stood on one side of it; the great men placed themselves according to their rank; and the people in crowds, in the court-yard, bowed down before the idol. It is necessary to be known, that in the book entitled Temárwasateer, it is said, that the supreme first principle created the bodies of the heavens and planets in such a manner, that their motions influence inferior beings; and that doubtless the events of this lower world are dependant on the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, every planet having a necessary effect upon some particular event. Every sign of the zodiac, and every degree of it, has its respective temperament; and it may reasonably be supposed, that the prophets who were favoured by the deity, through his permission, and their own cxperience, had acquired a knowledge of the properties, of the degrees of the signs, as well as the influence of the planets. It is certain, that whenever the efficient does not agree with the passive, the affair in agitation will not be prosperous: therefore when the prophets and sages wanted that the motions of the planets should shed a benign influence on this world, they waited for the time when the planet would' enter that degree, which was favourable to the business in hand; and when the planets inimical thereto were distant, in which case, whatever relates to the efficient will be accomplished. Then they collected together every thing that relates to the lower world, such as the different kinds of food, perfumes, colours, and forms, under the influence of the planet, after which they reflected on the success of the undertaking, with strong belief and confidence, because spirits greatly influence human events; and when there is an union of renowned angel, and heavenly captain! lay aside thine anger, and bestow mercy upon such a one (pointing to me) then they plunged the image into perfumed water; and instantly on its immersion it ceased. In front of the seven idol temples, were seven fire temples, which they called Kaiwan Azer, Hormuz Azer, Bohram Azer, Hoor Azer, Naheid Azer, Teer Azer, and Mah Azer. Every Azer-Kedah, or fire temple, was dedicated to one of the seven planets, and the incense peculiar to each was offered. They say, that during the momarchy of their ancient kings, there were many sacred places; for instance, the Caaba, Jerusalem, Medina, where are interred the remains of the refuge of prophecy Mohammed Mustapha, may the blessing of God be upon him and his race! At Nejoff, where is the sepulchre of Amur ul Momenien Ally: at Kerbela, where Imam Hussein fell a martyr: at Bagdat where is the tomb of Imam Moussa; at Seinabad, in Tous, where is the tomb of Imam Aly Reza: at Balkh, where is the sepulchre of Aly; at all which places were formerly idol and fire temples. They say that Mahadabad, after building the idol temple of Istukber, in Pars (or Persepolis, in Persia Proper) which is now called Heftsoor, or the seven ramparts, erected a house, to which he gave the name of Ahad, and which is now the Caaba, or square house at Mecca; and he commanded the inhabitants of that quarter to worship there. Amongst the idols in the square house, was a remarkable fine image of the moon, on which account they called that place Mahgah, or the residence of the moon, which the Arabs in course of time changed into Mecca. They add, that amongst the idols. which Mahahbàd and his successors left at Mecca, is the black stone, which was a statue of Saturn. According to them, the Arabian prophet worshipped the images of the seven planets, and therefore he preserved, in its original state, the black stone or image of Saturn, which had remained from the time of the Abadyan monarchs; but destroyed and removed the other idols of the Coreish, which were not representations of the planets. The ancient Parsees in their tem ples, sometimes represented Venus under the form of an arch, like the altars in mosques, and consequently the Mehrah (or altar) is the representation of that planet. Also the veneration paid to Friday, Venus day, proceeds from the same source. Abraham, the friend of God, acted in the same manner, for he destroyed all idols that were not representations of the planets, and his veneration for the black stone is a proof thereof. Istendiar the son of Gushtasp followed his example. Socrates, the philosopher, also forbad the people to worship any images, but those of the planets, and commanded them to pull down the statues of their kings. Beit ul Mokeddeo (Jerusalem) which is Gengdij Behesht, was founded by Zohae; but Firidoon worshipped fire there; and even before the time of Zohae, there had not been an idol and a fire temple on that spot. When Feridcon marched against Zohae, on the way, one of his brethren flung at him a rock, but which, through the miraculous power of Feridoon, was on his addressing heaven suspended in the air, and that place is now known by the name of Kouds Keleel. At Medina, where Mohammed is interred, was an idol of the moon, which they called Mah*E 4 deenah deenah, or the moon of religion; and religion is the moon of truth, of which the Arabs have made Medina. At Nejiff Ashruff, where is the tomb of Imam Aly, there was a fire temple called Feroghpyra, and also Ne-kuff, that is, not Akuff, which word in the Pehluvy language signifies misfortune; this is now changed into Nejik. At Kerbela, where is the sepulchre of Imam Hussein, was a fire temple called Mehtarsozalum, and also Karballa, or a superior action, which has at length become Kerbela. At Bagdat, the burial place of Imam Moussa, was a fire temple called Sheid-para-ey. On the spot where rests the great Imam Abu Hanifah of Cufah, was a fire temple called Waheenooyaz. At Cufah, on the spot where the mosque is situated, was a fire temple called Roze Azir. At Tous, where is the tomb of Imam Reza, was a fire temple called Azer Khired, and it had several other names. It was built by Feridoon, when Tous, the son of Nauzer, made a pilgrimage to Azerkhirid; he founded there a city, which is named after him. At Balkh, where the tomb of the Imam is situated, was a fire temple called Moheen Azer, but which we know under the name of Noubahar. Ardibil was formerly called Dej Barmar, and Kai Khosrou upon conquering that fortress, built a fire temple called Azer Kacous, which is the burial place of Sheikh Seffyeddeen, the ancestor of the Seffevy Sultans (of Persia). In Behold, O Sheikh the excellence (To be concluded in our next RE- On the Necessity of a Standing Army in Time of Peace. