Meeting XIII

The doings and improvisations of Kurroglou very often came to the ears of the courtiers of Shah Abbas II., then reigning in Persia. That monarch invited him more than once to his court, promising him the dignity of commander-in-chief (sepah sallar) of all his troops. As we have seen, Kurroglou had sworn before his dying father, never to raise his arms against the Shah of Persia, and he kept his word: nevertheless, he declined all his offers and invitations. His obstinacy at last offended the shah; and one day, at the public selaam, he promised to confer the above-mentioned rank to him who would bring Kurroglou’s head to the court.

Hear now what happened in Chamly-bill. One morning Kurroglou’s barber coming, according to custom, to shave his master’s head, put a looking-glass before him. Kurroglou looked at the reflection of his face, and seeing his beard and mustachios were quite grey, he was filled with sorrow, and fetched a deep sigh from the bottom of his breast. Issa-Bally and Ayvaz who were present, asked him, “Master, why art thou sighing?” “How can I help sighing?” Look! I have not one black hair. My head bends towards the grave, and my cold heart no more entertains the desire of enjoying the pleasures of the world. There are only two wishes of mine which have never been fulfilled; first, to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca; and second, to have an issue of one of my wives.”

Kurroglou called all his servants and warriors together. He proclaimed Ayvaz his heir and successor. “I am old,” said he, “and swear to God before you, that as long as I live, I shall never again draw out the sword.” He put into their hands his favourite sword, and ordered it to be nailed down, on both sides of the scabbard, that it might never be unsheathed again. When this was done in his presence, he said, “I never bowed down before any lord or king, nor have I ever wished to serve them. The Shah of Persia has invited me more than once to his court; 1 did not go. Now, by my submission, I wish to please not the king, but God. The shah now ruling Persia is Abbas II., of the Safavian dynasty. I will go without any pomp to his court at Ispahan, and, after a short stay there, I will proceed to Mecca. If it please God, I will return to you; and in a quiet corner, far from the world and its pursuits, I shall await death, praising God and praying to him to forgive the sins of my past life.” Ayvaz said, “Thou wilt go, doubtless, as becomes a man of thy fame and riches, with a numerous suite and stately splendour. Who of us shall accompany thee?” “Nobody; I will mount my Kyrat and ride alone.”

Sad was the day of parting. The women cried in their harems, the men in the streets. Kurroglou bade farewell to all; but he could not part with his sword, and although it was nailed down and un-sheathable, he girt it about his side. They departed. Kurroglou did not long keep the highway, but turned into the mountains, visited all of them and sighed. < )n a sudden he stopped his horse, and said to his seven hundred and seventy-seven warriors who accompanied him part of the way, “My heart is full, I must sing something to you.”

Improvisation.—“The spring comes. The snow melts on the mountains. My sisterly mountains unveil their fronts before my eyes. Here my Egyptian sword revelled in blood to satiety! O my mountains! my battles will live eternally in your echoes! How happy I was wandering upon your bosom! Hidden amongst your rocks, I lay in ambush, waiting till a heavy caravan ascended your acclivities. O my mountains, you never betrayed my secrets! Thanks to you! Thanks I”

Kurroglou, and with him all his warriors, wept. Then having rested himself a little he sang on.

Improvisation.—“Having made a descent on Chamly-bill with Ayvaz, I drunk the red wine which flowed in streams. 0 my mountains! I measured with the hollow of my shield the turquoises, pearls, gold, silver and jewels of the whole world, which I have gotten upon you as my booty.”

Kurroglou sighed and sang on.

Improvisation.—“I crushed down Scutari, that fortress of the sultan, high, like you, my mountains! Farewell, ye lovely mountains! I used to snatch from the sheeps’ breasts your lambs; but to-day, I will devour your wolves, and will howl like them.”

The warriors said, “O! our master, during thy long life in this world, thou didst never leave the cup of pleasure without exhausting it to the bottom; what art thou then sighing for?’ 1 Kurroglou sang.

