George Long

“ Robbery is considered the most honourable occupation of a free-born man, and the greatest reproach that a Circassian girl can make to a young man is, ‘You have not been able to steal even a cow.’ Their education and their early habits are calculated to inure them to the hardships of a life spent in constant danger. A Circassian prince never educates his son at home for fear of his being spoiled by the tender care of a mother. ”

“ Some authors think that they are descendants of a European colony, but it has been proved by recent researches that their language is a dialect of that of the Lesghis, whom they resemble in many respects. They make arms of a very superior description, which, as well as their cloth, have a great reputation, not only in the adjacent countries, but also in Persia, and even beyond the Caspian Sea. It is indeed very remarkable to find in the midst of the savage tribes that inhabit these highlands an industrious and laborious population. ”

“ The khan of the Avars is the most powerful prince among the Lesghis. He rules over 270 villages, inhabited by a population of about 100,000 souls. In case of ed he can raise an army of 10,000 men. The kings of Georgia used to pay him an annual tribute of about 1000 l. He long maintained his independence against the Russians, and it was only in 1828 that he acknowledged himself their vassal. The other Lesghian tribes who acknowledge the supremacy of Russia are the Kazeekoomooks, whose population amounts to 20,000 souls, the Djaro-Belakanl, and the principality of the sultan of Elisooy. ”

“ There are several caverns in different parts of the Caucasus consecrated to this prophet, where the inhabitants assemble on certain days to offer sacrifices to him. If a person is killed by thunder, the highlanders say that he was killed by the prophet Elijah, and consider it a great blessing for him. The burial of such a person is accompanied with the songs and dances of his relations, who rejoice in his death instead of mourning at the event. The attempts made by the Russian government to civilize the Caucasian highlanders have generally proved abortive. ”

“ The only town in Karabagh is Shooshee, situated on a high rocky mountain, about 4000 feet above the level of the Caspian. It is fortified by nature and a little by art: it contains about 1700 houses. The population is composed of 761 Armenian and 936 Mohammedan families. The Missionary Society of Basel has an establishment at Shooshee, composed of a few missionaries, who maintain gratuitously a school for the natives, where, besides the Christian religion, are taught the Armenian language, arithmetic, and geography, as well as the Greek and English languages. ”

“ The system of taxation is of the most absurd and oppressive character; it is rendered particularly vexatious by the numerous monopolies which exist in several places, and by the duties which are levied on goods passing from one province to another. These duties were established by the petty princes who formerly possessed the dominion of this country ”

“ The peasants are all free, and there are no serfs among the Mohammedans of the Caucasian provinces. The merchants, artisans and other inhabitants of towns pay no direct taxes to the government, but are obliged to provide military quarters, horses, or cattle for military transport, and to contribute to the maintenance of public buildings, &c. Besides the Mohammedans, who form the mass of the population, there are many Armenians, some Jews, and a few Gipsies. According to the official returns of 1831, the number of males belonging to the Mohammedan population was 62.934 ”

“ The climate in the plains along the shores of the Caspian is very hot and unhealthy, but this high temperature, with the great fertility of the soil, renders it capable of producing many tropical plants. ”

“ From the sixteenth century the czars of Moscow endeavoured to establish their influence in the Caucasian regions. Their projects were favoured by their community of religion with the Georgians, who repeatedly requested their assistance against the oppression of their Mobammedan neighbours. But the unsuccessful expedition which the Moscovites undertook in the beginning of the seventeenth century against the highlanders of the Eastern Caucasus stopped their projects of conquest in that quarter till the time of Peter the Great. ”

“ The lower classes are very laborious, and remarkable for their physical strength. Many of them go to Tillis to gain a livelihood by their labour. The government is vested in a Russian general, who commands the military force stationed in Imiretia, Mingrelia, Gooria, and Abkhazia, and who is dependent on the governor-general of Georgia He presides over the civil department, which is composed of three Russian and two native magistrates, called Divan Begs. ”

“ There is a great plain which contains about 2400 square versts, and a soil almost universally fertile; even the greatest part of the hills are covered with a black loam. The climate in the high parts is rather cold. The plains are hot and unhealthy. Besides the Koor and the Araxes, the province is drained by a great number or small rivers and mountain streams, which afford great facilities for irrigation. ”

“ It is generally towards the end of the month of May that the Lesghis leave their mountains and enter Georgia; they usually disperse in small parties, and conceal themselves in woods, caverns, or old ruins, watching a favourable opportunity to make captives. Having carried their prisoner to a place of safety, they send to inform the relations that they may redeem him on paying a sum equal to about 35 g. Should the prisoner be a man of consequence, the ransom is much higher. ”

“ Such however is not the character of the Georgians of the country; and indeed a nation which that preserved its religion notwithstanding ages of persecution, and which has seized every opportunity of regaining its independence, has a just claim to some respect. ”

“ Its surface is calculated at about 2800 square versts; the soil is generally poor, and the climate, although hot, is not unhealthy. Among the natural productions of the province, the most remarkable is naphtha or petroleum, which is found in great quantity close to the shores of the Caspian. It is drawn from wells dug in the ground. There are two kinds of naphtha, the white and the black: it is exported to Persia, and partly consumed in the Caucasian provinces, where it is used for lighting the houses. ”