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ASIATIC ANNUAL REGISTER. SIR, Cavalry Camp, near Canuje, Nov. 20, 1802. I HAVE long had an inclination which I consider of the highest to give my opinion on a subject importance to India, but my time has been so much occupied with my charge since our possession of this valuable and newly acquired territory, that I have not been able to give it the attention necessary to afford you the information I wish to convey; nor do I for some months expect to have more leisure, I have therefore resolved to give you a hasty outline, and leave the discussion, or the elucidation of the subject to a future opportunity. While the prosperous and flourishing state of our extensive dominions, certainly far exceeds any thing hitherto known in Hindostan, and affords the highest gratification to our feelings, every circumstance which has even a remote tendency to injure or disturb this prosperity, must excite general interest, and an earnest desire to avert it; this reflexion led me to consider that two objects only remain, which seem likely to disturb the repose of Hindostan, or affect our power for many years; these are, 1st. the establishment of a French force in the pay of the Mahrattas in the heart of the north of India: 2dly, an invasion of the numerous tribes of independent Tartars, who roam over that extensive region. The first is an object which has, no doubt, attracted the attention of government, and it is therefore scarcely necessary to say more concerning it, than that from the local information I have been able to obtain, I think it of infinite magnitude; the other being more remote, has I fear hitherto, entirely escaped notice; but it is not the less dangerous: in fact, it is even more so from the circumstance of its not being suspected, which prevents any precautions from being taken to guard against it. But let me proceed with the proposed account of Tartary :That wonderful country which has been well denominated by a great writer, the Foundery of Nations, has for time immemorial sent forth at short intervals, vast swarms of the human race to people the other countries of the earth. If you will refer to ancient history, (Epiphan. Euseb. Chron. Paschal, &c. &c.) you will find that the Tartars, under various appellations, had spread themselves all over Western Asia, and into Egypt and Africa, 5500 years back from the present time. About 1500 years after that time, or 2200 years before Christ, you will find that numerous hordes settled around the Euxine sea, and soon after they established themselves in Thrace, Illyricum, and Asia Minor, which countries, in the course of 4 or 500 years, they completely peopled; and from thence extended themselves into Italy 12 or 1300 years before Christ. The tribes settled around the Euxine sea, being pressed forward by a continual succession of fresh hordes from Tartary, extended themselves gradually into Germany, Scandinavia, Gaul, and Spain, (and perhaps Britain) in the course of the following 500 years, that is about 2600 years ago: during the period of 3000 years above noticed, I have strong reason to believe that Hindostan, China, the islands in the Eastern Seas, Siberia, Kamschatska, (and probably North America,) were peopled from the same source, though their progress cannot be so distinctly traced. The countries of Asia, Europe, and Africa above mentioned, were The command of a regiment of native cavalry. during that period but thinly inhabited, and left ample space for the overflowing population of Tartary, which like a beehive has continued to send forth its swarms ever since, down to the present time. Towards the close of the 14th century of the Christian Ara, the Huns, a numerous tribe of northern Tartars, having failed in their attempts to conquer China, took a westerly direction, and entered Europe like a prodigious fight of locusts, where they ultimately rested, mixing with the nations that had preceded them; and since that time, China, Persia, Turkey, and Hindustan, have been repeatedly visited by numerous hordes of Tartar emigrants, as you will find by the histories of those countries, and particularly of Ghengis Khan and Timur Beg, and I am well assured, that the different excursions and conquests of these two monarchs deprived Tartary of from four to five million of inhabitants: But during the last 350 years, no emigration of any consequence has taken place from that country, therefore reasoning from analogy, we must give credit to the reports which represent it as overflowing with inhabitants at the present time. The horse and fruit merchants, from Kabul Bokhara, and Samercand, with whom I have had an intercourse during the last fifteen years, have invariably represented the tribes of independent Tartars, dispersed over that immense region which extends from the Caspian sea to Chinese Tartary, to have considerably encreased in numbers of Tate years, that the manners, customs, habits, and modes of life, amongst all the interior hordes, have continued the same from time immemorial; that the luxuries and vices which impede the progressive That the various tribes of inde- 1 |