the greatest penalties to conceal, have, over 
 and above this general facility of lying, contracted an 
 additional habit of deceit, which serves them as an impene- 
 trable shield. None can lie with better grace. 
 
 Drunkenness is a vice to which they would be more 
 prone, had they more facilities for its indulgence. As it 
 is, many of them drink deeply at their yearly feasts, 
 partly of arrack brought from town, and partly of that 
 distilled in the mountains from dried figs, a kind which 
 seems to have almost a maddening effect on those who 
 take much of it. 
 
 Such are some of the vices and bad qualities of the An- 
 saireeh ; and it is not by going to the towns, or among 
 Mussulmans and native Christians, that they can learn 
 anything better. The province of Ladikeeh seems utterly 
 
 <i2 
 
228 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 corrupt. As the Ansaireeh learn evil from the towns- 
 people, so these last, who many of them in great measure 
 gain their livelihood by traffic with the Ansaireeh, are 
 debased by the contact, and fall below the level of their 
 co-religionists in other parts. I, for certain reasons, draw 
 a veil over the corruption of the Laodiceans ; but will give 
 one instance of the ignorance of the Christians. My 
 ploughman, who had during his stay with me become 
 slightly acquainted with the Bible, heard one of the 
 priests rebuke a child who was talking in the church, by 
 using the common expression, *' Curse your father." ** My 
 father," said my servant, "is it right to curse ? " " Oh," 
 said he, " it was only from my lips." " But does not the 
 psalmist say. Keep the door of my lips ? " " That," replied 
 the priest, " is only in the English Bible." 
 
 I cannot, however, omit to mention one occurrence to 
 show the dreadful cheapness in which life is held even 
 among Christians, and the ease with which murder itself is 
 overlooked. During my stay at Ladikeeh two years ago, 
 on my return from England, where I had been sent on 
 account of illness, an awful crime was perpetrated. It hap- 
 pened at the very time of my arrival, and was this. A 
 respectable Christian merchant had a daughter who had 
 a liaison with a servant. To facilitate her guilty inter- 
 course, she had resort to poison, and gave the servant 
 arsenic to put in the food of the family. About sixteen 
 persons partook of it, but only one, the father, died. The 
 police laid hold of the servant, and, taking him out to the 
 sepulchres at night, so terrified him that he confessed to 
 his participation in the crime. The Greek Christians in 
 the town, however, got hold of him, and favoured his 
 escape to the mountains. When I went up to my house, 
 I found him in the courtyard, which I of course imme- 
 diately made him quit. On going down to the town, I 
 asked an influential Greek Christian whether it were not 
 a shame that such a man should be allowed to escape. He 
 said, " Ohj poor fellow, the Mussulmans were hard upon 
 
LOVE OF OFFSPRING. 229 
 
 him, and treated him unjustly ; '^ so, rather than let a 
 Christian be punished by the Mussulmans, he was to 
 escape altogether. I asked what would be done to the 
 daughter. *' Nothing," was the reply, that the family may 
 not be disgraced. On returning lately a second time to 
 my house, I found the man still there, and I saw a lame 
 petition which he had drawn up to the governor, saying 
 that the Christians accused him unjustly. He seemed to 
 be frightened at my presence in the village, and I was 
 told that he had made off for Tarsoos. That he was sus- 
 pected of so fearful a crime seemed to make no difference 
 in the conduct of the Ansaireeh towards him. 
 
 They have the good quality that they will protect a 
 guest, though they may at the same time metaphorically 
 eat him up ; but this becomes a vice when exercised, 
 as it usually is, in unworthy cases. 
 
 They have another good quality, which however they 
 share with brutes, love for their progeny, in which they 
 are, after their blind fashion, behind no other people. 
 
 An Ansaireeh has few friends away from his own race, 
 therefore it is almost death to him to leave his mountains 
 for long ; and even a short visit to town is distasteful to 
 him. 
 
 I shall now make a few remarks on the appearance of 
 the people, their food, arms, and dwellings. 
 
 As to their appearance, I cannot do better than quote 
 some words of Mr. Walpole, on account of their accuracy. 
 " They are a fine large race, with more bone and muscle 
 than is generally found among Orientals ; browner than the 
 Osmanlee, but lighter, fairer than the Arab ; brown hair 
 is not by any means uncommon. The women, when 
 young, are handsome, often fair, with light hair and jet- 
 black eyes; or the rarer beauty of fair eyes and coal- 
 black hair or eyebrows." * 
 
 Their arms consist of a long gun, with flint lock and 
 
 * Ansayrii, or Assassins, vol. iii. p. 345. The reader will there find 
 other remarks on their dress, &c. 
 
 Q 3 
 
230 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 coarse powder, generally made in the mountains. It is as 
 common almost for their muskets to miss fire as to go ofi^, 
 and this of course is very disadvantageous to them in 
 a fight. They have besides a short bent sword, which 
 is often blunt, and in every way little serviceable ; and they 
 use their swords in the most unscientific manner. When 
 in want of lead they will borrow for the time the roofing 
 of Djaafar Tayyar, to be restored afterwards. They carry 
 but a small supply of balls, of irregular sizes, so that 
 their aim is qji uncertain one. I have seen no good shots 
 among them ; and they look on a shot flying as a great 
 performance. Though individually brave, their last en- 
 counter with the government shows that they are unable 
 to meet regular troops ; for these were in small numbers, 
 and by their own accounts some 2000 to 3000 Ansaireeh 
 were assembled. The war in Morocco has proved how 
 little half-trained men can do against European troops 
 armed as they now are. 
 
 Their houses are in some cases not ill-constructed, 
 though only with a door, and without window or chimney. 
 The invariable type is, four walls formed of unhewn loose 
 stones piled up in two rows with rubble between. The roof 
 is supported on pillars of wood, which carry transverse 
 beams. These in their turn support smaller branches, 
 and these still slighter, till over all myrtle or gorse is 
 placed, and then earth some inches thick, which is mudded 
 over at the approach of every winter. A fire inside, for 
 fuel is plentiful, gives an air of comfort to the dwelling. 
 One or two mats and quilts, and mud receptacles for 
 wheat, &c., complete the furniture of the house. 
 
 I once spoke to one of the chief sheikhs on the supe- 
 riority of Europe, and the miserable condition of the 
 Ansaireeh. He said he did not see that, for every one 
 had a felt mat and quilt, and enough to eat. 
 
 As to food, though it is of the commonest quality, they 
 are perhaps not so badly off; and, when their climate is 
 considered, there is less misery on the whole among them 
 
 II 
 
DIET. 231 
 
 than in large town populations, even in England. Se- 
 curity for life and property is all they want. Had they 
 but this they might for a century to come have all that 
 heart could wish in matters of food. 
 
 Their chief diet is burghool, which is nothing more 
 than wheat, boiled, dried, stored, ground, and boiled again 
 with a little melted butter. They seldom eat meat, but 
 have in summer water-melons and fresh figs ; and in winter 
 the same dried, with a little butter and some milk. Rice 
 is a rare luxury. 
 
 Such is the picture of the present state of the Ansai- 
 reeh and of the province where they dwell, so far as I 
 have dared to sketch that of the last. If the reader thinks 
 it a melancholy one, I can assure him that, though it may 
 be in a measure distorted from not being filled up in 
 all its details, it is not exaggerated ; and was, with many 
 attractions, a sad scene to live in. Often had I to console 
 myself with such lines as these in the " Christian Year : " — 
 
 ** Bethink thee what thou art and where, — 
 A sinner in a life of care." 
 
 God seems still to have a controversy with the inha- 
 bitants of Syria, " because there is no truth, nor mercy, 
 nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and 
 lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, 
 they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore 
 shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein 
 shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the 
 fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken 
 away. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, 
 and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks, and poplars, 
 and elms, because the shadow thereof is good."* 
 
 * Hosea, iv. 1—3, 13. 
 q4 
 
232 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 As it was beside the purpose of this book to give a 
 history of my mission, I have omitted to allude to the 
 troubles which led to its premature close. But as some 
 of the kind friends who supported the school may read 
 it, I will add, that, though a sudden illness caused the 
 entire suspension of my labours, yet I have lately had 
 good reason to hope that blessed results may arise from 
 the mission ; and 1 intend, if my life be spared, once again 
 to live amongst the Ansaireeh, and by intercourse with 
 them to do what I can for their welfare.* 
 
 * As stated in a note appended to the preface, the Author did not live 
 to see this work through the press. There is great prospect, however, 
 of the good results he hoped for being realised. 
 
 II 
 
233 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE " MANUAL FOR SHEIKHS." 
 
 I PURPOSE devoting this chapter to a description of my 
 Ansairee MS., and to a translation of its most interest- 
 ing parts. I had thought of translating the whole, but 
 as I have already given the most important passages 
 from several of the sections, and as many of these are 
 so similar that from one an idea may be formed of the 
 rest, I shall content myself with presenting a summary of 
 the contents of the book, and a translation of those por- 
 tions alluded to in preceding chapters. I have made use 
 of other parts in my notes on the catechism. 
 
 The Manuscript contains 188 pages 12mo, and is called 
 
 II Mashyakhah, or " Manual for Sheikhs." It is in the 
 handwriting of a certain Sheikh Mohammed of the village 
 of Bishrago, and is said by him to have been copied at 
 the consecration of his nephew Ali, son of Sheikh Eed, 
 in A.H. 1239 (a.d. 1824). The closing part is written 
 in a very bad hand, and the sheikh excuses himself on 
 account of the badness of the ink. The handwriting of 
 the greater part of the book is good, but it is full of the 
 most ridiculous and inexcusable grammatical and other 
 errors. Thus, where the intention is to call Ali the refuge 
 of those who seek him, by a wrong diacritical mark 
 the meaning becomes the terrifier of the same. 
 
 The book contains all the chief parts of the religion of 
 the Ansaireeh. Being a manual, it contains the different 
 prayers to be recited at the administration of the sacra- 
 ment, and in other offices, and ends with the form of initia- 
 tion, &c. The book is put together in some order. First, 
 
234 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 comes a proof of the divinity of Ali, and a reference to 
 the Trinity, Maana, Ism, and Bab, and the hierarchies; 
 and then a description of the names of each of these, be- 
 ginning from the lowest, or the hierarchies, and so on 
 through Aytam, or orphans, the Bab, and Ism, to the 
 Maana, or the names of Ali. Then, after the testimony of 
 Mohammed to Ali, come the different passages of the 
 "Mass" and the "Mass" itself; and finally the initia- 
 tion, and a sermon to be read at the Mass. 
 
 I. The book opens with the proof of the divinity of 
 Ali, from his testimony to himself, in his interpretation of 
 the words of the Koran, which he makes to apply entirely 
 to himself, and in various discourses pronounced by him 
 from the pulpit. This section concludes, like all the others, 
 with an invocation to Ali, by the truth and influence of 
 all that has been alleged, that he would pardon and bless 
 the souls of all the brethren present and absent, and give 
 them all temporal benefits. 
 
 II. This section begins with a tradition of Mohammed, 
 to the effect that God draws nigh to those who draw nigh 
 to Him. And " wherever my believing servant seeks me, 
 he finds me ; for the heavens and the earth cannot con- 
 tain me ; and nothing can contain me but the heart of my 
 believing servant ; for the heart of my believing servant 
 is my peculiar abode, and it is not right that anything 
 should dwell there but myself." It concludes with an in- 
 vocation that Ali may cause his people to recall to mind 
 what they might have forgotten of their religion. 
 
 III. The third section also opens with a tradition of 
 Mohammed, of like meaning, and is called the ** section of 
 mutual making mention ; " of Ali by his followers, and of 
 his followers by Ali, according to his promise. 
 
 lY. A prayer to Ali to favour the seven hierarchies of 
 the two worlds, ending with the usual invocation " by the 
 truth " of the same. 
 
 V. An invocation by the seven hierarchies of the great 
 world of light with their forty-nine degrees. 
 
INVOCATIONS. 235 
 
 VI. An invocation by seventeen names of prophets. 
 
 VII. An invocation by the names of the twenty-eight 
 Nudjaba, in the human world and that of light. 
 
 VIII. An invocation by the names of the intercessors 
 of the great and glorious Door (Bab) of God, which is 
 surrounded by light. The names are those of the seven 
 manifestations of the Bab from Gabriel to Salmon il 
 Farisee, and of the succeeding ones from him to the time 
 of the eleventh Imam. 
 
 IX. Invocation by the names of twenty-five orphans. 
 
 X. Invocation by the names of the fifty five personi- 
 fications of the Door in the books of the Unitarians. 
 
 XI. Invocation by the names of the personifications of 
 the Door, and its orphans, in the six spiritual stations. 
 The seventh station, that of Salman, is not given. 
 
 XII. Invocation by the personifications of the Door in 
 the Domes (periods), styled Bahmaneel (or of the kings 
 of Persia). This section contains only Persian names. 
 
 XIII. Invocation by the eleven appearances of the 
 Door from Salman to Abu-Shuaib, son of Nusair, the Door 
 in the time of Hassan il Askeree, the eleventh Imam. 
 
 XIV. Invocation by the names of the Name (Ism), 
 according to the rules of language. 
 
 XV. Invocation by the nine essential names of the 
 Name. 
 
 XVI. Invocation by the names of the Name in the 
 Adillah. This word, if written right according to Ansairee 
 fashion (as it seems to be, for it is used in another place, 
 p. 109, where Ali is called " the framer of the Adillah "), 
 can only have any meaning by supposing that the letter 
 Dad is used for Za, as is frequently the case in the 
 Ansairee mountains, and in the MS. itself. It may then 
 mean " Shades " or " Shadows." 
 
 XVII. Invocation by the five names of the Name in the 
 Dome of Abraham. 
 
 XVIII. Invocation by the five names of the Name in 
 the Dome of Moses. 
 
236 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 XIX. Invocation by the five names of the Name in 
 the Dome of Mohammed. 
 
 XX. Invocation by the sixty-three names made use 
 of by the Name, when by a consecutive prophesying and 
 apostleship it testified to the Maana. 
 
 XXL Invocation by the names of the personifica- 
 tions of prayer. 
 
 XXII. Invocation by the attributive names of the Ism, 
 which belong peculiarly to the Maana. 
 
 XXIII. The names of Ali extracted from the fifth 
 section of the Egyptian epistle, and there inserted from a 
 line of tradition passing up through II Khaseebee and 
 Abu-Shuaib ibn-Nusair, to Hassan il Askeree. The sec- 
 tion closes as usual with an invocation. 
 
 XXIY. The names of Ali from the books of Seth, 
 Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, given by Abu-Saeed, in his 
 book " Ir-raddalair-muirtadd," "Reply to the Backslider,'^ 
 on the authority of the Book of Direction (Hadayeh), 
 written by II Khaseebee from traditions mounting to 
 Hassan il Askeree. 
 
 XXV. Rubric. " And he [the sheikh] must read 
 the discourse of the Convention [acknowledgment of a 
 sovereign by taking an oath to him] of the House, with 
 our Lord the Prince of true believers, which is this, please 
 God. To Him belongeth perfection ! " 
 
 This section is a pretended testimony of Mohammed to 
 the divinity of Ali, and I propose to give a translation of 
 it, with its repetitions, so as to afi^ord a better idea of the 
 kind of writings which please the ignorant Ansaireeh. 
 It is of course impossible to imitate, in a literal transla- 
 tion, the jingling rhythm of the Arabic, so delightful to 
 Arab ears. 
 
 " In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. 
 By tradition received from Abu-il-Hasan, Raik ibn-Khudr 
 il Gessanee, known as the Mehmelee, may God most high 
 have mercy on him ! He said : Abu-Abdullah Ishak ibn- 
 Fihd (may God be pleased with him!) told me from in- 
 
TESTIMONY TO ALL 237 
 
 formation immediately received from Salmon il Farisee 
 (to him belongs salutation). Said Salman, my master the 
 greatest lord, Mohammed (from him is peace) invited 
 me on a certain day to the house of Umm Salamah (one 
 of the chief wives of Mohammed), and caused to be present 
 a number of the chief of his companions ; among them, 
 Mikdad ibn-il-Aswad il Kindee, and Abu-id-Durr Djundub 
 ibn-Djenadah il Ghifaree, and Ammar ibn-Yasir, and Abu- 
 Ayyoob Khalid ibn-Zeijd the Ansaree, in all forty men. 
 And Mohammed* the son of Abu-Beer was with us, being 
 a youth at that time, and brought us food. So we ate 
 and drank and washed our hands. Then the apostle of 
 God (from him is peace) said to us : Be of good comfort ; 
 you are well off; for I have not invited you except for 
 your good : hear and mind what your prophet says to 
 you. 
 
 " Do you believe in God most high and in me? We all 
 of us said, we believe in God most high and in you. Then 
 he said : Am I not truthful to you, and no liar ? By 
 Allah, we replied, apostle of God, we have never at all 
 for a moment doubted you. Then said Lord Mohammed ; 
 God is a witness against you, do not lie in what I tell you. 
 We all said : We hear and obey thee in all things. He 
 said : Hear now what I tell you, and beware of doubting 
 what you hear from me. Know that I call you to Ali son 
 of Abu-Taleb, as I call you to the great and glorious God. 
 Is not Ali my Lord and your Lord, for you are the chief 
 of my companions ? I say unto you, as Jesus son of 
 Mary said to the apostles, * Who are helpers with God ? 
 The apostles said, we are God's helpers. So part of the 
 children of Israel believed, and part were unbelieving, and 
 we strengthened those who believed against their enemies, 
 and they became victorious.'! They are God's witnesses, 
 
 * He was a great supporter of Ali. He was present at the assassina- 
 tion of Othman. Being taken prisoner by Moawiyab, he was sewn up 
 in an ass's skin and burnt alive. 
 
 "f Koran, c. 61, v. 14. 
 
238 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 and his chosen ones. I call you to All with my eyes open, 
 I and those who follow me. Exalted be God! I am not 
 one of the polytheists [those who associate other gods 
 with God]. I call you to Ali by his command; take care 
 of doubt. Is not my office of prophet under the dominion 
 of Ali, for he has sent me as a prophet to you, for I was 
 created from the light of his essence ? Did not Ali teach 
 me the Koran ? Did not Ali send me to you ? Has not 
 Ali sent me as an apostle to you ? Is not Ali my Lord 
 and your Lord ? Is not Ali my creator and your creator ? 
 Therefore obey him. Is not Ali your framer ? Then 
 know him. Is not Ali your God? Then respect him. 
 Is not Ali your producer ? Then fear him. Is not Ali 
 your healer ? Then be afraid of him. Is not Ali your 
 witness, and leader, and driver ? Then mind him. Is 
 not Ali your governor ? Then know him. Is not Ali 
 your balance ? Then make your scales heavy, and weigh 
 with a just steelyard, that is more advantageous for you, 
 and of better interpretation.* Is not Ali your keeper ? 
 Then seek him. Is not Ali your keeper, so that he sees 
 you though absent from you ? Then mind him. Is not 
 Ali your enricher ? Then ask him. Is not Ali the giver, 
 and the withdrawer ? Then seek his bounty. Is not Ali 
 near, hearing the prayer of the praying ? Then pray to 
 him ; he will answer you, if ye be true. Is not Ali your 
 Lord ? Then believe in him, and he will pardon you your 
 faults, and spare you to an appointed time, and cause you 
 to enter the gardens of Eden under which flow rivers, and 
 good habitations, that is the great acquisition. f Is not 
 Ali lord of the throne ? To him are all things committed, 
 and it is said ; Him praise all that is in heaven and earth, 
 and that which is between them, and that which is under 
 ground. Does not Ali know what is secret and what is 
 open in you, and your private conversations, and what 
 you expose or conceal ?^ Is not Ali the subject of your 
 
 * Koran. f Koran, c. 61. 
 
