06. A Royal Day
A Royal Day
Chapter V An account of the manner in which the king of Persia spends his time—the history of his daily life, so far as it can be ascertained—will be interesting, not only as giving a view of the duties of an eastern sovereign, which are far heavier than is usually conceived, but because there is reason to suppose, indeed to know, that the manner of royal life was the same in ancient times, certainly with the Persian kings mentioned in Scripture, and substantially with the kings of Israel. This we gather from the frequency with which these customs of regal daily life remind us of incidents in the sacred book. And, further, the occurrence of so many analogies in what we do know of the life and occupations of the Hebrew kings, will suggest that similar resemblances probably existed in what we do not know; and hence that a view of the daily engagements of the Persian sovereign may assist us to a notion, which cannot be far wrong, of the daily history of the Hebrew kings. This is desirable, as, without some such parallel case, to serve as a framework for the dispersed Scriptural intimations, it is difficult to obtain a connected view of the information they are calculated to afford. The king of Persia, according to eastern custom, rises very early in the morning, 2 Samuel 15:2. Habit makes him wake at the usual hour; but if not, he is gently aroused, probably by music, that he may have time to take the bath, and to dress, before the hour of early morning prayer. As he sleeps in the interior apartments, or harem, to which no male approaches, his attendants are either females or eunuchs. After he has dressed, with their aid, and the customary prayer has been said, the king proceeds to the hall of the harem, where he holds a levée[14] for his domestic establishment. It is conducted nearly in the same manner as the outer public levées later in the day. The crowd of wives and slaves are arranged by female officers, according to the order of their precedency, all standing, except one or two of the most favored and highest born of his legitimate wives. This, and what then takes place, may help us to form some idea of the management of Solomon, and such other of the Hebrew kings as maintained establishments similar to those of the kings of Persia. All being duly arranged, the king receives the reports of those entrusted with the government of the harem, which is conducted by female officers, whose functions and titles answer to those of the public officers of state. The king seldom determines any matter of general concernment without taking counsel with his principal wives. The very young children are also present on this occasion. Sir Harford Jones says, that his information, from a person of good authority, led him to conclude that this interior levee is anything but an agreeable pastime for the king. “He has then so many jealousies to settle, so many pretensions to princely and other favors put forth to him, that perhaps, when the shah said to me one day, ‘Your Fringees (Europeans) ought to bless God that your law allows you but one wife,’ he spoke feelingly.”
[14] A formal reception held by the king at the beginning of the day. The king’s naushtcht, or breakfast, is now served, and if the ladies have not been too troublesome, in the same apartment where he has received them. If otherwise, he comes into a small room, between the private and public apartment of the palace, the same in which he gives private audience to his ministers before the public court is held. The king’s breakfast, like that of the Persians generally, is extremely light; nor does it consist of other things (though, perhaps, of a more choice quality) than that of a Persian gentleman in easy circumstances, except from being served in richer and more beautiful utensils, and with peculiar ceremony. Like other of the royal meals, it is prepared under the immediate superintendence of the Nauzir, or chief steward of the household. The viands are put into dishes of fine china, with silver covers, and placed in a close tray, which is locked and sealed by the steward. The tray, after being covered with a rich shawl, is taken to the king, in whose presence the steward breaks his own seal, and sets the dishes before him. These precautions are of ancient date, and existed at the time when it was the duty of Nehemiah to present the wine cup to the king. They originated, doubtless, in the suspicions which haunt the mind of the possessors of despotic power. Some of the infant princes are usually present at this meal, and are indulged with a participation of the repast.
After breakfast, the king gives private audience, about eight o’clock in summer, and nine in winter, to his ministers. There everything is settled that is to pass or to be performed at the approaching court; the king receives a report of what has occurred in the city, or of the intelligence that has arrived during the preceding night, and it is at this time that the ministers speak in behalf of any individual whose interest they have taken under their protection.