“ There are many instances of individuals belonging to those tribes, who being educated in Russia have risen to a high rank in her military service, but nevertheless have returned to their own country and abandoned European manners and customs for those of their ancestors. ”

“ It is the usual station of the Russian war flotilla.
The population of the khanat of Talish is of the same description as that of the province of Shirvan, and all that we have said respecting it is applicable to the inhabitants of Talish. The amount of the population seems not to have been exactly ascertained. There are some few wandering tribes, who live in a very wild state, and are much addicted to predatory habits. ”

“ The begs are the landowners, to whom the peasants living on their lands are obliged to make certain payments in money, and others also in kind or in labour. The dignity of the beg was granted by the sovereign, and continued in the family more by custom than by law. The title of aga is given to those individuals who are descended from the families of the khans. The clergy enjoy great consideration among the natives being the expounders of the Koran, by which not only the religious but the civil concerns of the Mohammedans are regulated. ”

“ Of wild animals there are the panther, the jackal, the tiger, the bear, the wolf, &c. Besides the domestic animals common to the northern countries, there’s great number of camels and asses. A great variety of birds is found in these regions, of which the moat remarkable is the pheasant, which is indigenous on the banks of the Rion, or Phasis, from which river it has derived its name. The slopes of the mountain are covered with large forests, which produce timber of the best description. ”

“ There is a great admixture among the Lesghis of Arabian blood, from the colonies which were settled there in the ninth century by the caliphs of Bagdad. Like all the Caucasian the Lesghis are of a savage character, and given to robbery. They are exceedingly brave, and capable of enduring the greatest hardships. They are most accomplished horsemen, but fight equally well on foot. They are always ready to sell their services to the highest bidder. The general price paid to an armed horseman is about 2 l. for one expedition, which never lasts longer than four months. ”

“ The law of retaliation is more strictly enforced among the Caucasians than among the Beduin Arabs: to avenge the death of a relation becomes a sacred obligation which descends from father to son, unless the quarrel is settled by a compensation accepted by the aggrieved party. ”

“ The vine, which is indigenous, grows abundantly in a wild state. The vineyards produce a great variety of grapes, and a large quantity of wine and brandy is made in the country. Silk is cultivated in several provinces, but this branch of industry is still in a very low state, owing to the unskillful preparation of that valuable commodity. The present annual exportation amounts to 15,500 poods. (A pood is about 36 lbs.) Cotton is grown in the southern provinces, but it is of very inferior quality, and the whole quantity exported is only 36,000 poods. ”

“ The life of every prisoner depends on the will of his captor, but as soon as he enters his house he must no longer be killed. The prisoner who has not the means of paying his ransom is obliged to serve his master for ten years. ”

“ Its area is calculated to be about 9200 square versts Being sheltered from the northern winds by the Caucasus, its climate is mild, and in many parts the trees blossom and produce fruit twice a year. The large forests with which the country is overgrown prevent the free circulation of air, and engender a kind of malaria. The soil is exceedingly fertile, and the climate favourable to the cultivation of all the products of warm countries. Its population, which amounts to 100.000, consists chiefly of Imiretians and a few Armenians. ”

“ This limited population may be ascribed to the frequent wars which have long desolated the province, and to the emigration to Persia of many Mohammedan families since its subjection to Russia, although many Armenians were induced by the Russian government, after the peace of Toorkmanchay, to emigrate from Persia to Karabagh. ”

“ Although many Caucasian tribes have been converted to Mohammedanism, the most part of them may be called idolaters, as they frequently worship some inanimate objects. It is very remarkable that the prophet Elijah is a particular object of adoration among almost all the Caucasian tribes, both Mohammedan and Pagan. ”

“ The majority of the Lesghian tribes profess the Mohammedan religion of the sect of Soonnee: there are however many who seem to have no religion whatever, while some of them have preserved a few faint vestiges of Christianity. Hospitality and the law of retaliation are the only social ds among this people. ”

“ Their population is about 4,500 families, now entirely subject to the Russian government.
3. The Karaboolaks were formerly one of the most formidable tribes of the Caucasus, and had long oppressed all their neighbours, till at last they were almost exterminated by a league of the surrounding tribes, excited by the wrongs which they had suffered from them. Their feeble remains acknowledge the Russian dominion, although they never lose an opportunity of committing depredations on their masters whenever they can do it with impunity. ”

“ It is however said that by an improved management the cotton might be brought to the greatest perfection, and its quantity increased to an unlimited amount. Madder grows spontaneously in several parts of the country, but cultivated chiefly in the provinces bordering on the Caspian. The inhabitants of the district of Derbend are almost exclusively occupied with the cultivation of it. In 1832 they produced 35,000 poods of madder roots, valued at 47.000 l. Rice grows almost everywhere except in the highland ”

“ The Koobichees do not engage either in agriculture or rearing of cattle, but they exchange the objects necessary to them for the products of their industry. Their friendship is sought by all the Lesghian tribes, whom they furnish with arms ”