TESTIMONY TO ALL 239 
 
 worship ? Then worship him, and associate nothing with 
 him, and be kind to your parents.* Is not Ali the creator 
 of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of the east and 
 the west ? Is not Ali the Lord of the east and the west, 
 there is no God but he? Then take him as your patron. 
 Is not Ali the living One, there is no God but he? Then 
 pray to him, keeping sincere in his religion ; praise be to 
 God, Lord of the worlds ! Does not Ali (there is no God 
 but he), quicken and kill ? He is your Lord, and the 
 Lord of your first ancestors. Is not Ali he besides whom 
 there is no God, if you are firm believers ? Is not Ali 
 (there is no God but he) Lord of the great throne ? 
 There is no God but he, the creator of all things, therefore 
 worship him ; and he is patron of all things. Has not 
 Ali the keys of heaven and earth, giving bountifully and 
 sparingly to whom he pleases ; for *he is all powerful ? 
 Ali, can eyes discern him ? Yet he discerns the eyes, 
 and is the kind, the knowing one. Does not Ali seize all 
 souls ? To him all things tend. Does not Ali render se- 
 cure him who believes in him and accepts his sovereignty ? 
 Does not Ali preserve him who commits himself to him 
 with true knowledge and obedience ? Is not God witness 
 to him who witnesses to his Lordship, and confesses his 
 unity ? Does not he whom All's mercy embraces acquire 
 a great acquisition ? Does not he receive mercy on 
 whom Ali has mercy ? Does not he receive pardon whom 
 Ali pardons ? Is not Ali he to whom you return ? There- 
 fore fear him and obey him, and declare his unity, and 
 praise him, and sanctify him, and glorify him, and say 
 there is no God but he, and magnify him ; that is better 
 for you, if you but know it ; for there is no escape from 
 him except to him. To him is the going back and return. 
 Therefore hasten to the knowledge of him, and advance 
 to his obedience ; believe in him, and do not disobey him; 
 know him, and be not rebellious against him in what he 
 
 ♦ Words used frequently in Koran. 
 
240 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 commands you, and die Moslems. And now avoid lying, 
 and take not hold of it ; and let not your being spared 
 deceive you. Do not forsake Ali, for know that he is 
 before and behind you, and in your front, and at your 
 back, and on your right and left, and above you. Does 
 he not comprehend all things ? He knows your thoughts, 
 and your secrets, and what your breasts conceal, and what 
 your eyes wink at. Now I have made plain to you the 
 verses (of the Koran), if you have understanding. Is not 
 Ali your creator and your framer, and your enricher, and 
 he who sends you life and death : then to him will you 
 return? Is not Ali your witness, and producer, and 
 sender, and he who will assemble you to judgment, and he 
 who will ask you what you used to do ? Is not Ali he 
 who cannot be comprehended, nor described, nor named ? 
 He begot not, nor was begotten, neither has he any equal ; 
 neither has he been incarnate in any body, nor taken to 
 him a female companion, nor a child. Neither has he any 
 partner in his dominion, nor any to protect him from 
 contempt, therefore magnify him greatly.* He has no 
 partner in his dominion, nor helper, nor aid, nor supporter, 
 nor like, nor one similar, nor one of equal weight or 
 sameness. He is the first without resemblance and without 
 beginning, and he is the last without decay, passing away, 
 or end. He appears (is iz-Zahir) in revelation (or through 
 miracles), and is concealed (is il-Batin) in created things. 
 Is not Ali he beside whom there is no God, the living, the 
 self-existent? Neither slumber nor sleep seizeth him. 
 His is all that is in heaven and earth ; who will intercede 
 with him, except by his permission ? He knows what is 
 before you, and behind you ; none comprehend anything 
 of his knowledge, except what he pleases ; his throne fills 
 heaven and earth, neither does the preservation of them 
 tire him ; he is the lofty and great one.f Is not Ali he 
 in whose hand are wealth and mercy ? He is all powerful. 
 
 * Koran, xvii. 111. t Koran, ii. 256. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 241 
 
 Is not Ali the knowing one and the creator of the earth ? 
 No one can bear the siglit of him, nor can any one stand 
 in his sight. 
 
 " Then he turned, and our Lord, the prince of true be- 
 lievers (may his strength be exalted !), was sitting on 
 his right hand. So he said to him : I ask thee by the 
 strength of thy strength, and the might of thy glory, and 
 thy greatness, and the dignity of thy Godhead, and the 
 greatness of thy kingdom ; — and our Lord Mohammed 
 (from him is peace), had not finished his words before 
 our Lord, the prince of bees (may he be glorified and 
 exalted!), absented his person, and there, shone upon us 
 a great light, whose nature could not be comprehended, nor 
 its vision and end be attained to ; and already a swoon had 
 come on us from the intensity of its shining, and we saw 
 it as it were in dream ; and, if it had been by the sight 
 of the eyes, we should have lost our sight, and our reason ; 
 but there fell on us as if slumber and a swoon. And we 
 continued saying: 'Praise be to thee, how great is thy 
 dignity ! We believe in thee, and believe thine apostle.' 
 And there was not one of us who did not worship, and 
 see a vision, from the awe and fear which had fallen upon 
 us. And trembling and palpitation seized us ; and our 
 spirits departed, and we became like dead men. We had 
 no power of reasoning, but were in a dream ; and saw 
 as a sleeper seeth, and our spirits left our bodies, until 
 an hour of the day had passed over us. Then we awoke, 
 being like one who sleeps when he is aroused from his 
 sleep. And we saw the apostle of God (on him be 
 peace !), who said to us, How long have you remained ? 
 We said. An hour, or part of an hour. He said. No, you 
 have remained seven nights and eight days. But two 
 of the people who were infidels apostatised, and said : 
 ' This is evident sorcery, shall we believe in two men 
 like us, whose^ people are our servants?'* The people 
 
 * An expression taken from the Koran. 
 R 
 
242 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 of iz-Zahir [the Mussulmans] are acquainted with this 
 day, and it is called the * Convention of the house.' 
 This convention is before that of the Ghadeer [pool]. 
 What manifestation is more evident, and what witness 
 greater, and what proof more just than that which is 
 given in this information received from the greatest 
 Lord, Mohammed (may God favour and preserve him!), 
 and which he has manifested to the people of truth 
 and faith, and exposed to those endued with intellect 
 and understanding, with respect to the evidencing and 
 making known the unity of our Lord, and his indication 
 of him, for the greatest of his end and Meaning [Maana] ? 
 May God be exalted, and His names sanctified ! 
 
 " God, I ask thee, my Lord, by the truth of this 
 discourse of the Convention of the house, and by the 
 truth of Mohammed the chosen, and by the truth of 
 Salman the righteous, and by the truth of the pure 
 Orphans, and by the truth of Yasir and Ammar*, 
 and by the truth of all the lights, and by the cer- 
 tainties of the mysteries, and by the truth of the treasure 
 and the wall, and the 17th of March f, and by their truth 
 with thee, and by thy dignity over them, great, 
 powerful one, creator of the night and of the day ; (I 
 ask thee) that thou, my Lord, wilt pardon us and all 
 our brethren the true believers, all our faults and weighty 
 sins, and deliver us from the world of confusion and 
 sorrows, and transport us to the companionship of the 
 pure, and keep from us the wickedness of the wicked, and 
 the snares of the unholy, and the violence of the violent, 
 and the heat of fire, and the injustice of neighbours ; 
 and that thou wilt clothe us with the envelopes of light, 
 and give posterity to, and bless, the possessors of this 
 goodness and of this favour and of these impressions ; 
 
 * Yasir, son of Ammar, was one of the companions of IVFohammed 
 especially reverenced by the Ansaireeh. " He was appointed governor 
 of Cufa by Omar and deposed by Othman. He died fighting for AH at 
 Saffair (year 37)." El Masudi, Nicholson, p. 112. 
 
 t See above, Ch. VII. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 243 
 
 and that thou wilt cause favour and peace to come on 
 our Lord il Khudr-il-Akhdar [the evergreen Khudr] 
 and king Djaafar Tayy^r * ; and that thou wilt sanctify 
 and have mercy on the souls of our brethren the true 
 believers, in all quarters and all capitals, prince of 
 bees, lofty one [Ali], great one ! " 
 
 XX VI. Rubric. " Then he shall read another discourse ; 
 that is, the discourse of the Awham [fancies, doubt]." 
 This discourse consists of an ascription of praise to Ali, 
 under different designations, as he who created the spirits, 
 seas, rivers, &c. ; the queen bee of religion ; the founda- 
 tion of foundations ; causing to appear Jesus of the gospel ; 
 the creator of the Veils ; the Lord of every lord ; the ele- 
 ment of elements ; the first, the last ; the Batin, the Zahir. 
 
 XXYIL Buhric. " Then he shall read the Tawdjeeh 
 (turning the face, to commence prayer), which is this. 
 In the name of God the compassionate and merciful! God 
 is most great ! He is great ! Many thanks be to God ! 
 Praise be to God, morning and evening ! I turn my face 
 toward the manifest greatness," &c. The Mussulmans 
 use a similar prayer, and one commencing with similar 
 words, as a preparation to prayer. This prayer, with 
 others, is to be read at the mass. 
 
 XXIX. This section contains the morning and evening 
 prayer to be said by an Ansairee. I have already trans- 
 lated the chief part of the section, wjiich closes with a 
 tradition of Mohammed. Then comes the service of the 
 mass. This section is indicated by a side note, as the 
 Khutbeh, or discourse jt^ar excellence^ which is mentioned 
 in the " rubric " of the mass as among the things to be 
 read at that service. 
 
 XXX. Rubric, " Then he shall read the arrangement 
 and order of the prayer (of the mass). And when you 
 [the sheikh] have read in full the names of the prince of 
 true believers [contained in a previous section], if the 
 
 * See above, Ch. V. 
 B 2 
 
244 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 prayer be a mass [Kuddas], you will omit the Klmtbeh 
 [^see last section] and the Tawdjeeh [see last section but 
 one] and the Khabr [a sermon given at the end of the 
 book], and you will read the five bodies [probably the five 
 luminous bodies, or the five orphans, alluding to the sec- 
 tions concerning them], and you will read the first mass, 
 and the indication [contained in it], and the second 
 mass and the Ain of Alf. Now this is the prayer of the 
 mass ; two prostrations from a sitting posture.* And if 
 the prayers be longer, you will read to the * testimony * 
 foccurring nearly at the end of the complete service]. 
 But in the prayer, when complete, you will read the 
 name of the prince of true believers, and the Khutbeh 
 and the Tawdjeeh and the Khabr. Then you will read 
 the first [probably of the above sections of the names of 
 All, &c.], and mix the wine with water. Then you must 
 read the passage, the words of the most high : ' And 
 when the Koran is read, attend thereto and keep silence ; 
 that ye may obtain mercy. And meditate on thy Lord in 
 thine own mind, with humility and fear, and without loud 
 speaking, evening and morning ; and be not one of the 
 negligent. Moreover, the angels that are with thy Lord 
 do not proudly disdain his service, but they celebrate his 
 praise and worship him.' f Then you will say : Bow 
 down to the ground. Then you will read the second [of 
 the sections to be read], and kiss the right and left hand 
 [or the first standing on your right and left], and will 
 read the * worshipping,' the words of the Most High : 
 
 * To understand this and other coming allusions to the posture of 
 prayer such as ** to the ground," " like a bow," &c., I must refer the 
 reader to the letter-press and illustrations of Lane's Modern Egyptians, 
 vol. i. p. 107. 
 
 t Koran, c. vii. v. 203. In this and subsequent passages I have fol- 
 lowed Sale's translation, which is acknowledged by the greatest Arabic 
 scholars to bo generally correct. It would have been pedantic in the 
 present case to have acted otherwise. I have also followed the Koran 
 and not the ungrammatical quotations of it in my MS., which exceed- 
 ingly distressed my Mohammedan sheikh. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 245. 
 
 ' T. S. M. These are the signs of the perspicuous book. 
 Peradveiiture thou afflictest thyself unto death, lest the 
 Meccans become not true believers. If we pleased we 
 could send unto them a convincing sign from heaven, 
 unto which their necks would humbly submit.' * To the 
 ground. The words of the most high : ' Kemember 
 when thy Lord said unto the angels, Verily I am about to 
 create man of dried clay, of black mud, wrought into 
 shape ; when, therefore, I shall have completely formed 
 him, and shall have breathed of my spirit into him ; da 
 ye fall down and worship him.' f To the ground. And 
 the words of the Most High ; * Verily they only believe 
 in our signs, who, when they are warned thereby, fall 
 down adoring, and celebrate the praise of their Lord, 
 and are not elated with pride.' J To the ground. And 
 the words of the Most High : * By the star, when it 
 setteth ; your companion Mohammed erreth not ; nor ia 
 he led astray ; neither doth he speak of his own wiH. It 
 is no other than a revelation which hath been revealed to 
 him. One mighty in power, endued with understanding, 
 taught it him : and he appeared in the highest part of the 
 horizon. Afterwards he approached unto the prophet, 
 and near unto him, until he was at the distance of two- 
 bows' length from him, or yet nearer.' § A how [that is, 
 a bending in the shape of a bow, which forms part of the 
 Mussulman's prayer]. Then you will command those on 
 your right to pray, each one as he is able. Then you will 
 read the passage, the words of the Most High : ' The 
 approaching day of judgment draweth near; there is 
 none who can reveal the exact time of the same, besides 
 God. Do ye, therefore, wonder at this new revelation ; 
 and do ye laugh, and not weep, spending your life in idle 
 diversions ? But rather worship God, and serve him.' || 
 To the ground. Then you will order him who is on your 
 
 * Koran, xxvi. 1. f lb. xv. 28. { lb. xxxii. 15. 
 
 § lb. liii. 1. II lb. Hii. 58. 
 
 R 3 
 
246 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 right to pray the prayer of ' worshipping/ and he who is 
 on his right to pray the prayer of * the hierarchies ' [a pre- 
 vious section], and you must kiss one another's hands, 
 and you will say, at the kissing of the hand, ' On you be 
 peace, my brother, and the best of salutations, by the 
 truth of the Khudr and Abraham. Then you will take 
 the cup, and read over it the first mass [Kudd^s, conse- 
 cration] . Which is this : — 
 
 " In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful ! 
 Praise be to God for ever ! Ali is the light of mortals ! 
 Ali is the Lord of might ! Ali is the cleaver of the grain 
 [of wheat, &c.] ! * Ali is the Imam of imams ! Ali is the 
 producer of the breath ! Ali is the Imam of the Mihr^b 
 [place in mosque, towards which prayer is said, as being 
 in the direction of Mecca] ! Ali is the remover of the 
 the gate ! f Ali is the disperser of sorrows ! Ali is the 
 possessor of miracles ! Ali raised the heaVens ! Ali 
 caused the waters to flow ! Ali spread out the earth ! 
 Ali is he by whose hands the soul is taken [from the body]. 
 Ali is the beauty of grey hairs ! Ali knows what is absent ! 
 Ali is the Lord of lords ! Ali is the possessor of necks 
 [* neck ' being applied to captives, &c.] ! Ali is the secret 
 of secrets ! Ali causes the vow to be completed ! Ali is 
 acquainted with the mystery ! Ali is master of this world ! 
 Ali is Lord of the next world, and the first ! Ali is the 
 creator of things beautiful in our age ! Ali is lofty in 
 station ! Ali is frequent in miracles ! Ali is the Lord of 
 the east and of the west ! Ali is the horseman among 
 horsemen ! Ali is the quickener of decaying bones! Ali 
 is the light of vision ! Ali clave the moon ! J Ali is the 
 
 * Used, in the Koran, of God, as causing grains of wheat to vegetate. 
 
 f It is said that when besieging the Jewish town of Khaiban, which 
 was taken mainly through his valour, he took the gate off its hinges as 
 a shield. 
 
 J Alluding to the passage in the Koran, ch. liv. ver. 1 : " The hour of 
 judgment approacheth; and the moon hath been split in sunder ;" which 
 some interpret of an actual occurrence, already taken place, and one of 
 the four miracles of Mohammed mentioned in the Koran. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 247 
 
 charging [on the enemy] imam ! Ali is the striker with 
 the sword [literally, ' that which has joints, like a back- 
 bone,' a name given to Mohammed's sword] ! Ali is the 
 lion frequent in attacks ! Ali is the creator of the night 
 and of the day ! Ali is powerful ! Ali is victorious ! Ali 
 is the first and the last ! Ali is Batin and Zahir ! Ali 
 causes to find, and is present ! Ali is Samit and Natik 
 [expressions used of the mute and speaking prophets by 
 the original Ismaeleeh, see Chap. lY.] ! Ali tears open and 
 repairs! Ali is the great building! Ali is the straight 
 road ! Ali is the haiderah [lion] who has no hair on the 
 temples [among the Arabs a mark of a generous and good 
 character] ! Ali is brotherly to Joshua [one of his mani- 
 festations] ! Ali is the master of him of the fish [Jonah] 1 
 Ali is the eye of eyes ! Ali is the filler of the seas ! Ali is 
 the frequented house [the Caabah of Mecca] ! Ali is the 
 blower of the trumpet [that is, of the judgment day] ! 
 Ali is the ancient of days ! Ali is the speaker of truth ! 
 Ali is the true one in speaking ! Ali is the guide of the 
 heavens ! Ali is the friend of those who praise [him] ! 
 With Ali is the knowledge of the book ! Ali causes the 
 clouds to move I Ali is the Imam of imams ! Ali is the key 
 of mercy ! Ali is the breaker of idols ! Ali is the supporter of 
 the demonstration of religion and Isl^m ! Ali is the de- 
 stroyer of the violent one [or giant] ! Ali is the light of 
 lights ! Ali is true of promise ! Ali is one ! Ali is single ! 
 Ali is Abel, Ali is Seth, Ali is Joseph, Ali is Joshua, Ali is 
 Asaph, Ali is Shamoon, is Safa [Simon Cephas], Ali is the 
 Emeer-il-Moomeneen [prince of true believers, a name only 
 to be given to Ali], the remembrance of him is glorious and 
 to be magnified ! And it is such a one, brethren, that 
 we mean and intend, and refer to as former ages referred 
 to him, and as Unitarians have indicated the priority of his 
 essence, from the beginning of creation until this time. 
 We refer to him, as did refer our sheikh and lord, and 
 crown of our heads, and learned one of our age, the sheikh 
 of the season, and exemplar of his period, Abu- Abdullah 
 
 R 4 
 
248 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 il Hosein ibn-Hamd^n. We refer to him as did refer his 
 sheikh and lord, Abu-Mohammed Abd- Allah, the ascetic, 
 the intellectual. We refer to him as did refer the Orphan 
 of the time [or rare, i. e. noted. Orphan], Mohammed ibn- 
 Djundub. We refer to him as the Door referred, and the 
 Veil indicated his * meaning,' in the Seven Periods. My 
 reference and yours is with all certainty to our Lord Ali, 
 prince of true believers; without hair on temples; with 
 great belly [one of Ali's characteristics] ; the undivided 
 atom, which cannot be broken up into portions and parts, 
 nor separated, nor distributed [an allusion to the atomic 
 theory of philosophers] ; to whom, from the greatness of 
 his dignity and awfuliiess, necks submit themselves and 
 hard matters become easy. 
 
 *' Then they shall rise up, and he shall take the chalice in 
 his hand, and read the Nurooz, which is this [in doggerel 
 verse] : — 
 
 * By the Nurooz of truth, full of benefit, taking spoils, 
 Made exact by the care of the most honourable of the house of 
 
 Hashim, 
 On the day that God manifested his appearance 
 Before the Arabs in the Persian periods, 
 And was exalted by it towards heaven, and they saw 
 In it the prevailing benefits by an exact opinion ; 
 And on that day was the appearance of Salsal as an observer of men, 
 Who was conformable to our Ajicient One [Ali] the predecessor. 
 They drink of the pure wine, for it 
 Is a day whose light has appeared from the clouds. 
 Namely, the day of the pool [Ghadeer], and Mohammed has already 
 
 referred 
 In intention to God, the knowing Lord.' 
 