About eleven o’clock, generally, the king proceeds to the divan khoneh, which is a very large hall or room, open in front, elevated about four feet from the pavement, and enclosed by the walls of an oblong square court. This, no doubt, answers to the great ante-court in which was the hall or “porch,” where Solomon’s throne was set, and where he held his court, and administered justice, 1 Kings 7:7-9. For any lady, however exalted, to appear in this court of audience from the interior of the palace, would, at the present time, be as perilous as it was when Esther ventured thither with her maidens, and trembled for her life, till the king held forth to her his golden scepter, Esther 5:1-2. The king, if he be not on the throne, sits in the upper corner of the room, just at the edge of its elevation, so that the ministers, who stand on the pavement of the court below, may be at a convenient distance to hear him and to reply. The prime-minister stands separate from the rest, and nearest to the king. The persons expected to attend this court are the minister of state, the superior officers of the army and the court, and such governors and high officers of the provinces as happen to be in the metropolis. To these, on Friday (which is the Moslem sabbath), may be added the chief ecclesiastics, who may be sent for on other days, if wanted. If any of the king’s sons or brothers be present, as some of them usually are, they all stand near the throne. No one sits—not even the heir-apparent—in the royal presence; all stand in a reverent posture. The only exception is made in favor of the two chief ecclesiastics, who, on the Friday attendance, are allowed to sit in the same room with the king, but only at a great distance from him. This reverent and orderly standing about the throne, and in presence of the king, affords a good idea of the Scriptural allusions to the subject. The reader will remember the particularity with which it is mentioned, that when Solomon’s mother made her appearance before him, to prefer a request in behalf of Adonijah, he “sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother,” 1 Kings 2:19; showing how unusual it was for any to sit in the king’s presence.
It was thought a great concession to the age and infirmities of a famous prime-minister, in the early part of the present century, that he was allowed to use a staff to support him in his long standing at these levées. Yet Sir Harford Jones says, that he had seen him come home so weak and worn out as to be obliged to be helped off his mule, and his kaimakan’s (lieutenant’s) legs so swollen, that when his boots were taken off they were disagreeable to look at, and were for some time afterwards very troublesome to him. The posture of respect is to stand motionless, with depressed eyelids, and hands laid over one another upon the breast, the right hand uppermost. At the court thus constituted, all presentations take place, all promotions are declared, all public honors are conferred, all public disgrace and punishment are inflicted, and the king expresses aloud those sentiments of approbation or displeasure which he desires to be promulgated. We have already sufficiently considered this last matter; but, in again alluding to it, we cannot but point out the erroneous impression the practice has made upon travelers as to the character of particular kings, and the barbarity of the people. But the practice of the king himself ordering all executions, and the court of audience being thus often rendered the scene of bloodshed, is deemed by the Persians themselves essential to the maintenance of the royal authority. It adds, they apprehend, in a very great degree, to the impression of terror which they think it necessary should be made upon the turbulent and refractory classes of the community. This court seldom continues longer than till half-past twelve o’clock; but, after it is over, the ministers and personal favorites of the kings attend him in the council chamber, where some time is spent, usually from one to two hours, in receiving the private orders of the king, and in considering such matters of state as may have grown out of the preceding public levée. When this is over, the king withdraws to the inner apartment already mentioned, where he is served with what used to be called a dinner, but with what, with reference to our own corresponding late hours of dining, may now be called a lunch. It is served with the same care as the breakfast; and, at this meal, such of the elder princes above ten years of age as are summoned by name appear. They do not partake of the meal, but attend standing, while their royal father eats and converses with them.
After this refreshment, the king withdraws to that short repose, or siesta, which the habit of early rising and the heat of the afternoon render necessary. This, also, is an old custom which we recognize in the Bible, which mentions the fact that Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was privily slain during his afternoon repose, 2 Samuel 4:5, and which records that king David first beheld Bathsheba as he walked on the house-top, after rising from this short rest, 2 Samuel 11:2. From the siesta, the king rises in time for the evening prayer. Soon after this, he again appears in the public apartments, where the ministers, who may be designated as constituting his cabinet, again appear. This is considered as a divan-e-khass, or “particular court,” to distinguish it from the divan-e-aum, or general court of the morning. This evening court is sometimes held in the balcony overlooking the great square of the palace, particularly when the household troops are reviewed, as is done when political business does not press.