Improvisation. —“Kurroglou says, ‘I came into this world. I learned the price of the days gone by. I died the very day my mother brought me forth. I have only two brothers, my sword and my horse. Ye mountains, ye are my sisters.’”

They proceeded further and arrived at Gazly- Gull. There Kurroglou bade farewell to his warriors, recommended them to live together on good terms, and added, “It is possible I shall never see you again. The Fates, always treacherous, befriend nobody faithfully.” And he sang:—

Improvisation.—O warriors! do not repent with too great presumption; there is no one equal to us. Never be backward in mutual aid and friendship. Speak just words without anger, and never trespass the limits of your duty.”

The banditti listened to him with awful interest. He sang on:—

Improvisation.—“I’ll fall a victim to a true man. Perdition upon all the generation of villains. Let not a man grasp at another’s property. O may my head fall a victim to a man of noble birth! May God send affliction upon the coward. O man! when nobody buys thy goods, do not unpack thy loadings. They call me Kurroglou. My age has reached a hundred years. Learn from me, a madman, that you must never fly before the enemy.”

Kurroglou finished. All his men shed tears abundantly. He kissed the eyes of every one of them, told them to wait for him for one year, and rode away alone to Ispahan. never feared death, and was alive with the sense of glory, houndlc 9s freedom, and valour.

Now, listen to the tale of Shah Abbas II. You have heard what offers he proffered to Kurroglou, why he was angry with him, and what he said at the selam. But you do not know that this shah had discarded from his service two courtiers for bad conduct. Their names were Almas Khan and Behram Khan.

In the mean time Kurroglou halted for the night at Kuhrud, a small town between Ispahan and Kashan. It so happened that the two above-mentioned courtiers, hunting in the neighbourhood of that place, perceived at a distance a rider with a grey beard. Advanced age did not obliterate from his countenance the expression of strength and manly beauty. But the horse attracted their particular attention. Almas Khan approaching Kurroglou, inquired, “Where does God bring thee from, traveller? and where art thou going?” The question was accompanied by a courteous bow. Kurroglou, returning the bow, answered, “I go from Chamly-bill to Ispahan to pay my obedience to the shah.” “From what tribe dost thou issue, sir?” “l am a Turkman Tuka by birth, my nick-name is Kurroglou.”

Almas Khan was terrified, hearing that name of fearful renown, and said, “Warrior! the shah has many times invited thee to his court, and thou hast always refused him. Now thou art going there alone, without any pomp, with thy beard whitened by age.” “There is an end to everything in this world. I took an oath not to shed blood any more; nay, I nailed my sword down to the scabbard; and wish to spend the remainder of my days quietly, and worshipping God. I am going to Mecca to implore the God of mercy to forgive the trespasses of my past life.” “Warrior! you must do me and my companion, Behram Khan, the favour of accepting a supper,” and he thought in his heart, “This is an excellent opportunity to reinstate ourselves into the shah’s favours. We shall kill him and take his head to Ispahan; and then the shah must keep the promise he made so publicly. He must either make me commander-in-chief, or at least restore us both to our former dignity at his court.”

Kurroglou accepted their invitation, and consented even to spend the night with them. Behram Khan and Almas Khan lavished upon him their politeness, and the marks of the greatest friendship. After supper, three sets of bedding were brought in, and they gave up the best for their guest. Kurroglou, tired with his long journey, soon went to bed and fell fast asleep.

The first action of the two caitiff khans, was to go to the stables, and to cut the veins of all four legs of Kyrat. Then having armed all their servants, twenty or thirty in number, they rushed upon Kurroglou. Thus awakened, he threw away the coverlet, got up, and with his fists cleared his way through the invaders, and ran to the stables. There he perceived his faithful steed weltering in his blood, with his legs cut round. He clasped his head with both his hands and cried like a child. Then turning to his terrified persecutors, he exclaimed, “Villains! come nearer. You have killed my Kyrat, there is my bosom, strike! 1 shall not defend myself any longer, take my life also. V ith-out him I am useless in this world. But before I die, allow me to sing a song:—

Improvisation.—“O inconstant Fate! shall I proclaim to the world all thy wickedness? Thou hast befriended nobody faithfully to the end. Death was always thy last reward. How many potentates thou hast put on a level with the thorn, creeping on the earth? Didst thou not say to the Hebrew Joseph, ‘Thou must be a slave!’ Didst thou not sell him like vile merchandise? What didst thou do with every monarch? with every ruler of the world? Where is that Soleiman commanding the divs and the peris? Did not the king of kings, Kaykaus, that second Rustem, lose in play at dice with death?”