 " Then thou shalt say the * reference * [or * indication'] to 
 the end*, and then read the second mass [Kuddas]; which 
 is this: — 
 
 " In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful! 
 The information is derived from our sheikh and lord, Abu- 
 Abdullah-il-Hoseyn ibn-Hamdan il Khaseebee, possessor of 
 
 • What this is does not appear. The word may signify the signs 
 made by the hand, for it is used in this sense, as also of reference to a 
 thing by words. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 249 
 
 the correct opinion (the good- will of God be on him at 
 every sunrise and sunset !). He said that when Abd-in- 
 Noor [the wine, called ' servant of light,' or of Ali] was 
 present in his hands, he used to take the cup in his right hand 
 and drink three draughts of it, and chant over it this blessed 
 mass, and say*: Praise be to God, who alone is the lofty 
 one, who has executed his promise, and given victory to 
 his servant, and strengthened his armies, and destroyed 
 liis opposers, and alone put to flight the conspirators ! f 
 There was no God before him, neither shall there be any 
 God after him ; the refuge of those who seek him ; the end 
 of those who have knowledge ; God of the first ages, and 
 God of the last ; to him belongeth the pur ereligion, and 
 what you call on instead of him is vain. J God is the lofty 
 and great one, the prince of true believers ; the true and 
 manifest king. God, favour our Lord Mohammed and 
 the family of our Lord Mohammed, and Salsal and the 
 family of Salsal, the lamps of darkness and the keys of 
 words, the guides of created things in ancient times, the 
 testimony of deliverance until the time when* there shall 
 be no escape. God, this thy servant, Abd-in-Noor, is a 
 person whom thou hast rendered lawful and honoured 
 and favoured, for those who know thee, by a determinate 
 decree, and rendered unlawful to thiile enemies, who deny 
 and disown thee, by a manifest prohibition ; as, God, my 
 Lord, thou hast rendered it lawful unto us. Enrich us 
 by it with safety and security, and health from sicknesses, 
 and keep from us through it care and sorrows, and make 
 our assembling together, and such like meetings, result in 
 what is pleasing, and by similar meetings give us what is 
 beneficial, and make our meeting pure in thine obedience, 
 and fit us for doing what may please thee ; and begin (in 
 the conferring of thy benefits) with our brethren, the true 
 
 * All the first pari of this mass is used by Mussulmans on the occa- 
 sion of a feast. 
 
 f Used, in the Koran, of the hostile idolatrous Arabs. 
 J From the Koran. 
 
250 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 believers, in the earth, its east and west, north and south ; 
 and cause our word and theirs to unite in the ascription of 
 unity to thee ; and after them adorn us, and do not separate 
 between us and them ; for thou art lofty [Ali] and great, 
 and able to do what thou pleasest. The words of the 
 Most High * : ' When thou lookest, there shalt thou behold 
 delights and a great kingdom. Upon them shall be 
 garments of fine silk and of brocades, and they shall be 
 adorned with bracelets of silver : and their Lord shall give 
 them to drink of a most pure liquor ; and shall say unto 
 them, Yerily this is your reward ; and your endeavour is 
 gratefully accepted.' From the fountains of Tasneen [a 
 fountain in Paradise] he shall be made to drink wine of 
 Salsal, sealed with sweet odours. May God cause us and 
 you, brethren, to drink a draught from the palm of 
 Salsal ; there shall be no thirstiness after it on the day of 
 the great thirst ! Remember the secret [of Ain the first 
 letter of Ali], may God enrich you with its blessing and 
 acceptance ! 
 
 " And when you have finished you will mix the drink 
 with water and give to drink to the one who is on your 
 right and the one on your left, and you will say to him, 
 ' brother, drink of my cup, may God make it healing 
 and health to thee !*^ Then you will say, * brother, 
 give me to drink of thy cup, may God give thee to drink 
 a draught from the palm of Salsal, after which there will 
 be no thirstiness on the day of the great thirst ! ' 
 
 " Then you will read the passage, the words of the Most 
 High f ; ' And their Lord shall give them to drink of a 
 most pure liquor ; and shall say unto them. Verily this is 
 your reward, and your endeavour is gratefully accepted. 
 Yerily we have sent down to thee the Koran by a gradual 
 revelation. Wherefore wait patiently the judgment of 
 thy Lord ; and obey not any wicked person or unbeliever 
 among them. And commemorate the name of thy Lord, 
 
 * Koran, Ixxvi. 20. t !!>• l^^vi. 22. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 251 
 
 in the morning and in the evening ; and during some 
 part of the night worship him, and praise him a long part 
 of the night.' A how. And the words of the Most 
 High * : * To God belongeth the east and the west ; there- 
 fore, whithersoever ye turn yourselves to pray, there is 
 the face of God ; for God is omnipresent and omniscient. 
 They say God hath begotten children : God forbid ! To 
 him belongeth whatever is in heaven and on earth. All is 
 possessed by him.' A how. Then you will order the 
 perfume to be sprinkled (rose-water or the like), and will 
 read : ' I testify that Ali is the God of created beings, the 
 disposer of what is in the heart ' : — 
 
 ' And God has not veiled himself from his creation, 
 But they have become veiled by their faults ; 
 And, if they liad but believed and been pious, 
 They would have become angels in the invisible world, 
 Praising (God) in his ancient kingdom, 
 Being purified from all their errors.* 
 
 " Then you will read the passage, the words of the Most 
 High * ; * Carefully observe the appointed prayers and 
 the middle prayer, and be assiduous therein, with devo- 
 tion towards God.' A how. Then thou wilt command 
 those on the left to pray, every one as he conveniently 
 can ; and wilt read the passage, the words of the Most 
 High : J * The Merciful taught his servant the Koran. 
 He created man ; he hath taught him distinct speech. The 
 sun and the moon run their courses according to a certain 
 rule ; and the vegetables which creep on the ground, and 
 the trees worship.' To the ground. Then thou wilt com- 
 mand him on the left to pray the prayer of * worship- 
 ping,' and him who is on his left to pray the prayer 
 of * peace.' Then the imam [the leader of the prayers] 
 shall invoke the twelve Imams, and shall say, ' God, 
 we remain steadfast in thine obedience with the utmost 
 steadfastness.' Then you will read the Imamayeh [pro- 
 bably the name of the Imams in some composition for 
 
 * Koran, ii. 109. t ^^- ii- 239. % lb. Iv. 1. 
 
252 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 that purpose] ; and Avill read the passage, the words of 
 the Most High * : ' When the angels said, Mary, verily 
 God hath chosen thee, and hath purified thee, and hath 
 chosen thee above all the women of the world : Mary, 
 be devout towards thy Lord, and worship, and bow down 
 Avith those that bow down.' To the ground, 
 
 " Then thou shalt kiss the ground, and say, ^ This is for 
 God and the Imam.' Then thou shalt take the chalice, 
 and say : ' The secret of the Imam, the requiring, the 
 cotiquering, who strikes the crowns with the edge of the 
 cleaving swords, Ali son of Abu-Taleb, and this is his 
 secret.' Then thou shalt mix the drink with water^ and shalt 
 say : *• The secret of the Imam of every imam, my Lord 
 Ali, master of every age and every time; the secret of 
 his Veil, the Lord Mohammed ; the secret of his Door ; the 
 Lord Salman ; the secret of his Orphans, and the hierarchies 
 of peace; the secret of our sheikh and lord, Abu-Ab- 
 dullah il Hosein-ibn Hamdan, who manifested to us the 
 religions in all countries (on him and on his disciples may 
 there be from God the greatest favour and peace!); the 
 secret of II Djalee Abu-Saeedf, and of the sheikhs of 
 knowledge, the Unitarians ; the secret of every true be- 
 liever and religious man in all countries, and therefore 
 thy secret {, illustrious sheikh, and favoured beloved 
 one, and polished sword, and pure and original branch 
 (may God guard thee and preserve thee, and not deprive 
 thee of his benefits, and may he have mercy on thy mother 
 and thy father; and may God cause to be frequented 
 through thee the sittings of the Unitarians, by the truth 
 of the book Tadjreeh ! § ; thy secret, aiid the secret of 
 
 * Koran, iii. 37. 
 
 f An authority or doctor of the Ansaireeh, mentioned Journ. Asiat. 
 Feb. 1848, p. 157. 
 
 % Besides the sheikh who reads^ the greater part of the service, it 
 appears from what has preceded and follows that there is a chief sheikh 
 present, who acts as imam, or president of the meeting. 
 
 § Tliere is a book among the Mussulmans so called, as compiled from 
 various others ; perhaps there is a similar one among the Ausaireeh. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 253 
 
 the person near whom stands Ali, the Imam of imams 
 [perhaps the reader of all this] ; from him [Ali] may- 
 God enrich you and all your brethren, the true believers, 
 with acceptance and mercy ; thy secret, and the secret of 
 thy right and of thy left [those standing there], and of 
 thy preeminence above all thy brethren ; your secret, 
 Mohammedan assembly, and the secret of him who unites 
 you in assembling in this place (may God not cut off 
 your secret, nor your mysteries, in all times and ages, by 
 the dignity of the pure Imams, and the 1 7th of March !); 
 your secret (may God not harm you !).' Then you will 
 mix the drink with water, and enter into convention (as 
 by taking the hand in offering the oath to a sovereign) 
 with him on your right, and him on your left, and you 
 will say : * We have drunk the secret of the Imam, and 
 thou hast drunk our secret, and we have drunk thy secret. 
 May God make the knowledge of the Lord easy to thy 
 heart ! May God cause to continue thy drink, and cause 
 thee to obtain thy wish ! May God deliver thee from all 
 thy sorrow and afflictions ! May God reckon with thee 
 with an easy reckoning, and not a difficult one ! ' Then 
 you will read the Khabr [the sermon to be given here- 
 after], and will then read the passage, the words of the 
 Most High * : * When we appointed the holy house of 
 Mecca to be a place of resort for mankind, and a place of 
 security; and said. Take the station of Abraham for a 
 place of prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and 
 Ishmael, that they should cleanse my home for those who 
 should compass it, and those who should be devoutly 
 assiduous there, and those who should bow down and 
 worship.' A.bow. Then you will read the chapter of 
 the Mountain f, and will then read the passage, the words 
 of the most high J : ' true believers, bow down, and 
 prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord ; and work 
 righteousness, that ye may be happy.' To the ground, 
 
 * Koran, ii. 119. t ^^- ^^'i- t ^^- ^^ii. 79. 
 
254 THE ASIAN MYSTEKY. 
 
 " Then thou shalt drink the secret of the people of the 
 house [of Mecca], and shalt say: * The secret of the 
 habitation, and what the habitation contains ; the secret 
 of my Lord Mohammed, master of every habitation ; the 
 secrets of the four corners of the house, masters of the 
 habitation ; Hamza and Talib and Djaafar and Akeel, 
 the brothers of the prince of true believers (may these 
 be on us from the remembrance of their favour and 
 mercy!); your secret, brethren, all of you, may God 
 not cut off your secret by the truth of the forty holy 
 men ! ^ * Then you must enter into convention with him 
 on your right, and on your left, and say : ' We have drunk 
 the secret of the masters of the habitation, and thou hast 
 drunk our secret, and we have drunk thy secret ; may God 
 render the knowledge of thy Lord easy to thy heart ! May 
 God continue thy drink ! May God cause thee to obtain thy 
 wish ! May he deliver thee from all thy sorrow and afflic- 
 tions ! May God reckon with thee with an easy reckoning, 
 and not a difficult one ! ' Then you will read the Hedjabeeh 
 [discourse on prayer of the Veil], and will then read the 
 passage, the words of the Most High f : ' When Joseph 
 said unto his father, my father, verily I saw in my 
 dream eleven stars, and the sun and the moon ; I saw them 
 make obeisance unto me.' A bow. Then thou shalt read 
 the Nakeebah [discourse or prayer of Nakeebs], and then 
 read the passage, the words of the Most High J : * Blessed 
 be He who has placed the twelve signs in the heavens ; 
 and has placed therein a lamp by day, and the moon which 
 shineth by night ! It is He who hath ordained the night 
 and the day to succeed each other, for the observation of 
 him who will consider, or desireth to show his grati- 
 tude. The servants of the merciful are those who walk 
 meekly on the earth, and, when the ignorant speak unto 
 
 * There is more than one mountain in Syria called Djebel-il-Arbaem, 
 or mountain of the forty. I have spoken of the one among the An- 
 saireeh. 
 
 t Koran, xii. 4. | lb. xxx. 62. 
 
I 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 255 
 
 them, answer, Peace : and who pass the night adoring the 
 Lord, and standing up to pray unto him.* A boiv. 
 
 " Then thou shalt drink the secret of the Nakeebs and 
 Nadjeebs, and shalt say : ' The secret of my Lord, the 
 Nakeeb of every Nakeeb, and the Najeeb of every Najeeb ; 
 the secret of the twelve Nakeebs ; the secret of the 
 twenty-eight Nadjeebs ; the secret of the forty Poles* ; the 
 secret of Mohammed ibn-Sinan iz-Zahiree; the secret of 
 Abdullah ibn-Sabaf ; thy secret, Nakeeb, and the secret 
 of thy Nakeebship ; thy secret, Nadjeeb, and the 
 secret of thy Nadjeebship [probably those on the right and 
 left hand, or two others present].' Then thou shalt enter 
 into convention with the one on thy right and on thy left, 
 and say : ' We have drunk the secret of the Nakeebs and 
 Nadjeebs, and thou hast drunk our secret, and we have 
 drunk thy secret. May God make the knowledge of thy 
 Lord easy to thy heart ; may God continue thy drink, and 
 cause thee to obtain thy wish ; and may God deliver thee 
 from thy sorrow and afflictions, and reckon with thee with 
 an easy reckoning, and not a difficult one ! ' Then you will 
 say : ' brethren, let him who has a prayer pray ; and he 
 who has no prayer, let him say. Amen, for he prays who 
 says Amen, and the acceptance and answer is with God ; 
 and our Lord, the prince of true believers, has said, 
 When one of you has finished his prayer, let him raise his 
 hand in supplication towards heaven.' Then you will read 
 the passage, the words of the Most High J : ' The apostle 
 believeth in that which hath been sent down unto him 
 from his Lord, and the faithful also. Every one of them 
 believeth in God, and his angels, and his scriptures, and 
 his apostles : we make no distinction at all between his 
 apostles. And they say. We have heard, and do obey ; we 
 
 * Section 35 of the Ansairee Book of Feasts, described by M. Catafago 
 (Jour. Asiat. Feb. 1848), consists of the " Story of the Nakeeb Mo- 
 hammed ibn-Sinan." 
 
 f The first to teach the divinity of Ali. 
 
 j Koran, ii. 285. 
 
256 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 implore thy mercy, O Lord, for unto Thee must we return. 
 God will not force any soul above its capacity : it shall 
 have the good which it giveth, and it shall suffer the evil 
 which it gaineth. Lord, punish us not if we forget, or 
 act sinfully. Lord, lay not on us a burden like that 
 which thou hast laid on those who have been before us ; 
 neither make us, Lord, to bear what we have no strength 
 to bear, but be favourable unto us, and spare us, and be 
 merciful unto us. Thou art our patron, help us there- 
 fore against the unbelieving nations.* When Noah (and 
 he is the manifest apostle) said : My Lord, make me to 
 dwell in a blessed habitation, for thou art the best of those 
 who cause to dwell ! To the ground. The Masheyakhah 
 [Manual of Sheikhs] is completed, praise be to God alone, 
 and after him to the Ism and the Bab ! " 
 
 The copyist then proceeds to give the date, and his 
 own lineage, and the occasion when the book was written, 
 namely, the ordination of his nephew. 
 
 The three following documents are afterwards added 
 by and for the same sheikh, but in worse handwriting ; 
 an excuse being added, that the writer had " no ink wortli 
 anything." 
 
 XXXL " We will write the contract [entered into between 
 the lad to be initiated and his Seyyid, lord, or Amm, * uncle,' 
 -who teaches him the prayers, &c.] ; which is this: — 
 
 " In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful ! 
 In the name of the ancient Maana, and the great Ism, and 
 the lasting Door, and the high road of those rightly di- 
 rected, and the eye of certainty, and the foundation of 
 religion, I make between you (with your mutual consent, 
 and with freedom of determination, with respect to what 
 you are mutually agreed upon before these present nota- 
 bles) a free and not a constrained contract. And if he 
 (the disciple) shall say : ' Make the contract,' say : You 
 must keep rightly the ordinances of God, and tie by their 
 halters the members created by him, that they may not 
 act coptrary to them. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 257 
 
 " Now the rights due to the Seyyid from his son are, 
 that he reveal not his secrets, nor disobey his commands, 
 nor bear malice against him in his breast, nor uncover 
 his veil [by publishing his doings], nor be friendly with 
 his enemies, nor be hostile to his friends ; and that he 
 assist him all his days with eye, hand, and tongue. And 
 the rights due to a son from his Seyyid are, good bringing 
 up and proper instruction ; and that he do not put hard- 
 ships on him, nor teach him in a faulty way ; and that 
 he shall communicate to him what trustworthy persons 
 have communicated, and warn him against all trans- 
 gression and lusts. Now the words of a Seyyid against 
 his son may be received, but not the words of a son 
 against his Seyyid. Do you accept freely the conditions 
 I have placed on you ? And if they shall say, ' We 
 accept,' say : God, I call thee and thine angels to 
 witness what these two have become bound by, of thy 
 statutes and the walking in thine ordinances, and that 
 they have become obedient to the fulfilment of thy cove- 
 nant. I have made a contract between you, the contract 
 of Ain, Meem, Seen, the weapons of the pious. And 
 thou art he who art gracious to the true believers, and 
 he who causeth vengeance to descend on the infidels and 
 deniers of the truth. As he has said in his book* which 
 was sent down on his prophet, the apostle : ' They who 
 enter into convention with thee, enter into convention with 
 God. The hand of God is above their hands [the con- 
 vention being made by giving the hand]. Now he who 
 violates the convention violates it to his own hurt, but he 
 who fulfils what he has covenanted with God, God shall 
 give him a great reward.' " 
 
 XXXII. This section contains the oath taken from a 
 lad before he is initiated. Rubric, " Then he shall read 
 the discourse to the disciple, after the question has been 
 put to him. When the book is in his hand, thou shalt read 
 
 * Koran, xlviii. 10. 
 
258 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 over him the Fatihah [opening chapter of the Koran], and 
 shalt say : ' Now those who enter into convention with 
 thee ['swear fealty :' aS^Z^], enter into convention with 
 God ; the hand of God is over your hands. And he who 
 violates the convention, violates it to his own hurt, but 
 he who fulfils what he has covenanted with God, God 
 will give him a great reward.'* Then thou shalt say: 
 righteous boy, and chosen disciple, may God dispose you to 
 his obedience and acceptance ; therefore tell me what your 
 idea is, and what seems right to you after serious considera- 
 tion, and what you require from your Seyyid ? Then he 
 shall say : My wish is that he would free my neck from 
 the yoke of bondage, and direct me to the right knowledge 
 of God, and deliver me from the darkness of blindness f, 
 and grant me life everlasting. Theii thou shalt say: 
 Know (may God fit you to be rightly directed, and 
 cause you to obtain the consummation of your wish !) 
 that thou hast prepared thyself for the demand of a great 
 matter, and an important discourse ; for it is the mystery 
 of mysteries, and the article of faith of the righteous ; 
 none but devout breasts and pure understandings can 
 comprehend it, nor can any but sharp [as of sword] 
 hearts, and first-rate [jewel-like] intellects receive it. 
 For thy Lord Is-Sadik [Djaafar-is-Sadik] (from him is 
 peace, and to him belongeth salutation) has said : If 
 any one readily receives our instruction, it opens for him 
 the door of his heart, so that he becomes an able man ; 
 but he who receives it with doubt and uncertainty will 
 only by it be removed to a greater distance [from us]. 
 God most high has said, ' We will place on thee a heavy 
 saying.' Then the lad [walad, or disciple] shall say : 
 Thou shalt find me patient, please God. Then thou shalt 
 say: Know (may God most high help thee!) that what 
 thou seekest from me is an honourable secret, and a 
 
 * Koran, xlviii. 10. 
 
 t Another word, " Shanbaweyeh," is here added, which my Mussul- 
 man teacher could not explain. It is not in the Kamoos, and is, he 
 thinks, a mistake for " Shunbeh," or cold. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 250 
 
 serious discourse, and an illustrious doctrine, and a 
 weighty danger, which the mountains cannot bear, nor 
 the people of error receive ; and my mind will not let 
 me reveal it, on account of the greatness of its dignity 
 and honour : for it is cure and health to him who keeps 
 it, and by it draws nigh to God, and reverences it, but a 
 fatal poison to whoever reveals it, and discloses it to 
 those who have no right to it ; and it is a most difficult 
 and weighty thing. Know, too, that if you shall know 
 it, and doubt or uncertainty about it enter your mind, 
 or if you divulge it or reveal it to those who have no 
 portion in it nor right to it, you will be one of those 
 who misplace things, who are the brethren of devils, and 
 you will have merited through doing so the being changed 
 into horrid forms, and being made to walk in vile en- 
 velopes. Have you not heard what has been reported 
 from the mouth of our Lord, the prince of true believers, 
 (may the remembrance of him be glorified and mag- 
 nified !) that he said: Our doctrine is a difficult and 
 weighty matter ; no one can bear it but an angel who 
 is allowed to approach near to God, or a prophet sent 
 as an apostle, or a believer whose heart God has tried in 
 knowledge and faith. Now your position is a free one 
 before knowing this secret, but know that if you shall 
 have known it, and shall reject it, or there enter thee 
 with respect to it doubt and uncertainty, you will be 
 transported into horrid shapes, and will be made to trans- 
 migrate continually, and will be tortured in every revo- 
 lution of time ; therefore consider what thou wilt choose. 
 Then the lad shall say : I am firm in the knowledge of God, 
 please God. Then thou shalt say: May God make thee 
 firm in his firm word, in this life and the next ; and 
 may he make what thou shalt learn of the concealed secret 
 of God most high to be kept secret by thee and not 
 revealed ! Then he shall say : Favour me, my lord, with 
 the knowledge of God most high. 
 