It may be well to mention, that a Persian review was conducted on a plan entirely different from our own, until the comparatively recent introduction of European discipline, nor is the old plan yet altogether discarded in reviewing cavalry. The troops are assembled at one end of the square, the king’s balcony being in the middle, in which, besides the king’s ministers, are, on such occasions, the commanding officers of the troops to be reviewed. The commander holds in his hand a roll, containing a list of his men, and calls them, in a loud voice, consecutively, one by one. The man who hears himself summoned instantly starts his horse at full gallop, and brings him up suddenly upon his haunches immediately underneath the king, who examines the horse and rider with attention, and sometimes even speaks to the man. At a private signal from the king, if the man, horse, and arms are approved, the commander calls out “Pass on,” and the man slowly walks his horse to the other end of the square, where there is a gateway, at which he passes out. If disapproved, the officer calls out “Remain,” and such persons retire to a distance opposite to the king; and, when all the rest have passed before him, they are re-examined. The ancient reviews of the east were of this character. Reviewing troops in line was unknown; and, in Scripture, when anything that can be supposed analogous to a military review is met with, the soldiers are said to “pass before” the king. Sometimes, instead of this review, the monarch takes a ride out, but this is seldom; the kings more generally prefer going occasionally to spend a day in the gardens, or in hunting or hawking.
After the evening court, the king again retires; but, when the time for the prayers at the close of the evening has passed, he appears again in public by candle-light. This is generally called the meglis-e-shah, or the king’s assembly, at which none appear but the great ministers and privileged persons. Among the latter, the king’s poet, and the court historian, seldom fail of being present. The former, who holds a high rank at court, composes odes in praise of the king, and celebrates, with grateful ardor, the munificence of his royal patron. The employment of “the historiographer” is to write the annals of the king’s reign. The existence of such an officer among the ancient Persians is attested by the book of Esther, which states that the king Ahasuerus, during a sleepless night, commanded the annals of his reign to be read to him, and found there recorded a great service formerly rendered by Mordecai, the Jew. It seems to have been the same office which is mentioned with distinction in the reigns of David, Solomon, and other kings, as that of the “recorder,” of the authorized translation. This evening assembly or court usually finishes about eight or nine o’clock, and the king is then served with what used to be called by European writers “supper,” but which our own late habit of dining now induces us to call “dinner.” It is served in the same manner as the breakfast, but is of different and more various materials. “We have here the advantage of a description of this meal which was given to Mr. Fraser by one of the Persian princes who were some years since in London. It is an account which only a person in his high station could supply, and has every mark of accuracy. We quote it, with some abridgment, as given in Mr. Fraser’s book:—
“At another time, he would describe to me the habits and customs of the shah with his family, when they were assembled around him; and from the great number of his children and grandchildren, it was seldom that he had not such a family party. ‘There is always,’ said he, ‘a large ante-room beyond that in which the shah sits, when he comes out from the harem. It is called the tumbel khaneh, or lounging room, because all those who waited here lounged and lolled at their ease; and there was a certain lady, one of his majesty’s wives, named Sumbool Khânum, who had charge of it, and was therefore called Malikeh-e-tumbel-khaneh, or mistress of the lounging room. Here all the princes used to assemble till the king made his appearance in the chamber of reception and of eating.