Then turning to Almas Khan, he said, “Thou art not only a villain, but a fool too. If thou wantedst any favours from the shah, thou shouldst have asked for my intercession, and thou wouldst have obtained all thou wishedst. Now after the death of Kyrat, if thou wouldst spare my life, I will not accept of it. Let me sing for the last time.”

Improvisation.—“A true warrior must lose his life on the field of battle.; The guns and the carbines thunder for him the death-song. O death! whom didst thou spare? The most cunning of all men, Babai-Amir, once run from thee, and endeavoured to escape. Didst thou not catch him, jumping upon him from an ambush? The heart of Kurroglou the ram fears thee not, provided his vows may be agreeable to God. Were even Hassan and Hussein, these footstools of the throne of God, on the seventh heaven (Ers/i) spared by thee? No! thou hast made them martyrs at Kerbella.

Having finished this song, Kurroglou said piously the prayer of the dying, and without any resistance delivered himself up into the hands of his murderers. Almas Khan and Behram Khan severed his head from his body, flayed the skull, salted the skin of it after having stuffed it with straw, and started with their precious burden to Ispahan.

The shah, apprised of the cause of their arrival, called a selarn. The head of Kurroglou was brought in upon a golden tray, and laid before the throne. A drop of blood sprung out of it, and fell upon the skirt of the royal robe. Seeing this, the shah thought to himself, “This blood must have been shed innocently.” He asked, therefore, “How did you kill Kurroglou?” Almas Khan said, “May the shah live long! We went to Chamly-bill and killed him, that we might throw his head as an offering to the dust of thy blessed feet.” “Thou liest!” exclaimed the shah angrily. “You have not courage enough to be able to kill him in his own fort. Guards, take them to prison!”

Both khans were manacled, chained, and thrown into a dungeon. A courier was then despatched with a royal firman to Chamly-bill, in order to learn all the particulars of Kurroglou’s death. The five principal men of the band—Ayvaz, Daly-Ahmed, Issa-Bally, Demurchy-Oglou, and Kimchy-Oglou— came with the answer to the court of Ispahan. The shah received them most graciously, and listened with patience to what they related of the last journey of their chief. The truth came out. In the agony of grief, they threw themselves upon the ground before it, and their tears and lamentations caused all the inhabitants of Ispahan to cry. The shah ordered Almas Khan and Behram Khan to be given up to the banditti, who, in revenge, immediately cut them to pieces. Besides this, the shah made the little town of Kuhrud free from all taxes, in commemoration of the horrible murder perpetrated there; and in order that the inhabitants of it, gratified with this act, agreeable to heaven, might be always praying to God to have mercy on the soul of Kurroglou. By his royal commands, the head of Kurroglou, being joined to his carcass, was buried with the greatest honours; and a neat mausoleum was erected, which can be seen at the present day. Ayvaz was presented with a pelisse of honour and the shah’s firman, which duly invested him with the governorship of Chamly-bill.

N.B. Thus ends the tale of Kurroglou, which, when an aushik has recounted, he never forgets to sing a poetical eulogy of his own or of anybody else’s composition, praising the person who is to pay him for his trouble. He complains against the persecutions of coquetish fate; recommends wisdom and abstinence; and, at last, wishes you to live one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years, that is to say, as long as lived the patriarch Noah,—of course, on condition that the cloud of your liberality pour a golden shower upon the parched lips of the aushik’s empty and yawning pocket.