 " Then thou shalt say : That which thou seekest from me 
 
 s 2 
 
260 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 is a great matter, and a glorious doctrine, and an honour- 
 able secret, and a high discourse ; and it is a weighty and 
 difficult matter. Have you not heard what has been re- 
 ported of Bahir-il-Ulm [Mohammed-il-Bakir, the fifth 
 Imam] (from him is peace), how he said : Our secret is a 
 concealed secret, a weighty and difficult matter ; none can 
 bear it but an angel who is permitted to approach near to 
 God, or a prophet who is an apostle, or a believer whose 
 heart God has tried in knowledge and faith ; for there are 
 many angels, and none of them can bear our doctrine but 
 those who are permitted to approach near to God ; and the 
 prophets are many, but none of them can bear our doc- 
 trine but such of them as are apostles ; and believers 
 xre many, but none of them can bear our doctrine but 
 such as are tried. Now your position is a free one, 
 before you hear it ; but know that if you shall have heard 
 it, and shall divulge it or reveal it to those who have no 
 right to it, God will make thee to taste the heat of iron 
 and its cold. Therefore consider in yourself what you 
 will choose. Then he shall say : I am firm in the know- 
 ledge of God, please God most high. Then thou shalt 
 say: May God most high make thee firm in the firm 
 saying, in this life and the next, &c. &c.* Have you 
 not heard what has been reported of the Aalim [Bahir- 
 il-Ulm], (from him is peace), how that he said: Our 
 saying is a weighty and difficult matter, a sense [such 
 as the five senses] discerned : none can bear it but an 
 angel, &c.* And in our saying is .a concealed secret 
 veiled in mystery ; do not place it except in guarded 
 breasts and secure hearts. He said, too ; The bosoms of 
 the free are the fortresses of secrets. He said, also : He who 
 places knowledge with those to whom it does not belong, 
 is iniquitous in his saying, and will repent of his act. He 
 said, moreover : He who places knowledge with those to 
 whom it does not belong, is as one who hangs pearls on 
 
 * The words following are precisely the same as those which have 
 been given before in connexion with tiie preceding words. 
 
EXTEACTS FROM MANUAL. 2G1 
 
 the necks of swine. He said, also : Take care of divulging 
 the secret, for the doing so cuts off property, and shortens 
 life. He said, also : Whoever divulges our secrets, we will 
 cause him to taste the heat of iron and its cold. Attend 
 thou to this saying with thine intellect, and meditate on 
 it with thine understanding ; for thou art free in thy 
 position before thou hearest this secret. Therefore con- 
 sider what thou wilt choose ; for after warning [neg- 
 lected] there is no being wary ; and the being trans- 
 formed into horrid shapes only comes on a man after 
 obedience, from doubt after certainty, and denial after 
 confirmation. Then he shall say : I am firm in the know- 
 ledge of God most high. Then thoushaltsay : May God make 
 thee firm in the firm saying, in this life and the next, and 
 cause what thou hearest of the concealed secret of God to 
 be kept safe with thee, not divulged, and firm, not retracted ! 
 Then he shall say : Favour me, my lord, with the know- 
 ledge of God most high. 
 
 " Then thou shalt say : If thou be truthful in thy saying, 
 and firm in these covenants, there is one thing which I com- 
 mand thee to do, and another which I prohibit thee from 
 doing ; and if thou shak disobey one of these commands, it 
 will be the cause of thy destruction, and you will leave the 
 pale of faith, and return to the degrees of imperfection. 
 Then he shall say : Make me know what that is, my 
 lord. Then thou shalt say : Now the first command is to 
 take care of your brethren, and to pay attention to them, 
 and to mind them, and to continue to visit them, and 
 do good to them, and keep up connexion with them ; and 
 all that you desire for yourself you must desire for them. 
 Know, too, that the fifth of your property absolutely 
 belongs to them, every year. And you must observe 
 prayer in its times, and give alms to those whose due 
 it is, and be constant in performing the ordinances, and 
 hasten to fulfil duties and requirements ; and you must be 
 obedient to your Seyyid, praying for him gratefully, re- 
 membering him ; doing him good in all that you can, and 
 
 s 3 
 
262 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 he may accept ; abstaining from every wrong thing which 
 he may abhor. Now the second command is to guard 
 against injuring your brethren, or wronging any one of 
 them ; to abstain from divulging their faults, and to not 
 act contrary to their wishes, but take care of hurting 
 them. For know that blindness follows the looking at 
 their Hhareems with an improper eye ; and deafness fol- 
 lows the listening to backbiting and scandal against them ; 
 and leprosy and elephantiasis follow the making light of 
 them, or lowering their position ; and poverty and want 
 follow the being miserly and covetous towards them; and 
 there is no calamity, open or concealed, which does not 
 follow the injuring them, for the cord of believers is united 
 with the cord of their Lord ; and his anger with their 
 anger ; and his pleasure with their pleasure. Avoid also 
 lying and all forbidden acts, and iniquities and abomi- 
 nations open and secret. Now, if you have accepted 
 what I have related to you, with a right acceptance, 
 obediently, freely, without dislike, and without con- 
 straint, I will order your Seyyid (the boy's Aram) to 
 agree to your petition in that in which is your deliver- 
 ance; and to favour you with the lasting favour, and 
 eternal life ; and to bring you out of darkness and blind- 
 ness, and cause you to enjoy the illumination of light; 
 after he has taken from you God's promise and covenant, 
 which was taken from his prophets and apostles. Do you 
 then accept the conditions I have demanded of you ? 
 Then the disciple simll say : I accept them freely. 
 
 " Then you will make known to him the religion and faith 
 [Deen and Im^n, practice and faithj, after you have de- 
 manded sureties for him. And you loill say before you 
 swear him : O God, I am guiltless of thy [the boy's] sin 
 [or hurt, that is, injury to the lad if he sins] ; for thou 
 hast so commanded in thy book sent down on thy prophet, 
 the apostle *, and hast said : * When believing women come 
 
 * Koran. Ix. 10. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 263? 
 
 unto you as refugees, try them : God well knoweth their 
 faith. And if ye know theui to be true believers, send 
 them not back to the infidels/ Thou hast so commanded, 
 and hast also said : Do not give knowledge to the people 
 of knowledge, except after covenants and contracts. 
 
 '' Then thou shalt say : Wallah, Billah, Tillah, and seven 
 oaths by Allah; I have confidence in God, and in what you 
 commit to me of the secret of God. I will not sell it 
 nor divulge it, nor contend about it with the uninitiated, 
 nor with respect to it make myself known to any one, 
 except to a brother who makes himself known to me and 
 1 to him [by signs, &c.] ; and if I do otherwise, be guilt- 
 less before God and his books and his apostles : and may 
 God be party and witness to what I say ! Then say : 
 AYallah and Billah, and a second Wallah, and seven oaths 
 by God, a great oath, and by what was taken from the 
 prophets of covenant and contract, I have confidence in 
 God, and in what you commit to me of the secret of God, 
 and will conceal all that I hear and know from my Seyyid, 
 and will follow what he directs me to, and will abstain 
 from what he forbids me ; God is party and witness to 
 what I say ! T%en say : Wallah and Billah, and three 
 oaths by God, and seven oaths by God, and eighty oath& 
 by God, forty standing and forty sitting; I have con- 
 fidence in God, and what you commit to me of the secret 
 of God. I will not sell it, nor divulge it, nor command its 
 being written for those who have no right to it, neither in 
 your lifetime nor after your death ; neither in a state of 
 covetousness, nor in a state of acceptance, nor in a state 
 of hardship ; I am also under these conditions, and will 
 abstain from all that may hurt my brethren, from killing 
 any one, from fornication, and from what is forbidden ; 
 and from corruption, and lying, and aiding the unjust, 
 and usury, and the like ; and I will not reveal what you 
 have discovered to me of the secret of God to any of 
 God's creation, except to a brother of my brethren, who 
 shall make himself known to me and I to him ; and if 
 
 s 4 
 
264 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 I act contrary to this, be guiltless before God and his 
 books and his apostles ! God is party and witness to 
 what 1 say ; he will violate the compact with him who 
 violates it ! 
 
 *' Then say to him : Arise ! God make thee of the number 
 of true believers, who praise God in the earth, and are 
 rightly directed through the light of their Lord. 
 
 *' Then you will deliver him to his ten brethren^ and the 
 sureties^ and they shall swear him, and deliver him to the 
 Naheeb, to his Seyyid, who shall cause him to drink the 
 secret of the two [the two masses'] ; after he shall have read 
 them, and the imdm have read a passage, and they have 
 bended in adoration and prayed while adoring ^ And to the 
 end. . And he shall read the Fatihah to the people of the way 
 and the people of the truth, as shall be convenient. Then the 
 blessed entrance [that is, then the lad becomes in all things 
 one of the initiated] ; and praise be to God alone, and may 
 his favours be on the best of his creation, Mohammed, and 
 on his good and pure family ! Invoke great peace on him 
 till the day of resurrection and judgment. Praise be to 
 God, Lord of the worlds ! 
 
 '' Now, the foregoing is from the wor3s of the well- 
 directed, aided, and rightly guided teacher, the Hippo- 
 crates of his age and Aristotle of his time ; the illustrious 
 lad, and favoured desired one, the copious rain, and greatly 
 learned one ; the chief Seyyid, and precious hero ; the most 
 beloved and rare sheikh, and glorious lion and well-bred 
 falcon ; our dear cousin and cherished desired one ; the 
 Sheikh Hassan, son of the Sheikh Ramadan ; may God grant 
 him favour and the obtaining of his desire and wishes, and 
 cause him to attain the world of those that attain ! Amen. 
 
 '* We have written this at the ordination of our dear 
 nephew, Sheikh Ali, son of Sheikh Eed." 
 
 XXXIIL Sermon, called the Khabr, or information. It 
 is full of mistakes and in wretched handwriting; with bad 
 grammar and most imperfect construction. 
 
 *' In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 265 
 
 The information as to what is lawful and unlawful above the 
 Tuyrtle tree is derived from authority. Hear, brethren. 
 May God give you good-raorning, and give you an evening 
 of acceptance and felicity ! [common morning and evening 
 salutations among the Ansaireeh]. Our Lord Djaafar, 
 son of Mohammed-is- Sadik, said that on the making 
 mention of him the talker should be silent, and on the 
 making mention of God should be silent and attentive ; 
 and that a man should keep the ordinances of God most 
 hifrh, and take the inner doctrine from those advanced in 
 learning ; and that he should abstain from all that is 
 Avrong and iniquitous, by night and by day. And it is 
 said in the Khabr [information] derived from the possessor 
 of miracles and power [Ali], that he said : He who en- 
 ters my assembly [or house] and speaks in it of anything 
 but the remembrance of me, I have no part in him, nor he 
 in me ; and he who is profuse in talking above the myrtle 
 shall remain mute of tongue ; and he who is full of vain 
 talk and backbiting and scandal, God shall destroy his 
 good works. And he who makes a display of finery to 
 outshine his brethren, God most high shall bring him 
 down and lower him; and he who unjustly accuses his 
 brother is as he who takes a stick and beats me with it ; 
 and he who assails the reputation of his brother's family 
 is as if he broke down my house with his hand ; and he 
 who is proud and violent to his brethren shall have in my 
 sight sins as weighty as the lofty mountains ; and he who 
 puts himself out of his place shall be oppressed with the 
 weight of sin ; and he who causes the im^m to retract his 
 ^vords, contradicts God and his apostle ; and he who intends 
 anything but prayer, his prayer is unlawful ; and he who 
 enters with the intention of eating and drinking, and not 
 Avith the intention of praying and worshipping, his work 
 is as the scattered motes in the sunbeam ; and he who 
 speaks contrary to obedience has with me no merchandise ; 
 and he who speaks at the time of calling to prayer, his 
 tongue shall be unable to articulate at the time of death. 
 
266 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 " Now it is incumbeDt on every well-instructed believer, 
 when he enters the sittings of the people of the doctrine 
 and Unitarian religion, that he should be truthful in his 
 intention with respect to God, praising God at the time of 
 praise, and saying * Amen ' to God at the time of saying 
 Amen; and that he should not speak of worldly things; 
 and that he should make himself the least of those at the 
 sitting. And he should not doubt, nor associate any one 
 with the Compassionate One, nor abhor any one of his 
 brethren. And his attention should be fixed on prayer, 
 repenting towards God, and desiring his favour. And he 
 should be contented with the property that may accrue to 
 him, be it much or little. Then, through the fairness of 
 the truthfulness of his love, and the purity of his intention, 
 his faults will fall from off him, though their number be 
 as the sand. But the hypocritical man, when he enters 
 into the sitting of the people of the doctrine and of the 
 Unitarian religion, seeks to eat and drink, and distracts the 
 attention of those on his right and left, and will doubt his 
 Lord and his brethren, and will tell deceiving news, and 
 keep apart from the preaching, and conceal the good 
 tilings that he may see [in his brethren]. So in the contra- 
 riety of his intention, and the smallness of his love, God 
 most high shall load him with great and weighty sins. Know, 
 too, brethren, (may God strengthen us and you !) that 
 you must take care of having dirty shirts [at times of 
 solemn meeting], which God has tried the people of sorrow 
 with [unwashed clothes are the sign of mourning with the 
 Ansaireeh], which they had not to put on except after 
 knowing the truth and rejecting it, and hearing the word 
 of the im^m and disobeying it, and engaging in what is 
 wrong [that is, none suffer calamity except from having 
 been guilty of some disobedience, as follows] : for there is 
 no infirmity attacking the body, such as leprosy, and 
 elephantiasis, and idiotcy, and pleurisy, and dumbness, 
 and deafness, and poverty, and sickness, and accident, nor 
 any pain, but what arises from a failure in fulfilling what 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 267 
 
 is due to one's brethren, and from disobedience to the Com- 
 passionate One. Know, moreover, brethren, that God has 
 rendered unlawful to his servants, the true believers,* joking 
 and intermixing [probably with outsiders], and taking and 
 giving, and selling and buying, and partnership and renting, 
 and doubt and backbiting and slander, and separation and 
 disputing and harsh looks, and the avoiding one another, and 
 hatred and malice and envy, and playing cards, and evil 
 surmisings, and the detracting from the dignity of sheikhs 
 [literally, children of the chimneys, or houses of liberal 
 men] ; and the putting on shoes, and throwing the aba 
 [outer cloak] over the shoulder, and carrying arms [all 
 this at a solemn meeting]. Moreover, he who makes a 
 mock of the poor and wretched, and him who is imperfectly 
 instructed in religion, assails religion. All usury is un- 
 lawful ; and the removing persons from their places [at the 
 meeting] ; and the wearing dresses like those of outsiders, 
 such as a black handkerchief f, or a blue turban, or thimble 
 of bone, or two-edged knife ; and the wearing a long robe 
 without slitsj ; and raising the eyes at the time of worship; 
 and worshipping before the imam worships, and rising 
 before the imam rises ; and raising the voice above the 
 voice of the im^m ; according to the words of the Most 
 High§ : * true believers, raise not your voices above the 
 
 * A word occurs here which is evidently written wronglj. The next 
 word is " opposers," and the passage ra ay mean that God forbids the 
 following matters to be engaged in " with " outsiders. Or the obscure 
 word may mean " except," and the sense be that God forbids entirely 
 what follows, and that all will obey except the disobedient. If so the 
 buying and selling unjustly is meant, one would think, or buying and 
 selling in the case of sheikhs. 
 
 f Such as is put round the head by Christians, black being the 
 colour till lately used by them conipulsorily (with other like colours) ; 
 and being originally the colour peculiar to the Abbasides of Bagdad, 
 the enemies of the house of AH. The blue turban is also worn by 
 Christians. 
 
 if The Ansairee men wear long shirts, but open on the side up to 
 the hips, having thus a disagreeable and indecent appearance. 
 
 § Koran, xlix. 2. 
 
268 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 voice of the prophet ; neither speak loud unto him in 
 discourse, as ye speak loud unto one another, lest your 
 works become vain, and ye perceive it not.' The aiding 
 the unjust is also unlawful ; and the continually saying, 
 * This was said,' and ' That was said ; ' also trafficking 
 and shopkeeping [or acting as merchants]; and telling 
 this story and alleging that tradition ; and an Osmanlee 
 shirt* ; and long mustachios ; and the hair of the arm- 
 pits; and the buttoning of buttonsf ; and trimming up 
 the sleeves ; and cracking the fingers ; and combing the 
 beard with the hand. J Tobacco also is forbidden, for it 
 is blamed above the myrtle. § 
 
 " Know, brethren, that God has ordained to his ser- 
 vants, the true believers, in the times of prayer, purity of 
 intention and right deeds, and the cleansing of the heart, 
 and mutual friendship, and your forgiving one another ; 
 and if there is any enmity or hatred between any one and 
 his brother in respect of woi-ldly matters, he must forgive 
 him. And you must make your love to one another pure, 
 0. brethren, and seek pardon and forgiveness, according to 
 the saying of our Lord II Aalim [Mohammed-il-Bahirj, 
 (from him is peace) : A believer does not become such 
 really till he desires for his brother what he desires for 
 himself, and dislikes in his case what he would dislike for 
 himself. Know too, my brethren, that your brother, the 
 master of this sitting [some sheikh or chief person at 
 whose house it is held], has assembled you only for 
 prayers, and to ascribe unity to God (may he be exalted and 
 glorified !) ; for God most high has said in his precious 
 
 * Which has not the long sleeves of the Ansairee shirt ; for of this 
 last the part under the wrist is lengthened out greatly, until it terminates 
 in a point. 
 
 t This, like many other things thrown loosely together in this 
 " sermon," is not generally attended to by the Ansaireeh. 
 
 t Some of these directions, like preceding ones, seem to refer only to 
 the times of meeting. 
 
 § This shows that the MS. belongs to the Shemseen sect, whose slieiklis 
 do not smoke. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL. 269 
 
 book*: * And meditate on thy Lord in thine own mind, 
 with humility and fear, and without loud speaking, 
 morning and evening ; and be not one of the negligent/ 
 That is to say, at the times of prayer it is not permitted 
 to any one to have in his breast any matter which has not 
 reference to God ; but all the members must be employed 
 only in the remembrance of God (may he be praised and 
 exalted !). Make then your intentions pure, till the inten- 
 tion shall be but as one intention. And know, brethren, 
 that you have put me forward to pray for you, who am 
 the meanest and most despicable, and poorest and least 
 among you ; and I have no power to be your im^m, but, 
 as a slave and the least of servants, I serve you in lowli- 
 ness and meanness, without lordship or self-exaltation ; 
 for our Lord Abu-Saeed, in the book called * That which 
 comprises the knowledge of Fetwas f [or the decisions of 
 religious doctors], has said: It is not permitted to any 
 one to take precedence in an assembly, if he knows that at 
 the sitting there is one better instructed than himself, ex- 
 cept with his pleasure and permission ; and I testify with 
 respect to myself, that I am the least of you as to know- 
 ledge and good deeds, and the most full of faults and 
 iniquity, and errors and mistakes. But I hope from God, 
 and from the sea of your universal benevolence, that you 
 will forgive me, and help me with your prayers. It may 
 be God will accept our and your prayers. My head 
 touches the dust on which your feet have trodden, and 
 here, as before God, I kiss your feet ; may God forgive 
 him who forgives ! Here ends the Khabr, May my Lord 
 be exalted ! We all of us say, Amen ! " 
 
 * Koran, vii. 204. f " Kitab-il-Hawi Ala Ulm-il-Fetawi." 
 