“‘The king, when he issued forth, used to utter a loud yah ullah! which was well known to us all; and his majesty was always preceded by six peishkhidmuts, carrying silver candlesticks, and attended by a crowd of menials of all sorts. His majesty then walked gravely to the high corner, or place of state, where it was his wont to sit; took his place with becoming gravity, repeatedly stroking his fine long black beard, while muttering his religious sentences, and perhaps taking a single long whiff of his kaleon. After a while, the cloth was laid upon the carpet, and the trays of silver and gold, covered with shawls and gold brocade, filled with all sorts of pillows and other dishes—which first had, according to custom, been paraded in the tumbel khaneh—were borne in by the peishkhidmuts in due order, and arranged in seemly fashion, under the directions of the same lady of the tumbel khaneh. This duty of the peishkhidmuts is by no means so simple or easy as you might think, for there is a prescribed mode of presenting the dishes and trays to great men, which must not be deviated from; and a peishkhidmut is considered to be a master of his business exactly in so far as he executes these duties of etiquette in a perfect or imperfect manner. He must hold the douree, or tray, straight out in his arms; and, kneeling down, must put it on the sofra (cloth) exactly in the prescribed position, without permitting it to decline at all from the horizontal, so that nothing may be spilled; and as these trays are often very heavy, you may imagine that it is not everyone who can perform this duty with grace and with correctness.
“‘When the dinner is all duly set forth, the shah, after washing his hand in a golden basin, with water poured from a jeweled ewer, and wiping them with a gold-embroidered handkerchief, would utter a loud Bismillah,[15] and begin to dip his fingers first into this dish, and then into that; and after making trial, as it were, to ascertain what was best, he would ask, “Where are the princes? Let them come in.” In a moment, all the princes would start up at this, and repair with their utmost speed to their proper places at the cloth. These were all known. Abbas Meerza, when present, as first in rank, would sit next his majesty, but yet with a space between; and the rest in succession, according to age and rank, to the amount often of a hundred or more. When all were standing, duly and respectfully in their places, another signal from his majesty would make them sit down, which was always done with the greatest ceremony and decorum, each keeping his eye reverently turned upon “the center of the universe.” During this time, his majesty would still continue picking a bit, till, all being in order, he would look up and give a nod, on which, in a moment, every man’s hand was in the dish next him, with which he was forced to content himself, for there was no stretching or scrambling before the king.
‘“In the mean time, a number of the shah’s women used to enter, each making a salaam, and arranging themselves like statues in mute and moveless silence around the hall, every eye turned to the lord of all this state.
“‘The princes all this time would sit in perfect silence, not daring to utter a word to one another; the shah would occasionally speak to the eldest prince at his side, but that was all. After a certain time, which custom had fixed, the eldest prince, whoever he might be, would give a sort of signal to those near him, who always rose at once, whether they had finished eating or not, and none could continue sitting after this; up they must get, were their hands in the choicest dish, or their fingers on the sweetest morsel, leave it they must; and all, bowing profoundly, must leave the presence, holding as best they might their greasy unwashed hands, for there is no washing before the king, but in the ante-chamber there are always a number of the king’s women, with basins and ewers, for the purposes of ablution after meals.
“‘The king would often continue picking and eating for half an hour after the princes went, for he was a great feeder; and dinner being concluded, he would smoke a kaleon, and rising with another great yah ullah! retire as he came to his ante-room, where, with the women about him, he would remain for some time. Frequently, he used to send for some of the princes again, who in that case sat down with him, and spoke when they were spoken to, while the favorite ladies still continued to be present. Then it was often to engage with them at some game of skill or chance, at which it was the custom that he should always win. The records of travelers, and of the Persian historians themselves, show that many kings of a former day scrupled not to indulge in wine freely, even to excess, and without any attempt at concealment, notwithstanding that the drinking of wine is forbidden by the Mohammedan law. But none of the reigning family have as yet outraged the feelings of their subjects by so flagrant a transgression of one of the most stringent enactments of that code. Bowls, filled with sherbet, made of every kind of fruit, furnish the beverage for the royal meals; and as there are few nations, and certainly 110 eastern nations, in which more pains are bestowed than in Persia to gratify the palate with the most delicious viands, we have no reason to doubt that the royal fare is of a very satisfactory description. The king finally retires, for the night, into the