270 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM PUBLISHED ANSAIREE DOCUMENTS. 
 
 In this chapter I shall give translations of the most impor- 
 tant of the published documents concerning the Ansairee 
 religion; and first of the Ansairee catechism, as the 
 most complete and interesting. This was sent, with a 
 French version, to the King of Prussia, by M. Catafago, 
 dragoman of the Prussian Consul- General at Beyrout.* 
 As I have had no opportunity of seeing the original MS., 
 my translation is made from copious extracts published in 
 the Journal of the German Oriental Society. f These 
 are in the German language, and made by Dr. Wolff 
 from a copy of the catechism lent to him by M. Catafago 
 during his stay at Beyrout. I have added some notes where 
 I have thought them desirable. It will be seen, on com- 
 paring this catechism with the sketch I have given of 
 my MS., the " Manual of Sheikhs," that the arrangement 
 and contents are in the main the same. Even single ex- 
 pressions are nearly identical, and would probably be 
 found to be exactly so could the two Arabic texts be 
 compared. The catechism has the air of being genuine, 
 and, iu any case, most certainly contains the Ansairee 
 doctrines and formularies found in their various books. 
 The title only, the " Book of Instruction in the Ansairee 
 Religion," seems open to suspicion. Perhaps it does not 
 belong to the MS. as it once stood. Dr. Wolff proceeds 
 as follows : — 
 
 * Jaliresbericht der Deutschen Morgenland. Gesell. 1845-6, p. 130. 
 t Vul. iii. p. 302. 
 
ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 271 
 
 The book is in thirty-eight heaves, large octavo, and is 
 called the Book of Instruction in the Ansairee Religion. 
 
 The introduction contains an invocation of the eternal 
 God, and a thanksgiving " for the communication of his 
 divine secret, and the truth of the holy religion ;" which 
 consists in the perception of his great Name, and of his 
 holy Door, through the person of the Abd-in-Noor, which 
 he has assumed for the sake of his saints, who know liim ; 
 also a thanksgiving for all the benefits received from 
 God. Hereupon follows the two portions of the catechism; 
 called, the one theoretical, which speaks of instruction, and 
 the other practical, which speaks of customs and cere- 
 monies. The first, or theoretical part, contains the fol- 
 lowing questions and answers : — 
 
 I. Who created us ? — Ans. Ali son of Abu-Taleb. 
 
 II. Whence do we know that Ali is God ? — Ans. Through 
 his own testimony, given in a public discourse held 
 from the pulpit, 
 
 (In the discourse which is now given, it is said 
 among other things, " I am the Lord of lords, who com- 
 mands life and death, who begat Jesus in the womb of his 
 mother Mary, who sent the apostles/' &c.) 
 
 III. Who has called us to the perception of our Lord ? 
 — Ans* Mohammed, as he himself said in his discourse 
 which ends thus, " He (Ali) is my Lord and yours." 
 
 IV. If Ali is God, how did he take man's nature ? — 
 Ans. He did not take it, but he concealed liimself in 
 Mohammed in the period of his change of shapes, and took 
 the name of Ali. 
 
 y. How often has our Lord changed his form, and 
 shown himself in the likeness of man ? Ans. Seven times. 
 
 a. He took the name of Abel, and took Adam as his Veil. 
 
 b. „ „ Seth „ Noah 
 
 c/. , 
 C. , 
 
 
 aetu 
 
 Joseph 
 
 
 Jacob 
 
 d. 
 
 > » 
 
 Joshua 
 
 
 Moses 
 
 e. , 
 
 ) J5 
 
 Asaf 
 
 
 Solomon 
 
 /• 
 
 » JJ 
 
 Peter 
 
 
 Jesus 
 
 9- 
 
 ' » 
 
 Ali 
 
 » 
 
 Mohammed 
 
272 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 VI. How could he so conceal and manifest himself ? 
 — Ans, That is the mystery of the transformation, which 
 God alone knows, as he himself says. 
 
 (Then follow passages cited from the Koran and Bible.) 
 
 VII. Will he yet once more manifest himself? — Ans. 
 Yes, as he is, without any transformation, in pomp and 
 glory. 
 
 YIII. What is the divine appearance ? — Ans. It is the 
 appearance of the Creator by means of the veihng himself 
 in human form, and the best of sheaths within a sheath. 
 
 IX. Explain it more exactly. — Ans. As the Maana 
 entered into the Door, it concealed itself under the name, 
 and took it for itself, as our Lord Djaafar-is-Sadik has said. 
 
 X. What are the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab ? — Ans. 
 They are an inseparable Trinity, as one says, — " In the 
 name of God, the compassionate, the merciful." The 
 word God signifies the Maana ; the words compassionate 
 and merciful denote the Name and the Door. 
 
 XI. How did the Maana create the Ism ; and how did 
 the latter create the Bab ? — Ans. The substance of sub- 
 stances produced the Name out of the light of his unity. 
 
 XII. Are the Maana and the Bab separable from the 
 Ism? — Ans. No: they are with it — they cannot be 
 separated from it. 
 
 XIII. What names have the Maana, the Ism, and the 
 Bab ; and how are they distinguished ? — Ans. These names 
 are threefold. 1. Figurative ; 2. Essential ; 3. Attri- 
 butive. The figurative belong to the Maana ; the attri- 
 butive are those of which the Ism has made use, but 
 which belong peculiarly to the Maana. As when we say, 
 the Gracious One, the Compassionate One, the Creator. 
 
 XIV. What are the sixty-three names of the Ism, 
 which, spiritually taken, denote the Maana, and personally 
 the Ism, — those of which the Godhead has made use to 
 manifest himself in the persons of the prophets and 
 apostles?— ^W5. Among the first of these sixty-three names 
 are Adam, Enoch, Kenan ; then Edrees, Noah, Herd, 
 
ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 273 
 
 Solomon, Lot, Abraham. The last of all is "the Imam 
 Mohammed son of Hassan, the demonstration." 
 
 XV. What are the attributive names of the Ism, which 
 peculiarly belong to the Godhead ? — Ans, God, the 
 Gracious One, Light, the Lofty One, &c. ; in all forty 
 names. 
 
 XVI. What are the mysterious names of the Ism ? 
 
 1. (Here follow the enigmatical letters at the commence- 
 ment of some chapters of the Koran ; as A. L. M. of the 
 second, K. H. Y. A. S. of the nineteenth, &c.) 
 
 2. In the Pentateuch, Mad al Mad (Gen. xvii. 2). 
 
 3. In Gospels, Paraclet. 
 
 4. In Psalms, Redeemer. 
 
 5. In Koran, Mohammed. 
 
 XVII. What are the personal names of theism? — 
 Ans, Adam, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Solomon, Jesus, Mo- 
 hammed Abdullah the apostle of God, and Mohammed 
 ibn-Hassan. 
 
 XVIII. What are the abstract names of the Ism ? — 
 Ajis, The will, the perception, the might, &c. 
 
 XIX. What are the appellations of the Ism in the 
 period of Abraham ? 
 
 XX. What in the period of Moses ? 
 
 XXL What in the period of Mohammed ? — Here 
 pretty well the same names are given as in the Druse 
 books. 
 
 [Note. — They have been given above, Chap. V.] 
 
 XXII. What are the names of the great and holy Door 
 (Bab) of God ? (Again the same names as in the Druse 
 books. ) 
 
 XXIII. What are the names of the personifications of 
 the Bab in the books of the Unitarians ? (By which the 
 Ismaeleeh, or also the Druses, are to be understood.) 
 (Here follow fifty-five names, such as throne, water, door, 
 &c. &c.) 
 
 XXIV. What are the names of the six spiritual sta- 
 
 T 
 
274 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 tions ? — Ans, In the first Gabriel, and his orphans, 
 Michael, &c. 
 
 XXV. What in the second ? — Ans, Yayeel ibn-Fatin 
 and his orphans. 
 
 XXYI. Whatinthe third?— ^w-s. Ham ibn-Koosh. 
 
 XXYII. What in the fourth ? — Ans, Dan ibn-Sabaoot. 
 
 XXYIII. What in the fifth? — ^^5. Abdullah ibn- 
 Simaan. 
 
 XXIX. What in the sixth ? — Aiis, Rozabah ibn-il- 
 Marzaban. 
 
 XXX. What in the Persian periods ? (Here the names 
 that follow are all Persian.) 
 
 XXXI. What is the Bab also called ? — Ans, The 
 
 perfect soul, the Holy Ghost, Gabriel, &c. 
 
 [Note. — Dr. AVolflf has wrongly translated the expression In-nefs 
 il-Kullee, which is, as I have rendered it, " the universal soul," the name 
 by which the second Druse minister is called.] 
 
 XXXII. What is the name of the Bab and its orphans 
 in the eleven appearances which God has given us grace 
 to perceive ? — Ans. In the first onr Lord Salman and his 
 orphans. 
 
 XXXIII. What in the second? — ^n5. Abu-Abd-ir- 
 Kalman. 
 
 XXXIY. What in the third '?—Ans, Abu-al-Ula. 
 
 XXX Y. What in the fourth ?— 4/25. Abu-Khalid. 
 
 XXXVI. What in the fifth?— .4n5. Yahya ibn- 
 Maamar. 
 
 XXX YII. What in the sixth? — Ans. Abu-Mohammed 
 Djabir. 
 
 XXXYIIL What ill the seventh? — Ans, Abu-Ismaeel 
 Mohammed. 
 
 XXXIX. What in the eighth? — Ans, Abu-Abdallah 
 al Mufdal. 
 
 [Note.— Properly Mufudhal.] 
 
 XL. What in the ninth ? — Ans, Abu-Djaafar Moham- 
 med. 
 
 XLI. What in the tenth ? — Ans, Abu-al-Kasim. 
 
 II 
 
\ 
 
 ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 275 
 
 XLII. What in the eleventh? — Ans. Khatib Mohammed. 
 
 [Note. — Here Dr. Wolff has evidently made a mistake from glancing 
 quickly at the manuscript. The Bab given in my MS. is Abu-Shuaib 
 Mohammed ibn-Nusair in-Numeyree, the name of the last of whose 
 orphans is given as Ahmed ihn- Mohammed ibn-il-Furat il Katib (or 
 scribe); which name Dr. Wolff has taken by an oversight as that of the 
 Bab.] 
 
 XLIII. What are the names of our Lord, Emeer il 
 Moomeneen, in the various languages ? — Ans, The Arabs 
 have given him the name of Ali ; he himself has taken the 
 name of Aristotle. In the New Testament he is called 
 Elias, which means Ali. The Indians call him Kankara. 
 
 XLIY. What are the other names of our Lord, with 
 their meaning and explanation ? — Ans, The elements, 
 the law, the faith, the victory, &c. 
 
 XLY. What is the apparent name of the mother of 
 our Lord ? — Ans, Fatimeh. 
 
 [Note. — Fatimeh was the name also of his wife, the daughter of Mo- 
 hammed.] 
 
 XL VI. What are the names of his brothers ? — Ans, 
 Haraza, Talib, &;c. 
 
 XLVII. What are the human names of the children of 
 our Lord ? — Ans, Hassan, Hosein ; his daughters, Teynah, 
 Umm Kulthoom. 
 
 XLVIII. Where is his grave ? — Ans. In Dakwat il 
 Beyd, west of Cufa. 
 
 XLIX. What are the peculiar names belonging to him 
 in appearance (in iz-Zahir)? — Ans, The word, eternity 
 &c. (twenty-nine names). 
 
 L. Why do we call our Lord Emeer in-Nahl (Prince 
 of Bees)? — Ans, The true believers are like bees, which 
 seek the best flowers. Therefore is he so called. 
 
 LI. What name did the beings give him who inha- 
 bited the world before men ? — Ans. Al-Hoo. " He." 
 
 LIL What are the spirits called who inhabited the 
 world before men? — Ans. They are the Djann, and the 
 Bann, and the Tumm, and the Ramm, and the Djan. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 LIIl. How many worlds are there ? — Ans. Many ; God 
 alone knows them ; among them are the great luminous 
 world, and the little earthly world, the residence of men. 
 
 LIV. Which is the great world? — Ans, The heaven, 
 which is the light of lights. 
 
 LV. Which is the little world ? — Ans. The earth. 
 
 LYI. What does the great world include ? — Ans, The 
 seven hierarchies. The Abwab, the Aytam, the Nadjeebs, 
 the Naheebs, the Mukhtasseen, the Mukhliseen, and the 
 Mumtahaneen. 
 
 LVII. What are the names of the degrees of the seven 
 hierarchies ? — Ans, Of the first, which numbers 400 
 doors, they are the names, the lights, the clouds, the 
 suns, &c. 
 
 [Note. — I give the names of the respective degrees from my MS. Of 
 the Abwab they are : " the doors, the veils, the verse (of Koran), the 
 lights, the suns, the firmaments, the clouds."] 
 
 L VIII. What in the second hierarchy ? — Ans. The 
 500 orphans, who have seven degrees ; namely, the stars, 
 the comets, the thunder, &c. 
 
 [Note. — The east, the west, the moons, the new moons, the stars, the 
 thunders, the lightnings.] 
 
 LIX. What of the third? — ^n5. That of Naheebs, 
 who are 600, and have seven degrees ; namely, prayer, 
 alms, fasts, pilgrimage, the Hadjrah, the holy war, the in- 
 vocation (namely, of those who are considered the highest 
 prophets). 
 
 [Note. — These names are the same in my MS.] 
 
 LX. What of the fourth ? — Ans. Of the Nadjeebs, 
 700 in number, and in seven degrees ; the mountains, seas, 
 clouds, &c. 
 
 [Note. — The mountains, rainy clouds, seas, rivers, winds, clouds, 
 thunderbolts.] 
 
 LXI. What of the fifth? — ^n5. Of the Mukhtasseen, 
 800 in number, in seven degrees ; as, night, day, morning, 
 &c. 
 
 [Note. — Night, day, morning, Ushee (time an hour and a half after 
 sunset), travelling in the morning, the afternoon, floods.] 
 
ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 277 
 
 LXII. What of the sixth? — ^/25. Mukhliseen, 900 in 
 number, in seven degrees ; as, camels, bees, birds, &c. 
 [Note. — Cattle, beasts, camels, bees, birds, cloisters, conventicles.] 
 
 LXIII. What in the seventh ? — ^n5. The Mumta- 
 haneen, 1100 in number, in seven degrees; houses, 
 temples, vines, &c. These seven hierarchies make to- 
 gether forty-nine degrees. 
 
 [Note. — Houses, places of worship, palm trees, grapes, pomegranates, 
 olives, figs.] 
 
 LXIV. How were these hierarchies called in the world 
 of light, before their appearance in the earthly world ? — 
 Ans. They had other names in heaven. 
 
 [Note. — I will add what is said in my MS.*, because of its absurdity 
 and curiosity : — 
 
 " Now these names belonged to them (the degrees) previously, before 
 these beneficial things, such as figs and olives and palm trees and 
 grapes, and like names mentioned in the words of the Koran, were called 
 so by us in the world. So that these names became the names of these 
 beneficial things in the world over-against the names of the degrees of 
 the hierarchies in the luminous world. Thus the words of the Koran 
 in their outer meaning (iz-Zahir) denote the beneficial things of this 
 world, and in their inner meaning (il-Batin) the names of the degrees 
 and of the hierarchies of the luminous world."] 
 
 LXY. What does the little earthly and human world con- 
 tain ? — Ans. 14,000 near ones, 15,000 sacrifices, 15,000 
 cherubim, 16,000 spirits, 17,000 saints, 18,000 hermits, 
 19,000 listeners, 20,000 followers; in all, 119,000 beings. 
 
 LXVI. What are the names of the Nadjeebs of the 
 little or earthly world ? (Here follow twenty-five names, 
 of which the first is Abu- Ayoob, and the last Abdullah ibn- 
 Saba.) 
 
 LXVII. How are the Nadjeebs called in the world of 
 light ? — Ans, The lion, virgin, balance, crab, bull, &c. 
 (in all twenty- seven names). 
 
 [Note. — Probably twenty-eight, as in my MS., being the names of 
 the twenty-eight mansions of the moon.] 
 
 LXVIII. How is it that the Nadjeebs have two names, 
 • MS. p. 29. 
 
 T 3 
 
278 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 one in the earthly world, and the other in the world 
 of light ? (The answer is only that they have just two 
 names.) 
 
 LXIX. What are the names of those who have been 
 prophets, and how many of them are there ? — Ans. 
 Seventeen. The first is called Ibn-il-Haratee (Zeid-ibn-il- 
 Harithee), and the last Omar ibn-el-Hamak. 
 
 LX-X. How are the twenty-five orphans called ? (These 
 are utterly unimportant names.) 
 
 LXXI. How many books have the Unitarians ? — Ans. 
 114. 
 
 LXXII. What is the Koran ? — Ans, The forerunner 
 of the appearance of our Lord in human form. 
 
 LXXIII. Who taught Mohammed the Koran ? — Ans. 
 Our Lord, who is the Maana, by the mouth of Gabriel. 
 
 LXXIV'. What is the token of our brethren the true 
 believers? — Ans, A. M. S. A. means Ali ; M. Moham- 
 med; S. Sals?/". 
 
 LXXY. Is it true that the Messiah was crucified, as 
 the Christians assert ? — Ans. No ; the Jews were de- 
 ceived by a resemblance. (Kor. iii. 163.) 
 
 LXXYI. What is the mass ? — Ans. The consecration 
 of the wine, which is drunk to the health of the Nakeeb or 
 Nadjeeb. 
 
 (Die Weihung des Weines, den man trinkt auf die Ge- 
 sundheit des Nakib's oder Nadschib's.) 
 
 QNoTE. — This expression, " drink to the health of," is probablj due to 
 a faulty translation of Dr. Wolff's.] 
 
 LXXYIL What is the ofi'ering (Kurb^n) ? — Ans. 
 The consecration of the bread, which the true believers 
 take in hand for the souls of their brethren, and on that 
 account the mass is read. 
 
 LXXVin. Who reads the mass, and brings the offer- 
 ing ? — Ans. Your great imams and preachers. 
 
 LXXIX. What is the great secret (mystery) of God ? 
 — Ans. The flesh and the blood, of which Jesus has said: 
 " This is my flesh and my blood ; eat and drink thereof, 
 for it is eternal life." 
 
ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 279 
 
 LXXX. Where do the souls of your brethren, the true 
 believers, go when they leave their graves ? — Ans. Into 
 the great world of light. 
 
 LXXXI. What will happen to the godless and poly- 
 theists? — Ans. They will have all torments to suffer in all 
 ages. 
 
 LXXXIL What is the mystery of the faith of the 
 Unitarians ? What is the mystery c " mysteries and chief 
 article of faith of the true believers ? — Ans. It is the 
 veiling of our Lord in light, that is, in the eye of the 
 sun, and his manifestation in his servant Abd-in-Noor. 
 
 L XX XIII. What will happen to those who doubt this 
 mystery, after they have once acknowledged it ? — Ans, 
 They will be reprobated, &c. 
 
 LXXXIY. What are the stipulations which the believer 
 must enter on, if he will receive the secret of secrets ? — 
 Ans. He must, before all things, assist his brethren with all 
 his means ; he must give them the fifth parr, of his goods : 
 he must pray at the appointed hours ; fulfil his obligations ; 
 give to all their dues ; obey his Lord, invoke him, thank 
 him, often pronounce his name, in all points submit him- 
 self to his will, and keep himself from everything that 
 may displease him. 
 
 LXXXV. What is the second thing which the believer 
 must keep himself from ? — Ans. From afi^ronting or injur- 
 ing his brethren. 
 
 LXXXYI. Is the believer allowed to make known to 
 any one the secret of secrets ? — Ans. Only to those of his 
 religion, else will he lose the favour of God. 
 
 LXXXVII. What is the first mass?— ^W5. It is that 
 which is spoken before the prayer of Nurooz. 
 
 LXXXYIII. What is the prayer of Nurooz ?—Ans. 
 The words of consecration of the wine in the chalice. 
 
 LXXXIX. Say that prayer. Among other things, it 
 is said : " Drink of this pure wine, for one day its lights 
 will be covered with thick clouds." 
 
 [Note. — This translation differs from the one given by me, Chap.IX.^ 
 
 T 4 
 
280 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 which was made with the assistance of a competent Mussulman sheikh 
 of Cairo, and is I believe the true one.] 
 
 XC. What is the consecrated wine called which the be- 
 lievers drink ? — Ans, Abd-in-Noor. 
 
 XCI. Wherefore so? — Ans, Because God has manifested 
 himself in the same. 
 
 XCI I. What is the concealed secret of God, which 
 stands between the K and N? — Ans. Light, according to 
 his word : " Let there be light, and there was light." 
 
 XCIIL What is light ?—Ans. The eternal Maana, which 
 is concealed in light. 
 
 XCIV. If our Lord is concealed in light, where does he 
 manifest himself ? — Ans, In the wine, as is said in the 
 Nurooz. 
 
 XCY. Why does the believer direct his face, when he 
 prays, towards the sun ? — Ans, Know that the sun is the 
 light of lights. 
 
 XCVI. Why do we say that our Lord makes turnings 
 (transmigrations) and revolutions ? — The answer, which is 
 no answer, is : He does so, and manifests himself periodi- 
 cally in all revolutions and periods, from Adam to the son 
 of Abu-Talib. 
 
 XCVII. What do the outer and inner word denote? — 
 Ans. The inner, the Godhead of our Lord ; the outer, his 
 manhood. Outwardly we say that he is spoken of as 
 " Our Lord, Ali son of Abu-Talib : " and this denotes in- 
 wardly the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab ; one gracious 
 and compassionate God. 
 
 XCVIII. Which of our sheikhs spread our faith in all 
 lands ? — Ans. Abu-Abdullah Al Husein ibn-Hamd4n. 
 
 XCIX. Why do we hear the name of the Khasaibis ? — 
 Ajis, Because we follow the teaching of our sheikh Abu- 
 Abdullah Al Husein ibn-Hamd^n il Khasaibi. 
 
 [Note. — 1 have always written this word Khaseebee (the absence of 
 vowel points admitting of both readings), as my lad says that the word 
 is so pronounced by his people.] 
 
 C. Let me know the names of the persons of prayer and 
 the obligatory and free-will times of the same? — Ans, 
 
ANSAIREE CATECHISM. 281 
 
 The first obligatory time is midday ; the prayer at this 
 time has eight prostrations: the second that of five 
 hours after midday ; this prayer has four prostrations : 
 the third is of sunset, with five prostrations : the fourth 
 of midnight, with four prostrations : the fifth of the 
 dawn, with two prostrations. Between every two of these 
 obligatory times of prayer are those of free will. 
 
 This is the theoretical part of the catechism. In the 
 second, practical portion, there is first given a general for- 
 mula of prayer ; then follows a formula for mass. Ac- 
 cording to this, when the cup is given, these words are 
 spoken : " Drink, my brother, of my cup ; may its contents 
 be holiness and health to you ! Let me drink of your cup ; 
 may God let you sometime drink of the hand of Salsal, to 
 quench your thirst in the day of the great thirst ! " 
 
 [Note. — Here again I suspect that the translation of Dr. Wolff is 
 
 erroneous.] 
 
 At this time also the healths are drunk of Ali, Mohammed, 
 Abu- Abdullah, and the sheikh for the time being (i. e. the 
 present head of the sect) ; during which Sooras from the 
 Koran, as that of the Mountain, are read; also there are 
 many prostrations. 
 
 [Note. — The expression, " drink to the health of Ali," &c., is doubtless 
 an erroneous translation. See above.] 
 
 After the formula of mass follows the formula which must 
 be said on reception into the community. According to this, 
 among other things, to the question " What do you wish?" 
 it must be answered : " I desire that my lord would make 
 my head free from the yoke of slavery ; that he will direct 
 me into the true perception of the Lord, that he will take 
 me out of the darkness of delusion, and will give me to 
 live in everlasting life.'' At the conclusion of this formula, 
 the proselyte, who at each question must declare that he 
 will learn to know the Highest Being, is admonished to 
 avoid lies and all wicked actions. At the oath, which he 
 takes after a set formula, all the assembly throw themselves 
 upon their knees. The conclusion of the formulary is a 
 
282 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 formula for marriage settlements. A kind of calendar of 
 festivals follows as an appendix. 
 
 [Note. — Has Dr. Wolff mistaken, through haste, the Akad, or contract 
 between the boy and his Seyyid, for a contract for marriage ?] 
 
 I propose next to give a translation of the paper sent by 
 M. Catafago to the " Journal Asiatique *, " because I have 
 had frequently to refer to it, and it may not easily be 
 procurable by English readers. 
 
 Letter to M, Wildenhruch, Prussian Consul-General. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to announce to you that I 
 have just made the discovery and acquisition of an An- 
 sairee MS. of the greatest interest. 
 
 This manuscript, in 410 pages 4to, is entitled " Collec- 
 tion of Feasts, Proofs, and Veritable Traditions, with their 
 signs and significations, which ought not to be revealed 
 either to father or mother, or brother or sister ; composed 
 by the very illustrious and virtuous learned young sheikh, 
 the source of goodness, and of the Unitarian religion, of 
 virtue and devotion, Abu-Saeed Mayraoon, son of Kasim 
 at-Tabaranee. May God sanctify his soul, and illuminate 
 his tomb ! " 
 
 After this title the author commences with a preface, 
 which is a solemn profession of faith, in which he renders 
 thanks to Ali as God, in whom he distinguishes three 
 principles. 1. The divinity, properly so called, or the 
 essence of beings. 2. Light, or the veil (Hedj^b), which 
 manifests itself to men under their own form, in the person 
 of the apostles and prophets. 3. The Door, Bab, which 
 is the faithful spirit or water. 
 
 After this preface the author passes to the subject of the 
 work, and declares that he had received these facts, by 
 tradition, from one of the twelve imams, called Al Aalim, 
 at Tripoli of Syria, in fhe year 398 of the Hedjrah (a.d. 
 
 * Feb. 1848. Notice sur les Ans^riens. 
 
M. CATAFAGO*S PAPER. 283 
 
 1007). He divides the feasts of his co-religionists into 
 two categories — Arab and Persian; and gives an enu- 
 meration of them, reserving the treatment of each one in 
 particular, and the exposition of the prayers, histories, 
 discourses, &c., which belong to each of them, for the 
 body of the work. 
 
 Although the simple titles of the chapters contained in 
 this volume are not sufficient to give an idea of the interest 
 which this work oflfers, nevertheless I will transcribe the 
 list according to the order established by the author 
 himself : — 
 
 I. History of the month of Ramadan, after the traditions 
 of our lords. May peace be with them ! 
 
 II. Prayer of the month of Ramadan. 
 
 III. Of the feast called Fitr. 
 
 TV, Discourse of the feast of Fitr. 
 
 V. Prayer of the feast of Fitr. 
 
 YI. Of the feast of the sacrifice (Adha). 
 
 YII. Prayer of the same. 
 
 YIII. Explanation of the seventy names, given in his 
 dwelling, by Abu-Ali of Busra, at Shiraz, a. h. 327, 
 (a.d. 938). 
 
 IX. Discourse of the feast of Adha. 
 
 X. History of the feast of Gadeer, and its virtues. 
 
 XI. Poem of the Gadeer, by the Lord Abu- Abdullah al 
 Khousseibi.* 
 
 XII. Prayer. 
 
 XIII. Discourse of the feast of Gadeer. 
 XIY. Another discourse for the same feast. 
 
 XY. Discourse of the Gadeer, pronounced by our Lord, 
 the Prince of true believers. 
 XYI. Idem. 
 
 X YII. History of II Kahree. 
 XYIIL OfthefeastofMubahileh. 
 XIX. Of the transfigurations (of the Deity). 
 
 * My lad says that his people pronounce the word Khaseebee as I 
 have written it. 
 
284 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 XX. Of the letter Cam, which has a mystic significa- 
 tion in the transfigurations (Tadjallee). 
 XXL Prayer of the feast of Mubahileh. 
 
 XXII. Another prayer. 
 
 XXIII. Of the prayer of the bed. 
 XXIY. Poem of the feast of the bed. 
 XXY. Prayer of the feast of the bed. 
 
 XXVI. Of the feast of Aashoor. 
 
 XXVII. The day of Kerbela (followed by three poems). 
 
 XX VIII. Absence and manifestation of the Divinity. 
 
 XXIX. History of Tafoof. 
 
 XXX. Visitation of day of Aashoor. 
 
 XXXI. Another visitation. 
 
 XXXII. Slaughter of Dalam. (May Allah curse him !) 
 
 XXXIII. Prayer of the day of the slaughter of Dalam. 
 
 XXXIV. Mid-Shaban, or the last day of the Khaseebee 
 year. 
 
 XXXV. History of the Naheeb Mohammed ibn-Sinan. 
 
 XXXVI. Visitation called Numeyreyeh. 
 
 XXXVII. A second visitation. 
 
 XXXVIII. A third visitation. 
 
 XXXIX. Prayer of Mid-Shaban. 
 
 XL. History of ZalM and B^l. May Allah curse both 
 of them ! 
 
 XLI. History of Mid-Shaban. 
 
 XLII. History of Christmas Eve *, which is the twenty- 
 fourth day of December of the Greek calendar; or the 
 birth-day of the Lord, the Messiah, of the holy, pure, and 
 spotless Virgin, Mary, daughter of Amran. 
 
 [Note. — In appearance, so the Arabic given by M. Catafago in this 
 case.] 
 
 XLIV. Prayer of the feast of Christmas. 
 XLV. The 1 7th of March, extracted from the book of 
 the luminous transmigrations and revolutions. 
 XLVL Prayer of the 17th of March. 
 
 * That is, the commencement of Christmas-day in the East. 
 
 II 
 
m:. catafago's paper. 285 
 
 XLVII. Of the Nurooz, which is the fourth of April, 
 and the first of the Persian year. 
 
 XLY III. History of the chaplet. 
 
 XLIX. History of the inner meaning of the Nurooz. 
 
 L. Idem. 
 
 lil. History of the Nurooz, and of the good and alms- 
 giving which one ought to perform on it. 
 
 LII. Of the Mihrdjan and Nurooz. 
 
 LI 11. Prayer to the sun. 
 
 LIY. Prayer of the Nurooz. 
 
 LV. Discourse of the Nurooz. 
 
 LYI. Prayer of the Mihrdjan. 
 
 LVII. Another prayer for the Mihrdjan. 
 
 Such are the matters contained in this work. I have 
 thought it right to give them according to the order fol- 
 lowed by the author ; but it is only by reading the work 
 itself that one can appreciate its importance. It leaves 
 nothing to be desired in details, and makes fully known the 
 religion of the Ansaireeh. 
 
 I am led to believe that, with the aid of this manuscript 
 and of the catechism which you already possess, one could 
 do for the Ansairee religion what M. De Sacy has done 
 for the religion of the Druses. Meanwhile, I will attempt 
 to translate the most interesting passages, the manuscript 
 being too voluminous to allow me to translate it entirely, 
 as I should have desired. 
 
 In the hope that you will deign to indicate to me the 
 course I should take, &c. &c. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 J. CATAFAGO. 
 
 OF THE EVE OF CHRISTMAS AND ITS VIRTUES. 
 
 Christmas-eve * is the twenty-fourth of December ; it is 
 the last day of the Greek year, and is part of the last 
 quarter of the month. 
 
 * See previous note. 
 
286 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 The Lord, the Messiah (may peace be with him !) 
 manifested * in that night his birth of the holy, pure, and 
 spotless Virgin Mary, daughter of Amran (so Mohammed 
 styles the father of the blessed Virgin), of which God has 
 made mention in his holy book, where he praises it in 
 these terms : " Mary, the daughter of Amran, preserved 
 her virginity intact ; we breathed our spirit on her ; she 
 believed in the word of her Lord, gave credence to his 
 books, and was obedient/' 
 
 However, she is none other, in the Mohammedan Dome 
 (period), than Amina, daughter of Wahab, mother of 
 our lord Mohammed. Many of our co-religionists say 
 that she is the same as Fatima (may peace be with 
 her !) ; they base their assertion on the words which our 
 lord Mohammed addressed to her once when she entered 
 his presence : " Come in, thou who art the mother of 
 thine own father f or, as others say, " Welcome, thou 
 who art the mother of thine own father." But the 
 prophet only used this language to her to indicate that 
 she was the mother of the three letters H, that is to say, 
 Hasan, Hosein, and Mohsin. 
 
 As to the mother of our lord Mohammed, she was no 
 other than Amina, daughter of Wahab, who, under the 
 name of Mary, gave birth under the Christian Dome to 
 the lord the Messiah, in the same way that lord Mo- 
 hammed manifested his birth in his mother Amina, 
 daughter of Wahab. The proof of what I advance is the 
 recital which my lord and sheikh made to me. He said 
 to me : " Having betaken myself to my lord, the virtuous 
 Sheikh Abu-il-Hosein Mohammed, son of Ali Al Djalee, 
 and having questioned him, among other things, about 
 Mary, daughter of Amran, he replied to me that she was 
 the same who, in the Mohammedan period, was called 
 Amina, daughter of Wahab, mother of lord Mohammed, 
 
 * The word translated by M. Catafago " manifested," appears from a 
 small portion of the Arabic text given by him to be the word Zahir, 
 meaning that the manifestation and birth were merely in appearance. 
 
M. CATAFAGO'S PArER. 287 
 
 (may peace be with him !)*' Pie added that God Iiad spoken 
 of her, in his revealed book, in these terms : " Celebrated 
 is Mary, in the book par excellence ; celebrated is the day 
 in which she separated herself from her family, on the side 
 of the East : she took in secret a veil which belonged not 
 to her parents, and we sent her our spirit under a human 
 form. The compassionate one is my refuge, cried she, 
 &c. &c."* 
 
 Our lord El Khaseebee has spoken on the subject of 
 the holy virgin in his poem, which commences with these 
 words : — 
 
 " The daughter of Amran, Mary, having presented her 
 son to her family, God caused him to speak, although he 
 was in his cradle. I am the servant of God, said the 
 child to them ; he will save me. I am his spirit, whom 
 he has sanctified. It is he who has created me ; if he 
 will, he can make me live, or make me die." 
 
 Besides, God has said, in another passage of his holy 
 book : " We presented Jesus and his mother to the ad- 
 miration of the universe; we took them to a place of 
 sojourning, where dwells peace and flows pure water." 
 
 Our lord El Khaseebee has spoken on the subject of the 
 pure virgin in his poem which commences with these 
 words : " In a dwelling where sojourns peace and flows 
 pure water, Mary brought forth Jesus Christ, the Messiah, 
 the Redeemer, whom I love sincerely." The celestial 
 degrees of Ahmed (the name by which Mohammed says 
 he was mentioned in the gospels), for which I give my 
 soul, are between the letter h and the letter L The lord 
 Christ (may peace be with him !) eflected his birth 
 through the Virgin, and spake miraculously, as has said 
 our lord in his book : " He will make his word be heard 
 by men, from the cradle to old age, and will be of the 
 number of the Just." 
 
 Since, then, the lord Christ (may peace be with him !) 
 
 * See Koran, ch. iii. 
 
288 THE ASEAN MYSTERY. 
 
 spoke in this night, and manifested himself in it, it has 
 been sanctified and honoured. 
 
 It is, then, the duty of the faithful to sanctify and 
 honour this same night as it deserves, and to bless it by 
 prayers addressed to God. 
 
 Prayer of the Eve of Christmcbs, 
 
 Thou shalt say : " Lord my God, thou art the lofty 
 and great One, the Sole, the only One, the eternal ; thou 
 hast neither been born, nor hast begotten, nor hast thou 
 any equal. Thou hast manifested in this night thy 
 Name, which is thy Soul, thy Veil, thy Throne, to all 
 creatures as a child and under human form ; whilst that, 
 with thee, this same Name is the greatest and most 
 sacred thing of all that is found in thy kingdom. Thou 
 hast manifested it to men to prove thine eternity and thy 
 divinity. Thou wilt manifest thyself to them in the 
 person of thy demonstration, to recompense those who 
 shall have recognised thy divinity at the epoch when 
 thou calledst to thy religion, in sacrificing thyself for 
 their redemption. Most blessed Lord, my God, who is 
 so great as to be put in comparison with thee ? Who is 
 so wise as to attain to thy wisdom ? Who is so merciful as 
 to be so as much as thou art ? Who is so generous as to 
 attain to the same degree of generosity as thyself ? Thou 
 fillest all creatures with thy bounty. Thou callest to 
 them by thy benevolence, thy periodic manifestations in 
 the turnings (transmigrations) and revolutions. Thy 
 mercy fills those who have been already the object of thine 
 infinite goodness. 
 
 " I adjure thee, Lord, my God, by thy most great 
 Maana, by thy great Ism, and by thy honourable Bab, to 
 increase in us thy favour; I adjure thee, Lord, by the 
 merits of this night, not to deprive our hearts of thy 
 knowledge. After having placed us in thy right way, grant 
 to us, Lord, entire mercy, pardon, forgiveness, and in- 
 
M. CATAFAGO'S PAPER. 289 
 
 (lulgence for our sins ; make us hope to meet thee ; grant us 
 thy satisfaction, and give us what none other but thee can 
 give. 
 
 " Lord, our God, suffer us not to be deprived of thy 
 favour, nor to be subjected to those who would lead us to 
 adore another besides thee. Prince of bees, great Ali, 
 be our aid and refuge ! " Here you will make a prostration, 
 praying for thyself and thy brethren, that God will hear 
 your wishes and prayers. 
 
 OF THE DAY OF NUROOZ. 
 
 The feast of Nurooz is celebrated every year, for ever, on 
 the 4th day of April. It is the first day of the Persian 
 year, of the month called Afzooz dermah.* It is a very 
 holy and solemn day, and of very great merit with God 
 and our lords. May you rely on them ! 
 
 I proceed, then, with the aid of God, to recount to you 
 the great wonders which have been effected this day; 
 which I hold in part by tradition from our lords, and 
 have in part drawn from our books. 
 
 Know then (may God direct you in the path of his 
 obedience !) that the kings of the line of Chosroes sancti- 
 fied this day and recognised its excellence. They carried 
 on this day crowns of myrtle and chrysanthemums, and 
 celebrated the ceremony of sprinkling with water. For 
 this reason the day has been called Nurooz. The kings of 
 the line of Chosroes celebrated this festival in felicitations 
 to one another, and in sending presents consisting of 
 myrtle, chrysanthemums, and olive branches; they re- 
 garded this day as fruitful in great blessings. 
 
 The Lord (may he be glorified !) manifested himself in 
 the person of the Persian kings, and it is in them that he 
 eflfected the manifestations of his Names, his Doors, and 
 
 * I find no such name in Richardson's Persian and Arabic dic- 
 tionary. 
 
 U 
 
290 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 his sacred hierarchies, which compose the great world of 
 light. 
 
 Our lord Al Khaseebee (may God sanctify his soul !) has 
 explained to us this point in one of his epistles, and has 
 rendered it clear to us in his treatise in the Seyakah. 
 
 [Note. — The Seyakah refers to Gabriel, Michael, &c., the bearers of 
 the throne.] 
 
 After having disappeared, Adam manifested himself 
 in the person of Enos; the Maana, which was then Seth, 
 caused him to disappear, and manifested itself under his 
 resemblance. 
 
 Adam having manifested himself in Alexander of the 
 two horns, the Maana, which was then Daniel, caused 
 him to disappear, and manifested itself under his re- 
 semblance. 
 
 Adam then manifested himself in the Persian period, in 
 the person of Ardesheer son of Babek, the Persian, the 
 first of the kings of the line of Chosroes [i.e. the 
 Sassanides] ; and the Maana, which was then under the 
 form of " the two-horned,"* caused him to disappear, and 
 manifested itself under his resemblance. 
 
 Adam having manifested himself in the person of Sapor 
 son of Ardesheer, the Maana, which was then Ardesheer, 
 caused him to disappear, and manifested itself under his 
 resemblance. 
 
 Adam manifested himself next in the Arab periods, and, 
 in the first place, in the person of Lavva [properly Luai] 
 son of Kaleb ; this last was called Lavva, he who turns 
 aside, because he turned aside the lights from the Persians, 
 to cause them to reign in Arabia, on account of the ma- 
 nifestation in that country of the Maana, the Ism, and the 
 Bab. 
 