interior of the harem. How he employs what remains of the evening is not, with certainty, known; but it was understood that Futteh Ali Shah—whose long reign makes him, though dead, the representative of royal habits to this age—was fond of being read to, and, probably, not seldom had read to him, like his ancient predecessor in Esther, the annals of his reign. It appears that he was also partial to vocal and instrumental music, like Solomon, Ecclesiastes 2:8; that he took pleasure in the conversation and society of such of the ladies of the harem as had agreeable voices, and could amuse with stories and tales; and that he was particularly gratified in hearing such of them as were adepts deliver the heroic, the lyrical, or the amatory poetry of Persia in recitative. As in general the Persians, like most other Orientals, retire to rest at what we should call an early hour, it is not likely that the king sits up late. It is seldom, however, that the Persians pass the whole night, as we do, in bed. They generally rise during the night, take coffee, or some refreshment, and then lie down again. They sometimes find it difficult to sleep after this, and we may remember that it was in the latter part of the night, or towards morning, that the sleeplessness of king Ahasuerus caused him to order that the records of his kingdom should be read to him, Esther 6:1. The Persians, generally, are fond of flowers and gardens, which are commonly plantations of shady trees and flowering shrubs, particularly roses, to which they are remarkably partial. These gardens are refreshed by streams and fountains, and furnished with elegant garden houses. Such gardens are sometimes very extensive, and the taste for the enjoyments which they offer is ancient in Persia. It was shared by Solomon, who, in the book of Ecclesiastes, says: “I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees,” Ecclesiastes 2:5-6. Indeed, the pools ascribed to Solomon, in the neighborhood of Bethlehem, have much analogy to the pools which Persians provide for their gardens, and the site would have been a good one for a Persian “paradise,” as their gardens were anciently called. In fact, the account which Josephus gives of Solomon’s riding out to his gardens at Etham (probably those just mentioned) of a morning, in the midst of his richly appareled guards, affords a striking analogy to the visits of the Persian king to his suburban gardens. The delight which the ancient Persian princes took in their paradises is manifested in the pride with which the younger Cyrus led the Athenian ambassador over his plantations, and pointed out some trees, which he said he had planted with his own hands. The ambassador, on this, glanced somewhat incredulously at the luxurious attire and splendid ornaments of the prince; on which the latter, catching his meaning, swore by Mithras that there was not a day in which he tasted food until he had labored to fatigue in his garden.
Let us add, that in the ancient capitals of Persia, immense gardens are attached to the palaces themselves; but the present capital is a modern town, not affording the same extent of accommodation for gardens, whence the king has a country house and large gardens in the suburbs. There are, however, considerable gardens connected with the palace of Tehran, and in separate buildings in them, rather than in the house, the king frequently, in springtime and in summer, holds his evening court. The description with which the book of Esther opens, of an entertainment given by the king in the extensive garden court of his palace, clearly indicates that the alleys had a rich tessellated pavement, and that there were pillars of marble to support the rich awning which excluded the sun’s rays. In that garden, the king gave a feast, for seven days, “unto all the people that were in Shushan, the palace;” and, during its continuance, the guests drank “royal wine” at pleasure, from “vessels” of gold. It is added, that “the drinking was according to the law; none did compel.” No very recent example of royal garden entertainments, on this scale, is present to our recollection, probably from the habits of the existing race of kings being averse to this kind of expense and splendor. We find instances of it in the reign of the magnificent Shah Abbas, who was contemporary with our Elizabeth; and one of them is related by the chivalrous Sir Anthony Shirley. “Then he (the king) told me that I must recover myselfe, strengthen my minde, and come abroad, that he might feast me before my departure. For thirtie dayes continually the king made that feast in a great garden, of more than two miles compasse, under tents pitched by certaine small courses of running water, like divers rivers, where every man that would come was placed according to his degree, eyther under one or other tent, provided for abundantly with meat, fruit, and wine, drinking as they would, some moderately, some largely, without compulsion. A royaltie and splendour which I have not seene, nor shall see againe, but by the same king—ever to be praised for the constant antiquitie, if not for the reason of the expence;” by which remark, it appears that the ancient instances of the same practice were present to Sir Anthony’s mind, and among them, doubtless, that recorded in the book of Esther. Indeed, “the constant antiquitie” of a large proportion of the Persian regal customs cannot fail to make a strong impression upon any well-read observer.