 On quitting the Persians to manifest himself with the 
 Arabs, the Divinity delegated to the first, the stations 
 
 * Alexander is called the two-horned, from his coins, in which he is 
 represented with horns, as the son of Jupiter Ammon. 
 
M. CATAFAGO'S PAPER. 291 
 
 (Makaras) of liis wisdom, to be transmitted successively 
 to their kings, and designated, as personifications of the 
 Maana, the Ism, and the Bab, those called Sherween, 
 Karween, and Chosroes; then other trinities until Chos- 
 roes, Abraarim, and Anoorshirwan : but a change having 
 taken place in this last, who gave himself up to pride, and 
 disobeyed our lord Mohammed*, the Persians lost their 
 royalty through their disobedience. However, their Ma- 
 kams continued to celebrate the Nurooz and the Mihrdjan ; 
 they carried on them chaplets of chrysanthemums, myrtle, 
 and olive branches ; they practised the ceremony of sprink- 
 ling, as well as all the other usages of the festival of 
 Nurooz. 
 
 All the Persians observed these solemnities, since they 
 had been instituted by the Makams ; as the Arab festivals 
 are the institution of our lord Mohammed (may his peace 
 be upon us!), who instituted in the Mohammedan period 
 the three Arab festivals, namely, that of Fitr, that of II 
 Adha, and that of Gadeer. Thus was established the duty 
 of celebrating always and for ever all these festivals ; by 
 the Persians as an annual solemnity consecrated by their 
 kings in their periods, and by the Arabs as institutions 
 prescribed in the Mohammedan period, in virtue of orders 
 given to that effect by lord Mohammed. All these festivals, 
 then, will be celebrated until the future manifestation of 
 the Kaim [chief, i.e. the last imam], (may his peace be 
 with you !). 
 
 Our lord Al Khaseebee (may God honour his Mak^m !), 
 in speaking of the merits of the Persians as personifications 
 of the Bab, in another chapter of his treatise attributes to 
 them wisdom, because the Maana and the Ism manifested 
 themselves in them in the two Makams of their first kings, 
 
 * It is curious to see the connexion and sympathy existing between 
 all the secret heretical sects of the East. Anoorshirwan exterminated 
 the socialist followers of Masdek, a Magian sect who had even gained 
 over his father Kobad ; and we see that for this he has a bad name with 
 this Ansairee author. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 namely, Ardesheer son of Babek, and Sapor his son ; he 
 adds, moreover, that the Persian kings have inherited 
 wisdom, which was transmitted in them to the last trinity, 
 namely, Sherween, Karween, and Chosroes. These three 
 kings have the same degree of wisdom as the Maana, the 
 Ism, and the Bab, of which they are the servants, since 
 they recognise them.* 
 
 The Lord on quitting the Persians deposited his wisdom 
 with them. He left them well content with them, and 
 promised them to return. It is he himself who said with 
 respect to this : " The Most High had deposited his mystery 
 with you (the Arabs), and it was among you that he 
 manifested his great works. He had destined you for re- 
 ceiving it, but you have lost it ; while the Persians have 
 preserved it, even after its disappearance, by the means of 
 the^r^ and light in which he manifested himself.'^ 
 
 The Lord said, in the history of Moses, that when he 
 saw the burning bush he said to his family : *' Stop, I per- 
 ceive fire. Perhaps I shall bring you a piece of burning 
 wood to warm you." When he had approached, a voice 
 cried to him : '* Moses, I am thy God ; put off thy shoes, 
 thou art in the holy valley of Torva." f 
 
 We read in the treatise of Fikh (instruction), " The 
 Persians have sanctified jire^ from which they await the 
 manifestation of the Divinity;" and, in fact, the manifesta- 
 tion will take place among them, for they await this same 
 manifestation, and the accomplishment of the promises of 
 the Divinity in that element. 
 
 It is, then, for this reason that the Persians celebrate 
 the Nurooz and the ceremony of chaplets. 
 
 * These words tend to explain the incongruity of the preceding with 
 the general system of tlie Ansairecli. These Persian kings are not true 
 manifestations of tlie Maana, the Ism, and the Bab, but in some sense 
 representations of tliem. I may add that I have had only the French 
 translation by M. Catafago to follow; I should have much preferred to 
 have had the original Arabic text. 
 
 f Koran. 
 
M. CATAFAGO'S PAPER. 293 
 
 Extract from the Chapter entitled " The Mystical Sense of the 
 Nurooz, eocplained by the Imam Is-Sadik to Omar el Mouf- 
 del:'* 
 
 When God created Adam lie commanded the angels to 
 adore him, and they did so. The same order being given 
 to the devil (Iblees), he and his refused from pride to 
 submit to it. The believers were then luminous bodies, 
 inanimate. Iblees and his companions entered them, 
 admiring their splendour, and were much astonished at 
 their own obscurity, without however understanding the 
 reason of the difference. 
 
 Then, after God had formed Adam after the model of 
 these bodies, after he had caused him to be adored by the 
 angels, and Iblees had disobeyed, saying that he was of a 
 superior nature to these bodies, since he could enter into 
 them without their being able to enter into him, God 
 ordered the clouds to rain to punish Iblees ; every drop 
 which fell on one of the bodies animated it, since these 
 drops were but souls ; this rain being nothing else than 
 the essence which dwells in all beings. To punish Iblees 
 the more, God changed the disobedience of that rebel into 
 fire, which should devour him and his. Iblees, seeing 
 himself on the point of perishing, demanded as the only 
 favour that God would put off his punishment to the day 
 of the resurrection ; but God granted him a less consider- 
 able period, and it was put off only to the day of the 
 arrival of the Mohdi, who is to punish the infidels and 
 merge all religions into one. 
 
 It is for this reason that this day has been called by 
 God Noor (light). The Persians have called it Nurooz, a 
 word derived from noor and zi^ which signifies a see-sawf , 
 alluding to the transmigration of souls. 
 
 * Properly Al Mufaddal ibn-Omar. M. Catafago makes the same 
 mistake in this name as Dr. Wolff. El Mufaddal is mentioned as the 
 eighth Door to the chain of imams. 
 
 f I have already given the true derivation of Nurooz, from which 
 will appear the utter ignorance and presumption of this Ansairee 
 " doctor." 
 
294 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 As to water, which is sprinkled on this day, it is the 
 symbol of the rain which animated the luminous bodies. 
 
 As to the fire which is lighted, and in which figures like 
 dolls are burned, allusion is made to that which one day 
 will devour Iblees and his companions. 
 
 Extract from the same Cliajpter, 
 
 Abu-il-Katib says that he who acknowledges the excel- 
 lence of the day of Nurooz will never be subject to the 
 transmigration of souls. 
 
 The Imam Djaafar-is-Sadik adds, after Al Moufdel [pro- 
 perly Mufaddal], that the Maana manifested itself in the 
 time of the Persians twice each year, namely, at the times 
 of the change from cold to heat, and of heat to cold. 
 
 The change from cold to heat was called Nurooz ; and 
 that from heat to cold Mihrdjan. These two days have 
 been held sacred by the Persians as days of great solemnity, 
 the more because the Maana then manifested itself in trans- 
 migrations among them. It was on these two days that 
 he effected his manifestation by the chaplet and the fleece, 
 and it was also for this reason that the Persians celebrated 
 on these two days the ceremony of " eating and drink- 
 ing/' * 
 
 Let those who have understanding understand, adds Al 
 Moufdel. 
 
 The day of Nurooz is celebrated every year, on the 4th 
 of April, and that of Mihrdjan on the 16th of October. 
 
 I will now, for the sake of completeness, give what 
 Niebuhr says of the Ansairee book which fell into his 
 possession, because, though it may be easily procured, I 
 wish to put together in this chapter all the most impor- 
 tant documents that have been published with reference 
 
 * II akl wa ish shirb. M. Catafago, Journ. Asiat. July 1848, gives 
 *' takdees il akl wa ish sliirb," the consecration of the food and drink, as 
 another expression for kuddas, the mass. 
 
NiEBUim. 295 
 
 « 
 to the Ansaireeh. This extract with the two preceding 
 includes nearly everything trustworthy that has been 
 written on the subject of their religion. 
 
 Niebuhr says* that the book had been probably found 
 by Turkish officials in the room of an Ansairee, whom 
 they had surprised in the night and taken to prison. 
 
 " It is the original book, but incomplete, and moreover 
 badly written, and so full of obscure expressions that the au- 
 thor says himself in one place that the Ansaireehs had taken 
 a wall from the country of Gog and Magog, i. e. that they 
 made use in their books of obscure expressions to conceal 
 their mysteries from the infidels. Thus no one that is not 
 an Ansairee will ever understand what the author means 
 when he speaks, for example, of Gabriel, the raven, ark, 
 ring, helkiSy the rod of Moses, the dromedary of Saleh, the 
 cow of the Israelites, the concealed apostles. Similar ex- 
 pressions are met with in every page, without any ex- 
 planation being found of them or of what they signify. 
 However, I will here add the following remarks, which 
 I have taken from the bookf : — 
 
 " The Ansaireeh are called Mameveen (true believers). 
 They speak of the unity of God, that is to say, of Ali, who 
 is to come out of the eye of the sun and judge the world ; 
 and of five persons who are united to him. They are 
 called 1. Maana; 2. Ism, he who possesses always the 
 true wisdom, and whom Maana always guides ; 3. Bab ; 
 4. Itam (orphans) ; and 5. Hosein. I confess that, as I 
 am not initiated in the mysteries of this religion, I under- 
 stand nothing of this Quintite. I have not been able any 
 the more to understand what follows ; however, I have 
 been willing to give it here, because it appertains to the 
 
 * Travels, vol. iii. p. 358. 
 
 •f It is not strange that Niebuhr should have found it difficult to 
 understand the expressions used. He has but badly represented many 
 of the names, but I have thought it best to give them just as they are 
 printed in his " Travels," reminding the reader that they are to be read 
 with a French pronunciation. Many of the j's, however, are German, 
 and are to be read as y, the book of travels having been translated from 
 German into French. 
 
296 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 principal dogmas of the Ansaireeh. Whoever has no wish 
 to read it can pass it over. 
 
 " God has appeared seven tnnes in the world. The first 
 time, i. Maana was Abel ; ii. Ism, Adam ; iii. Bab, Ga- 
 briel ; iv. the Itam were also five persons, as 1. Michael 
 (perhaps the archangel), 2. Israfil (perhaps the angel who, 
 as say the Mohammedans, is to sound the trumpet at the 
 last judgment), 3. Asrael (perhaps the angel of death), 
 4. Maleh (perhaps the doorkeeper of hell, according to the 
 Mohammedans ; 5. Riddnan (perhaps the doorkeeper of 
 heaven) ; v. Hosein appeared the first time under the 
 name Kaseh ibn-Mefluch. The enemies of the Divinity 
 at the first incarnation were, 1. Kabib (Cain), 2. Anak 
 (the sister of Cain), 3. Bahlu (vizier of Cain), 4. the 
 Serpent, 5. the Peacock.* 
 
 " The second time, i. Maana was Seth ; ii. Ism, Noah ; 
 iii. Bab, Jael ibn-Fatim; iv. the Itam were, 1. Aukil, 
 2. EfFrakun, 3. Kinan, 4. Efii-ikakil, 5. EfFrikan ; v. 
 Hosein appeared in the person of Hanseh. This time the 
 enemies of the Divinity were, 1. Ham ibn-Noah, 2. 
 Sheikh Hasa, 3. Jauk, 4. Jafut, 5. Nisser. 
 
 " The third time, i. Maana was Joseph ; ii. Ism, Jacob ; 
 iii. Bab, Ham ibn-Kuseh ; iv. the Itam were, 1. Jahud, 
 2. Haschur, 3. Malch, 4. Mamlek, 5. Aukil; v. Hosein 
 appeared in the person of Mamhe ibn-Mansur. The 
 enemies who opposed themselves this time to the Divinity 
 were, 1. Chadsseldul, 2. Sima, 3. the King of India, 
 4. Ilabt^r, and 5. Naatel. 
 
 " The fourth time, i. Maana was Joshua ; ii. Ism, Moses, 
 iii. Bab, Dan ibn-Sabacht; iv. the orphans were, 1. Jahn- 
 dan, 2. Haruk, 3. Abdulla, 4. Israel, 5. Omr^n; v. Hosein 
 Rubil ibn-Saleh. The adverse parties were, 1. Pharaoh, 
 2. Haman ; 3. Karim. 
 
 " The fifth time, i. Maana was Asaph ; ii. Ism, Solomon ; 
 iii. Bab, Abdullah ibn-Schamaan ; iv. the orphans were, 
 
 • Emblem of the Yezidees. 
 
NIEBUIIR. 297 
 
 1. Schaoira, 2. Schadla, 3. Harnaseh, 1. Maskul, 5. 
 Astir; v. Iloseiii appeared under the name Jantores 
 Dekne. Then the adversaries of the Divinity were, 1. 
 Ninirod, 2. A ad, 3. Samud. 
 
 *' The sixth time, i. Maana, Shemmaan (Peter) ; ii. Ism, 
 .Fesus ; iii. Bab, Rizoba ibn-Merzaban ; iv. the Itam were 
 then, 1. Jean fuin essahab, 2. Jean Delami, 3. Paul, 
 4. Peter, 5. Matthew ; v. Hosein was Aywsch ibn-Man- 
 kidsja. The adverse parties were, 1. Herod, 2. Jabs, 
 3. Taus. 
 
 " The seventh ti n3, Maana was Ali; ii. Ism, Moham- 
 med el hambd; iii. Bab, Suleiman ibn-Buheire el Chiddre; 
 iv. the Itam were, 1. Makdad ibn-el-Aswadel Kendi, 2. 
 Abudur Jendab ibn-Junado el Gafari, 3. Abdulla ibn- 
 Ruba el Masrari, 4. Othman ibn-Madun Madsejeschi, 5. 
 Kambar ibn-Kaden Dusi ; v. Hosein was called this time 
 Hamdan. The enemies of the Divinity were, 1. Abu- 
 Samuel, 2. Segdu, 3. Sendsjkuk. 
 
 " In another place the author says that an Ansairee must 
 believe that Mohammed, Fatir (Fatimah), Hassan, Hosein, 
 and Mohsin are but one Unity, and denote Ali. Besides 
 that, a true believer must hold that there have always 
 been 5 Itam; 12 Nukaba (chiefs of the family of Mo- 
 hammed)*; 28 Nudjaba (or chosen ones); Machtassin 
 (singular ones) ; Machlassin (devout ones) ; Muntachabin 
 (elect ones). He must likewise equally recognise the four 
 Sittars, namely, 1. Sittar el Imam, or the chain of imams 
 from Abel to Ali ; 2. Sittar il imma, that is to say, the 
 Patriarchs from the first Hassan to the last Hassan ; 3. 
 Sittar Rassala, or the chain of Apostles, as Edris, Noah, 
 Hud, &c. ; 4. Sittar Nibbna, the chain of poets, or respect- 
 able men, Annseh, Ishak, Jacob, &c. 
 
 " Our author calls Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and 
 Mohammed, prophets; and Jael, Hammdan, Abdulla, Sal- 
 man, Abulchatil, Mohammed, Mufdil, and Abu-Schaib, 
 
 * Of Moses ? 
 X 
 
298 THE ASIAN MYSTERY. 
 
 apostles. He calls a certain Ishak the greatest enemy of 
 the Ansaireeh, because he had wished to kill Seiid Abu- 
 Schaiib." 
 
 I have before given what Niebuhr quotes about trans- 
 migration and eating unclean things. He concludes : 
 
 " The author requires of the Ansaireeh that they discover 
 nothing of their religion to strangers ; to love their 
 brethren ; to be charitable ; to abstain from theft ; not to 
 swear nor use any oaths : to suffer poverty patiently, and 
 to bear ill-treatment on the part of their women." 
 
 I will add another document, being a translation from 
 the first of the Masses given by M. Catafago in the Ger- 
 man Oriental Society's Journal*, which is extracted from 
 the Book of Festivals, of which portions have been given 
 above. I give this piece because it is a type of Ansairee 
 prayers, such as those found in my MS. ; because it is 
 nearly identical (as are the other two) with those given 
 by M. Victor Langloisf ; and lastly, because its opening 
 gives an idea of the better parts of the Ansairee books. 
 There is nothing useful or seilsible in them but such like 
 passages, which are rare. 
 
 MASS OF THE OINTMENT.J 
 
 In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. 
 The Mass of the Ointment. For every dear brother. 
 true believers! hear and obey! Consider this my Ma- 
 kam (station, place of religious assembly, with Ansaireeh), 
 in which you are met together. Remove hatred, and 
 envy, and malice from your hearts ; so will your religion 
 be perfect, and God will answer your prayer. For know 
 
 ♦ Vol. ii. p. 388. 
 
 t Revue d' Orient, June, 1856 ; a notice which has been often re- 
 ferred to. 
 
 J Teeb, used by Ansaireeh of any good scent 
 
MASS OF THE OINTMENT. 299 
 
 that God is present and found among you, hearing and 
 seeing you, for he knows what is in the breast. Take care, 
 believers, of laughing and boisterous mirth at the times 
 of prayer with the Djahhal (initiated), for so will your 
 good works be lowered, and your circumstances changed ; 
 for that is of the way of Iblees the accursed (may God 
 most high curse him !) Hear what the imam says to you, 
 for he is standing among you in obedience to the Most 
 High (or he supports among you obedience to the Most 
 High), the All-Knowing. This, the Mass of Ointment, 
 after the formation of a good intention, is a prayer of 
 truth, in which the Messiah specially used the letter Seen 
 (S), until the time when every soul shall be given what it 
 desired. He said in the blessed mass, Praised (A^ubhan) 
 be he who made water life to everything* ; praised {Sub- 
 ban) be he who quickeneth the dead in Sarsarf by his 
 power, the lofty one, the great ! God is most great ! I 
 ask thee, God, my Lord, by the truth of this Mass of 
 Ointment, and by the l^ruth of lord Mohammed, the be- 
 loved, in whose hand the rod became green ; may he (God) 
 cause blessing to descend in your dwellings, possessors 
 of this favour and of this ointment ; and mayst thou 
 sanctify the spirits of our brethren, the true believers, him 
 who is far off, and him who is near of them, my Lord, 
 Prince of bees, Ali, great one ! 
 
 * Koran, ch. xxi. v. 31. 
 
 ■f A cold destructive wind mentioned in the Koran. 
 
 THE END. 
 
LONDOW 
 
 PEINTBD BY 8POTTI8WOODB AND CO. 
 
 KBW-STBSET SQUABB 
 
 r 
 
LIST 
 
 WOEKS IN GENERAL LITERATUKE 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 MESSRS. LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS 
 ' 39 Pateenostee Row, London. 
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX. 
 
 Agriculture and Rural 
 Affairs. 
 
 Sayldon on Valuing Ilents, &c. - 4 
 
 " Road Legislation - » 
 
 Caird's Prairie Farming - - 6 
 
 Cecil's Stud Farm " * ' ,„ 
 
 Hoskyns's Talpa - * " " {^ 
 
 London's Aijricultnre - - - " 
 
 Low's Elements of AuricuUure - I-' 
 
 Morion on Landed Property - 16 
 
 Arts, Manufactures, and 
 Arcbitecture. 
 
 Bourne's Catechism of the Steam 
 
 Engine - - - , ' ! 
 Brande's Dictionary ofScience.&c. 4 
 " Organic Chemistry- - 4 
 Cresy'8 Civil Engineering ." " 5 
 Fairbairn's Infofma. for Engineers ' 
 Gwilt's Encyclo. of Architecture - 8 
 ! Harford's Plates from M. Angelo - 8 
 I Humphreys's Pn»<i6JM Illuminated 11 
 1 Jameson's Saints and Martyrs - 11 
 " Monastic Orilers - * *| 
 ' " 1-egends of Madonna - 11 
 " Commonplace-Bi'ok - 11 
 Konig'sPictonal Life of Luther - 8 
 Loudon's Rural Architecture - 13 
 MacDomgall's Campaigns of Han- 
 nibal i* 
 
 M.icDougall's Theory of War ,- 1* 
 
 Moseley's Engineering - - - 16 
 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery - - '? 
 
 Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18 
 
 Scoffern on Projectiles, &c. - - 19 
 Steam-Engine, by the Artisan Club 4 
 
 Ure'8 Dictionary of Arts, &c. - 23 
 
 Biograpliy. 
 
 Arago's Lives of Scientific Men - 3 
 Baillic's Memoir of Bate ' ' ^ 
 Brialmont's Wellington - - 4 
 
 Bunsen's Hippolytus - - - 5 
 Bunting's (Dr.) Life - - - 6 
 Crosse's (Andrew) Memorials - 6 
 Green's Princesses of Enuland - 8 
 Harford's Life of Michael Angelo - 8 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cycloptedia - 12 
 Marshman's Life of Carey, Mawh- 
 man, and Ward . - - 
 
 Maunder's Biographical Treasury- 
 Morris's Life of BecVet 
 Mountain's (Col.) Memoirs - 
 Parry's (Admiral) Memoirs - 
 Russell's Memoirs of Moore - 
 " (Dr.) Mezzofanti - 
 
 SchiminelPenninck's (Mrs.) Life - 
 Southey '8 Life of Wesley - - 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 
 Strickland's Queens of England - 
 Sydney Smith's Memoirs 
 Symond's (Admiral) Memoirs 
 Taylor's Loyola . - - - 
 " Wesley - - - - 
 Uwins's Memoirs -'• - 
 Waterton's Autobiography* Essays 24 
 
 looks of General Utility. 
 
 Acton's Bread-Book ... 3 
 " Cookery .... 3 
 Black's Treatise on Brewing - - 4 
 Cabinet Gazetteer .... 5 
 " Lawyer .... 5 
 Cust's Invalid's Own Book - - 7 
 Hints on Etiquette ... 9 
 Hudson's Executor's Guide - - 10 
 " on Making Wills - - 10 
 Kesteven's Domestic Medicine - 12 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopsedia - 12 
 Loudon's Lady's Country Compa- 
 nion .----- 13 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 10 
 
 " Biograpnical Treasury 1-5 
 
 " Geographical Treasury 15 
 
 " Scientific Treasury - 14 
 
 " .Treasury of History - 15 
 
 " Natural History - - 15 
 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery - - 18 
 
 Pitfs How to Brew Good Beer - 18 
 
 Pocket and the Stud ... 9 
 
 Pvcrofl's English Reading - - 18 
 
 Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary 18 
 
 Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18 
 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - - 18 
 
 Roget'g English ThesauiuB - - 19 
 
 Rowton'a Debater ... - 19 
 
 Short Whist 20 
 
 Simpson's Handbook of Dining - 20 
 
 Thomson's Interest Tables - - 23 
 
 Webster's Domestic Economy - 24 
 
 Willich's Popular Tables - r 24 
 
 Wilmofs Blackstone - - - 24 
 
 Botany and Gardening. 
 
 Hassall's British Freshwater Algte 9 
 
 Hooker's British Flora - - - 9 
 
 " Guide to Kew Gardens - 9 
 
 Lindley's Introduction to Botany 13 
 
 " Synopsis of the British 
 
 'Flora - ... 13 
 
 " Theory of Horticulture - 13 
 
 Loudon's Hortus Britannicus - 13 
 
 " Amateur Gardener . 13 
 
 •• Trees and Shrubs - - 13 
 
 " Gardening . - . 13 
 
 " Plants - - - . 13 
 
 Pereira'8 Materia Medica - - 17 
 
 Rivera's Rose-Amateur's Guide - 19 
 
 Watson's Cybele Britannica - 24 
 
 WiUon's British Mosses - - 24 
 
 Chronology. 
 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt 
 Haydn's Beitson's Index 
 Jaquemet's Chronology 
 
 - 4 
 
 - 6 
 
 - 9 
 
 - 11 
 Abridged Chronology - 11 
 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History - 12 
 
 Commerce and Mercantile 
 Affairs. 
 
 Gilbart's Logic of Banking - - 8 
 
 •■' Treatise on Banking - 8 
 
 I^orimer's Your.g Master Mariner - 13 
 M'Culloch'8 Commerce & Navigation 14 
 
 Thomson's Interest Tables - - 23 
 
 Tooke's History of Pi ices - - 23 
 
 Criticism, History, and 
 Meuioirs. 
 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas - - - 4 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - 6 
 " Hippolytus - . - 6 
 Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus - 6 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 6 
 Connolly's Sappers and Miners - 6 
 Crowe's History of France - - 6 
 Frazer's Letters during the Penin- 
 sular and Waterloo Campaigns 8 
 Gleig'8 Essays .... 8 
 Gumey's Historical Sketches - 8 
 Hayward's Essays ... - 9 
 Herschel's Essays and Addresses - 9 
 Jeffrey's (Lord )'E8says - - 11 
 Kemble's Anglo-Saxons - - 11 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopsedia - 12 
 Macaulay'8 Crit. uid Hist. Essays 13 
 " History of England - 18 
 " Speeches - - - 13 
 
 Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 14 
 " Historv of England - 14 
 
 M'Culloch'sGeographicalDictionary 14 
 Maunder's Treasury of History - 16 
 Merivale'8 History of Rome - - 15 
 " Roman Republic - - 16 
 
 Milner's Church History - - 15 
 Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. - 16 
 Mure's Greek Literature - - 16 
 Normanby's Year of Revolution - 17 
 Perry's Franks ... - 17 
 Porter's Knights of Malta - - 18 
 Raikes's Journal - - - - 18 
 Riddle's Latin Lexicon - - 18 
 
 Rogers's Essays from Edinb. ReviewI9 
 " (Sam.) Recollections - 19 
 Roget's English Thesaurus - - 19 
 SchimmelPennincV's Memoirs of 
 
 Port Royal - - - 19 
 SchimmelPenninck's Principles of 
 
 Beauty, &c. - - - 19 
 
 Schmitz's History of Greece - 19 
 
 Southey's Doctor - - - - 21 
 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21 
 
 " Lectures on French History 21 
 
 Sydney Smith's Works - - - 20 
 
 " Lectures - - 21 
 
 " Memoirs - - 20 
 
 Taylor's Loyola - - - - 21 
 
 " -Wesley - - - - 21 
 
 Thirlwall'8 History of Greece - 23 
 
 Turner's Anglo Saxons - - 23 
 
 Uwins's Memoirs - ... 23 
 
 Vehse '8 Austrian Court - - 23 
 
 Wade's England's Greatness - 23 
 
 Young's Christ of History - - 'Zi 
 
 Geography and Atlases. 
 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas - - 4 
 
 Butler's Geography and Atlases - 5 
 
 Cabinet Gazetteer - - - - 5 
 
 Johnston's General Gazetteer - II 
 M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 14 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Geography 15 
 
 Murray's Encyclo. of Geography - 16 
 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer - - 20 
 
 Juvenile Books. 
 
 Amy Herbert .... 20 
 
 CleveHall 20 
 
 Earl's Daughter (Tne) - - - 20 
 
 Experience of Life - - - 20 
 
 Gertrude ..... 20 
 
 Hewitt's Soy's Country Book - 10 
 
 " (Mary) Children's Year - 10 
 
 Ivors --.... 20 
 
 Katharine Ashton • - - - 20 
 
 Laneton Paisonas^e - - - 20 
 
 Margaret Percivil . - - - 20 
 Piesse's Chymical, Natural, and 
 
 Physical Magic . - - - 18 
 
 Pycrofl's Collegian's Guide - - ' 18 
 
 Medicine, Surgery, Sec. 
 
 Brodie's Psychological Inquiries - 3 
 
 Bull's Hints to Mothers - . . 5 
 
 " Management of Children - 6 
 
 " on Blmdness - . . 5 
 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6 
 
 Cust's Invalid's Own Book - . 7 
 
 Holland's Mental Physiology . 9 
 
 " Medical Notes and Reflect. 9 
 
 Kesteven's Domestic Medicine - 12 
 
 Pereira's Materia Medica - - 17 
 
 Richardson's Cold- Water Cure - 18 
 
 Spencer's Psychology - - - 21 
 
 Todd's Cyclopaedia of Anatomy 
 
 and Physiology - - . - 21 
 
CLASSIFIED INDEX TO GENERAL CATALOGUE. 
 
 MiBceUaneons and General 
 IiiteratTxre. 
 
 Bacon's (Lord) AVorks - - - 3 
 
 Dtfenct of Sclipst of Faith - - 7 
 De Fonblanque on Arm; A d n i i »ig ■ 
 
 tiation - - - » - 7 
 ■Eclipse of Faith - - - - 7 
 Fischer's Bacon and Realistic Phi- 
 losophy . • - - - T 
 Greathed's Letters from Delhi - 8 
 Greyson's Select Correspondence - 8 
 GurncT's Evening Recreations - 8 
 HassalVs Adulterations Detected,&c. 8 
 Haydn's Book of Dignities - - 9 
 Holland's Mental Physiology - 9 
 Hooker's Kew Quids - - - 9 
 Hewitt's Raral Life of England - 10 
 " Visitsto RemarkablePlaces 10 
 Jameson's Commonplace-Book - 11 
 Last of the Old Squires - - 17 
 Letters of a Bttrothed - - - 13 
 Macaulay's Speeches - " " J? 
 Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Work 8 U 
 Martinean's Miscellanies - - U 
 Pvcroffs English Reading - - 18 
 Rich's Comp. to Latin DictionaTT 18 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - - 18 
 Rowton's Debater - - - 1» 
 Sir Roger De Coverley • " * ?? 
 Southey's Doctor, &c. - " " „J 
 
 Spencer's Essays 
 StoWs Training System - - 21 
 Thomson's Laws of Thought - 23 
 Trevelyanon the Natire Langaages 
 
 of India 
 
 WiUich's Popular Tables - - 24 
 
 Yonge's English-Greek Lesicon - 24 
 
 " Latin Gradus - - 24 
 
 Zumpt's Latin Grammar - - 24 
 
 Natural Histoxr in general. 
 
 Agassiz on Classification 
 CatloWs Popular Conchology 
 Ephemera's Book of the Salmon - 
 Garratfs Marvels of Instinct 
 Gosse's Natural History of Jamaica 
 Kirby and Spence's Entomology - 
 Lee's Elements of Natural History 
 Maunder's Natural History - 
 Morris's Anecdotes in Natural 
 
 History 
 
 Quatrefages' Naturalist's Rambles 
 Stonehenge on the Dog 
 Turton's Shells oftheBritishlslands 
 Van der Hoeven's Zoology - 
 Waterton's Essays on Natural Hist. 
 Youatt's Work on the Dog - 
 Youatt's "Work on the Horse 
 
 1-VoInme Encyclopeedias 
 and Dictionaries. 
 
 Blaine's Rural Sports - - - 4 
 
 Brande's Science, Literatnre^snd Art 4 
 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6 
 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering - . 3 
 
 Gwilt's Architecture - - - 8 
 
 Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 11 
 
 Loudon's Agriculture - - - 13 
 
 " Rural Architecture - 13 
 
 " Gardening - - - 13 
 
 " Plant* - - - - 18 
 
 " Trees and Shrubs - - 13 
 
 M'CuIloch'sGeographicalDictiosary 14 
 
 " DiclionaryofCommerce 14 
 
 Murray's EncTclo. of Geography - 16 
 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer - - 20 
 
 Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. - - 23 
 
 Webster's Domestic Economy - 24 
 
 aellKiouB At Moral VTorks. 
 
 Afternoon of Life - - - • 3 
 
 Amy Herbert - ... 20 
 
 Bloomfield'sGreekTestameat - 4 
 
 Banyan'* Pilgrim's Progress - 5 
 
 Calvert's Wife's Manual . - 6 
 
 Cat/, and Farlic's Moral Emblems 6 
 
 CleveHall ----." ^0 
 
 Conybeare and Howson's 8t. Pan! • 
 Cotton's Instructions in Christianity 8 
 
 Dalt's Dnotestic Litnrjy . - 7 
 
 Defence of Belipte of faith - - 7 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) - - - 20 
 
 Eclipse of Faith - - - 7 
 
 Enclishman's Greek Concordance 7 
 
 « Heb.A<:h*Id.Coac«»itl. 7 
 
 Experience (The) of Life - - 20 
 
 Gortmde » 
 
 Hairison'sLlnhtofUjeForc* - 8 
 
 Home's Introduction to Scnptwnw 10 
 
 " AhridgmCTit of ditto - 10 
 
 Hue's ChrisUanity in China - - 10 
 
 Haa4)hr«yt'a Parmblm Ulamin*Ud 11 
 
 Ivors ; or, the Two Cousins - 20 
 Jameson's Sacred Legends - - 11 
 " Monastic Legends - - 11 
 " Legendsof the Madonna 11 
 " Lecture* on Female Em- 
 ployment ... - - 11 
 Jeremy Taylor's Works - - - 11 
 Katharine Ashton - - - 20 
 Ronig's Pictorial Life of Luther - 8 
 Laneton Parsonage - - 20 
 Letters to my Unknown Friends 13 
 LyraGerroaaica - - - - 6 
 Maguire's Rome - - - - 14 
 Margaret Percival - - - - 20 
 Marshman'sSerampore Mission - 14 
 Martinean's Christian Life - - ^4 
 " Hymns - - - 14 
 ' Studies of Christiaiiity 14 
 Merivale's Christian Records - 15 
 Milner's Church of Christ - - 15 
 Moore on the Use of the Body - 16 
 " " Soul and Body - 16 
 " '8 Man and his Motives - 16 
 Morning Clouds - - - - 16 
 Neale's Closing Scene - - - 16 
 Pattison's Earth and Word - - 17 
 Powell's Christianity without Ju- 
 daism - - - - 18 
 " Order of Nature - - 18 
 Readings for Lent - - . 20 
 " Confirmation - - 20 
 Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek 
 
 Testament - - - - - 19 
 
 Self-Examination for Confirmation 20 
 Sewell's History of the Early 
 
 Church - - . . 20 
 
 Sinclair's Journey of Life - - 20 
 
 Smith's (Sydney) Moral Philosophy 21 
 
 " (G.) Wesleyan Methodism 20 
 
 « (J.) St. Paul's Shipwreck - 20 
 
 Southey's Life of Wesley - - 21 
 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21 
 
 Taylor's Loyola - . - - 21 
 
 " Wesley - - - - 21 
 
 Theologia Germanica - - - 5 
 
 Thumb Bible (The) - - 23 
 
 Ursula 20 
 
 Young'sChrist of History - - 24 
 
 " Mystery - - - - 24 
 
 Poetry and the Drama. 
 
 Aikin's(Dr.lBritUh Poets - - 3 
 
 Arnold's Merope , - - - - 3 
 
 " Poems - - . - 3 
 
 Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Works 3 
 
 Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated - 8 
 
 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works - 13 
 
 Linwood's AnthologiaOxonien»l«- 13 
 
 Lyra Germanica - - - - 6 
 
 Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome 14 
 
 Mac Donald's Within and "Without 14 
 
 " Poems - - - 14 
 
 Montgomery's Poetical Works - 15 
 
 Moore's Poetical Works - - 16 
 
 " Selections (niustiated) - 16 
 
 " LallaEookh - - - 16 
 
 " Irish Melodies - - . 16 
 
 " National Melodies - - 16 
 
 " Sacred Songs (with Mutie) 16 
 
 " ?ongs and Ballads - - 16 
 
 Shakspeare, by Bowdler - - 19 
 
 Southey's Poetical Worka - - 21 
 
 Thomson's Seasons, iiluitrated - 23 
 
 The Sdences in general 
 and Mathematics. 
 
 Arago's Meteorological Essays - 3 
 
 " Popular Astronomy - - 3 
 Bourne's Catechism of 8te«m- 
 
 Engine - - . . . 4 
 
 Boyd's Naval Cadet's Manual - 4 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, *c. 4 
 
 " Lectures on Organic Chemistry 4 
 
 Conington'R Chemical Analysis • 6 
 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering - - 6 
 
 De la Rive's Electricity - - 7 
 
 Grove's Correla. of Phvwical Fotcet 8 
 
 Hemchel's Outiines of Astronomy 9 
 
 Holland's Mental Physiology • 9 
 
 Humboktt's AspecU of Naturv • 10 
 
 " Cosmos - - - 10 
 
 Hunt on Light - - - - 11 
 
 Lardners Cabinet Cyclopwdia - U 
 
 Mare«f«(Mrs.)ConverMiti«>ns - 14 
 
 Morrll's Elements of Psychology - 16 
 Moteley'sEn«nneering*Architectnr* IS 
 
 Of ilvie's Master- Builder's Plan - 17 
 
 Owen's Lectureaon Comp. Anntomy 17 
 
 Pereir* on Polarised Light - - 17 
 
 Peschel's Elements of Physics - , 1 
 
 Phillips's Mineralosy - - - j 
 
 " Guide to Geology - - 17 
 Powell's Unity of Worlds - . is 
 Smee's Electro-Metallurgy - - 20 
 Steam Engme (The) - - . j 
 Webb's Celestial Objects for Com- 
 mon Telescopes - - - 24 
 
 Rural Sports. 
 
 Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 
 Blaine's Dictionary of Sports 
 Cecil's Stable Practice - - - 
 " Stud Farm - - - - 
 Davy'sFishing ExcursioDS,2 Series 
 Ephemera on Angling - - - 
 " 's Book of the Salmon - 
 Freeman and Salvin's P'alconry - 
 Hawker's Young Sportsman - 
 The Hunting- Field 
 Idle'3 Hints on Shooting 
 Pocket and the Stud - - - 
 Practical Horsemanship 
 Pycroft's Cricket Field - - - 
 Richardson's Horsemanship - 
 Ilonalds' Fly-Fisher's Entomology 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - 
 Stocehenge on the Drg - - . 
 
 " on the Greyhound 
 
 The Stud, for Practical Purposes - 
 
 Veterinary Medicine^ &c. 
 
 Cecil's SUble Practice - - 6 
 
 " Stud Farm - . - c 
 
 Hunt's Horse and his Master - 11 
 
 Hunting-Field (The) - - - 
 
 Miles's Horse-Shoeing - - - 1 
 
 " on the Horse's Foot - - 1 
 
 Pocket and the Stud - - - 
 Practical Horsemanship 
 
 Richardson's Horsemanship - ^. 
 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - - . 
 
 Stonehenge on the Doe - - -21 
 Stud (The) .--..;, 
 
 Youatt's Work on the Dog - - 2 1 
 
 Youatt's Wotk on the Horse - 21 
 
 Voyasres and Travels. 
 
 Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon - 3 
 
 Earth's African Travels - - 4 
 
 Burton's East Africa - - - 5 
 
 " Medina and Mecca - - 5 
 
 Domenech's Texas - - - 7 
 
 " Deserts of North America 7 
 
 First Impressions of the New World 7 
 
 Forester's Sardinia and Corsica - 8 
 
 Hinchliif 8 Travels in tiie Alps - 9 
 
 Hewitt's Art-Student in Munich - 10 
 
 " (W.) Victoria - - - 10 
 
 Hue's Chinese Empire - - - 10 
 
 Hudson and Kennedy's Mont 
 
 Blanc - - - . . 10 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature - 10 
 
 Hutchinson's Western Africa - 11 
 
 Kane's Wanderings of an Artist - 11 
 
 Lady's Tonr round Monte Rosa - 13 
 
 M'Clure's North- West Passage - 17 
 MasDougaH'sVoyageoftheiUsohtle 14 
 Minium's New York to Delhi 
 Mdllhausen's Journey to the i^xna 
 
 of the Pacific - - - - 15 
 
 Osborn's Quedah - - - - 17 
 
 Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers - 17 
 
 Schener's Central America - - 19 
 Senior's Journal in Turkey and 
 
 Greece 19 
 
 Snow's Tierra del Fnego - - 21 
 
 Tennent's Ceylon - - - - 21 
 Von Temp8ky*s Mexico 
 
 Wanderings in Land of Ham - 3S ] 
 Weld's Vacations in Ireland - -Ml 
 
 " Pyrenees - - - - 241 
 
 " United States and Canada- 34 j 
 
 Works of Fiction. 
 
 Connolly's Romance of the Ranks 
 Cruikthank** Falstaff - - - 
 Hewitt's Tallangetta - 
 Mildred Noiman . - - - 
 Moore s Epicurean 
 Sewell'sUriUla - . - - 
 Sir Roger De Coverley - - - 
 Sketches (The), Three Tkles 
 Southey's The Doctor *e. - 
 TroUope's Barchester Towers 
 " Warden 
 
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